10 absurd, unconventional and highly entertaining reality TV dating series

By Kenny Herzog
Special to MSN TV

It's been a long time since "The Dating Game" or even "Love Connection" filled the broadcast air with PG-rated romance and the pursuit of old-fashioned chemistry. Jump ahead to 2012, and TV execs are either pairing up ordinary people with "celebrity" singles like Pauly D (see: FOX's "The Choice, airing Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT) or pitting hotties against each other in a cutthroat (but, of course, sexy) process of elimination (e.g. NBC's "Love in the Wild," airing Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT).

To invoke the Talking Heads, you may be asking yourself, "How did we get here?" The short answer? Lots of debased, tawdry, experimental messing around with the tireless genre by cable outlets and big networks alike over the past decade. The longer explanation? Just take a look through the following 11 slides, which look back at some of recent history's most over-the-top dating show concepts. By the time you're through, online hookups might seem conventional in comparison.

Bing: 'Love in the Wild' | 'The Choice'

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"Love in the Wild" airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. "The Choice" airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on FOX.

(NBC/FOX)