DatingInTheDark

Late last year, when people were caterwauling over the baseness of ABC's 'Conveyor Belt of Love', a show that was often lumped into the same we're-going-to-hell-in-a-handbasket category was the Alphabet Net's summer series 'Dating in the Dark.'

The comparison was a bit unfair. Not that 'Dark' was Shakespeare or anything, but at least it had the faint patina of being part scuzzy dating reality show, part social experiment. Would these people who got to really like each other in a pitch-black room still like each other when the lights were turned on? The surprise of the show's first season was that, no matter what you hear on those sickening eHarmony commercials, both men and women have the capacity to be shallow as hell.

The good news is that we'll be seeing more of that this summer, as word comes from Variety that ABC has ordered six more episodes of 'Dating in the Dark.'

ABC apparently likes what it sees in the dark room.

According to the Live Feed, the net has re-upped 'Dating in the Dark' for a second season. The show -- which premiered to a healthy 6.3 million viewers last summer -- aired after the adventures of Jillian Harris on 'The Bachelorette' on Mondays.

'Dating in the Dark' has one of the most convoluted reality show premises around (well, until 'Conveyor Belt of Love' came around, anyway): Six singles move into a house and are only able to interact with the opposite sex either in the dark room, where they cannot see each other, or via e-mail. The sequences in the dark room are filmed with infra-red cameras; afterward, the couples' appearances are revealed to each other -- for better or worse.

2009 was a good year for television. It offered the resurgence of the comedy on network television, and the continuing growth of original programming on cable. In all honesty, I don't think I could just do a list of what was great and what was horrible on television because I would need pages and pages.

Instead, I'm going to focus on the things that really stood out this year. Sorry, Mad Men fans, but even though this was a great third season and an amazing finale, I expect it at this point. It's the only way I could come up with to keep my list manageable.

Also, as a point of protest I did not include Jon, Kate or the balloon boy hoax. These events got more attention than they deserved already this year, and I feel bad I even mentioned them.

I didn't have a lot of faith that ABC's Dating in the Dark would make for good television. But it's surprised me. In only two weeks, it's already made interesting observations on attraction and the human sport of dating. The only drawback for me so far is that virtually everyone is attractive on the show.

If the point is to see if personality can overcome physical appearance, then shouldn't you bring in some people who aren't conventionally attractive? And I mean more than just having a hot blonde with some acne and a couple of people with about fifteen pounds of extra weight around the middle.

Nevertheless, we did get a bit of shallowness, as well as people learning that it does pay to get to know someone before you judge them on their looks alone. Of the six couples we've seen so far, only two have walked away after seeing one another. And only one of those was based on physical appearance.

AOL TV editors Katy Kroll and Sandy Deane debate whether 'Dating in the Dark' is a good idea and if 'More to Love' will be a fair depiction of the plus-size dating world.

Plus, we pick apart Katie Holmes' performance on 'So You Think You Can Dance,' Jay Leno's ads for his new show and Daisy de la Hoya's choice for a beau on 'Daisy of Love.'

Listen now!

What did we learn from last night's premiere of ABC's 'Dating in the Dark,' in which contestants meet in a pitch-black room before actually seeing each other and deciding if there's a love connection? We came away with these nuggets of wisdom: There are a lot of really desperate singles out there; in the Christina/Seth pairing, Christina turned out to be the creep; and, despite its unusual concept, the show actually makes for an interesting social experiment.

Of course, 'Dating in the Dark' is just the latest in a long line of reality dating series that have amused us, creeped us out -- or just plain horrified us. Remember these "gems"? -- By Kimberly Potts

You've got questions, I've got answers -- I'm The Show Girl! This week, I get the scoop on the new season of HGTV's 'Design Star,' catch up with Dylan McDermott on the set of 'Dark Blue' and talk 'tween mania with 'Ruby & the Rockits' stars Alexa Vega and David Cassidy.

But what you won't want to miss? A special guest pops by to enlighten me about his new show with a lightning-fast 10-second plug. If you're scared of the dark, bring a flashlight.

Want more? Email me TV questions at TheTVShowGirl@aol.com, follow me on Twitter @TheTVShowGirl and subscribe to The Show Girl video podcast on iTunes. Now watch, enjoy and come back next week for more. Until then, happy TV watching! -- By Maggie Furlong