Quinnipiac students, both female and male, admit reality T.V. dating shows are addicting, but are nothing short of garbage.
“It’s all a bunch of bologna,” said junior marketing major Emma Selby. “None of the dates ever work out. They just want to be on T.V.”
On UPN’s “Shipmates”, a single couple is followed around for three days and two nights as they sail away to exotic places aboard the Carnival Cruise Lines.
Starting from the initial “hello” all the way to private goodbye videos, the camera never leaves the couple’s sight.
Shipmates capture all of the participants’ exposed emotions including their sexual tensions, which often lead to outright confrontation, according to Sony entertainment’s web site.
Like Shipmates, there is another dating show that attempts to set up a perfect match, but in a different way.
Instead of following around one couple, WB’s “elimiDATE”, has four people compete against each other for a date.
These contestants hope their charm and sex appeal will be enough to outsmart their competitors.
” ‘ElimiDAT’ is addicting and keeps me entertained,” said junior sociology major Petrina Ballas. “You never want to get up for commercials, because you just need to see what happens next.”
Throughout the course of the game, three of the four candidates are eliminated based on their performance or lack of ability to capture the chooser’s heart.
The hunger for victory and love does not stop there, according to one of UPN’s original dating shows, “Blind date”.
On this dating show a couple having never met before is filmed throughout the entire date.
Whether sparks are flying or volcanoes are about to erupt, the viewers witness it all.
Pure comedy is the main reason viewers keep watching, admitted Selby.
“I think the people on the show are bloody hilarious,” she said.
“I watch these shows for humor,” said junior broadcast major Emilio Sarullo. “It’s not like I’m looking for tips or anything.”
Whether it is for laughs or not, Sarullo admitted guys too tend to stop channel surfing when they see a dating show on T.V.
“I can name at least five guys who have watched and still do watch Blind date and MTV’s Dismissed,” he said.
Russell B. Barclay, associate Professor in the School of Communications, admitted he used to watch some dating shows back in the sixties.
The content of those shows, he said, were not even close to the material dating shows are made up of today.
In two words, his opinion of T.V. dating shows can be summed up, “Profit margin.”
Barclay said dating shows do not cost producers anything and there are no actors to pay, therefore nothing to lose.
“There are no real risks,” he said.
As far as the future for T.V. dating shows, students overwhelmingly feel that there is none.
“These shows are just a fad,” said junior nursing major Danielle Adamczyk. “Like everything else, it comes and goes in cycles.”
In addition to the anticipated failure of T.V. dating shows, there is also hope that people will come to their senses and go back to the traditional non-televised dating style.
In a T.V. review newspaper article titled, “Reality Dating Shows,” Georgetown University staff writer Kat Bloomfield urged students to listen to her plea.
“I beg everyone, go on a real date, just you and your date, and enjoy it,” she said. “I just need to believe that those kinds of things still exist.”
As of now, dating shows are still coming on strong.
Dating shows such as The Bachlor still have students and adults glued to the television.