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Take Me Out

Joel Creasey is in his element as Seven's new Cupid host.

One thing is clear from the first episode of Seven’s new dating show Take Me Out -Joel Creasey has this show wrapped around his finger, baby.

Owning the stage from beginning to end, Creasey is given free rein to ad-lib and double-entendre his way through the gameplay. And when the host is having such natural fun, chances are high so too will the audience.

Take Me Out owes is derivation to Taken Out, a FremantleMedia Australia-devised format which screened on TEN in 2008 with host James Kerley. Although it didn’t survive too long it was tweaked and produced overseas, most notably as China’s cult If You Are the One.

Now it has come full circle, returning to Australia in a one hour format with a shinier floor and a “Knight in Shining Armani” host.

The format is invitingly simple. There are 30 single woman who are presented with 1 single bloke. The more info they learn about him -his work, his hobbies and romantic aspirations- the more they will like or dislike him.

“No likey, no lighty” Creasey instructs, as 30 lit podiums are whittled down to just 2. Then the power shifts and the bloke decides who he wants. Sometimes the prospects are cruel, with the majority of women unimpressed with the offer. On other occasions it’s a polite catfight for a hottie and the challenge of standing out without looking too eager.

The lucky couple, and there are 4 across the opening episode, win a sublime beach getaway, “and by that we mean the Gold Coast” divulges Creasey. Yup, even in the 1980s Perfect Match stretched the budget to Great Keppel or Tangalooma Resort.

Amongst the 30 girls is an endurance hula hoop performer (who knew?), model, Indigenous artist and the giddy Mallory whose celebrity shoulder-rubbing thus far extends to meeting Paul “Fatty” Vautin. Producers  have encouraged them to dance, whoop and deliver punchline responses, which is part of an over-producing problem.

The single blokes also play to the studio audience, with one proving to have stripper skills and another acrobatic flair (we now get demonstrations). It makes me question if they are straight from casting agents and whether their intentions are as genuine as Mallory’s….

Yet while this doesn’t enjoy the quirky cultural insights of China’s version (“When you came on stage you looked like a noodle”) it is an easy watch. The format has fun with speed dating in a way that The Bachelor would never entertain, although could be short and sweet at 30 instead of 60 minutes.

Viewers will probably be demanding a gender swap with 30 men after the first 2 episodes and a same-sex version after 3. Seven is understood to have filmed a short-run with all remaining contestants rolled over from episode to episode, so they won’t be happening anytime soon.

Nevertheless, Creasey as Camp Cupid is in his element as master of ceremonies here and if dating shows are your thang, you’ll want to swipe right.

Take Me Out screens 7:30pm Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th September on Seven.

19 Responses

  1. I’ve seen China’s “If You Are The One” a few times and I must admit it was pretty entertaining and quite funny in parts despite the sub titles. So yeah, I’ll be looking forward to something similar.

    1. Unfortunately, there is a segment of viewers for whom this fluff will appeal. And very few of them are amongst the contributors here. This could be a ratings-getter like MAFS, where quality doesn’t matter.

  2. As a big fan of watching If You Are The One, I hope this translates to Australia (or well i suppose in this case, *back* to Australia)
    One of the reasons it works so well in the Chinese format is because the girls are mainly super harsh on the guys, any character fault and usually the guy is shut down pretty quickly. When a guy does get a match it is then a reasonably big deaI.
    I wonder if Australian women will be too forgiving and nearly every guy will get a date. That would be disappointing.

    1. The promo that I’ve seen looked *really* trashy (compare the G rating of the Chinese version to Australia’s M rated version), so I would expect a lot of shameless exhibitionism and lack of decency (who needs personality and decorum when you can have a six-pack… ugh), which is a sad reflection on how low and superficial people’s standards are on this side of the pond.

      Unlike Shania Twain, the contestants on this show seem a little *too* easily impressed.

  3. Thanks to my Fetch TV, I caught a preview of this and while the contestants didn’t seem very natural, I did like Creasey as the host.

    Also the stage setup where the contestants parade/dance past the girls – I’m not a fan of.

    I’m not usually a 7 viewer and although I definitely won’t watch this live (against Survivor), I’ll check this out on catch up or Fetch. I’d like the contestants to get off the red cordial though.

  4. How long before Ocker guy from the promos turns up on Home and Away as one of Alf’s long lost grandchildren?
    I’ll pass on this. 60 mins of Joel Creasey is just to hard to take.

    1. Agreed. I caught the online premiere episode and had to fast forward and skip once I hit the 20-minute mark. Would give it another chance if it was a shorter, half hour program but this just went on for too long and couldn’t sustain my interest.

      1. I agree it went on too long. Would work better as a 4 or 5x 30 minute stripped format with one contestant looking for love each week and viewers being able to get to know all contestants a bit better. Maybe reduce the flirty 30 and turn them into a tasty 20 or something more politically correct

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