Take this blog entry out

The debut of Fox's Dating Game times ten, a.k.a. Take Me Out, just flashed before my eyes. To my mild surprise, it didn't induce vomiting. I figured so much trashiness would rile my gut, or at least my easily ruffled sensibilities. (That's a joke, of course. I don't have sensibilities.)

But the show went down pretty easy. Dating shows radiate a natural cheesiness. After all, the whole idea started with Chuck Barris, who is unquestionably the world's cheesiest person and proud of it. So when in Cheesytown, just go cheeseball with everybody else. Which I did with Take Me Out, mostly.

The format is simple. Thirty young more-or-less ladies evaluate an eligible bachelor through three rounds of videos and live, er, performances. As the girls tune out on the guy, they turn off the lights on their podiums. If any lights are left burning at the end of the three rounds, the lucky guy gets to choose among the remaining femmes.

Of the four gents in the debut episode, two wiped out as all thirty lovelies waved bye-bye. I felt a little sorry for one of the losers, a Midwestern fellow who seemed like a decent enough sort. But when a video revealed that he was a hunter, I knew he was toast. The other loser was a smarm-bucket from Vegas, and I didn't sympathize.

The two winners were a drummer with the hair and tats to prove it, and a vaguely irritating charm machine from Italy. Next week we'll see how their dates succeeded, or not.

George Lopez hosted as yummily and yuckily as could be desired. The set and music were over the top because they have to be on a show like this. Dating contests are not my favorite neck of the game show woods, but Take Me Out was guilty fun. Next week I'll sample and review Fox's other dating venture, The Choice.

UPDATE: Final nationals were so-so for Take Me Out: a 1.3 rating in the 18-49 demo with 3.3 million total viewers. Second in the timeslot among the broadcast networks in 18-49, third in viewers. The Choice did a little better: a 1.8 rating in 18-49 with 4.4 million total viewers. First and second in the timeslot, respectively.