Take Me Out (TV)

A British Game Show format that takes Speed Dating to a slightly different level, or if you want to be technical, The Dating Game meets One Versus a Hundred. One man faces 30 bachelorettes, all of which are standing at podiums with lights on them. In the first round, the women get to know the male contestant's name, hometown, and see him enter to the Leitmotif of his choice. Each bachlorette has a button on their podium they can press at any time to turn off their light, signifying that they've taken themselves out of competition for the man, probably because the man didn't try hard enough to woo them or because they don't like something about them that they've revealed. Or in simpler terms, "no lighty, no likey."

This process continues for two more rounds, which can include showing off a talent, or showing another video containing more details about the contestant's personal life. If any women remain after the 3rd round, the contestant narrows it down to two (obviously, if there's only 2 or fewer left, they don't need to do anything) and then asks them one question each to determine who he'll choose. The winning woman gets to on a date to Fernando's (or Cyprus in Series 3, or the "Take Me Out Resort" in the U.S. version), the result of which gets shown on the next episode. If one woman remains, well, she wins by default. If everyone goes out (referred to in-game as a "blackout"), it's game over, and the contestant gets to leave the stage to Celine Dion's version of "All By Myself". It's just that simple, really. Four games are played per episode, meaning the game is done at a pretty reasonable pace.

The show is based off an Australian format, and aired on ITV 1 in the United Kingdom. While some have thought the show to be cheap and lowbrow, it became a sleeper hit for the network; its Series 2 premiere netted almost 6 million viewers. An American version debuted on Fox on June 7, 2012, hosted by George Lopez, managing to be very faithful to its British counterpart.


 * Personnel
 * Game Show Host: Paddy McGuinness, George Lopez on U.S. version
 * The Announcer: Mark Thompson for the U.S. version (who is seemingly the announcer for every Fox game show)


 * Catch Phrase: "Single man, reveal yourself!"
 * "No lighty, no likey!"
 * "If you're turned off, turn off!"
 * Chippendales Dancer: The first U.S. episode had a contestant who pretty much ended up being one. His talent demonstration (billed by Lopez as something that would be happening on the show for the first time ever .. despite only being episode 1) turned off the one remaining person. As if saying that he would "bring Jersey Shore to the Vegas Strip" wasn't enough of a turn-off.