Jeopardy! Post-Alex Discussion Post

[imhomerjay]

There’s no confirmation which, if any, of these stints qualify as auditions. They can and would do the brunt of that work off air. And it would be a carefully considered process, regardless of the major misstep bringing in Oz as a guest may have been.

I’m not convinced on Ken, simply because it may not be his desire to take on that gig.
He might like his life as it is, but we shall see.

[sayingsorry]

Aaron Rodgers being hosting next Monday 4/5-4/16

Also to chime in on the permanent host debate, for me the timing of bringing in Mike Richards is just too on point for them not to want him as host. I am sure they paid a lot of money for him to leave fremantle and to me that has to include more than EP of J and Wheel. Either they will be making a big push like fremantle to get their Sony IP game shows back on tv like fremantle has or they brought him in to be permanent host of J

[imhomerjay]

Sometimes timing is just timing. It was not an unreasonable time to move on from the previous EP. Nothing lasts forever. Richards had a track record of revitalizing a somewhat calcified decades-old show when a new host came in. And they’re sitting on a good amount of intellectual property. It was a good fit, regardless of what would or wouldn’t eventually happen with Alex’s health.

Even if he takes the hosting job, that’s not a connection that Sony was looking towards that when hiring him.

[jude_este]

Aaron Rodgers has met my expectations as a guest host thanks to this ESPN article where he says this on how he prepared for his guest hosting stint.

"I watched hours and hours and hours of episodes," Rodgers said in a phone interview Friday. "Luckily Netflix has a few seasons, and I went back to DVR. But I had to watch from a different perspective -- from Alex's perspective. I couldn't watch it as a fan anymore.

"I took pages and pages and pages of notes. I wrote down every affirmative that he said to any type of clue. I wrote down how he would respond if they didn't get it right. I wrote down beat points of the show. I wrote down all the different ways he would take it to break. I wrote down the stuff that he said coming out of break. Literally, I studied for this like no other. I wanted to absolutely just crush it."

And according to him, there will be a viral-worthy moment on his first show on Monday.

[PatrickRox80]

Dr. Oz continued the ratings drop in his first week, although the boycott seemed to have disappointing results.

https://www.thewrap.com/jeopardy-falls-to-lowest-ratings-since-holidays-in-dr-ozs-first-week-as-guest-host/

[SeaBreeze341]

The NCAA Tournament might have played a part in the ratings drop but I think people still would've passed on the show had those episodes aired in the fall.


I don't know or think Aaron Rodgers will succeed Alex, but he might be among the top two IMO.  He is one of the top names in his position and within the NFL (current period).  He puts in the hard work, pays attention to detail, and when you think he's done, he isn't.  The man continues to evolve, and one would imagine that he's one of the best based off of skill set and off the field dedication.


While several people may or may not have what it takes to host full time, Aaron's preparation for hosting Jeopardy is one that I admire a lot.  You really don't get a lot of people within the gameshow industry paying attention to certain things or acts within the show they are running.  It might seem unimportant, but I think it's pretty important to learn and adapt to every little thing that took place in the past. 

That's just my opinion; I think Rodgers should be himself & I don't think he should or can emulate Trebek that much.  It is just nice to see him put in the work as if he really wants to be the next person to star on the show as a host

[imhomerjay]

Alex is effectively the only point of reference guest hosts, or the new permanent host, have. What’s more, the format is a bit limited. That’s not a criticism, but it’s got a certain flow. Injecting individual personality into what is very much a game-management role is challenging enough. Doing it in the wake of these circumstances is harder still. I’d fully expect people to seem like they’re emulating Alex to an extent because, well, there’s only so many ways to call someone wrong. Only so many ways to work with the short interview segments. Only so many ways to introduce the categories.

So far I’ve enjoyed Aaron. I’m looking forward to the remaining guests. And despite the Oz choice, I trust the executives will carefully evaluate the potential permanent hosts and make a reasoned choice.

[jhc2010]

Rodgers said "correct" for nearly every response before the commercial break on Tuesday's episode. It got to the point where it was distracting and annoying. He would keep drawing out the first syllable for some reason: "Coooorect".

[SeaBreeze341]

While I agree that it would be nice if he could add variety to how he "confirms" someone's correct response (i.e. yes, that's right, you got it), it probably makes more sense than not to do whatever works.  In time it would look silly, but for now there's no sense in trying too hard so early for something as simple as a correct response.  Otherwise, Aaron or whomever might stumble in other aspects of hosting, especially in this particular position

[imhomerjay]

Very fair points. The Alex we’re comparing the interim hosts to had decades to become what he was. 1984 Alex was good but demonstrably different. And he had done the game show thing plus so many other types of on-air work. He grew into the Jeopardy format and over time, and heck, it grew into him.

Trying to remember all of the nuances at that pace could be intimidating for anyone out of the gate. Totally get there will be “crutches” they may rely on while they’re there for all of two taping days (aside from Ken’s longer stint).

[bigblue999]

The Tournament of Champions is happening next month with former TOC winner Buzzy Cohen hosting it.

https://www.facebook.com/Jeopardy/posts/4204171899633694

[therealcu2010]

According to the official press release, Buzzy will no longer be eligible to compete as a contestant after his guest hosting stint.

Also of note that only contestants who appeared on the show before Alex's death are eligible to participate.

[LiteBulb88]

Since there was no ToC last year, they decided to split this year's contestants into two groups. Alex sadly died about halfway through the taping year, so they used the day of his death as the "split point." Contestants who were on the show before Alex's death are eligible for this year's ToC, and contestants on the show after his death will be eligible for next year's ToC. (FWIW, Zach Newkirk, who was the champion last year when COVID forced Jeopardy! to shut down and didn't come back until after Alex died, is eligible for next year's.)

[pricefan18]

Is this the first time in a while the College Champion was added to the field? I assume it's due to Brayden's absence cause of his untimely death (forgot about that till I read the press release), but it's nice to see that again.

[JayC]

I'm surprised they're having Buzzy and not Ken or Mike Richards host the Tournament of Champions since Buzzy hasn't hosted before, but I do think he will do well.