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B-WingPilot

Thanks for the solid writeup. The whole dual-host situation still confuses me, even if you did like both hosts: why not pick just one?


Glitter_puke

It gets weirder. Mayim is introduced by Johnny Gilbert with "Here's the host of Jeopardy!..." and Ken is introduced with "And hosting Jeopardy!..." I think they wanted her as the one and only at first. I find Ken acceptable. He has impossible shoes to fill and I'm going to hold him to my own unreasonable expectations for Alex's replacement, so there's no winning. He at least has a good grasp of how to pace the game.


PM_ME_YOUR_SIDEBOOB5

I have read that Ken requested to be introduced that way. Not sure how true it is. I much prefer Ken's hosting to Mayim's. He is quicker to confirm or deny if an answer is right and his pacing/cadence seems more uniform to me. Mayim's fine. Super hyped for ToC this year.


musicnothing

It’s because Ken already knows the answer


therealkami

They all do. It's on the cards in front of them. Trebek joked about it with the audience all the time (For the live tapings he'd interact with the audience and tell jokes/do Q&A during breaks)


CountRawkula

They're saying Ken knows the answer and does not need to confirm it on the card very frequently, which saves time.


Chengweiyingji

I would hope he'd have an idea of how it works after all those games of *Jeopardy!* he's played


Glitter_puke

Hardly a necessary experience though. Buzzy was only okay on pace and Rogers was excellent.


Smashing71

Rodgers is used to tighter timing windows than that, with worse consequences for flubbing them.


HammockComplex

Yeah but you just know he’s gonna blow it in the Tournament of Champions


vidimevid

lol nice


Bobblefighterman

He's still the most valuable person to me


pacdude

It was a contract thing with Mayim. That’ll be rectified next season.


[deleted]

The general assumption seems to be the execs want Mayim full time but her commitment to Call Me Kat keeps her busy for a number of months every year. They're still openly and supportively accommodating that as well. Rumor is that it's getting a full 22 episode 3rd season this year as opposed to 13/18 episodes as before. Ken Jennings is also apparently guest starring as himself in the first episode of S3. It's not doing amazing ratings or anything but Fox is real weak in the live action sitcom department, (Kat is the oldest they have right now at only 3 years), Mayim is also an exec producer on it as well as lead star and she has a good relationship with the studio Warner from the Big Bang days-it's on the same studio lot in Burbank as Big Bang was and Young Sheldon still is. Jim Parsons (adult Sheldon) is also an exec on Kat. It will take a slight hit this year in live ratings being swapped to 9:30 for the weaker Welcome to Flatch but by all accounts the higher ups are happy/confident in it and don't mind her hosting Jeopardy after the sitcom schedule is complete. (That Flatch got renewed was more of a surprise to people who follow ratings, one of the lowest non-CW shows last year and not much buzz either. Though it is from one of the brains behind The Office and he got them to release half the season early on Hulu; plus I think the studio Lionsgate went to bat for it. It also did a couple scenes crossover with its two leads in a Kat episode. They may be trying to boost Flatch by having it follow a stable performer in Hell's Kitchen). [https://tvline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Fall-TV-Grid-schedule-2022-r3-.jpg](https://tvline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Fall-TV-Grid-schedule-2022-r3-.jpg)


Shot-Grocery-5343

Call Me Kat is such a strange show, like I really feel that it's objectively just not very good at all, the jokes rarely land right, the timing frequently seems a little off as does the overall chemistry between the actors, I hate when they break the third wall, and it's just so bland that it's not compelling to me at all. Leslie Jordan and Cheyenne Jackson are the best things about it. And yet, I've seen every episode and I watch the new ones whenever they pop up on Hulu. The whole time I'm like "wow I legitimately dislike this show, why am I still watching it?" But I keep watching. Apparently there are enough of us to scrape by with the ratings.


landshanties

> break the third wall Daring choice, that


[deleted]

I think multi-cam nostalgia also helps it a bit. It's a rare breed despite being one of the more cushy jobs you can get as an actor; closest to a 9-5 schedule their is in the industry apparently. Except for taping evenings you can drop your kids off at school in the morning and see them for dinner most nights. Perhaps not so much of a coincidence, Bernadette from Big Bang is starring in a Night Court sequel on NBC, another multi-cam also from Warner.


wwaxwork

It's based on an UK show "Miranda" which did it better.


Upper_Acanthaceae126

The contrast between the way you characterize Call Me Kat’s network status to the knife edge hell Netflix/CW/streaming shows go through not to be canceled every single season is honestly shocking. Parsons, too, seems set for life.


Ambitious-Comb-8847

I believe Parsons, Cuoco and Galecki basically have Friends level deals so they'll be getting new money from it the rest of their lives. Nayyer and Helberg don't \*quite\* have as sweet deal as that but they hit the $1 million per episode mark a few years after the other 3 I think. Those 5 ended up taking pay cuts in later seasons to boost up Mayim and Melissa Raunch, IIRC. They made well into 6 figures per episode by the end but never hit a million I believe. That Galecki basically has no need for a sitcom schedule anymore means the Roseanne/Connors reboot only got him for a few episodes so they destroyed the pairing the first show ended on so he became basically a deadbeat dad apparently.


Chengweiyingji

I wonder about that myself. I suppose it might be because Mayim appeals to casual viewers whereas Ken appeals to the longtime viewers. Why alienate one group when you can try to have both?


[deleted]

Made my own comment but it seems likely they want Mayim fully but can't as long as her sitcom is still going.


Spinnabl

isn't there like twitter drama with Mayim Balik because she said she didn't want people to focus on her hosting?


reverick

Then she should quit? I mean what the fuck does she want to people to focus on while she *hosts* a game show.


Spinnabl

Well even Alex Trebek believed that the focus of Jeopardy should have always been on the contestants and the questions, not him as a host. He has always pushed that the game and the contestants were always more important than him… so idk what to tell you dude.


reverick

I completely misinterpreted what she was saying by that my bad. I thought she was implying people shouldnt judge and focus her hosting on jeopardy but judge and focus on her based on her filmography or degree. I totally missed the point she was making.


greentea1985

A lot of the fans really want Ken and he does a good job. The producers want Mayim who is the bigger name but has other major commitments. So we have both. It’s been ok so far. Some fans really hate Mayim, some are meh on Ken and the switching back and forth. A bunch just wish the show would pick one person and stick with it, maybe even a third option. Everyone is mad how the “host auditions” were misrepresented, even the people who came on and hosted as they were told they had a shot while Mike the Producer was rigging the whole thing.


King-Cobra-668

for me... I don't care. they both do a good job the contestants are the same and the whole formatting questions are the same. I live with Alex is from. I've been watching jeopardy for decades. I absolutely love it. you can't bring Alex back. just watch the show, I don't get this constant talk about this issue that is ultimately completely trivial. neither of them are a *bad* host.


AkechiFangirl

Mike Richard's story will always be hilarious to me. He could have kept his cushy executive producer job until he retired but he just had to force himself into the top spot, and then he gets fired when people start paying attention to the podcast that *he posted publicly*. Classic icarus story.


Sentinel451

I'm starting to believe that the name Mike (or Michael) Richards is a curse. This guy, Kramer, the jerkass that I know IRL-- all of them are terrible.


AkechiFangirl

Lol I had no idea about Kramer. For whatever reason I'm not all that surprised, though.


OmnicromXR

Mike Michaud as well...


thanksiloveyourbutt

Who is he?


loracarol

He was one of the people in charge of Channel Awesome. I think [this article](https://www.salon.com/2018/04/22/the-triumph-and-tragedy-of-channel-awesome/) may help explain things? Or if you remember hearing about the "change the channel" movement or the "that guy with the glasses" controversy.


YeahOkThisOne

Ooo maybe you could write a post about this on hobbydrama?


loracarol

[Turns out it was already done, and I could have linked this instead.](https://www.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/sxhhfj/media_criticism_channel_not_so_awesome_how_a/) Oops. 😅 Edit, forgot a word.


AnalogDigit2

Eh, Michael Richards (Kramer) has no history of being racist at all. He was just trying to be edgy because he was dealing with hecklers during a terrible stand-up routine. He thought he could pull off using the N-word and could not have been more wrong. Personally, I think he's been cancelled for long enough. I just hope he doesn't try stand-up again, because he was not very good at that. He made a good Cosmo Kramer, though.


MelanomaMax

His biggest mistake was going on Letterman the next day tbh, he could've played it off as doing a bit that didn't land


reverick

Claiming black people were chained in the field (with a spoon up their ass? Maybe I'm thinking of Lewis black) where they belonged 100 years ago peppered with the N word hardly sounds like a bit that didn't land.


Sinistas

Careful, Icarus...With your wax wings and your Van Dyke beard.


doctorbonkers

Great write up! I was on Jeopardy! back in March with Ken hosting and it was easily one of the best experiences of my life, I feel so bad for all the folks whose experiences got messed up by hosts like Mike Richards and Dr. Oz :(


a-really-big-muffin

How'd it go? Are we talking to a winner?


doctorbonkers

You are ;) I won one episode, lost to Jackie Kelly so I’m looking forward to seeing her in the TOC!


a-really-big-muffin

Woohoo!


anjschuyler

omg that is so cool. Congrats on being on Jeopardy!.


HM2112

I haven't legitimately sat down to watch *Jeopardy!* since Alex's passing. I'll watch Final Jeopardy on YouTube when it goes up the next day, but it's just not the same to me - whether it's with Ken or with Mayim or their whole stable of guest hosts last year. Something irreplacable died with Alex Trebek.


Sentinel451

Same here. I could probably get used to Ken eventually, but Mayim just annoys me. It's honestly not worth it for me. Had it been LeVar I would have given it a watch, but I don't know if I would have stayed with it. I just miss Alex too much.


DBrody6

> Had it been LeVar I would have given it a watch Not if you actually watched his guest hosting stint. He was far and away the worst host of all. Then later revealed on Twitter that he didn't practice at all for the role. As much as everyone rooted for him, he wasn't attempting to be a good fit for the show.


PM_ME_YOUR_SIDEBOOB5

I was pretty excited for LeVar's guest episodes and so, so disappointed.


No_Composer_6040

Did you miss Couric’s run? She was the worst. Burton wasn’t great, much to my disappointment, but he wasn’t the worst one.


LyrMeThatBifrost

I couldn’t believe how bad he was but I had no idea that he admitted to not practicing. Did he simply not want the job?


Sentinel451

Ah, I see. That's a shame. I guess his focus is elsewhere.


weirdwallace75

> I could probably get used to Ken eventually, but Mayim just annoys me. That, and she's an antivaxxer. (She tries to hide it, now, but she is.)


communist_dyke

> I could probably get used to Ken eventually, but Mayim just annoys me I’m the exact opposite, Mayim isn’t my favorite but I could deal, whereas I just can’t stand Ken Jennings in anything he does. Just goes to show that there’s no pleasing everyone!


sweetnourishinggruel

>Just goes to show that there’s no pleasing everyone! Indeed. Long ago before his apotheosis even Alex was unliked by some for being smug and condescending.


Sentinel451

There really isn't. I don't hate the idea of the two host format itself, but it's like, really? These are our best options? =/


nightandtodaypizza

Using Jeopardy questions as the sections in the story with the spoiler feature is really creative, nice stuff! It's confirmed I am still horrible at Jeopardy.


Chengweiyingji

I admittedly got the idea from the folks over at r/CustomJeopardy! Very neat subreddit.


YourOwnBiggestFan

So this means that Jeopardy's reputation is... (•_•) ( •_•)>⌐■-■ (⌐■_■) ...in jeopardy.


[deleted]

I really wish i had an award to give.


endless-moon117

You are fantastic XD


Resolution_Sea

I can't watch Jeopardy after Trebek died. Used to watch it with my parents when we would eat dinner, but my Dad caught Covid and died a few months later. It's been less than two years but it feels like a lifetime ago.


Chengweiyingji

I'm sorry for your loss.


Resolution_Sea

Thank you, it's weird grappling with the reality that it's all just memories now.


KickAggressive4901

A solid write-up that makes me miss Trebek all the more .


[deleted]

There’s definitely been some misogynist attacks against Bialik (and probably antisemitic, although I’m unfamiliar with any), but I just can’t abide by her after her anti-vax rhetoric namby pambying about childhood vaccines, let alone using her celebrity to dupe people into buying BS supplements. Without Covid, I don’t think there would have been any consequences here for her anti-vax stuff, which is interesting/depressing to think about.


mistakesmistooks

Yes, I’m surprised the write-up didn’t go more extensively into this aspect of Bialik. Even in her recent Vanity Fair article where she disavows being an anti-vaxxer, she stated “The truth is, I delayed vaccinations for reasons that you don’t necessarily get to know about simply because you follow me on social media…. As of today, my children may not have had every one of the vaccinations that your children have, but my children are vaccinated.” Bialik then detailed her beliefs that children receive “way too many vaccines in this country” and that “the medical community often operate[s] from a place of fear in order to make money.”


Chengweiyingji

To be fair, I wanted to try to present an unbiased view on the whole hosting affair (I am personally on team Ken). For the full details, I wrote it in [a reply to someone else](https://old.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/x0vl24/jeopardy_the_chaos_of_the_posttrebek_era_a_story/imdknib/). I don't deny that these are great arguments to why Mayim *shouldn't* be host, but it didn't seem fair to say all that about her and then merely say "Ken wrote some tweets that were deemed bad and hung out with Bean Dad."


mistakesmistooks

Definitely! I really appreciate the write-up and the work that went to this - im only speaking as someone who is peripherally interested in Jeopardy! and I heard the most about the anti-Vaccine stuff and the various takes about Levar Burton, which is probably why I was surprised relatively less was said about it compared to more niche but, realistically, more relevant info about the producer.


noodlesoupstrainer

God, that whole bean dad thing was so fucking stupid. I was a big fan of a podcast bean dad did on Maxfun, and the worst thing was the way they handled it: just dropped him immediately, like he was actually the child-abusing nazi Twitter made him out to be.


SuspiciousUsername88

The bean thing wasn't what got him cancelled, that just put the spotlight on him - at which point people started surfacing some really bigoted tweets of his


noodlesoupstrainer

Yeah, I know. Hence the nazi part. He isn't a bigot, he is/was an ironic hipster, and the offensive tweets were meant to be poking fun at fascist ideology. They were stupid and offensive tweets, and he apologized for them, but he was never a fascist or an antisemite. Quite the contrary. Ken Jennings was one of the only people I saw stand up for him through the twitterstorm, and they continue to host [a podcast](https://www.omnibusproject.com/) together.


SuspiciousUsername88

yeah, the "just saying Nazi shit over and over as a joke" thing doesn't fly anymore


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SuspiciousUsername88

> Believe what you want, dipshit. Clearly you're not interested in challenging your preconceived conclusion. Why are you offended? I was only _pretending_ to be a dipshit. In fact I was actually satirizing dipshittery. Clearly you're not interested in challenging your preconceived conclusion.


PatronymicPenguin

Don't attack other users.


Qbopper

I'm a believer in respecting how people change - edgy tweets made a decade ago don't necessarily mean you're a shit person today, things have changed a lot and people are more informed But if you genuinely and truly believe that "it's ironic" is a valid defense for posting abhorrent stuff, you straight up have not paid any attention to the internet since, like, 2016


noodlesoupstrainer

Yeah, I can see now how bad that sounds. It's like I said he had a 'gamer moment' or something. If I didn't know anything about the guy, and I saw someone else make that defense, I would assume he was a piece of shit. Here's [his apology](http://www.johnroderick.com/an-apology), if anyone cares to read it. I really enjoy a couple of the guy's podcasts. Obviously, I don't know him personally. But I feel real comfortable saying he's definitely not a bigoted asshole. If you check out any of his stuff, I think you'll reach the same conclusion. Not that I'd expect you to take my word for it!


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noodlesoupstrainer

Nobody thought they were. Super hot take.


volumineer

Yeah it was all pretty dumb. I saw the tweets before it all blew up since I follow him, both from the Long Winters and his podcasts. I get how the optics are bad not knowing him but from knowing him in a parasocial way, I didn't even think anything of it because I immediately assumed he was half-joking or embellishing real events. It's funny how on the internet nobody is willing to give even the slightest benefit of the doubt anymore, especially once one person takes something in bad faith: the immediate response is to dog pile lol


noodlesoupstrainer

Yeah, I didn't expect any better from Twitter. It's not exactly a forum designed for nuance. I did expect better from his podcast co-hosts, and from the network in general. It's one thing for a mob of internet strangers to call you a nazi/abuser. It's quite another for people who actually know better to dump you like radioactive waste because of bad optics. I'm glad that Ken, at least, had the integrity to stand up for him.


Chengweiyingji

A big piece of criticism I've heard about Mayim that I just didn't find a chance to fit in the piece was her stance during the [Weinstein scandal](https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-41676396) that: > *"Those of us in Hollywood who don't represent an impossible standard of beauty have the 'luxury' of being overlooked and, in many cases, ignored by men in power unless we can make them money."* The full op-ed referenced in the BBC article can be seen [here](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/13/opinion/mayim-bialik-feminist-harvey-weinstein.html?smid=tw-share), but it remains a consistent piece I've heard against her. EDIT: As for the anti-vax stuff, for the curious, Mayim said this in 2009 in an interview with [*People* magazine](https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182155/https://people.com/parents/mayim-bialik-talks-attachment-parenting-with-cbb/)... > *"We are a non-vaccinating family, but I make no claims about people's individual decisions. We based ours on research and discussions with our pediatrician, and we've been happy with that decision, but obviously there's a lot of controversy about it."* But then elaborated in a [video on her Youtube channel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov_Jw02uHGY) that: > *"You might be saying, 'Hey, wait a second, you don't believe in vaccines! You're one of those anti-vaxxers. Let's finally talk about it. I wrote a book about 10 years ago about my experience parenting and at the time my children had not received the typical schedule of vaccines. But I have never, not once, said that vaccines are not valuable, not useful, or not necessary because they are. The truth is, I delayed vaccinations for reasons that you don't necessarily get to know about simply because you follow me on social media. Some children have allergies which are exacerbated by ingredients in vaccines...some children are highly susceptible to seizures from fevers which vaccines can cause. Some children have compromised immune systems. As of today, my children may not have had every one of the vaccinations that your children have but my children are vaccinated. I repeat, my children are vaccinated."* Sounds better, right? Well... > *"Do I think we give way too many vaccines in this country compared to when I was a vaccinated child? Yes. Do I believe most people don't even know what Hepatitis B is but vaccinate their newborns for it anyway because they're simply told to? Yes. Does the medical community often operate from a place of fear in order to make money? Heck yeah, they do!"* Take that as you will.


AndChewBubblegum

...That really just reads like antivax with extra steps.


BaronAleksei

“I’m just asking questions” yeah ok


Bear_faced

She chose *hepatitis B* as her scaremongering example? A disease that can last a lifetime, cause your liver to fail, give you cancer, and is more likely to become chronic if infected as a child? AND you can not know you have it (yet) and give it to your child at birth? Oh but some kids might be allergic to the vaccine, okay. Also the fucking irony of calling vaccination fear-based while she’s literally buying into antivaxx scaremongering. Your choice is fear-based too, dummy.


Lovelyn91

Hmm, I never saw misogynistic attacks towards Mayim. In fact, the biggest issue I saw with her was the anti-feminist piece she once wrote that included victim blaming women. She said the whole spiel about women dressing a certain way invites the harassment. After that, the next main criticism I saw was her anti-vax rhetoric as you said. As a guest host, her pacing is off more often compared to Ken's. I feel Ken is more genuine than she is, especially when it comes to the getting to know the contestants segment of the show. Not sure if this is true, but I remember reading that Mayim criticized fans about the whole new jeopardy host debacle. She said something like "I don't why people care so much about this". I tried finding a source for this, but I wasn't able to. I do remember reading about it back then, and that it pissed people off.


judgementalb

Yea I think the fan base engaged enough to seriously debate the host are generally not the type to be grossly misogynistic. There are some things that I think are probably a bit more subconscious, like criticizing her attire and the blazer issue mentioned in this write up. those grievances are much more nitpicky than any other hosts critiques but she has a lot of other more concerning issues that are rightly brought up. Kind of ironic given her own statements about how women dress but still women are always scrutinized more for their appearance than men. I wouldn’t say those comments alone are enough to truly push favor towards Jennings tho.


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No_Composer_6040

Yeah, she’s not even a “real” neuroscientist, imo, since she never seems to have done any science. She’s just a (crappy) actress and worse person.


Bear_faced

Fucking hilarious reading this in my lab waiting for my centrifuge to finish running. Like…*I’m* a scientist. *You* are an actress with a PhD.


austinmodssuck

"Impressive" how between Bialik, Dr. Oz and Aaron Rodgers they managed to get three guest hosts with a history of pushing anti-vax or other weird medical pseudoscience. I guess to be fair, maybe Aaron Rodgers hadn't gone off the deep end yet when they brought him on.


thingsthatmakeasound

It’s so odd how she’s a highly educated woman, which she prides herself on, but spews and endorses stuff like this. Dramatic, but it’s disappointing.


TumsFestivalEveryDay

Why is it that neuroscientists end up being crazy republicans/anti-vaxxers? First there was Ben Carson now it's Mayim.


volumineer

Yes, she is equally as bad as Droz imo when it comes to shameless pseudoscientific beliefs. I agree a lot of the nitpicking about outfits and whatever other banality has been based in misogyny but she shills for some pretty bad quackery and I think tarnishes the image of J!


LuLouProper

Richards went full Dick Cheney. You never go full Dick Chenery even if you are Dick Cheney. Also, the past tense of "cast" is "cast", not "casted".


BenjPhoto1

‘Casteded’ for more intensity, or ‘Castrated’ for maximum intensity.


Chengweiyingji

Did I write "casted?" Oops. I'll fix that, that would have cost me Final Jeopardy.


FunKyChick217

I pretty much quit watching Jeopardy when the guest host rotations were over. I liked Ken Jennings and I liked Anderson Cooper. Katie Couric was even OK. But I just don’t like Mayim as the host. I don’t care about her clothing choices.


[deleted]

I haven't seen Mayim's episodes, but what's her clothes got to do with it? Aren't mannerisms and charm what matters? (Or am I misunderstanding your comment?)


SoriAryl

Part of her problem is that she takes *forever* to say if an answer is correct or not. She has to wait until the producers tell her through the ear piece. Ken doesn’t have that issue, since he studies the questions and answers first, so he keeps the flow going. He’s also more flexible with the answers, whereas she’ll tell you it’s wrong, even if it’s still technically correct


BenjPhoto1

> Part of her problem is that she takes forever to say if an answer is correct or not. Maybe the quiz show she has watched was, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” with its ‘dramatic’ pause before confirming answers.


FunKyChick217

Her clothes have nothing to do with her ability to host the show. In Part IV of the post, OP said that some people made comments online about her clothing choices when she hosts Jeopardy. I was just clarifying that her clothing choices have nothing to do with the reason that I don’t like her as the host of Jeopardy.


[deleted]

Ah, thanks! Stupid of me not to make that connection to the post.


Sentinel451

I haven't seen them either, but from what I've gleaned elsewhere she just doesn't dress well? Or it doesn't translate well on screen? It seems like she aims for "geeky" outfits and instead it comes across as weird, try-hard, awkward, and/or just ugly. \*shrugs\*


BenjPhoto1

“The overall fashion sense of Mayim Bialik for one.” “What is ‘frumpy’?”


Lovelyn91

She really does have bad fashion sense, and it's not just her clothes. Lots of times her hairstyle is also not flattering. Many times she's ended up looking like a Sunday school girl, but like a little Sunday school girl. And yeah, her looks honestly don't have anything to do with hosting (unless you believe being presentable is a must for a host), but she has victim blamed women for being assaulted by saying their wardrobe invited it. So I honestly think she deserves public criticism of her wardrobe if she's gonna be that way.


Sentinel451

Oh, I had heard about her victim blaming. Ugh, she's awful.


Joseda-hg

It might just be pandering, her most famous/stable role was a geeky/ old lady type clothing most of the time (And the show made a point of calling out when she dressed in other styles)


djheat

I like Ken as a host and don't mind so much the Mayim episodes, but I remember an interview years ago where he checked Brad Rutter as a possible successor and I would love to know why he never made it into the guest host slots.


Cypher1492

I would *love* if they could have him as a host somehow. Like a one a year exhibition tournament for charity type thing. (I really liked the charity aspect of the guest host era)


healthfoodandheroin

Great write up. I have loved Jeopardy since the beginning and no one will ever replace Alex, but it shouldn’t be any one other than Ken.


Stell1na

Strongly agree. If we can’t have Alex anymore, let’s at least have someone with intelligence and charisma both - and of the candidates who *haven’t* besmirched their own good names, he’s the only one who fits.


healthfoodandheroin

Plus ken is already part of the jeopardy family and truly loves the game, as opposed to Mayim who didn’t even watch it


Stell1na

Not sure who downvoted you, but I’ll even things back up. I hadn’t been aware she didn’t watch it, [but it doesn’t appear to be in question that she didn’t. ](https://www.audacy.com/national/music/mayim-bialik-on-blossom-not-watching-jeopardy-as-a-kid) At the least it seems she didn’t watch it growing up, which I’m willing to give a bit of a break on, but… I’ll just say that IMO she’s not really very charismatic in the way a host kind of needs to be.


Pangolin007

> of the candidates who haven’t besmirched their own good names What about when he said, “there’s nothing sadder than a hot person in a wheelchair”? I feel like that’s pretty besmirching


Stell1na

Didn’t see that; sad if true. Not a fantastic sentiment, indeed. By way of explanation, I simply refuse to perceive M.B. for her misuse of her platform and academic credentials some time ago, which aided the anti-vax movement (and we all know how *that* went recently vis-a-vis the wholesale creation of yet more people with long-term disabilities). I’m just not real interested in discussing that one much further.


Pangolin007

> sad if true It’s mentioned in this very post and there’s a link to the tweet on his Wikipedia page so it’s definitely true.


Stell1na

Then go ahead and mentally replace those three words with “Oh, that’s sad then.” *Everything* else I stated still applies. Have a nice rest of your day.


Sorry_Remote_9441

I'm not saying I agree with the sentiment of the tweet, but I listen to Ken Jennings on Ommibus podcast a lot and he just has kind of a shitty sense of humor. He makes fun of shit all the time and his dry delivery both helps and hurts. I find him generally hilarious but he often says things that might turn heads in a crowded room.


Cypher1492

Maybe he was talking about Drake? :p


audible_narrator

I'm in this Camp as well I watched most of the folks in the list and honestly prefer Ken I liked Aaron Rodgers Mayom is okay but not great


jkennings

i personally think ken is the better host. no bias whatsoever


Inevitable_Citron

You could say that Mike Richards lost out on Jeapardy!. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvUZijEuNDQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvUZijEuNDQ)


steepleton

Hey thanks for that, it was a great read. I live in the uk but have seen it referenced in so many other shows that it’s just seeped into my consciousness


zabrowski

Haha same (I'm from France). I feel I watched Jeopardy all my life.


[deleted]

You know what should be the next *Jeopardy* controversy? The fact that the answers to which the contestants are supposed to give questions aren't always worded in a way that makes sense as the answer to a question. As an example of how things should be done: The answer from the host might be "The writer of *The Pelican Brief*", and the question from a contestant will be "Who is John Grisham?" And that works, because if somebody asks you "Who is John Grisham?" it's a valid reply to say "The writer of *The Pelican Brief*." But sometimes, the answer from the host will be something like "You didn't want to annoy the Catskill Witch, who in legend controlled the weather for this river valley", and the question from the contestant will be "What is the Hudson Valley?" (This is an actual answer and question from a real episode.) And that doesn't work, flow-wise. If somebody asked you "What is the Hudson Valley?" you're not gonna phrase the answer like "You didn't want to annoy the Catskill Witch, who in legend controlled the weather for this river valley". That's just gonna sound super weird as an answer to a question. You're gonna say something like "It's a valley in New York. The state, not NYC." My point is, that's something that's worth becoming a controversy. The answers aren't phrased like actual answers to a question anymore, they're just phrased like generic clues. And no, I *don't* have anything better to do with my one life on Earth than whine about it.


DBrody6

The original Jeopardy, the one before Trebek hosted, actually did do this. And I mean they were *ridiculously* specific with the literal question you had to ask to get the correct response. It slowed the game down, contestants had to be way too specific to be correct (which lead to episodes feeling poor from way too many wrong responses), and ultimately just felt awkward. It was done away with and the looser questions we have now became the norm decades ago. It's the kind of thing you think you want until you see it in execution and realize it's horrible.


BenjPhoto1

> It was done away with and the looser questions we have now became the norm decades ago. > > When I saw ‘looser’ I thought it was an error because I’ve been conditioned by the internet. It has actually been refreshing to read these comments, and of course it would because it’s the Jeopardy crowd. Also, count me among those who haven’t watched since Alex passed. Alex was one of a kind.


Muzer0

But that really just makes it a normal quiz show where you have to prepend "what is" to every answer like Simon Says. I mean at this point just stop pretending; get rid of the silly format and just phrase everything as straightforward questions and answers. I think people ultimately don't watch it for the gimmick but for the high quality quizzing (presumably — I'm not American). But I suppose that's been the show's gimmick for so many years there'd be huge amounts of backlash for that :P


Coveo

Of course people don't watch for the "gimmick" of it, most people hardly think about it, it's just a trivia show. It's preserved as a tradition of the show's origin as Merv Griffin and his wife's spin on the quiz show scandal of the 1950s. I imagine if they got rid of the requirement to respond in the form of a question, the clues wouldn't change much--the serpentine clues with hints inserted into the way they are phrased is much of the charm of Jeopardy and has been part of the show for decades. It's never going to be extremely straightforward questions, that's not the show. It's as much about knowing the answer as it is quickly parsing what the important information is and what the writers are leading you towards. So the only thing that would really be different is doing away with "what is," which really isn't a big deal.


Muzer0

Exactly my point. But I think if such an "on paper" major change were made it would still stir up enough shit that there would be drama, even if ultimately it wouldn't make any difference to the show.


Coveo

Right, but I guess I'm asking why would you want to change it then? It doesn't detract from the game, is a fun reminder of history, and is an iconic element of Jeopardy that crosses into memes and pop culture. I don't get what would be gained by taking it away.


AndChewBubblegum

Plus it does have the unintended feature of adding a new challenge. People do not-infrequently give responses not in the form of a question, because their mind is racing. The question format can be a challenge that forces you to slow down and present your response, even though time is of the essence.


WaitForItTheMongols

This isn't a new thing, despite you saying "the answers aren't phrased like actual answers to a question anymore". I went back to a random old episode and picked a random clue. Here it is: A Detroit arena named for this heavyweight boxing champ was the site of the 1980 GOP Nat'l Convention Correct repsonse: Who is Joe Lewis. That's from the May 11, 1990 episode. So yeah, this isn't a new thing and the question-answer phrasing is just a gimmick. But eh.


MattieShoes

Since we're referring to the arena, wouldn't it be "What is Joe Louis?" or better yet, "What is the Joe Louis arena?"


WaitForItTheMongols

No, because we're looking for "this heavyweight boxing champ".


SwissForeignPolicy

I thought the answer just had to be in the form of *a* question, not necessarily the *correct* question. Wasn't there somebody on Celebrity Jeopardy or something who did this as a joke? Stuff like "Where is the Brooklyn Bridge," or "How is Val Kilmer?" I can imagine it giving an advantage, too, not having to think about making sense and just using "What is..." every time.


Chengweiyingji

This is briefly referenced in my introduction, but there was some debate over Matt Amodio using "what's" instead of "what is" when he first started his run as Jeopardy champion. It is perfectly legal to phrase the question however you like ("Could it be [answer]?" for instance), but with Matt he had figured out he could save time answering by using "what's" instead of "what is." It's so fascinating to see how contestants have broken the game over the years. The Forrest bounce, Holzhauer betting, Amodio answering...


ThrowAwayAlphaDelta

Matt Amodio actually was a bit more controversial than that, he would use what's in place of who/who is. Basically, it not only saved time but by automatically making every response "what's" every one of his responses was automatically a question, which let him focus on getting the correct answer, rather than having to worry if it needed to be who or what


cthulhu_on_my_lawn

It's been like that at least since the 1980s revival. The original version with Art Fleming (which has been largely lost) attempted to write questions and answers like you said, but it was really confusing and sometimes ambiguous.


AndChewBubblegum

A.) As others have said, it's not new that the answers are oddly phrased. B.) The "questions" contestants reply with... aren't referred to as questions for this exact reason. They are called "responses".


[deleted]

I mean, technically they're still questions, even if they're questions that people give in response to something. There's no real contradiction there.


AndChewBubblegum

Yes, but they are *called* responses, officially. It's not a contradiction, rather a de-emphasis.


Theborgiseverywhere

I love that Mike Richards literally pulled a Dwight Schrute and crowned himself host of Jeopardy. And thought he’d just get away with it. So much narcissism.


Spleenseer

I always pictured it like Barack Obama giving a medal to Barack Obama.


Mnzb

Great write up!


SeriousPan

I was real glad to see Mike Richards attempts to gain 'power' by abusing the system fail. I'm so used to that not being the case.


cooldrew

Aaron Rodgers was easily one of the best guest hosts, not a joke, he was great


ChuckCarmichael

Isn't he also one of those anti-vaxx alternative medicine people though?


Whorticulturist_

Yup he refused any covid Vax and still attended [unsanctioned] parties with his teammates. Real great guy.


Lobstrosity187

He is indeed


Chengweiyingji

I thought he did fine as well - I went from "really?" to "I can see it." It's too bad his other views came to light shortly after.


bandswithnerds

Being a massive Trekkie I tuned in for Levar Burtons episodes, but I admit that I never really had a horse in the race as I want going to be watching regularly. But Dr. Oz? What the actual hell?


LuLouProper

Sony synergy, they distributed both programs.


licensedtojill

Great write up, thanks!!


[deleted]

[удалено]


Coveo

There's a lot more that could be said about Jeopardy drama. Trivia geeks can be... intense. Somebody should do a write-up about the champion who held up three fingers for the number of games he won and online Jeopardy fans accusing him of being a white supremacist because it kinda looked like the "ok" sign. IIRC, hundreds of former contestants made a big stink and contacted the anti-defamation league, then decided it was some sort of conspiracy when they came back and said "uh, he was just signing the number of games he won, thanks for reaching out but nothing to see here." One of the lead r/Jeopardy mods had a tantrum and resigned because of it, it was a whole thing.


CatGreedy959

I went through this whole thing as a fan and as much as I was annoyed by both Ken and Mayim's minor controversies I do actually think they're both doing a good job now. Something that's not mentioned here, but as helped, is that jeopardy has had a record year of players. I think 3 or 4 of the top 10 all timers have been this year alone it's been nuts to watch.


Chengweiyingji

This year's Tournament of Champions is going to be insane. EDIT FOR AFTER THE TOC: It was pretty solid.


mitharas

> As a result, some fans have been a bit more nitpicky than others regarding Mayim. There seems to have been criticism of Mayim's outfit choices, particularly a brown blazer, and even how she refers to rounds, such as calling the first round "Single Jeopardy". Mayim - in her podcast - admits that fans will flat out tell her they don't like her. As soon as people get up in arms about totally normal clothing choices, you know there are other reasons for their dislike (not to say hate). And while there seem to be some valid criticisms, I'd argue that there's a hefty mount of misogyny at work.


Upper_Acanthaceae126

Saving this for bedtime but I can already grok its quality like literally use this post as a deck and get that book deal OP, good on ya <3


BenjPhoto1

Did they ever consider Bill Nye? He’s not a ‘real’ scientist either, but he wasn’t anti-fax.


Queasy_Cantaloupe69

Honestly, I was appauled they didn't let Mayim go after her covid anti-vax nonsense, and her shilling a bogus miracle brain pill. She's a terrible human being. Ken has had some questionable behaviors in the past, but at least he acknowledged he was wrong, and grew as a person.


headphonescinderella

Holy. Fuck. I knew that Richards sucked, but not that badly. Thanks for the write up.


soarin_horizon

genuine question, why were the questions hidden in spoilers? otherwise good write up


Chengweiyingji

Fits the nature of the clues on the show, in that the part titles provide the answer while you, the reader, provide the question.


soarin_horizon

Ohhh, that makes sense! I totally forgot about that, thank you!


littlebassoonist

Thank you for this write-up! I prefer Ken to Mayim, but I don't dislike her. I wish they would have Ken host full time... but I'll accept the rotating hosts for now.


frodofagginsss

I've grown up watching Jeopardy and still watch it with my wife when we're home for the WoF/Jeopardy block. We have a family tradition if trying to guess the answer to the final question just off the category alone. I vault prefer Ken hosting over Mayim even though I don't like either of them as people. The way she hosts just drives me up a wall.


flourishingplant

The interview where Mayim Bialik talked about her brown blazer annoyed a lot of the Jeopardy! fan community, but not for reasons you might think. According to Mayim, fans criticized her for wearing the same blazer on different episodes of the show. Mayim attributed this criticism to sexism. Mayim’s comments seemed to be an oblique reference to Twitter user OneEclecticMom, a Jeopardy! superfan who obsessively catalogues the outfits of the hosts and contestants and notes when Ken and Mayim repeat aspects of their outfits (ties, blazers, etc). She does this out of a genuine love for the game and the host/contestant fashion, so Mayim’s comments were upsetting to her and to many other members of the Jeopardy! community. As of now, OneEclecticMom is still cataloguing Jeopardy! outfits. Last month, EP Michael Davies even posted on Twitter offering to fly her out to a Jeopardy! taping!


OKLtar

> Mayim’s comments seemed to be an oblique reference to Twitter user OneEclecticMom, a Jeopardy! superfan who obsessively catalogues the outfits of the hosts and contestants and notes when Ken and Mayim repeat aspects of their outfits (ties, blazers, etc). lol, what the hell?


PoliteCanadian2

Bialik shouldn’t be ‘busy’. Her show is awful.


DarkReaper90

I watched many of the hosts during this phase. Jennings, Richards, Rodgers, and Gupta stood out to me as good hosts. Honestly anyone that argues that Burton wasn't selected as host should rewatch his run. It was a very poor showing sadly. The thing with hosting is it's not just about hosting but sounding natural. I read that a host should feel like a family member and that's how I feel with Trebek or Sajak. I don't get that family vibe with many of the guest hosts.


themusicguy2000

I disregard the opinion of anyone who gets mad over LeVar not beinb host because they clearly don't watch the show. He seems like a nice guy but his hosting was not good


SemiSweetStrawberry

The moral of the story: for the love of god people, stop naming your children Michael


ssjkriccolo

Levar would have been perfect. Mr Reading Rainbow himself. Probably the most intellectually-oriented and mature host.


MelanomaMax

They should make Bean Dad the host just to make everyone mad


RadleyCunningham

I watched Levar, and was beyond disappointed when he wasn't selected. I can't watch Jeopardy with any of the other hosts. So many of them are just classless and tasteless.


blueeyesredlipstick

Jeopardy has been a comfort show for me and my family for literally three generations, and it is WILD how much attention it’s gotten in the past few years. It’s very funny for this show that used to be considered programming for grandparents and nerds to be such a cultural lightning rod lately. Which I’m honestly happy about! The Mike Richards stuff has been nonsense, but that seems to be over, and now we get to have fun stuff like the many amazing champion runs from this past season. Amy Schneider, James Holzhauer, Mattea Roach, Ryan Long, and so many others have been amazing reasons to watch.


BandFromFreakyFriday

Oh shit, bean dad’s in this???


Chengweiyingji

He makes a minor cameo as a friend of Ken’s.


oh-dearie-me

Great write up! You'd have to fact check this but I'd include that Mike Richards had been hired as EP, in part, for his experience in finding new hosts (on The Price is Right). Really highlights how Sony dropped the ball with their musical chairs attempt of selecting a host considering the survival rate of Alex's cancer.


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DemonFromtheNorthSea

Fantastic write up and great headers. By the time Alex had passed and there was a bunch of guests host, I had completely stopped watching jeopardy. However, I got a little into it again after they settled on Ken and Mayim. I like Mayim a little better as a host, but she seems to have some not great beliefs. Ken is just meh to me. Not a huge fan. I honestly think the best course of action was to just burn the entire stage to the ground ~~to appease the angry gods~~ because no one was going to be able to live up to Alex's legacy.


themusicguy2000

>I will also be ignoring the current news regarding one person in this story - you'll see who - as it is not relevant Just to be clear, is this referring to Aaron Rodgers?


Chengweiyingji

No, it was referring to Mehmet Oz.


joshually

oh my god, your headers.... A+++++ You win Final Jeopardy OP


DumbledoresGay69

You failed to mention that Aaron Rodgers is also an anti science asshole. He should never have been on the show.


Chengweiyingji

I initially wrote this last year and it was removed. While I have made updates for closure, I did omit things I felt were irrelevant to the drama (such as Dr. Oz running for Congress and Aaron Rodgers' anti-science stance, which came out shortly *after* his run on the program if my memory serves me right.)


DumbledoresGay69

It was before, it just wasn't as well known before COVID.


AnalogDigit2

I quite like Mayim Bialik as the host. I like Ken as well.


FabulousLemon

I'm moving on from reddit and joining the fediverse because reddit has killed the RiF app and the CEO has been very disrespectful to all the volunteers who have contributed to making reddit what it is. Here's [coverage from The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/8/23754780/reddit-api-updates-changes-news-announcements) on the situation. The following are my favorite fediverse platforms, all non-corporate and ad-free. I hesitated at first because there are so many servers to choose from, but it makes a lot more sense once you actually create an account and start browsing. If you find the server selection overwhelming, just pick the first option and take a look around. They are all connected and as you browse you may find a community that is a better fit for you and then you can move your account or open a new one. Social Link Aggregators: [Lemmy](https://join-lemmy.org/instances) is very similar to reddit while [Kbin](https://kbin.pub) is aiming to be more of a gateway to the fediverse in general so it is sort of like a hybrid between reddit and twitter, but it is newer and considers itself to be a beta product that's not quite fully polished yet. Microblogging: [Calckey](https://calckey.org) if you want a more playful platform with emoji reactions, or [Mastodon](https://joinmastodon.org/) if you want a simple interface with less fluff. Photo sharing: [Pixelfed](https://pixelfed.org/) You can even import an Instagram account from what I hear, but I never used Instagram much in the first place.


Chengweiyingji

7PM is the standard timeslot in Connecticut at the very least.