Will that guy on Jeopardy ever lose?

i hated him at first but by the end of the ep i think i kind of love it - just a slow, soothing, HAL-type voice, like an AI hostbot.

exactly the opposite of what i want from a jeopardy host!

He was awkward, and seemed lost during the q&a with the contestants, but I didn't hate him.

they should let the cash me outside girl host Jeopardy

This is so funny to me. All three contestants heard the question as "who does America owe money to for its crimes?" And they all gave correct answers, but actually it was supposed to be about an official "bad guy" country for something absurdly tame in comparison. pic.twitter.com/SqjtGkUTiw

— Robert Kuschell (@RobinghamKusch) April 6, 2021

Funnier than all of the SNL Jeopardy skits.

omg

lmao that's amazing

I only watch Jeopardy via the arbitrary collections they put on Netflix in Canada, but watching episodes across the decades, I've been mildly surprised to notice how consistently and obsequiously devoted to celebrating the American military-intelligence complex the show is. So many categories—usually video at that—where they're showing off bases and planes and ships; watched one the other day with a whole video category devoted to the honorable men and women of the CIA. It's pretty depressing

core audience has always been conservative and old

oh for sure. And the show is almost inherently conservative since it has to draw on "common knowledge," inevitably culturally eurocentric and historically inclined toward Great Men. tbh I wouldn't even have remarked on it if they weren't so often site visit / video categories, which makes them feel like overt propaganda

Trebek donated to Republican Senator Chuck Hagel in three different elections. Those are his only recorded political donations. Hagel has a Purple Heart and served as Secretary of Defense for Obama.

worth noting that (at least) the past decade of contestants skews much younger and more clearly culturally liberal than the viewing base

yeah that's an interesting dynamic I hadn't really thought about before

grist for a larger essay about how the young culturally liberal population in america is holding up the conservative entertainment/economic pipeline imo

I saw Jeopardy was trending on twitter earlier because Levar Burton said he'd like to host. I haven't seen any of the guest hosts yet, but I have to say that seems like a brilliant way to thread this particular demographic needle

Jennings: Good enough to go permanent
Slick Producer Guy: This felt more like a "Make a Wish" scenario
Katie Couric: Alexa as host
Dr Oz: Fuck that guy
Aaron Rodgers: Husky monotone voice asking you what the capital of Wisconsin is for a half hour

my suspicion about burton would be that the powers that be don't really want to dive in with a guy in his mid-60's shortly after the other guy died

I don't think the host should be as good at the game as Jennings is. It's just a weird dynamic.

need to see him as guest host but I suspect I’d prefer Burton to Jennings. Jennings has the right overall trivia keener vibe compared to the other daytime tv freakshow guest hosts but Trebek’s suaveness & mellifluousness is key (it would crack me up how dynamically he would read answers, pure genius at word/syllable emphasis) and i feel like Jennings was kinda stiff

right, I think Jennings was pretty good & would be a fine full-time host but I think the voice is key. Alex Trebek had THE game show voice. I'd be in favor of someone like, I dunno, Matt Berry

Would love to see Levar in the guest lineup. I feel like whoever gets the gig, if it's not Ken, it'd make sense to have Jennings (already on the payroll) as fill-in host for holidays and such, and ready in case of death or milkshake ducking.

feel like levar burton would be my preference. very dulcet tones, bet he could read the hell out of a question

just listened to a few seconds of Levar Burton’s podcast to check on his voice, happy to report his instrument has aged like a fine wine. stoked to hear him host J!

he's not in the lineup to the best of my knowledge, there was just a public petition

Currently scheduled upcoming guest hosts are:

Anderson Cooper, 4/19 - 4/30
Bill Whitaker, 5/3 - 5/14
Mayim Bialik, 5/31 - 6/11

Savannah Guthrie and Dr. Sanjay Gupta are also on the list, but no dates yet.

I already hated Dr. Oz going in, so I expected to be, at best, extremely annoyed by him, but he somehow managed to be even more awful than I could have ever imagined.

I'm okay with Anderson and Mayim, at least in theory.

Whitaker seems like a good choice. Maybe too serious?

never watch network news/60 minutes so i am actually unfamiliar with him!

A fellow Cal grad... he seems chill

During his time at CBS, Whitaker has covered many large events or disasters. Some include the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and the War in Afghanistan (more specifically in Kabul). He also has covered many race-related issues such as policing in cities such as Cleveland, Chicago, and Tulsa. In Tulsa, Whitaker had a notable first interview with Betty Jo Shelby, the former police officer accused of shooting and killing Terence Crutcher, an unarmed black man.[1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLshKazkzMs

my problem with anderson cooper so far is that he's a little too anderson cooper

The Joe Buck news sucks buuuuuut the final guest host will hopefully immediately transition to being the permanent one

THANK YOU... to all y’all for your passionate support! I am overjoyed, excited, and eager to be guest-hosting Jeopardy!, and will do my utmost best to live up to your faith you in me. YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE! Go ahead and take my word for it, this time. https://t.co/C7mZWMok2X

— LeVar Burton (@levarburton) April 21, 2021

lets get a petition going for Steve Harvey too

still holding on for neil hamburger

what joe buck news?

He's another guest host

That is 100% of what I know about him

Hell yea, great news

Every Joe Buck ep will have at least one Juan Soto reference.

please take him away from baseball

they should get Hank Azaria in character as Brockmire instead

^ five questions get asked every episode

Azaria is a top five request for me. But glad to see Burton is in.

Additional names with Buck and Burton: George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts, David Faber

i think buck will be good actually

Have they announced that they're doing this for a full year or something? The prolonging seems kind of weird to me at this point, like how desirable a gig is this really? (though I'm sure some of these people aren't genuinely auditioning, just doing a stretch for fun/the chance to seem smart)

It's very desirable!

But I'm sure a huge part of the rotation is to leave a large, respectful gap between Trebek and a permanent successor (plus to sustain interest / avoid putting people off with one new host), more than it is an actual strategy of auditioning.

yeah that all makes sense, I guess the hype is starting to make me salty is all

when they announced the first grip of guest hosts after Jennings they said it would be guests for the season before naming a replacement starting next fall

ah ok thanks!

https://www.avclub.com/the-jeopardy-guest-hosts-ranked-worst-to-best-1847049741

Can't disagree with "the obvious frontrunner," but I've been enjoying Mayim Bialik just as much. Dr. Oz sucks, obviously, but I'm not sure why so many are so down on Katie Couric.

Buzzy did better than some people that get paid some serious cheddar to talk on TV. I think Mayim Bialik might be the best one so far. Aaron Rodgers was better than expected and there was some humor, but I'd put him being Mayim, Buzzy and Ken Jennings. Bill Whitaker was fine, but really low key.