YMMV / The Dating Game

• Fridge Horror: Serial killer Rodney Alcala was a contestant in 1978, and was actually selected. Fortunately, the young lady in question decided against going on that date, considering him "creepy".
• Memetic Mutation: This is right up there with The Newlywed Game as one of the most parodied Game Shows.
• Parody Displacement: Chances are if you've heard of The Dating Game, you may have seen one of the many spoofs before any episode of the actual show.
• Replacement Scrappy: Brad Sherwood came off as very obnoxious and phony, often letting his wisecracks overshadow the rest of the game. Since Jim Lange was retired in the late 1990s, he was replaced by Chuck Woolery, who had plenty of experience in the similar Love Connection.
• Retroactive Recognition: Many people appeared on The Dating Game before stardom such as Farrah Fawcett, Phil Hartman (who was chosen, but the bachelorette stood him up on their date), Andy Kaufman (under the pseudonym Baji Kimran), Lee Majors, Steve Martin (twice, being chosen both times), Burt Reynolds, Michael Richards, John Ritter, Bob Saget, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Selleck (twice, losing both times) and Suzanne Somers.
• Spiritual Successor: Love Connection was basically this, but much more host-driven. Singled Out was similar, but had the contestant picking from 50 potential dates.

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