Trebek's replacement: short bench

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jeopfansincebirth
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Re: Trebek's replacement: short bench

Post by jeopfansincebirth »

Johnblue wrote:He's a fossil. Todd Crain would be a great replacement. Or that Jimmy guy from the clue crew.
I'd be okay with Todd or Jimmy. Or maybe even Anderson Cooper.

My mother would approve of any successor as long as it isn't Matt Lauer.
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jeopfansincebirth
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Re: Trebek's replacement: short bench

Post by jeopfansincebirth »

swale wrote:Aisha Tyler - Would be the third person to go from Whose Line Is It Anyway to being the host of an iconic game show. Very likeable and down to earth, the Dartmouth grad could definitely pull it off.
Actually, she would be the fifth. Colin Mochrie briefly hosted Are You Smarter than a Canadian 5th Grader? in the late 2000s decade. And Brad Sherwood hosted a season of The Dating Game in the late 1990s.
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Re: Trebek's replacement: short bench

Post by seaborgium »

I believe Brad also hosted some sort of chance-of-a-lifetime game show as well (its lifetime was pretty brief).

Not really an edit: it was called "The Big Moment."
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Re: Trebek's replacement: short bench

Post by Robert K S »

Alex Trebek is a game show host like Garrison Keillor is a music show host. Hosting the game well is 5% of what makes Alex successful. 80% or more of Alex's success is attributable to his reading--both the natural tones and cadences of his voice and his efforts to get pronunciations right.* Any replacement would have to have a voice equally as mellifluous and would need to be able to come across just as cultured as Alex for the show to succeed. Frankly, I don't know of any other game show host or entertainer that would stand the 22-minute test of being so easy on the ears as to win viewer (listener?) tolerance.

*Yeah, okay, it's easy to pick on Alex for his occasional mispronunciations, and we do so here regularly. Whatevs. The effort he puts into his readings is evident. The man still looks up the pronunciations of every word each morning, and gets right much more than he gets wrong.
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Re: Trebek's replacement: short bench

Post by MarkBarrett »

Robert K S wrote:Alex Trebek is a game show host like Garrison Keillor is a music show host. Hosting the game well is 5% of what makes Alex successful. 80% or more of Alex's success is attributable to his reading--both the natural tones and cadences of his voice and his efforts to get pronunciations right.* Any replacement would have to have a voice equally as mellifluous and would need to be able to come across just as cultured as Alex for the show to succeed. Frankly, I don't know of any other game show host or entertainer that would stand the 22-minute test of being so easy on the ears as to win viewer (listener?) tolerance.

*Yeah, okay, it's easy to pick on Alex for his occasional mispronunciations, and we do so here regularly. Whatevs. The effort he puts into his readings is evident. The man still looks up the pronunciations of every word each morning, and gets right much more than he gets wrong.
If it is about the pipes then Pat Kiernan is at the top of the list. I still stand by Anderson Cooper and Mark L. Walberg as other capable choices even if the voices are not as good. If diversity & pipes are the call then it's Dennis Haysbert.
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Re: Trebek's replacement: short bench

Post by Bamaman »

I think Walberg would be a good choice. He has a game show background like Alex had. He'd also draw the geriatric demographic from hosting Antiques Roadshow.
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Re: Trebek's replacement: short bench

Post by dhkendall »

Robert K S wrote:Alex Trebek is a game show host like Garrison Keillor is a music show host. Hosting the game well is 5% of what makes Alex successful. 80% or more of Alex's success is attributable to his reading--both the natural tones and cadences of his voice and his efforts to get pronunciations right.* Any replacement would have to have a voice equally as mellifluous and would need to be able to come across just as cultured as Alex for the show to succeed. Frankly, I don't know of any other game show host or entertainer that would stand the 22-minute test of being so easy on the ears as to win viewer (listener?) tolerance.

*Yeah, okay, it's easy to pick on Alex for his occasional mispronunciations, and we do so here regularly. Whatevs. The effort he puts into his readings is evident. The man still looks up the pronunciations of every word each morning, and gets right much more than he gets wrong.
But does the (non-boardie) viewing audience agree? I'm wondering if you think that Jeopardy! is the only show that requires Alex's mellifluousness, because almost every other game show used the "entertainer" to replace the "game show host" without much detriment.

I will agree though, that yes J! *is* indeed different from the others, the TPIR contestant is not the same as the J! contestant - they might be closer to the WWTBAM type, but that show was/is hosted by "entertainers" too.
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Robert K S
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Re: Trebek's replacement: short bench

Post by Robert K S »

dhkendall wrote:almost every other game show used the "entertainer" to replace the "game show host" without much detriment.
No other game show is one man reading off a piece of paper for fully half the show's running time. Other game show hosts can survive by being minimally affable, alternately encouraging the contestants and egging them on, and cracking a few witty jokes. IMHO Alex actually fails in most of these areas--his jokes tend to fall flat because his sense of humor is so different than most people's. He's not able to engage with the contestants like a Drew Carey or a Steve Harvey because he's not standing right next to them during the game, and because the gameplay doesn't permit a lot of asides. Yet he has survived as host, and millions still watch him nightly, because he manages to make the trivia interesting with his reading.

I'm not saying a humorist couldn't do the job. But if they want an established personality, the producers would probably do better to look to radio to find their next host than to television.

As for Alex, I hope he continues to host for as long as he has fun with it. I rather doubt anyone could do the job better, at least not right out of the gate.
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Re: Trebek's replacement: short bench

Post by Robert K S »

MarkBarrett wrote:If it is about the pipes then Pat Kiernan is at the top of the list.


Alex's voice has a touch of the avuncular that makes his reading almost like a bedtime fairy-tale. I'm not sure Kiernan has that, but then, I've never watched him doing his show on Channel 1. Also, at 45, Kiernan might be in the upper age range for candidates. If the producers are looking for another 30-year run, they should find someone 40 or under.

Kiernan trivia: he's famed in the comic book world as the sole link between the Marvel movie universes.
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Re: Trebek's replacement: short bench

Post by teapot37 »

I would endorse Pat Kiernan. In addition to the WSoPC (which he has said he would love to have revived), he was also the unseen Questioner on GSN's Grand Slam.
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Re: Trebek's replacement: short bench

Post by Spaceman Spiff »

legendneverdies wrote:Merv hired Deney Terrio to host Dance Fever, and he hadn't hosted anything before. Deney lasted seven years on Dance Fever(Adrian Zmed did the last two years of Dance Fever).
Don't go there with Merv and Deney. It didn't end up pretty.
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Re: Trebek's replacement: short bench

Post by legendneverdies »

Robert K S wrote:
MarkBarrett wrote:If it is about the pipes then Pat Kiernan is at the top of the list.


Alex's voice has a touch of the avuncular that makes his reading almost like a bedtime fairy-tale. I'm not sure Kiernan has that, but then, I've never watched him doing his show on Channel 1. Also, at 45, Kiernan might be in the upper age range for candidates. If the producers are looking for another 30-year run, they should find someone 40 or under.

Kiernan trivia: he's famed in the comic book world as the sole link between the Marvel movie universes.
Trebek was 44(give or take a month) in the SUmmer of 1984 when he started taping J!. Barker was 48 when he started hosting TPIR. Both had or have had 30+ year runs with their shows.
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Re: Trebek's replacement: short bench

Post by ArthurChu »

I always thought the biggest problem with Will Ferrell's impression of Alex on SNL was that he doesn't actually have Trebek's voice -- he tries to do an impression of it but it comes off as just whiny and snobbish rather than having that avuncular-intellectual feeling to it.

And I think that's a shame, because Ferrell's Trebek crosses over so readily into outright frustration/anger/petulance in his interaction with awful contestants, whereas the real Alex Trebek has a kind of muted, did-I-hear-it-or-didn't-I way of subtly expressing displeasure with contestants who've just done something awful (which happens from time to time on the real show) that would be much funnier.
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Re: Trebek's replacement: short bench

Post by jeff6286 »

ArthurChu wrote:I always thought the biggest problem with Will Ferrell's impression of Alex on SNL was that he doesn't actually have Trebek's voice -- he tries to do an impression of it but it comes off as just whiny and snobbish rather than having that avuncular-intellectual feeling to it.

And I think that's a shame, because Ferrell's Trebek crosses over so readily into outright frustration/anger/petulance in his interaction with awful contestants, whereas the real Alex Trebek has a kind of muted, did-I-hear-it-or-didn't-I way of subtly expressing displeasure with contestants who've just done something awful (which happens from time to time on the real show) that would be much funnier.
I think plenty of people have thought it was pretty darn funny the way it was.
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Re: Trebek's replacement: short bench

Post by billiej »

RKane wrote:Jennings' lisp seemed more pronounced during BotD than I recall in his original run. It doesn't bother me, but I seem to recall reading someone complain about it once.
That was when I first noticed it too. I was thinking, "how did I miss that over 75 games?" So I guess it can't be that bad. To me, it certainly doesn't reach the point of distraction. And I never noticed it with David Madden.

Brad certainly has the voice and demeanor. But my vote would have to go to Pat Kiernan.
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Re: Trebek's replacement: short bench

Post by JeopardyBill »

As great as Jennings or Rutter might be as hosts, taking that job would, I think, necessarily disqualify them from ever participating in future tournaments.
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Re: Trebek's replacement: short bench

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JeopardyBill wrote:As great as Jennings or Rutter might be as hosts, taking that job would, I think, necessarily disqualify them from ever participating in future tournaments.
How would that be a problem? Alex makes a lot more than a chance at anything that's ever been won.
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Re: Trebek's replacement: short bench

Post by Robert K S »

I think even if they had a quarterly "dethrone Rutter" tournament, he still wouldn't stand a chance at making as much bread as Alex. But it's a lot less work to play than to host. :D
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Re: Trebek's replacement: short bench

Post by flemmingfan »

Late to the party as usual but here's my thoughts; I second the choice of Brooke Burns but on second pondering she may be a bit too ebullient for the show. I can see her running across the set and hugging the champion, so that leaves my alternate, Dr. J. Pulchritude and brains and wit.
As far as A.T. going over his pronunciations before a show, isn't that his job?
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Re: Trebek's replacement: short bench

Post by JeopardyBill »

alietr wrote:
JeopardyBill wrote:As great as Jennings or Rutter might be as hosts, taking that job would, I think, necessarily disqualify them from ever participating in future tournaments.
How would that be a problem? Alex makes a lot more than a chance at anything that's ever been won.
It doesn't have to be a problem. I would enjoy just a bit less watching a future Battle of the Decades (or other similar tournament) if one of the show's greatest participants was absent from competition.
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