Concept: B
Believability: B
Sustainability: C

Here's how the first episode of Dating in the Dark went down. Three single men. Three single women. They meet for the first time in the dark, all sitting at a conference table. Each single makes first impressions of his or her dating options based on voices, accents (there were a few foreign, Australia and England, in the mix) and question responses.

Then, the first surprise. After the initial meeting, the men are ask to remove their shirts, which are collected and handed to the women for handling. In exchange, the women are asked to disrobe (in private, of course) and hand over their clothing for inspection.

The women pore over the guys' shirts making guesses about what the styles and scents say about each. The men go through the women's dresses and tanks guessing at the type of women who would wear each. They each pick one shirt and contact its owner to request a date (in the dark). We did like this twist inspired by pheromones (chemical substances secreted and released by animals for detection and response by another, usually to signal fear or attract a mate).Dating A Friend's Ex

Then, another surprise. The singles are invited to two-time. They're able to date the pheromone-inspired pick while dating an expert-made match. Based on responses to questionnaires each single had completed before the show, an expert matchmaker identified compatible couples and matches were revealed.

All dates occurred in the pitch black. Couples sat in a room, on bean bag chairs, and sipped wine or beer. Some tried activities, such as putt-putting (in the dark) and some got straight to the hanky-panky.

We noticed that all the singles ended up favoring their expert-made matches and wondered what the psychology involved there was. Did they trust these matches more because they were made by a pro matchmaker and were said to be compatibility-based?

Then, another surprise. An artist was brought in. None of the couples had yet met in the light. Each single described to the artist his or her date and portraits were rendered. Some were near exact; others were way off. The singles then got to see the portraits of themselves that were based on their dates descriptions and fear and insecurity set in. Each single wondered if when the light shone, their dates would be delighted or disappointed or something in between.

Finally, the couples got to see each other in the light. Some were pleasantly surprised others were in fact disappointed and would have decide how much physical appearance really mattered.

In the final moments of suspense, after the couples had seen each other, the test. If the single liked the way their date looked, he or she would show up on the terrace to meet and signal interest in continuing to date.

Or the single could leave the house alone without showing up on the terrace. Two couples united on the terrace. One sole guy was left standing on the terrace waiting for a no-show.