Woman of the Hour: Rodney Alcala's appearance on The Dating Game explained

A still from the Netflix movie Woman of the Hour (Image via Netflix)
A still from the Netflix movie Woman of the Hour (Image via Netflix)

The Dating Game was a popular dating game show from the 1970s, and is currently trending online due to the latest Netflix film Woman of the Hour. Anna Kendrick has directed and stars in the true-crime-based movie that tells the story of The Dating Game killer Rodney Alcala.

He went on the show in 1978 and won a date with Cheryl Bradshaw while he was in the middle of a killing spree in California. Alcala had murdered at least three women before his television appearance and went on to kill at least two more after filming the episode.

Although Alcala won the date with Cheryl, she felt uncomfortable after meeting him and didn't go ahead with their date. The killer was caught on July 24, 1979, and was convicted of seven murders, even though police believed that he potentially had over 130 victims.

Rodney Alcala died in jail from natural causes on July 24, 2021, while on death row.


Exploring Rodney Alcala's The Dating Game episode in detail

Daniel Zovatto seen as Rodney Alcala in the film (Image via Netflix)
Daniel Zovatto seen as Rodney Alcala in the film (Image via Netflix)

While it aired, each episode of The Dating Game featured three male contestants vying for a date with the episode's bachelorette. The male contestants were hidden from the woman's view, and they had a question and answer session. It is only after the bachelorette chooses a winner that the two get to meet in person.

Rodney Alcala appeared in the show's episode that aired on September 13, 1978. The host, Jim Lange, introduced Rodney as a "successful photographer" who has a passion for motorcycling and skydiving.

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In The Dating Game episode, Cheryl Bradshaw proceeded to get to know her potential suitors by asking them playful questions. She asked Rodney, who was Bachelor#1, "What's your best time?" He answered, "The best time is at night..... night time is when it gets really good."

"I am serving you for dinner. What are you called, and what do you look like?" was Cheryl's next question

With a glint in his eyes, Rodney replied, "I'm called the banana, and I look really good..... Peel me."

Impressed by his boldness, Cheryl picked Rodney as the winner of the episode. The two were set to go on a date involving tennis lessons and a trip to the Magic Mountain.

However, Cheryl later called The Dating Game's contestant coordinator, Ellen Metzger, and canceled their date. In 2021, Ellen recounted Cheryl's words while speaking to the news show 20/20, and said that Bradshaw noted that Rodney gave her "weird vibes."

“I can’t go out with this guy, there’s weird vibes that are coming off of him. He’s very strange. I am not comfortable,” Cherly told Ellen.

The film's take on Rodney Alcala's time on The Dating Game

Tony Hale as seen in the film Woman of the Hour (Image via Netflix)
Tony Hale as seen in the film Woman of the Hour (Image via Netflix)

Woman of the Hour recreates Rodney Alcala's The Dating Game episode from 1978, albeit with a few minor changes. For starters, Rodney is Bachelor#3 in the film, while he was Bachelor#1 in real life.

Anna Kendrick's Cheryl is handed a series of sexist questions to ask the contestants, but she ignores them in favor of more serious questions. At one point, she asks, "What are girls for?" The question stumps the men, who stumble their way through an answer.

She also posed thought-provoking questions like what differentiated a man from a boy. To gauge their intelligence, Cheryl brings up the philosopher Immanuel Kant and Nobel Prize winner Albert Einstein. Rodney, who reportedly had an IQ of 135, impressed Cheryl with his answers.

She selected Rodney as the episode's winner, completely unaware that he was a serial killer on the run. The show's host, Ed Burke (Tony Hale), announced that they have won an all-expense-paid trip to Carmel. Unlike in real life, the two go out for drinks after wrapping up the episode.

However, Rodney's creepy vibes unsettle Cheryl throughout their date. As she walks back to her car in the deserted parking lot, Rodney calls her out for giving him a fake number and alludes to bashing her head in. Just then a few men step into the parking lot, giving Cheryl enough time to get inside her car and speed away.


Woman of the Hour is available to stream on Netflix.

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Edited by Madhur Dave
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