User:Daniel Benfield/Newlywed Game Video Archive

I gotta admit that while I'm not a fan of The Newlywed Game, I can enjoy it at times. I'm sure there's a lot more late-1970s and mid-1980s episodes out there, but the ones listed here are those I find notable for one reason or another.

LEGAL STUFF SO I DON'T GET SUED: I'm only linking to these videos, none of which were uploaded by me, for the purposes of research and as a public record. Footage ©1966-74/1977-80/1984-89/1996-99 Chuck Barris Productions and associated entities.

Original Series (1966-74)
ABC Daytime: July 11, 1966 - December 20, 1974

ABC Primetime: January 7, 1967 - August 30, 1971

The original run started out, as many shows do, roughly: Scott Beach was announcer, the logo seen during the intro had a frame around it, the one behind Bob Eubanks had inverted colors (at least as far as black-and-white goes), the score displays were square, and the bonus question was worth 35 points; these were all changed to their more familiar forms by the end of 1967.

Daytime
 * July 29, 1966 (#15: Larry & Paula Johnson/Bob & Judy Miller/Henry & Terri Robinson/Ronnie & Ellen Gichoni; has commercials, B/W video)
 * 1966 (Brief clips; no audio, very blue-tinted video)
 * September 21, 1968 (Henry & Darlene Kane/Gary & Phyllis Dilger/Chuck & Barbara Riley/Jerry & Shirley Dockle; has commercials, B/W video)


 * 1972 (Danny & Tammy Roberts/John & Carol Hewer/Wally & Cindy Murphy/Bob & Margaret Filpot; taped from GSN)
 * 1973 (Greg & Lois Landiger/Ken & Joanne Barbry?/Marty & Marsha Katz/Tom & Mary Foundy?; taped from GSN)
 * December 20, 1974 (Finale/Alumni Day: Lore & Frey/Kenny & Debbie/Tim & Sandy Jones/Jay & Francine, with a tearful goodbye from Bob plus the crew celebrating Christmas during the credits; taped from GSN on 12/31/99 {"Y2Play"}, close only)

Nighttime
 * 1967 (Promo)
 * May 17, 1969 (#20-NEW/D-69: Tom & Sharon Shows?/Richard & Sherri Call?/Frank & Pat Tennesen?/Keith & Lyn Ackerman {taped 5/7/69}; taped from GSN {who accidentally shows the slate!}, opening only)

Late 1970s (1977-80)
Syndicated, Weekly?: September 5, 1977 - September 1980 (Season 2 began September 4, 1978)

The New Era (1984-89)
ABC Daytime: February 13 - 17, 1984 (5 episodes, taped January 27)

Syndicated, Daily: September 16, 1985 - June 2 [September 8], 1989 (Season 4 began September 12, 1988)

Began as a "pilot week" ABC plugged into the schedule at the time, with Jim Lange hosting and a slightly different set. Lange is a pretty good host, but here he's a bit ill-at-ease; I'd chalk that up to him having big shoes to fill.

The subsequent series is probably the most fun of the franchise, if only because this was when everything seemed to click again. November 30, 1987 brought a flurry of changes, most notably the set (now a nice blue with Eubanks standing between the two sets of couples) and the addition of a different guest model each week (modeling the bonus prize, now revealed at the start of the show); the start of Season 4 brought another change: the addition of cash, with the Bonus Question now having the couples bet all or part of their winnings.

All well and good, until Bob decided to leave the show. December 5, 1988 had him passing the torch to Paul Rodriguez, along with what was really an unnecessary overhaul of the set to this...weirdness I can't really describe; the theme was also changed to "The Book of Love", with this era's opening sequence debuting on December 6 (12/5 had the classic intro). While Paul was initially acted like a jerk in a suit, he mellowed out and became a pretty good host.

Jim Lange

Bob Eubanks

Yellow set

Blue set, normal scoring

Blue set, money format

Paul Rodriguez

Late 1990s (1996-99)
Syndicated, Daily: September 1996 - September 1999 (Seasons 2 and 3 began September 8, 1997 and September 14, 1998, respectively)

Season 1 was an attempt to "modernize" the show, now hosted by Gary Kroger, alongside The Dating Game. And by "modernize", I of course mean "pretty close to in-name-only". Some people like the 1996-97 version, but I don't.

Thankfully, smarter heads prevailed, and not only did Eubanks return in '97 but so did the classic theme and logo plus a variation of the classic set. Season 3, on the other hand, ditched the theme and set (and for some shows, the fourth couple).

Gary Kroeger

Bob Eubanks

Classic theme, classic-style set (1997-98)

Overhauled theme and set (1998-99)