''The Amateur's Guide to Love'' is an American television

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

, created by Merrill Heatter and Bob Quigley, that ran on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

from March 27 to June 30, 1972.

Gene Rayburn Gene Rayburn (born Eugene Peter Jeljenic; December 22, 1917 – November 29, 1999) was an American radio and television personality. He is best known as the host of various editions of the American television game show ''Match Game'' for over tw ...

was the emcee, while Kenny Williams was the announcer. The theme was written by

Mort Garson Morton Sanford Garson (20 July 1924 – 4 January 2008) was a Canadian composer, arranger, songwriter, and pioneer of electronic music. He is best known for his albums in the 1960s and 1970s, such as '' Mother Earth's Plantasia'' (1976). He also ...

. Each episode began with Garson's theme song, set to shots of a van emblazoned with the ''Amateur's Guide to Love'' logo driving around southern California, with scenes of men and women falling in love with each other. As the van travels around, host Gene Rayburn sets the scene for the game show: Afterwards, the show would then cut to the studio, where announcer Kenny Williams would introduce this week's panelists ("our guidebook advisors"), and Rayburn.

Gameplay

The show somewhat resembled ''

Candid Camera ''Candid Camera'' is an American hidden camera and practical joke reality television series. The show was created, developed, and presented by Allen Funt. Various versions of the show have appeared on television from 1948 to 2014. The program ...

'', a show involving guest celebrities and unsuspecting civilians. These people were involved in a comedy situation, taped on location in Southern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

using a hidden camera. The subjects in the particular situation were faced with two choices, one of which they needed to choose, that were somehow related to sex, marriage, or love. A celebrity panel voted upon which choice would have been the smartest, and the civilian who picked that particular decision won merchandise prizes.

Broadcast history

''Amateur's Guide'' originated as a pilot that aired as part of CBS' ''Comedy Playhouse'' on August 8, 1971. This early version of the series was hosted by actor Joe Flynn instead of Rayburn, and featured a four-celebrity panel (

Rose Marie Rose Marie (born Rose Marie Mazzetta; August 15, 1923 – December 28, 2017) was an American actress, singer, comedian, and vaudeville performer with a career spanning nine decades, which included film, radio, records, theater, night clubs and ...

Dick Martin Thomas Richard Martin (January 30, 1922 – May 24, 2008) was an American comedian and director. He was known for his role as the co-host (and comic foil of Dan Rowan) of the sketch comedy program ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' from 1968 to 197 ...

Michael Landon Michael Landon Sr. (born Eugene Maurice Orowitz; October 31, 1936 – July 1, 1991) was an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in ''Bonanza'' (1959–1973), Charles Ingalls in ''Little House on th ...

and

Peter Marshall Peter Marshall may refer to: Entertainment * Peter Marshall (entertainer) (1926–2024), American game show host of ''The Hollywood Squares'', 1966–1981 * Peter Marshall (author, born 1939) (1939–1972), British novelist whose works include ' ...

) instead of three. The program was CBS' first daytime game since the cancellation of ''

To Tell the Truth ''To Tell the Truth'' is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual ...

'' in September 1968. The series replaced reruns of ''

Gomer Pyle, USMC Gomer ( ''Gōmer''; ) was the eldest son of Japheth (and of the Japhetic line), and father of Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah, according to the "Table of Nations" in the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 10). The eponymous Gomer, "standing for the whole fa ...

'' at 4:00 PM (3:00 Central). However, the show failed to make an impact against ''

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

'' on NBC and daytime rebroadcasts of the popular ''

Love, American Style ''Love, American Style'' is an American anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from September 29, 1969, to January 11, 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a pa ...

'' on ABC. Reruns of the

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was filmed in black-and-white and broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seve ...

'' replaced it on July 3. Later that year, CBS returned with game shows in its daytime lineup on September 4 with '' The New Price Is Right'', ''

Gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word '' gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe si ...

'', and ''

The Joker's Wild ''The Joker's Wild'' is an American television game show that aired at different times between 1972 and 2017. Contestants answer trivia questions based on categories determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine. The show's titl ...

''. Rayburn himself would return to CBS in July 1973 with a revival of his hit NBC show, ''

Match Game ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity paneli ...

''.

Episode status

Like many game shows of the era, ''The Amateur's Guide to Love'' is believed to have been

wiped Lost television broadcasts are television programs that were not preserved after their original airing, rendering them permanently unavailable for both public and private screening. Because of this, they are considered a form of lost media, par ...

, as only one episode is known to exist. CBS stopped their wiping practices sometime in 1972, long before either of its other Big Three networks, but some series of the time have uncertain statuses. On May 22, 2025, the premiere episode was originally uploaded on ''

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

'' by Christian Carrion, however, it was later deleted and moved to the ''

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

'' later onPremiere Episode
/ref>.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amateur's Guide To Love American hidden camera television series American dating and relationship reality television series CBS game shows 1970s American comedy game shows 1972 American television series debuts 1972 American television series endings Television series by Heatter-Quigley Productions Television series by MGM Television