"Ex-treme Dating"
Rating: 4/4
Host: Jillian Barberie
Premise: Granted a day off from whatever Los Angeles restaurant they wait tables at, two aspiring actors/models/strippers struggle to keep their conversations focused on threesomes and preferred sexual positions while dining at Chi-Chi's, getting a tattoo, or performing fellatio in a questionably sanitary hot tub.
Bottom line: Its affable host, the charmingly untalented Jillian Barberie of "Fox NFL Sunday" fame, saves what would otherwise be a forgettable contribution to the growing cesspool of reality dating shows. Barberie's MILF-like wardrobe has the tacky appeal of a Forever 21 clearance rack, and her snarky one-liners are delivered with a self-deprecative irony as obvious (and liberally applied) as her hair extensions. You know, let's get straight to the point: Barberie is a freakin' babe. Isn't that reason enough to watch, especially when you find yourself intoxicated on a weekday at 1 a.m. with nothing better to do?
-MICHAEL VALLEBUONA
"The Fifth Wheel"
Rating: 2/4
Host: Aisha Tyler
Premise: Plummeting from an admirable "B" to a discreditable "C" level on the draconian celebrity hierarchy, the ever-sassy Aisha Tyler left E!'s "Talk Soup," where talk shows are apparently still shocking, to pose as a cheeky ersatz cupid on basic cable's latest illegitimate offspring, "The Fifth Wheel." In a sordidly presumptuous modus operandi, she introduces a pair of stunning ladies to a corresponding pair of overly buff gentlemen. As the quartet becomes drunk, and subsequently "informal," an even more attractive character is presented, inciting a cheapened Nietzschean struggle of the contestants' horny wills!
Bottom line: In combining an awkward social situation with an abundance of relentless hormones, the tolerance fades as quickly as the liquor. The contestants, pathetic though indubitably more popular in high school than any AU student, throw hardly provoked epithets at one another, making the show, despite an occasional bikini shot of a mildly, but nonetheless distastefully, overweight female, a delight to watch ... while mortally bored!
-AGATHA TOMASIK
"Blind Date"
Rating: 4/4
Host: Roger Lodge
Premise: Lodge takes the audience behind the scenes on blind dates between sexy singles in their 20s and 30s. At the end of the night, each person reveals whether they wish to go on another date.
Bottom line: The show includes raunchy adult content and entertaining, graphically inserted conversation bubbles to add humor to the sometimes awkward dates. Whether or not the date is amusing, the conversation bubbles take the show over the top. Lodge amusingly ridicules the participants with his quick wit. Sometimes participants find love, other times friendship, but most of the time they find an amusing awkward date. Late night viewers will quickly become obsessed with the show's endless reruns.
This December, more zany episodes will be available on the "Blind Date Uncensored" DVD.
-JENNIFER VARADI
"ElimiDATE"
Rating: 4/4
Host: None,but perhaps that's a good thing.
Premise: This half-hour cat-fight has four attractive and brash contestants - often scantily dressed women - fight, scratch and flash their way to the heart of one lucky contestant. At the end of each dating round, often between drunken slurs and threats, the contestant must eliminate one date until they choose their match.
Bottom Line: The exciting twist of the show is added in when the lucky contestant sees what he or she can convince each of the four daters to do - take off their top, give lap dances, or kiss another girl. And hey, the drunken commentary of the losers isn't bad, either.
- MACKENZIE RYAN
"Star Dates"
Rating: 3/4
Host: Reggie Gaskins
Premise: This show doesn't follow just any two ordinary middle-aged Americans on a blind date. It adds excitement by pairing up a normal person with a pseudo-celebrity. Although most of these D-list actors have said goodbye to their fame and fortune long ago, their appearance on E! implies they are hoping to say hello to love.
Bottom line: Although the show could be praised for its G-rated content, many of the episodes can't be enjoyed by younger viewers who have never heard of the celeb-ish stars. The show might be less amusing to some because of its lack of vulgarity, but its substance outruns "Star Dates'" competitors.
-J.V.
"A Dating Story"
Rating: 4/4
Host: Sabrina Soto
Premise: This dating series lets a matchmaker choose two of his or her friends to go on a blind date. The show takes an in-depth look at the events during the date. By showing each participant preparing for the date, the audience learns more about each person.
Review: Aimed at an older audience, the show airs during the day and contains more substance than any other reality dating show. Unlike other blind dating shows that often feature people with strange personalities, "A Dating Story" features ordinary people looking for love. To watch a real dating show about people who don't have sex and get naked on their first date, be sure to tune in.
-J.V
