Daytime TV Got Surprisingly Risky
When you think of game shows, especially in the 1970s, you likely don’t imagine too much to get worked up over. Well, things were actually a bigger free-for-all than you remember! Amid those bright lights and smiling faces, producers frequently tested the boundaries of daytime television with suggestive jokes, uncomfortable experiments, and encouraging people to embarrass themselves. With that, let’s take a look at five shows that pushed it the most.
1. Three’s a Crowd
Few game-show ideas created marital tension as efficiently as Three’s a Crowd, which premiered in 1979. The idea was this: married men answered personal questions before their wives and female secretaries competed to prove who knew them better. As you can imagine, the backlash led to its cancellation in early 1980.
2. The Gong Show
Beginning in 1976, The Gong Show gave amateur performers the chance to impress judges before someone struck an enormous gong. Its increasingly suggestive acts rattled NBC, especially after the infamous “Popsicle Twins” performance drew viewer complaints in ‘77. Panelist Jaye P. Morgan was also banned after exposing herself during a taping, which definitely didn’t help.
NBC Television Network. on Wikimedia
3. The Dating Game
The playful premise of The Dating Game got shot down almost immediately. Why? Because of convicted killer Rodney Alcala’s 1978 appearance. Contestant Cheryl Bradshaw selected him without seeing him, but refused to go on the promised date because he made her uncomfortable, which was probably the smartest move of her life.
4. The Newlywed Game
In this so-called show, couples shared intimate details and started arguments. It returned to syndication in 1977 with even more double entendres, including questions about intimacy, household habits, and former partners that often produced humiliating answers. Viewers might have laughed, but the program was also criticized for turning private disagreements into entertainment.
5. The $1.98 Beauty Show
Rip Taylor hosted this deliberately tacky parody of beauty pageants, which first aired in 1978. Female contestants endured swimsuit judging, jokes about their weight, and embarrassing talent segments before one received a piddly plastic crown, wilted vegetables, and $1.98. It was meant as satire, but its behavior was more insulting than clever.
