DAR TV: 6 Hilarious Dating Game Shows

By @TrueGodImmortal

Long before the mundane days of The Bachelor, Flavor of Love, and other ridiculous dating shows, there were dating game shows that truly brought the entertainment factor. In reality, most of those shows were scripted and pre-determined, but surprisingly, many of us actually watched them and laughed our asses off. Sometimes, after school, you could catch Elimidate on TV, or maybe even the ridiculousness of Blind Date. Whatever the case, dating shows were hilarious and popular in the world of television some years ago, and the shows I selected to discuss today were definitely popular amongst all ages and crowds. Which shows are on my list? Let's take a look.

*Elimidate 

-Who could forget Elimidate? It was one of the funniest dating shows that existed, with clearly scripted scenarios to give the illusion of a tough choice for one dater. The premise was simple. One person entertains four prospects and makes a decision at the end of the group date to determine the person they want to continue their time with. The way each round was executed with one person being cut was actually pretty funny and the overexaggerated bad acting from the women (or men) who were cut made for horrible yet excellent TV. Episodes were filmed all over, including my hometown Baltimore, and while there are no memories that come to mind when I think of this show specifically, Elimidate made an impact in the dating game show world that can't be forgotten.

*Blind Date 

-One of the more entertaining shows on this list, Blind Date was also likely scripted, but it was still immensely entertaining for all of the wrong reasons really. The premise of a blind date is simple. It should be relatively easy and perhaps fun. However, that was never the case with this show's version of a blind date. Either the date went smoothly and the pair would end up finishing the night in a great way or they would set up an alleged second date. For me, one of the funniest pieces for the show was the host. Who is Roger Lodge? Where is Roger Lodge? Why is Roger Lodge? Regardless, he was pretty funny in a sad way as the host, but if you ever wondered why the show seemed to be too good to be true, check out the uncensored specials the show would release later on, where you would see nudity and a lot more cursing. This pretty much confirmed that the show was scripted, but regardless, it was extremely entertaining and one of the best dating shows.

*Hell Date 

-Perhaps the most scripted of all the shows, this attempt by BET at a dating show was..... interesting to say the least. It was comical and not to be taken seriously, but the script itself was pretty bad. Extremely bad really. Upon seeing the first episode, I was taken aback.... yet intrigued in some way. This was a prank dating show, that allegedly featured an actual dater in search of someone special. However, Hell Date employed a number of actors that would pose as the date for said person and try to have the worst possible date with them. The only part of the show that really fell flat (outside of the bad acting) was essentially the midget dressed in the devil costume. That was cringeworthy for the most part, but aside from that, this show had enough ridiculous laughs to make it watchable.

*The 5th Wheel 

-A descendant of Blind Date essentially, this show was similar to all of the dating shows you see here, but it had a slightly different concept. My favorite memory of the show was that it was initially hosted by Aisha Tyler, and she would bring her interesting personality to the program. The premise was a joint date, with two sets of men and women together, until an interesting single person arrives as the 5th Wheel and attempts to shake things up. While the most memorable part of the show came from Aisha and her corny commentary, you were still bound to see some embarrassing dates, which essentially all of these shows were about. Good comedy and exaggerated dates.

*Change Of Heart 

-I always find it funny when I look back at these shows and remember some of the faces that were on that infamous couch. The most famous? One of the more popular West Coast rappers The Game. While this might not be as hilarious to you as it is to me, seeing Game lose his woman on Change Of Heart was good comedy, mostly due to the fact that this was used against Game in multiple beefs (the Beef 3 DVD was probably the funniest instance of this). That aside, the premise was simple. A couple comes onto the show to test their relationship, and they go on separate dates with single people. The show was at its peak when Chris Jagger hosted (whatever happened to that guy), and some hilarious breakups came as a result of the show. While the authenticity of the show has to come into question somewhat, the fact remains that it was at least an entertaining program through the first few seasons.

*Love Connection 

-So, apparently this show was reborn with Andy Cohen as the host of it. I have never nor will never watch it. To be fair, I never really watched this show either, at least not much, but I do remember how popular it was during the run where the show was hosted by the legend Chuck Woolery. Of course, the premise of the show was fairly simple. They arrange dates for singles based on video profiles and then following the alleged date, they would come to the studio. The format would show that there were three choices for the date, and the audience would pick their selection on who they believed would be the best choice. If the two people who went on a date decided they wanted another shot at it, they would get a shot. If the audience voted for the same person, even better. I don't recall hearing of any hilarious moments on the show itself, but it did spawn a pretty funny episode of Martin, so the Love Connection is alright with me.

-True