DECEMBER 20, 1965 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

AaronHandy3 · 12-23-2006, 06:33 PM

2 new game shows premiered on ABC's daytime schedule: the original Supermarket Sweep and The Dating Game.

The Dating Game, a Chuck Barris Enterprises game show revolving around three young men who vied for a date with a young woman who was hidden from their view, hosted by San Francisco radio personality Jim Lange, debuted on ABC Daytime in black and white (the switch to color would be 2 years later). The woman asked questions especially devised to real the romantic nature of the significant other and later selected the one she was to date. The couple was given either a night on the town or an all-expense-paid trip to some fun locale. The game was also played with one bachelor selecting from among 3 young ladies and with celebrity guests choosing for them; among the many, many stars seen on Dating were Karen Carpenter, Dick Clark, Richard Dawson, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Suzanne Sommers, and Arnold Schwarzenegger! For its first season (1965-66), Dating actually employed a live band which played its theme music: The Regents, comprised of Craig Boyd (drums), John Harris (bass) Michael McDonald (lead guitar), Jerry Rosa (keyboards), and Tom Baker (rhythm guitar).

The Dating Game was the first foray into game shows for producer Chuck Barris, a former songwriter (he composed "Palisades Park," a Top 10 hit for Freddy Cannon in 1962). His production firm churned out such memorable favorites as The Newlywed Game (which first appeared on ABC 7 months after Dating's debut), The Family Game, and the ever-irrepressible Gong Show! ABC gave The Dating Game a primetime edition, seen between October 6, 1966 and January 17, 1970 every Saturday night (sometimes leading in for ABC stalemates Let's Make A Deal and The Newlywed Game). Its popularity in the 1960s was big enough to inspire an ice-cream flavor (pink ice cream with diced dates [get it?!] and butter toasted pecans) by Baskin-Robbins! The ABC daytime version of Dating went to its reward on July 6, 1973, after 8 years and 2,035 shows; a syndicated edition, launched in the fall as The New Dating Game, carried the show for an extra season. It has seen several resurgences on TV (syndicated!) in 1978, 1986, and 1997.

Supermarket Sweep employed a revolutionary game show technique when it debuted in 1965 — the premise of the show involved contestants running about a supermarket filling carts with food. Whichever team's groceries had the highest value won. Bill Malone served as emcee; the announcers were Wally King from 1965-66, and Richard Hayes from 1966-67.

Two contestants, more often than not women, competed. Each contestant began with a base time of one minute. In the first part of the game, the contestants were shown a grocery item and asked to guess its retail price. The contestant who came closest won the item and an additional 10 seconds to their time. Six items were played. In the second part of the game, the contestants go on a shopping spree through the market, using the time accumlulated in the first half of the game. After each contestant had run her sweep, the total value of the groceries in each player's cart was determined. The contestant with the higher total won the right to return to the show and play in the next game. Both contestants kept the groceries they had picked up.

In the original run, Supermarket Sweep was broadcast from various Food Fair supermarkets, mostly in the New York tri-state area. After 2 years and 409 episodes, Supermarket Sweep was junked by ABC on July 14, 1967 and transformed into The Honeymoon Race the following Monday. Al Howard, producer of SS, would later on develop (with William Jones) the original $ale Of The Century on NBC. Supermarket Sweep, like the show which premiered with it, The Dating Game, would also enjoy periods of resurrection; the most sucessful of which was a 9-year mainstay on Lifetime (February 5, 1990 - August 14, 1998) hosted by David Rupprecht and announced by Johnny Gilbert and (later) Randy West.

(Some data courtesy of Wikipedia)

glickmam · 08-01-2009, 09:31 PM

Al Howard did not produce the ABC version, he only produced the Lifetime/PAX version. The ABC version was produced by Leonard Stern, the same man who produced the NBC/CBS espionage sitcom Get Smart. Howard, did, however, create both versions.

howilu · 08-03-2009, 10:48 AM

I remember the original Supermarket Sweep occasionally listed in the TV Guide as "Market Sweep."

glickmam · 10-06-2009, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AaronHandy3

In the original run, Supermarket Sweep was broadcast from various Food Fair supermarkets, mostly in the New York tri-state area. After 2 years and 409 episodes, Supermarket Sweep was junked by ABC on July 14, 1967 and transformed into The Honeymoon Race the following Monday. Al Howard, producer of SS, would later on develop (with William Jones) the original $ale Of The Century on NBC. Supermarket Sweep, like the show which premiered with it, The Dating Game, would also enjoy periods of resurrection; the most sucessful of which was a 9-year mainstay on Lifetime (February 5, 1990 - August 14, 1998) hosted by David Rupprecht and announced by Johnny Gilbert and (later) Randy West.

(Some data courtesy of Wikipedia)

Supermarket Sweep wasn't canceled. It was merely retooled into The Honeymoon Race. Different show, but same host: Bill Malone.

catlover79 · 10-18-2009, 11:11 PM

I saw the Carpenters Dating Game appearance on YouTube. What a scream!!

danfling · 01-13-2010, 01:43 PM

I believe that the late Michael Jackson was also on the show.

TV Knowledge Fan · 01-14-2010, 01:17 AM

...(and developing his next series, the short-lived Richard Mulligan vehicle, "THE HERO" [NBC] and Jack Sheldon's "RUN BUDDY RUN" [CBS]) to be involved in the day-to-day operations of "SUPERMARKET SWEEP". He may have been the "executive producer", but the production company he was associated with, David Susskind's 'Talent Associates', actually "packaged" the series.

angiefan · 01-15-2010, 04:54 PM

The late Michael Jackson was on the dating game?

I know The late John Ritter was.

catlover79 · 01-15-2010, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by angiefan

The late Michael Jackson was on the dating game?

I know The late John Ritter was.

Michael indeed was on The Dating Game! Here's a clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkrY2XPF35Q

glickmam · 01-16-2010, 09:05 PM

Indeed, day-to-day operations on Supermarket Sweep were handled by producer Jerome Schnur, who previously worked as a director for the Goodson-Todman game shows Beat the Clock and Two for the Money.

TV Knowledge Fan · 01-17-2010, 04:47 AM

Jerome Schnur also worked on G-T's "THE NAME'S THE SAME" for a brief period as well. I haven't seen any of the surviving kinescopes of "SUPERMARKET SWEEP" to acertain who did what, but I appreciate the additional information, 'glickmam'!

Zoneboy · 01-17-2010, 05:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by angiefan

The late Michael Jackson was on the dating game?

I know The late John Ritter was.

So was the late Bill Bixby who appeared 3 times and never won.

12-23-2006, 06:33 PM	#1
AaronHandy3 Classic TV Buff Forum Regular Join Date: Nov 21, 2001 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 859	DECEMBER 20, 1965 2 new game shows premiered on ABC's daytime schedule: the original Supermarket Sweep and The Dating Game. The Dating Game, a Chuck Barris Enterprises game show revolving around three young men who vied for a date with a young woman who was hidden from their view, hosted by San Francisco radio personality Jim Lange, debuted on ABC Daytime in black and white (the switch to color would be 2 years later). The woman asked questions especially devised to real the romantic nature of the significant other and later selected the one she was to date. The couple was given either a night on the town or an all-expense-paid trip to some fun locale. The game was also played with one bachelor selecting from among 3 young ladies and with celebrity guests choosing for them; among the many, many stars seen on Dating were Karen Carpenter, Dick Clark, Richard Dawson, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Suzanne Sommers, and Arnold Schwarzenegger! For its first season (1965-66), Dating actually employed a live band which played its theme music: The Regents, comprised of Craig Boyd (drums), John Harris (bass) Michael McDonald (lead guitar), Jerry Rosa (keyboards), and Tom Baker (rhythm guitar). The Dating Game was the first foray into game shows for producer Chuck Barris, a former songwriter (he composed "Palisades Park," a Top 10 hit for Freddy Cannon in 1962). His production firm churned out such memorable favorites as The Newlywed Game (which first appeared on ABC 7 months after Dating's debut), The Family Game, and the ever-irrepressible Gong Show! ABC gave The Dating Game a primetime edition, seen between October 6, 1966 and January 17, 1970 every Saturday night (sometimes leading in for ABC stalemates Let's Make A Deal and The Newlywed Game). Its popularity in the 1960s was big enough to inspire an ice-cream flavor (pink ice cream with diced dates [get it?!] and butter toasted pecans) by Baskin-Robbins! The ABC daytime version of Dating went to its reward on July 6, 1973, after 8 years and 2,035 shows; a syndicated edition, launched in the fall as The New Dating Game, carried the show for an extra season. It has seen several resurgences on TV (syndicated!) in 1978, 1986, and 1997. Supermarket Sweep employed a revolutionary game show technique when it debuted in 1965 — the premise of the show involved contestants running about a supermarket filling carts with food. Whichever team's groceries had the highest value won. Bill Malone served as emcee; the announcers were Wally King from 1965-66, and Richard Hayes from 1966-67. Two contestants, more often than not women, competed. Each contestant began with a base time of one minute. In the first part of the game, the contestants were shown a grocery item and asked to guess its retail price. The contestant who came closest won the item and an additional 10 seconds to their time. Six items were played. In the second part of the game, the contestants go on a shopping spree through the market, using the time accumlulated in the first half of the game. After each contestant had run her sweep, the total value of the groceries in each player's cart was determined. The contestant with the higher total won the right to return to the show and play in the next game. Both contestants kept the groceries they had picked up. In the original run, Supermarket Sweep was broadcast from various Food Fair supermarkets, mostly in the New York tri-state area. After 2 years and 409 episodes, Supermarket Sweep was junked by ABC on July 14, 1967 and transformed into The Honeymoon Race the following Monday. Al Howard, producer of SS, would later on develop (with William Jones) the original $ale Of The Century on NBC. Supermarket Sweep, like the show which premiered with it, The Dating Game, would also enjoy periods of resurrection; the most sucessful of which was a 9-year mainstay on Lifetime (February 5, 1990 - August 14, 1998) hosted by David Rupprecht and announced by Johnny Gilbert and (later) Randy West. (Some data courtesy of Wikipedia)
	__________________ Aaron Handy III - ah07_1999@yahoo.com, aaronhandy_iii@...trois@mail.com https://i.ibb.co/mcb1SZ7/new-MFTVVmasthead.png http://tvwebshrine.orgfree.com/-

10-18-2009, 11:11 PM	#5
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,376	I saw the Carpenters Dating Game appearance on YouTube. What a scream!!
	__________________ "Jesus loves you and He approves this message." "I'm alive. I'm feeling good. I'm trying to live every moment as much as I can." - Valerie Harper, March 2013

01-13-2010, 01:43 PM	#6
danfling Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 05, 2002 Location: Mississippi Posts: 10	I believe that the late Michael Jackson was also on the show.
	__________________ danfling terryj1@bellsouth.net

01-14-2010, 01:17 AM	#7
TV Knowledge Fan Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 29, 2006 Location: Long Branch, N.J. Posts: 2,577	Leonard Stern was too busy working on "GET SMART"... ...(and developing his next series, the short-lived Richard Mulligan vehicle, "THE HERO" [NBC] and Jack Sheldon's "RUN BUDDY RUN" [CBS]) to be involved in the day-to-day operations of "SUPERMARKET SWEEP". He may have been the "executive producer", but the production company he was associated with, David Susskind's 'Talent Associates', actually "packaged" the series.

01-15-2010, 04:54 PM	#8
angiefan happy labor day! Forum Regular Join Date: Apr 15, 2006 Location: grand blanc,michigan Posts: 618	December 20,1965 The late Michael Jackson was on the dating game? I know The late John Ritter was.

08-01-2009, 09:31 PM	#2
glickmam Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 03, 2007 Posts: 661	Al Howard did not produce the ABC version, he only produced the Lifetime/PAX version. The ABC version was produced by Leonard Stern, the same man who produced the NBC/CBS espionage sitcom Get Smart. Howard, did, however, create both versions.

08-03-2009, 10:48 AM	#3
howilu Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 20, 2003 Location: St. Louis Park, MN Posts: 1,959	I remember the original Supermarket Sweep occasionally listed in the TV Guide as "Market Sweep."

01-16-2010, 09:05 PM	#10
glickmam Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 03, 2007 Posts: 661	Indeed, day-to-day operations on Supermarket Sweep were handled by producer Jerome Schnur, who previously worked as a director for the Goodson-Todman game shows Beat the Clock and Two for the Money.

01-17-2010, 04:47 AM	#11
TV Knowledge Fan Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 29, 2006 Location: Long Branch, N.J. Posts: 2,577	Yep... Jerome Schnur also worked on G-T's "THE NAME'S THE SAME" for a brief period as well. I haven't seen any of the surviving kinescopes of "SUPERMARKET SWEEP" to acertain who did what, but I appreciate the additional information, 'glickmam'!