The Dating Game
Friday December 24, 1965 (1st Christmas Show)
TV Flash files “Friday December 24, 1965 (1st Christmas Show)” as hour 5 of 251 in the TV Flash guide — The Dating Game (1965–1986) on ABC, season 1, episode 5, aired 1965-12-24, 25 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E05: listed hour 5 of 251 in the The Dating Game guide, hour 5 of 185 in season 1. It aired 1965-12-24 (25 min). The listed hour before it is “Thursday December 23, 1965” (S01E04). Next is “Monday December 27, 1965” (S01E06).
Viewer FAQ
Where does Friday December 24, 1965 (1st Christmas Show) sit in the The Dating Game guide?
S01E05 is listed hour 5 of 251 — hour 5 of 185 in season 1, season 1 episode 5.
When did The Dating Game S01E05 air?
Friday December 24, 1965 (1st Christmas Show) aired 1965-12-24 and is listed at 25 minutes.
Where should I start?
A Lange-hosted hour with the blind-quiz setup is the whole machine: unseen suitors, cheeky questions, a date as prize. Format, not serial.
In the series
Why this series still plays
The Dating Game made romance a blind quiz: one bachelor or bachelorette, three unseen suitors, Chuck Barris's cheeky production, and Jim Lange keeping the innuendo just inside Standards. It is the ancestor of every later dating competition, only shorter and more studio-bound. Network daytime taught America to flirt on camera without calling it reality TV yet.
Monday, December 20, 1965: one bachelor or bachelorette, three unseen suitors, Chuck Barris's cheeky production, Jim Lange keeping the innuendo just inside Standards & Practices. The Dating Game made romance a blind quiz on ABC and taught America to flirt on camera without calling it reality television yet. A contestant questions hidden suitors and picks a date based on banter alone. Soft-core sixties flirtation for daytime and prime access. **Matchmaking became a format here.**
Filed against
- Jim Lange as Host
Jim Lange hosted The Dating Game as a blind quiz with innuendo just inside Standards — one bachelor or bachelorette, three unseen suitors, Chuck Barris cheek, 1960s studio romance as the ancestor of every later dating competition. TV…