Shark Bytes

The Tom Selleck thing makes no sense. That is not a shark jump. Tom Selleck wasn't famous until much later, long after he was one of the three possible dates (contestants). The whole premise of this show is having one contestant asking three other contestants who they cannot see at the time a bunch of questions and then the contestant asking the question picks one of the other contestants for a date based on only the answer to those questions. They do not get to see any of the three potential dates until after the person asking the question picks which person that they would like to date. How in the world can their be a shark jump when the date is chosen only using responses to questions and not based on looks?

Jim Lange was an underrated host and not as famous like his Newlywed Game counterpart Bob Eubanks. But without no Lange, means no Dating Game despite the silly seventies hair and those awful tuxes he had to endure. Plus the dances he did with the winning contestants. No Jim Lange means jump the shark.

Does anyone know how to get a copy of an episode from 1998?

Day one, but for one main reason - the women were always right, and the men were always wrong. I swear, the man could be totally in the right, and have a video proving that she was totally in the wrong, and the audience would be booing and hissing and cheering for the woman. Women have to work together, I suppose.

The Dating Game jumped when Paul Lynde appeared as one of the bachelors. I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned this yet. This particular episode was broadcast during the spring of 1968 (don't remember the exact date, but it was at the end of my sophomore year in high school). My mother & I just looked at each other & wondered what the hell Paul Lynde was doing on this show! Even back then it was obvious he was a flamer. I finally said "that poor woman is wasting her time with this one". I remember the reactions to him (uncomfortable giggles & stares)& they were probably wondering if this was a joke. Mr. Lynde was much more in his element on Hollywood Squares.

TDG jumped because of the crappy prizes the "lucky" couple would win. I remember one ep from the late 60s where the guy was about 18 and all dressed up in his grooviest mod suit. The "prize" he won was a trip to an ....... AL MARTINO concert. The kid got a look on his face like he just had a turd dropped on his head!!!

When Bachelor # 2 said: "My mother is Welsh and my father in Hungarian. I guess that makes me well hung." And this was on TV 30 years ago!!

Special Guest Bachelor: Rip Taylor. Rip Taylor had to pick from among three old women. He finally decided on Bachelorette #3. Before he gets to meet her of course, he gets to meet #1. She's a big lady around age 60, looks like she hangs around bingo halls. He is visibly glad that he didn't pick her. Then out comes #2... her identical twin sister!! So who'd he end up with? #3 was this totally ugly hag with one tooth which she stuck out over her lip. I mean this bag was UGLY!! Rip is looking at the audience and stage whispering about how ugly she is. It was hilarious, it may or may not have been totally staged, but this was definitely a shark attack on that show.

Day One: The Kiss at the end with some stupid comment like "Surf Kiss" or the dates that featured "Lovely Tijuana." The local network when I was growing up would follow this with "The Newlywed Game," and then "Divorce Court," and finish up the natural course of love with "Perry Mason" which usually involved a spouse killing of some kind. Very scary to an eight year old.

What sticks in my mind is the fact that the host went from being your usual staid-looking game show host (jacket and tie) to the swingin' dude with the groooovy clothes and the oversized aviator sunglasses almost overnight (must have been a drastic change decided upon in between seasons). I was only grade school age at the time, but I remember thinking what if my own dad had done this? Creepy.

Well, if Tom Selleck couldn't get a date on this show, you know something's wrong. Even if he didn't have a moustache back then...

With that Kiss Jim Lange had the losers throwing to the camera, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Jeez, this show jumped at the airing of the first episode, although it made my dad look forward to lunch-time, when he brought his son (me) home from high school for lunch. He never missed it. Neither do I.

Bachelor number 1...if i was a flower and you were a bee, how would you suck the nectar out of me? Let's give everyone a Hula Hula kiss. You tell me Jim Lange didn't get any from this show? No way.