Um, I don’t know why I thought of this recently, but does anybody else out there remember watching Date Night TV? It was only the most amazing show to come out of Pittsburgh in the 90′s. It may have also been the ONLY show to come out of Pittsburgh in the 90′s.
If you’ve ever seen it, then you know just exactly what I’m talking about. If you haven’t seen it, then just imagine this: drunken Pittsburghers being interviewed as they look for love at local bars/clubs. It was the 90′s so there was a lot of gel, men wearing necklaces, ladies with big hair, colorblock shirts and flower prints. Most times the interviewee was with a group of his or her friends who always had lots of ridiculous drunken commentary. There was also ALWAYS some jagoff in the background yelling “Woooooo!!!” and since it was a local show there was about a 65% chance that you actually KNEW said jagoff.
And if all that wasn’t enough, I have two more words for you: Banana Don. Banana Freakin’ Don.
I know they traveled around to various bars, but in my mind this show was always filmed in Chauncy’s. Chauncy’s! Look, I turned 21 in 2000 so I never even got to go out in the 90′s (hehehe) but let’s just say that in my teenage mind Chauncy’s was the epicenter of Aquanet, L.A. Looks gel, scrunchies, perms, big bangs, suburban divorcees out on the town for ladies’ night and men in silk shirts (The Husband confirms that my fantasy is mostly accurate). In short, it made for some amazing late-night television.
So why did this show get canceled? And even more important, why hasn’t anybody posted some of the old episodes on YouTube?
In conclusion, if you are somebody in Pittsburgh with access to tapes of this show, you need to get that shiz on YouTube. And even better, if you are somebody who appeared on Date Night TV, please please get in touch with me to tell me your story – did you find love? A few dinners and a make-out? A first date?
*But seriously I am not judging at all because I swear I spent the greater part of 2000 hanging out at Banana Joe’s!
Laurie Koozer: Writer. Reader. Lover of all things Pittsburgh.
Blogging Pittsburgh, readers, writers, pop culture and my book, What Happens on Sunday
I LOVED this show. If I remember correctly, it came on after Saturday Night Live. It was so incredibly awful. I’d love to see clips on YouTube.
I just came across this article, I was one of the hosts & the producer. When I quit in 2002, they just put the show in re-runs for 5 years. Those were some good times – I wish I had some outtake reels…yep the stuff we couldn’t air. I agree that the old shows should be on Youtube – I would love to see some of that stuff again. We went to different bars but there were a few that we had carte blanche – we could just show up & they would let us shoot without a big hassle, Donzi’s & Chauncey’s were 2 of them – that’s why we ended up there so often. Thanks for the article – brings back some wild memories.
Thanks for your comment, Lisa! I think you can see that a lot of people enjoyed your show, but you probably already knew that!
I just came upon this message board as well…I don’t know how I could forget about this classic show! Whenever I would be home on a Sat night, that’s what I would watch (in my late-night viewing!) I was one to frequent Chauncy’s…& all through the 90′s pretty much! Turning 21 in ’93, I caught it in it’s prime in the 90′s! Never had the chance to be on ‘Date Night’ though, but the memories we all hold there will never fade! I had hardly any responsibilities then, & life was stress-free! Have A Nice Day Cafe was a popular place also! If any of the (former) avid club-goers are about or are my age, you would remember Pete’s Wild Life?! That place was NUTS! That was about ’95 or so! They celebrated midnight every night they were open lol! Donzi’s was a huge place to go! Metropol & their 80′s Sat. nights they had was another! Could I do this today down there in the ‘Burgh, no, mainly cause the ‘original’ places we went started to close & new ones open, but by that time we were tapped lol…If we did try ‘Bongo’s (Chauncy’s) or any of the other clubs that took over, they were never the same as the original…But the memories will remain forever! Thanks for the memories
Not a native Pittsburgher, but I did live there in the early 2000s – among the best years of my life.
If I happened to be home on a Saturday, I’d catch a minute or two before realizing I should be in bed.
I was a little older than the clientele I saw (I was born in 1974) and I’ve never been one to barhop. Still, though, it did look like entertaining…
Oh… being several years older than you I was over 21 when this was on the air and I absolutely LOVED this show. But I generally didn’t frequent the types of bars where they would film the show. I did like going to Kangaroo’s but wouldn’t go there too often because it meant having to drive.
There were plenty of nights when I would be out at some bar or other but make sure I went home to watch this show (and yes, I did occasionally see people I knew).
I don’t understand how this show ever went off the air. Their overhead had to be close to zero. It was a pioneer in the reality TV genre.
Went home to watch the show!!! Now that is the kind of dedication I am talking about….
I have so much to say about this but my brain is frazzled, so this may be very disjointed.
So number 1 – I was of legal age to be at the establishments while this was going down; however, it was during my former life in a really jacked up relationship where “girls night” was sitting at the ex’s family’s dingy bar playing country on the juke box.
Number 2 – I made it a point to watch for people who I knew on there. And YES, I knew some people who were contestants (?) on this show. It was always the same thing…the dudes I knew were all meatheads who tried to be subtle but were not successful at insinuating they’re looking to “get down.” The girls all did the same thing… giggled and were all, “I like, don’t know! I like just want to have fun! ”
Number 3 – Please go back to the link and watch the host’s demo reel…amazing!
Number 4 – You didn’t mention Donzi’s. My biggest wondering about that place was always WHY on earth did they have carpeting? Early in the night the carpet was sticky and by the end of the night it was always soggy! GROSS!
Number 5 – I don’t know if it even exists anymore but about 2-3 years ago Comcast had dating profiles OnDemand and they were HILARIOUS! My favorite was the lady with the cat sweater.
Best show ever!!!! I would watch and wish that I was old enough to be out at Chauncy’s in Station Square or Have a Nice Day Cafe’ in the Strip. Unfortunately, by the time I was 21 both the TV show and Chauncy’s were a thing of Pittsburgh’s past. I had to settle for Ref’s at Station Square and watching people dance on the bar at Tequila Willies on the water.