Long before dating apps, reality television and social media, American television had The Dating Game.
The premise was wonderfully simple. One contestant asked questions to three potential dates hidden behind a partition. Since appearance was removed from the decision, contestants had to rely on personality, humor and whatever outrageous answer they could invent before time ran out.
That simple format produced television magic.
The Dating Game debuted on ABC in December 1965 and became one of the defining creations associated with producer Chuck Barris. It also had a primetime version beginning in October 1966.
What made the program special wasn’t simply finding out who would win.
It was everything that happened before the choice.
Contestants quickly discovered that a memorable answer could be more valuable than a sensible one. A straightforward question might receive a romantic response, an absurd joke or an innuendo that made the studio audience erupt.
And because the contestants couldn’t see one another, words mattered.
A bachelor couldn’t rely on a smile or appearance to win somebody over. He had only a microphone and a few seconds to create an impression.
That encouraged big personalities.
Some contestants tried charm.
Others tried comedy.
Some flirted shamelessly.
And occasionally someone produced an answer so strange that even the person asking the question didn’t know how to respond.
That unpredictability is one reason old clips remain entertaining today.
Modern dating programs often rely on elaborate locations, dramatic editing and complicated relationship conflicts. The Dating Game could generate entertainment with a wall, four chairs and a handful of questions.
The contestants did the rest.
The show also became a fascinating snapshot of American popular culture.
People who would later become household names appeared before or during the early stages of their careers. The show’s documented contestants include Sally Field, John Ritter, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Selleck and many others.
Watching those appearances decades later creates an entirely different experience.
Today we already know what happened to many of these people.
Audiences at the time didn’t.
They were simply watching another young actor, performer or personality trying to get a date.
But perhaps the greatest appeal of these old clips is something even simpler.
They’re unpredictable.
A question begins.
You think you know where the answer is going.
Then the contestant says something completely different.
The audience explodes.
The host reacts.
And another little piece of television history is created.
That’s why compilations of The Dating Game can still be so entertaining more than half a century later.
Fashion has changed.
Dating has certainly changed.
Television has changed enormously.
But the nervous excitement of trying to impress somebody — and the comedy that happens when somebody tries a little too hard — hasn’t changed at all.
