B Movies Blog

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping MTV dating shows into the ol’ VCR.

Well, friends, it’s time to talk about something that clearly didn’t age well. 

We’ve talked about MTV shows. 

We’ve talked about Awkward.

The natural progression here is to talk about MTV dating shows. 

As I already said, these shows ABSOLUTELY DID NOT AGE WELL. 

I don’t even know where to start. 

The misogyny, the invasion of personal space, the lack of diversity, the lack of plus-size inclusion, you name it. 

It’s not great, and that’s an understatement. I don’t condone any of these things, but unfortunately, it’s a part of pop-culture history that happened. 

Additionally, when I was doing my research, I found a lot more dating shows that I remembered. I also found an article from Nylon I thought I would include. This way, if you watched more MTV reality dating shows than I did, you can reminisce there. 

The big four that I’m going to concentrate on today are: 

• Singled Out 
• Next 
• Room Raiders 
• Parental Control 

I’m also toying with the idea of doing a separate piece on MTV prank shows because they’re also, um, awful, so I’ve excluded any content that leans more into prank territory. 

Alrighty, that should do us for disclaimers and introductions. 

Without further ado, let’s dive into four MTV reality dating series. 

Singled Out

The original iteration of Singled Out aired from ‘95 – ‘98 with Chris Hardwick (who is trash) hosting for all three years, and Jenny McCarthy (who’s problematic AF) co-hosting from ‘95 – ‘97; Carmen Electra would come in to host for the last year. 

The premise was simple: 

1. The Picker (like, c’mon) would be blindfolded in front of 50 contestants. 
2. The Picker would use various questions and categories to whittle down the Dating Pool. 
3. The Picker and their match would then meet each other and be treated to various prizes. 

Of course, the questions were…questionable. 

You’ve probably guessed that everyone was “traditionally” hot and thin. 

You get the picture. 

However, Singled Out did cement itself so firmly in the zeitgeist that it appeared in both Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion AND, in the aptly titled Boy Meets World episode, “Singled Out.” 

Video source: Viva 90s 

Next 

Next, we have Next. Next aired from 2005 – 2008 and had a more simplified (but still deeply problematic) premise than Singled Out. TL;DR – Contestants would be paired on blind dates with other people and had the option to end the date by yelling, “Next!” 

Contestants would also get more money the longer they stayed on the date and would choose between love and money at the end. 

I’m not kidding. 

However, the real reason people watched was the unhinged bios presented with each contestant. They included everything from nicknames to, you guessed it, very problematic takes, like questioning the status of someone’s virginity. 

If you think I’m joking, check out this Buzzfeed article. 

Video source: TV Shows & Movies & Commercials

Room Raiders 

Out of all four shows, Room Raiders is the one I’m the most guilty of watching; I watched it RELIGIOUSLY. In fact, as a kid, I would pretend like I was one of The Raiders, hold up different things in my room, and talk about them. 

Y’all, I have no shame anymore with what all I’ve said on the internet thus far. 

I digress. 

If you aren’t familiar with the premise of this particular show, let me get you up to speed: 

1. The Raider would sufficiently rip apart three different bedrooms. There was usually a black light involved because 2003 – 2009 television was the height of class. 
2. The three raidees would then have the opportunity to return the favor. 
3. After all the raiding had been completed, The Raider would then choose to go on a date with one of the three raidees. 

Oh yeah, and all three raidees watched The Raider tear apart their rooms from a van. 

Room Raiders lasted for eight whole seasons from 2003 – 2009, and I feel like that might’ve been a little *too* long. 

I don’t think you need me to even discuss everything wrong with this. But, I’ll link a Kurtis Conner video below where he watches a problematic-themed video to really drive my point home. 

Video source: Kurtis Conner

Parental Control 

And finally, we have Parental Control. Oh boy. 

So, Parental Control is a bit more layered than the other shows we’ve covered, so let me break it down: 

1. Some of the contestants’ loved ones didn’t like the contestant’s partner. 
2. These said loved ones would then pick two potential suitors for the contestant. 
3. The contestant would go on dates with both of the picks. 
4. The contestant would then eliminate one of these picks. 
5. The contestant would then choose whether to be single, stay in their current relationship, or to give the new relationship a go. 

The contestant’s loved ones would also watch the entire thing unfold. 

Yeah…there’s a lot to unpack here. 

But don’t take my word for it. Check out the clip below that proves a) this show was obviously fake and b) how problematic and cringy this entire thing is. 

Video source: TV Shows & Movies & Commercials

Wrap Up 

Now listen, I’m not here to say things have necessarily gotten better. We still have shows where conventionally hot people hook up with other conventionally hot people. 

I do think we still have a long way to go with reality dating shows being more size inclusive, diverse, you name it. 

I personally believe that you’re attracted to whoever you’re attracted to, and leagues are bullshit, but I’ll save my soapbox. 

For someone who talks A LOT about nostalgia, I would definitely be okay with these dating shows never coming back. 
And this is coming from someone who religiously watches shit like The Traitors.