The Late Lamented Dating Game

Legendary eccentric game show producer/creator Chuck Barris has also been called "Chuck EmBarris" for good reason. From the sixties through early eighties, his shows were known for making contestants, particularly "The Dating Game" and "The Newlywed Game" contestants, look like buffoons.

And, of course, on occasion Chuck himself would wear the buffoon hat, especially as host of "The Gong Show." And lets not even start with those CIA assassin rumors that emerged from his so-called "autobiography" and the film "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind." It's all probably a lie created to embarrass all the buffoons that would buy the book and see the movie.

Here's where the truth comes in: before Chuck Barris, most game shows were stodgy affairs that rarely deviated from the rules. Barris's shows were irreverent bordering on anarchy. "The Dating Game" was the first of the lot, debuting at the end of 1965. Hosted by Jim Lange, its "flower power" set design seemed emblematic of the times.

"The Dating Game"

The game concept was simple enough. A "bachelorette" would question three "bachelors" hidden from view, and then pick only one for a dream date. But, it was the raciness of the game material and the wild responses from the contestants that made "The Dating Game" a craze that lasted for 15 years.

Among the contestants were celebrity bachelors and bachelorettes, including Farrah Fawcett, Sally Field, Steve Martin, Burt Reynolds, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Andy Kaufman (as character "Baji Kimran").

An Anecdote about a Former Bachelor

In the late sixties, one of my old Detroit buddies was a contestant on "The Dating Game." He was a large bearded long-haired hippie biker who rode his Harley with a Northern California Hell's Angel's chapter. The episode's bachelorette was a blonde Connecticut society sorority girl. She chose my buddy. Her jaw dropped when he came out in full biker leathers. Of course, this was a match made in Hell (or, at least, Detroit).

The date, an all-expense-paid trip to Hawaii, was torture for both parties, escalating to a point where they wouldn't speak to each other.

At the end of the date, according to "Dating Game" custom, the bachelor would buy a gift for his bachelorette, a parting gift if you will. As "luck" would have it, my buddy found a Honolulu store that sold prosthetic eyeballs. As his "gift", he bought an assortment of eyeballs and presented it to his date in a paper bag.

After first hearing that story, I always wished that "The Dating Game" crew, camera-in-hand, would've followed contestant couples on their dates.

Will "The Dating Game" Ever Come Back?

The original show lasted from 1965 to 1980, and came back several times in syndication. The last version ran from 1997-1999. Although there have been other dating shows that have tried to capture and surpass the irreverence and excess of "The Dating Game", it's the original Chuck Barris version that remains the television game show classic.

However, with reality shows and game shows beginning to dominate today's television schedules, I feel that it's time to bring back "The Dating Game" once again.

SOURCES:

"The Dating Game", Internet Movie Database

"Chuck Barris", King Kaufman, Salon

"Was Chuck Barris a Hit Man", Cecil Adams, The Straight Dope