Dating apps be damned, this live game show is connecting real people
There's a fair bit to love about The Dating Game – the pearly-white smile of host Jim Lange, the groovy beat of Spanish Flea, the 'flower power' decals. It was also television's first ever dating game show, debuting in 1965.
From there, however, it arguably goes astray. If the 'lucky girl' isn't asking the three anonymous bachelors what they would do if she ' squeezed them real hard ', she's wondering what their mothers would say if they discovered their son's body was deemed 'the eighth wonder of the world'.
Sexual and superficial, these were the trademarks of retro dating shows like The Dating Game, Blind Date and Australia's Perfect Match. But perhaps even more concerning was the frequent objectification of contestants, particularly the women, as well as the serious lack of diversity and participant screening. After all, The Dating Game is where serial killer Rodney Alcala famously featured in 1978.
To resurrect a show like this would require some serious reworking. But that hasn't deterred Conor Gallacher who, together with Melbourne-based friends Alex Reid and Xander Allan, created Human Love Quest, today's answer to The Dating Game.
'The old shows seemed to just involve a lot of cheesy answers, like they 'enjoy long walks on the beach'. Who actually says that?' Gallacher says.
'The things our contestants say are based in either the mundane or the important, but it's always based in some level of reality we can relate to … So, someone could ask what their last relationship taught them about themselves and then follow it up with the order they put on their socks and shoes.'
Human Love Quest 's aesthetic and premise are nearly identical to the old-school shows – three hopefuls vie for the attention of one solo contestant who sits behind a partition. It even features Perfect Match 's Dexter the Robot. However, that's generally where the comparison ends.
It began as a monthly live show at the Brunswick Ballroom, and has now evolved into a three-show extravaganza at ACMI. Gallacher says it's confessional in a non-exploitative way, and unlike the '60s iterations, it represents modern-day diversity, thus allowing any adult (regardless of gender, background and sexual orientation) to apply.
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Dating apps be damned, this live game show is connecting real people
There's a fair bit to love about The Dating Game – the pearly-white smile of host Jim Lange, the groovy beat of Spanish Flea, the 'flower power' decals. It was also television's first ever dating game show, debuting in 1965. From there, however, it arguably goes astray. If the 'lucky girl' isn't asking the three anonymous bachelors what they would do if she ' squeezed them real hard ', she's wondering what their mothers would say if they discovered their son's body was deemed 'the eighth wonder of the world'. Sexual and superficial, these were the trademarks of retro dating shows like The Dating Game, Blind Date and Australia's Perfect Match. But perhaps even more concerning was the frequent objectification of contestants, particularly the women, as well as the serious lack of diversity and participant screening. After all, The Dating Game is where serial killer Rodney Alcala famously featured in 1978. To resurrect a show like this would require some serious reworking. But that hasn't deterred Conor Gallacher who, together with Melbourne-based friends Alex Reid and Xander Allan, created Human Love Quest, today's answer to The Dating Game. 'The old shows seemed to just involve a lot of cheesy answers, like they 'enjoy long walks on the beach'. Who actually says that?' Gallacher says. 'The things our contestants say are based in either the mundane or the important, but it's always based in some level of reality we can relate to … So, someone could ask what their last relationship taught them about themselves and then follow it up with the order they put on their socks and shoes.' Human Love Quest 's aesthetic and premise are nearly identical to the old-school shows – three hopefuls vie for the attention of one solo contestant who sits behind a partition. It even features Perfect Match 's Dexter the Robot. However, that's generally where the comparison ends. It began as a monthly live show at the Brunswick Ballroom, and has now evolved into a three-show extravaganza at ACMI. Gallacher says it's confessional in a non-exploitative way, and unlike the '60s iterations, it represents modern-day diversity, thus allowing any adult (regardless of gender, background and sexual orientation) to apply.
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Dating apps be damned, this live game show is connecting real people
There's a fair bit to love about The Dating Game – the pearly-white smile of host Jim Lange, the groovy beat of Spanish Flea, the 'flower power' decals. It was also television's first ever dating game show, debuting in 1965. From there, however, it arguably goes astray. If the 'lucky girl' isn't asking the three anonymous bachelors what they would do if she ' squeezed them real hard ', she's wondering what their mothers would say if they discovered their son's body was deemed 'the eighth wonder of the world'. Sexual and superficial, these were the trademarks of retro dating shows like The Dating Game, Blind Date and Australia's Perfect Match. But perhaps even more concerning was the frequent objectification of contestants, particularly the women, as well as the serious lack of diversity and participant screening. After all, The Dating Game is where serial killer Rodney Alcala famously featured in 1978. To resurrect a show like this would require some serious reworking. But that hasn't deterred Conor Gallacher who, together with Melbourne-based friends Alex Reid and Xander Allan, created Human Love Quest, today's answer to The Dating Game. 'The old shows seemed to just involve a lot of cheesy answers, like they 'enjoy long walks on the beach'. Who actually says that?' Gallacher says. 'The things our contestants say are based in either the mundane or the important, but it's always based in some level of reality we can relate to … So, someone could ask what their last relationship taught them about themselves and then follow it up with the order they put on their socks and shoes.' Human Love Quest 's aesthetic and premise are nearly identical to the old-school shows – three hopefuls vie for the attention of one solo contestant who sits behind a partition. It even features Perfect Match 's Dexter the Robot. However, that's generally where the comparison ends. It began as a monthly live show at the Brunswick Ballroom, and has now evolved into a three-show extravaganza at ACMI. Gallacher says it's confessional in a non-exploitative way, and unlike the '60s iterations, it represents modern-day diversity, thus allowing any adult (regardless of gender, background and sexual orientation) to apply.
