Dating in 2021 – Absurd New Shows Help Promote Romance
Romance has always been a popular topic for television shows. Romantic encounters of the perfect and not so perfect kind have been a staple of daytime television for years. I am not sure which number is greater. I am not sure if it's the number of husbands All My Children's Erica Kane has had or the number of years since the Dallas Cowboys won a playoff game. But I know both are in double digits.
Because, love, romance, and sex have always been popular topics among the human species it would make sense that television game shows would be created to capitalize on those basic human needs.
Back in the 60s and late 70s we had The Dating Game, a show with such a timeless theme song that if you play right now you'll be humming it all day. In that game, a contest searched for a romantic partner by asking a series of questions to three single members of the opposite sex.
A few years later there came Love Connection which was a similar style game of finding your true love but it focused more on a single couple and whether or not they would eventually be compatible.
We have also seen a rise in shows like the Bachelor and the Bachelorette which are just too obtuse for me to take seriously. I can understand winning an evening out or concert tickets to go on a "date". But to find a spouse, a permanent companion on a tv show? So far, the track record for success on those shows has not been that good.
So, now we enter the next phase of the dating show. There are two of them that have piqued my interest. One of them is on Netflix.
The show simply asks, "Could you fall in love with someone based on personality alone?". You have probably figured out this isn't your ordinary blind date show. The contestants truly dress up as "Sexy Beasts" to meet their match. They then spend time together without the burden of physical beauty requirements. This is truly "blind" dating on steroids.
The other dating show that is getting the viral treatment on the Internet is another show from the UK. It's called Love Trap. In that game a contestant interviews three members of the opposite sex. Their mission is to deduce which of those three members is already in a relationship. As you can see from the clip below, the hook of the show is not so much how the contestants are chosen but how they are eliminated.
I will tell you that the station that aired this particular clip was inundated with calls after one of these ladies was eliminated. The callers wanted to know if she survived. She did. Holy Cow!
Needless to say, I'd watch Love Trap just for the elimination round if this is how they are going to do it. That's a lot better than a peck on the cheek and some nice parting gifts.
Now if you think these game show contestants look awkward just remember, we've all been there. Some of us a lot more than others.
10 Times You as a Human Can't Help But Look Awkward
Gallery Credit: Bruce Mikells