Woman of the Hour: Rodney Alcala’s appearance on The Dating Game was far more sinister IRL

He’d already been in prison twice when he appeared on the show

2 months ago | UPDATED 2 months ago

Rodney Alcala in Woman of the Hour was enough to give any woman serious chills, but his personality on the real Dating Game TV show was far worse than the film let on. The Netflix adaptation of this true crime made Rodney seem chivalrous and respectful on The Dating Game, but in reality, his appearance was very menacing indeed.

What did he actually say on the show?

rodney alcala the dating game woman of the hour

via YouTube

Woman of the Hour changed many of the details around what Rodney Alcala actually said on The Dating Game, and his real answers to Cheryl Bradshaw’s questions were a lot less respectful. He appeared as bachelor number one instead of number three, and was described as a “successful photographer” who enjoyed skydiving and motorcycling in his free time.

Bradshaw firstly asked him, “what’s your best time?” He replied with “the best time is at night,” claiming that night time is “when it really gets good.”

Bradshaw later asked, “I am serving you for dinner. What are you called and what do you look like?”

Rodney replied with “I’m called the banana and I look really good.” When Bradshaw asked him to describe further, he said “peel me.”

While these answers weren’t exactly huge giveaways that he was a serial killer, they definitely seem terrifying in retrospect and unlike the gracious responses he gave in the Netflix film.

How was he able to get on the show in the first place?

via YouTube

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In 1978, when the episode in question was filmed, Rodney had already been imprisoned twice and was on the FBI top 10 most wanted fugitives list. He’d murdered five women and attempted to murder an eight year-old girl called Tali Shapiro. He was previously charged with child molestation and served 34 months in prison, then charged again for giving drugs to a 13 year-old girl and served another two and a half years.

Thanks to The Dating Game having no background checking process, Rodney was able to go on the show without rousing any suspicion.

Woman of the Hour is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.