History Series / Dateline

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Happens a few times in the interrogations. During the Fairfield, Connecticut sting operation Joshua Colon admits that he was always afraid of trying to meet up with potential victims [SelfFulfillingProphecy lest he end up meeting Chris Hansen instead.]] One of the cops can't help but laugh at that.

** Jeff Sokol seemed more intent on chowing down on the pizza he'd brought rather than being confronted about trying to groom and sexually assault a minor. He event went as far as offering Hansen a slice at the end of the interview, something that even Hansen admitted was a new one for him.

* SkewedPriorities: One particular predator was very insistent that the decoy put his beers in the fridge; to the point where [[NoIndoorVoice he shouts]] "Put the beer in the refrigerator!" more than literally anything else in his conversation with the decoy.
** Later on, when the same predator is talking to Chris, he awkwardly states out of nowhere that he "isn't gay or anything". While it's debated whether or not this was an excuse to why he wouldn't sleep with an underage boy, fans speculate he was actually more ashamed of being homosexual than being a pedophile.

* {{CharacterCatchphrase}}:

* {{Catchphrase}}:
** See PreAsskickingOneLiner below

-->'''Predator''': "NO RUBER"

* PaperTiger: John Dupee is a living embodiment of this trope. Just imagine being a cute young theater student who doesn't look a day over 13, and a tall, spindly man with greasy hair and meth-rotted teeth is coming to you with naughty intentions, expecting to win you over nothing but a few cheap snacks. And then raising his arms all the way in the air to give you a hug that you ''really'' don't want. And then before too long, this same man is being questioned and quivering like a child being scolded by their parents. And finally, reduced to a blubbering wreck when he's in police custody.

* SchmuckBait: Chris and his crew create fake aliases that allow the predators to expose themselves. Chris allows the predator to leave just so they can get tackled by the cops. [[GenreBlindness They fall for it every time, even after the show became popular]].

* LostMyAppetite: One predator, on walking into the room where Chris was waiting, picked up a cookie from a plate in front of him—and on being told that Chris had a transcript of the predator's chat with the decoy, tossed it back onto the plate, saying, "You know what? I don't want this cookie."

The program was conceived in 1992 mainly as a cheap schedule filler and about the 73rd attempt to unseat ''Series/SixtyMinutes''. It was hosted by Creator/JanePauley and Creator/StonePhillips, the latter of whom would become the face of the main ''Dateline.'' The series existed mainly to fill holes in NBC's programming schedule; during the bulk of the 1990s, it was on more nights than not. Today, archived (rerun) ''Dateline'' crime stories are used for this same purpose on Creator/{{MSNBC}}, Creator/InvestigationDiscovery, and Creator/{{TLC}} during dead periods.

''Dateline'' is still on the air, now anchored by Lester Holt, in a FridayNightDeathSlot (right before the local news) and also airs on Sundays opposite ''Series/SixtyMinutes'' between seasons of [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL football]]. It has some internal infamy, as Creator/{{CNBC}} airs ''Series/SixtyMinutes on CNBC'' rather than ''Dateline: Business Edition'' because of the show's lack of any non-tabloid coverage... though there ''being'' a ''Dateline: Business Edition'' says something.

* SyndicationTitle: Many of the hour-long true-crime documentaries are rebroadcast on Creator/{{MSNBC}} under individual titles without the ''Dateline'' branding.

* OhCrap: A very common reaction among the more GenreSavvy predators when Chris shows up. They either realize they were caught in a sting operation or in some cases they've actually ''seen'' TCAP before. A few actually recognize the setup even before Chris shows up and try to bolt -- only to run into the police outside. A few think that it's just a reality show setup or some kind of prank only to react this way when they realize the police are involved and even bolt midway through the interview.

* Emerging from the Shadows: The turning point of every segment. Most predators instantly know that they are royally screwed when the decoy leaves the kitchen to an unlit hallway and Chris enters.

*** One famous predator drops several gold ones, aside from his bizarre obsession with [[NoIndoorVoice "PUHTIN DA BHER IN DA REFRIGERATOR"]], he also shouts [[BlatantLies "I just stop buy!"]] and [[ComicallyMissingThePoint "I'm not gay or anything"]], when told that doesn't really matter he responds with [[SkewedPriorities "I know, just saying"]]

** Later in when the same predator was talking to Chris, he awkwardly states out of nowhere that he "isn't gay or anything" while its debated whether or not this was an excuse to why he wouldn't sleep with an underage boy, fans speculate he was actually more ashamed of being homosexual than being a pedophile.

-->'''Chris''': But that's not how the conversation went on the internet is it?

-->'''Chris''': But that's now how the conversation went on the internet is it?

* ModestyTowel: Chris Hansen has provided these on more than one occasion to "guests" that stripped naked when entering the house.

** ''What'' are you doing?

* DiggingYourselfDeeper: Coming up with BlatantLies can be seen as this, but others accidently admit to what they wanted to do in the interview.
--->'''Predator''': "I talk to people in that chatroom that turn out to be guys half the time!"
--->'''Hansen''': "So you've talked to people who've said they were 13 before?"
--->'''Predator''': "Well, 13... 15, well [[DidIJustSayThatOutLoud wait a minute]]"

--->'''Hansen''': "You are open to the idea of sex?"
--->'''Predator''': "No, well up here yes, but would I? No, or maybe alright maybe"

--->'''Hansen''': "Since you have your child here, I'm not going to pursue this... I think it'd be best if you just went ahead and left."

--->'''Predator''': "U WANT DO IT RAW?"
--->'''Decoy''': "raw?"
--->'''Predator''': "YES"
--->'''Decoy''': "what's that?"
--->'''Predator''': "NO RUBER"

--->'''Predator''': "I WANT TO ROMANCE WITH YOU!"
--->'''Decoy''': "what kind of romance?"
--->'''Predator''': "MOUTH"

* ModestyTowel: On ''To Catch A Predator'' Chris Hansen has provided these on more than one occasion to "guests" that stripped naked when entering the house.

--->'''Chris''': ... but this time, we were bowled over by what we've ''seen'', in the quiet town of Bowling ''Green''.

** One claimed that there was no proof he had any sexual intent with the girl. [[UpToEleven After having just walked into the house completely naked and carrying a sex toy.]]

** PreAsskickingOneLiner

''Dateline'' drew infamy with its constant stream of fluff stories, YouCanPanicNow stories, and screw-ups -- most notably, an early 1992 segment got into hot water when it falsely claimed that 1973-1987 GM pickup trucks had leaky and explosive gas tanks (when in reality, the only reason they exploded for the cameras was the remote controlled explosives the NBC crew put there). This resulted in the firing of a couple ''Dateline'' producers and led to Michele Gillen (the correspondent involved in the segment) [[ReassignedToAntarctica getting transferred to NBC's affiliate in Miami]], where she became an anchor of the station's evening newscasts.