Jennings has finished his stint as host of Jeopardy and in my view was better than his replacement. Flash from the past today when a question involved someone I worked with more than 50 years ago.
It will be interesting to see who they ultimately select to be host.
I thought Ken seemed less condescending and snobby than Alex. Just my take. I think Ken would be a decent choice. After all, and he WAS the overall champion which shows he knows what it is like for the contestants.
I wasn’t sure about him at first, but I agree, he’s settled into the role quite nicely. Although Alex will always have first place for me, if Ken ends up being the permanent host I won’t be disappointed.
In College Bowl practices and tournaments, we all had to read the rounds of questions from time to time. There were "bad" question readers who had poor delivery, read slowly, or stumbled over words, but Ken wasn't among them.
He's had twenty-plus years since then to hone his craft, including his own run on the show.
I haven't paid attention to who the other guest hosts are supposed to be, but I hope Ken winds up being the permanent host - even if that means I never get to go on the show myself.
Alex was one of the last true game show hosts. From an era where you could have an entire career hosting game shows.
Alex was always careful to point out that he wasn't the "star" of Jeopardy, he was the *host* and the contestants were the stars.
It'll be hard to find someone willing to fade into the background like that. Today's gameshows tend to give the job to Entertainers like Steve Harvey or Jimmy Kimmel. That type of performer isn't going to be very satisfied being a low key host like Alex was.
I think Ken has been doing well; reading clues clearly is harder than it looks. I only wish his voice were a little lower in pitch.
He's the executive producer. He said on Monday's show (the first one without Ken Jennings) that he had to step in as the guest hosts who are scheduled didn't want to travel to the show's location due to Covid and Ken Jennings couldn't get time off from his own show. (I didn't know he had another one!).
For a last-minute stand-in, I think this producer is doing a great job. Wouldn't it be wild if he turns out to become the new (accidental) host after all the other try-outs.
I agree with Dagny that Alex could occasionally come across as condescending but still I thought he was a great host and he seemed to stay more in the background than these two new guys so far. Background is where I like the hosts to be, especially of Jeopardy.
A note on Ken: I find his reaction when a contestant answers incorrectly to be mildly irritating: He says "um, no-oooo" and whether he means it or not it comes across as saying "what the heck kind of dumb answer is that". (Or maybe I'm just too sensitive - it has been said).
I must be crabbier than usual lately as the producer guy also has a verbal tic, of sorts, that bothers me: When someone (or everybody) gets a wrong answer he replies "we were looking for ..." (over and over throughout the show). Alex just stated the correct answer and moved on. Repeatedly hearing "we were looking for" is starting to really bug me.
Maybe not their fault: The virus lockdown or semi-lock is really getting me down and I am irritable. Really, I admire them all, hosts and contestants alike - I could never imagine being brave enough to go on national TV, taking a chance of completely embarrassing myself. If the topic isn't medical history or a spelling bee, I'm sunk.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/2021 04:36PM by Nightingale.