"Dating Game," Scenes D and E

Bob Gatenby is described as "very handsome."  In the script, Squiggy is supposed to stare offstage, but onscreen he claps for himself.  Monique is described as "gorgeous."  Squiggy excitedly exclaiming, "Hygienist!" seems to be an adlib.  Lenny and Squiggy "foam at the mouth" at her introduction.

Lenny's agreement with Squiggy about Bachelor Number One looking like Tarzan's monkey but "with a different suit on" appears to be an adlib.  And someone added the stage direction of Lenny facing Squiggy when he delivers the scripted line, "I could never lie to you, my darling" to Squiggy, who thanks him.  Again, the boys' Ronnie after Monique says she loves bedroom stories was not in the script.  (But Jim cleaning his glasses was.)

In the script, Squiggy says Lenny's fairytale is his favorite story, but onscreen he calls it beautiful and they briefly discuss the moral.  The water in Squiggy's bathtub being "lukewarm" was an added detail, as was the word "globule" in Squiggy's honey answer.

Squiggy jumping into Lenny and Bob G's argument about Lenny not understanding Monique's "most romantic word" question was not in the script, and I'm going to credit Lander with the great line, "That is the oldest trick in the Dating Game book, Jim!"

In the script, Squiggy says that he, Lenny, Laverne, and Shirley were "molded into one" which was embellished as "one heaving mound of flesh."  They dropped Lenny telling Squiggy, after he says Laverne and Shirley's number is in the phone book, "The girls are gonna like that!"

After Jim Lange throws it to commercial, Lenny had the line, "I'll bet she's some woman.  Centerfold, stewardess, dental hygienist. She could clean my teeth naked at 30,000 feet."

In the script, after Monique chooses Squiggy, he "howls with excitement, then assumes a suave pose," but we just see him calmly react.  He was also supposed to tell her, "You won't regret it, my little liverspot."

Lenny kissing Monique's legs is not a stage direction in the script.  Squiggy originally called Monique a "she-devil" and a "human wrecking ball," rather than "harlot" and "trollop," and I actually prefer the earlier insults this time.  Also, in the script Squiggy "puts his arm around Lenny" after asking if Len is busy.  Instead, we got their "stupid" handshake a little later.

OK, so this is as good a point as any to mention that DG opens with Monique and her three bachelors.  And yet, Scene E, which includes "the other winning couple," seems to be set right after Scene D.  And they used the last bit of C to make the tag.

However, in the script E is the Tag and it's set "at the end of the show," as in the end of The Dating Game.  It was filmed faithfully, and the final stage direction, "Both couples dance around excitedly as the end credits are flashed," did indeed happen.

A few thoughts:

• I like that Lenny's cuffs are "Jerry Lewis" style.
• I appreciate that both Jim Lange and the stage directions consider Lenny and Squiggy to be a couple.
• There's no question that Scene D is the highlight of this script.  It runs to fifteen pages and a lot was kept, but of course McKean and Lander punched it up further.
• As with what aired, I think they could've omitted Rhonda, Frank, and Edna and it would be a stronger episode.  Maybe they could've had more of Laverne and Shirley talking to their boyfriends about DG before they watch.  Still, I can definitely see why this would become one of the best episodes of the season.