User:Daniel Benfield/Studs Video Archive

Syndicated, Daily: March 11, 1991 - September 3, 1993 (taped at Fox Television Center in Hollywood)

Studs was a dating show hosted by Mark DeCarlo that had two guys date three girls prior to the taping, then go onto the show and answer various questions about each other. The game ended with each lady revealing who they wanted to go out again with: one guy, the other, or neither (I guess "both" wasn't an option).

For the most part, I think the show's...okay. The format is a neat twist on the subgenre, the set is serviceable, and DeCarlo is solid as host...but one big issue is that while the players' onscreen answers were their own, they were usually rewritten by the producers to be more salacious or somesuch (a disclaimer during the credits notes that answers "may have been paraphrased or edited"). Per this Game Show Forum post, one episode had Mark ask a lady to elaborate on her answer, to which she said "I don't write this stuff!"

The show began as a trial run in Spring-Summer 1991, going national in September. Due to being coproduced by a production arm of Fox, Studs was seen primarily on FOX stations.

Studs was unexpectedly thrust back into the spotlight in 2006 when GSN's The 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time special programming listed it as #47. While no footage was shown (only a generic publicity photo of DeCarlo), its presence led to Game Show Forum members reacting with "Friggin' Studs" and variants thereof, completely floored that GSN thought it both worthy of top-50 slotting and a better show than Blockbusters (#48) and Treasure Hunt (#49) - an insult on top of #50 being 3's A Crowd. Personally, I think it's

While the show isn't too uncommon online, I kept seeing videos pop up on YouTube and got mildly sick of it. I don't really like dating shows, I generally don't make Video Archives on shows I'm not a fan of, and nobody requested this to me...so why am I doing this?

Two reasons: one, where else are you gonna find this stuff compiled together? And two, in order to definitively prove why whoever thought Freakin' Studs was worth putting in a "Top 50 of All-Time" list was kinda dumb (I could maybe see it being in the bottom tenth of a Top 100, though).

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 ©1991-93 STF Productions/FOX Television Studios and associated entities.

1991

 * Taped 1991 (Laurent vs. Phill; Girls: Teressa, Cindy, & Kimberlena)
 * [JIM PERRY opens the show!]
 * Taped 1991 (Doug vs. Darn; Girls: Robin, Jujy, & Davica; begins just before Mark introduces Robin)
 * [Dated 1992 by the uploader.]


 * November 1991 (Slumber Party Show: Ryan vs. Jacko; Girls: Stacy, Catherine, & Meredith; KCPQ repeat from 8/14/92 with commercials, ends during first commercial break)
 * November 28, 1991 (WNYW promo, with some clips)


 * 1991-92 (Milton vs. Eric; Girls: Val, Tabia, & Lisa; montage including intro and final reveals, ends just after Mark signs off)
 * 1991-92 (Rip vs. Bret; Girls: Julie, Lizbeth, & Lisa; first two minutes only, ends as Mark begins talking to Rip)
 * [Listed as 1991 by the uploader.]
 * 1991-92 (Albert vs. Merrill; Girls: Tiffany, Donnelle, & Melinda; "shaky-cam" upload, first segment only)
 * [Listed as 1991 by the uploader.]
 * 1991-92 (Matt vs. Chad; Girls: Joanne, ?, & Jenny; montage, primarily focusing around Matt)
 * [Listed as 1992 by the uploader. Matt notes that "Mardi Gras is coming up."]

1992

 * January 20, 1992 (Ron Goldman vs. Anthony {taped 1991}; Girls: Diane, Vala, & Constance; taped from KITN with some commercials, partial first segment and full last segment only)
 * February 1992 (Lawrence vs. Jim; Girls: Dana, Cammy, & Debra; has some commercials, begins during logo animation, ends during credits {seemingly the station's doing, since an Arsenio Hall Show promo appears right afterward})
 * [Advert at 5:35 is for the film Blame It On the Bellboy, debuting "Friday, March 6". Another at 16:02 is for Gate II, premiering "Friday, February 28". Still another at 25:10 is for Wayne's World (released 2/14/92), "now playing".]
 * March 4, 1992 (Dave vs. Anthony; Girls: Candy, Melissa, & Leslie; has commercials, ends during credits {seemingly the station's doing, since an Arsenio Hall Show promo appears right afterward})


 * Spring 1992 (Baseball Show: Chris vs. Dennis; Girls: Vicki, Gina, & Tiffany)
 * [Includes a local interview with Chris after the show.]
 * Spring 1992 (Spring Break Show: Kenny vs. Jason; Girls: Erica, Tina Marie, & Laurie {Part 2, Part 3}; taped from CFCN, ends shortly after fee plugs)
 * [Taped at Universal Studios Orlando.]


 * May 22, 1992 (Larry vs. Fred; Girls: Kelly, Shiela, & Toy; taped from WPRI, ends during credits)
 * May 27, 1992 (John vs. Jerry; Girls: Connie, Sharon, & Gabriella {Part 2, Part 3}; begins just before logo animation)
 * May 28, 1992 (Scott vs. Jason; Girls: Carla, Jennifer, & Emily; taped from WNYW, with commercials)

Host's chair and guys' couch change from tan to red, girls' couch changes from tan to green, carpet changes from blue and white squares to gray with a large purple curve
 * July 1992 (Richie vs. Rick; Girls: Tracy, Gina, & Adina; audio is a bit weird)
 * [Closing voiceover plugs that night's lineup, including an "all-new" Melrose Place.]

Carpet changes to alternating blue and white diamonds
 * September 1992 (Friday: Eddie vs. Ted {both back from last season}; Girls: Gina, Connie, & Shari {Parts 2, 3, and 4}; taped from CFCN, ends just into fee plugs
 * [Mark says it's "the first week of our second season", later making comments indicating that it's Friday.8


 * 1992-93 (John vs. Dan; Girls: Lisa, Darcy, & Heather; ends shortly after second lady's final choice is revealed)
 * 1992-93 ("Fantasy Week", Day ?: Darren vs. John; Girls: unknown; brief clip only)
 * [Listed as 1992 by the uploader. An article about John's experience is here.]
 * 1992-93 ("Studs Across America" Week, Day ?: Nick vs. Blake; Girls: Kimberly, Jennifer, & Karen; taped from CTCN, first minute or so missing, video is vertically cropped and horizontally stretched, ends during fee plugs)
 * [Karen was on the show "in July". Mark is dressed in formal wear, the guys are winners of contestant searches (in New Orleans and New York, respectively), and the set is decorated with the same patriotic stuff as the baseball-themed episode.]

1993

 * 1993 (WXXV promo for next Monday's episode, with some clips)
 * 1993 (Justin vs. Ken; Girls: Sandi, Julie, & Felicity)
 * [Closing voiceover plugs that night's Melrose Place: "Does Billy's new boss want him for his brains, or his body?" This is rather vague, but based on episode summaries may be "Pushing Boundaries", first aired 4/7/93 (itself notable for being directed by Marty Pasetta).]

Parodies
Not surprisingly, Freakin' Studs was such a hit that several shows made fun of it.


 * October 18, 1992 (The Ben Stiller Show skit called "Amish Studs")
 * 199? (Almost Live! skit called "Studs from Microsoft")