Thoughts on Michael Davies in 2021 compared to now

[Trevor807]

So this is my first topic here. Apologies for the wall of text...

Now that a good amount of time has passed since he was selected as interim showrunner in August 2021 to replace the disgraced Mike Richards and then permanent showrunner in April 2022, I've been wanting to ask how our opinions of ol' Davo have changed since then.

How did you think he would do when he was first put in charge? Has this changed since then? If so, what caused your opinion of him to change, what do you think of Mr. Davies now in relation to Richards or Harry Friedman, and who would you have chosen as EP instead?

Personally, I thought he would save the show when he was first put in charge (his faux-superfan attitude certainly caught me hook, line and sinker then), and I actually did think that for a while, what with the podcast and his sports approach (the latter of which I no longer support). Unfortunately, that opinion ended up aging like milk as time went on and the holes in his leadership were slowly exposed. When the Bible Final clue and his response to the criticism of said clue happened (during the ToC, no less) last year, that was it. I still see him as better than Richards (at least Davo didn't make any offensive comments I've heard about, have any behind-the-scenes issues I know of, or try Leno'ing his way into the hosting job), but that's not saying much, and he's done just about everything we were not liking Richards for even before Alex died (even the subreddit is starting to turn on Davo, if their reaction to his recent gimmick is any indication). He's certainly no Friedman to me, and quite frankly I would not be sad if he were fired. I would've picked Sarah, Jimmy or a longtime veteran like Lisa or Rocky to lead instead; any of them, IMHO, would've been much better, and would've shown any real passion for the show (unlike Davies, whose attempts come off as fake to me).

Honestly, I'd say he should stick to Men in Blazers and his other sports stuff. He's proven numerous times that game shows just aren't his forte; even Millionaire (which I should be praising him for, given that he brought it to the States and it became his biggest claim to fame) was ruined by his love of gimmicks.

Now I pass this onto you.

[alietr]

I've certainly soured on him. He's too intent on milking the cash cow and he's going to ruin it in the process. There was a reason it's been as successful for as long as it has (obviously in part because of Alex) ... it was left alone to be what it is.

[Trevor807]

Indeed, I wonder if the show will even make it to 2033 (when the current NFL deal expires) if Sony doesn't have the common sense to kick him out?

[Bamaman]

Indeed, I wonder if the show will even make it to 2033 (when the current NFL deal expires) if Sony doesn't have the common sense to kick him out?

What does the NFL deal have to do with this?

[Trevor807]

As OntarioQuizzer theorizes, the thinking is that the NFL will go all-streaming come 2034, which could put TV stations out of business.

[OntarioQuizzer]

Indeed, I wonder if the show will even make it to 2033 (when the current NFL deal expires) if Sony doesn't have the common sense to kick him out?

What does the NFL deal have to do with this?

It's a pretty common feeling in TV circles that the broadcast networks are really only existing in their current fashion because they have NFL rights and if they lose those NFL rights (and it's possible that they do in 2033 at the expiration of the current deal) then the American broadcast networks will go belly-up incredibly fast—and all of syndicated TV, Jeopardy! included—goes belly-up along with it.

[Austin Powers]

I think his most fundamental error is that he thinks that you at home care in particular about certain contestants.

A megachamp, sure, but those also can be divisive.

But there’s no reason to bring back 90% of these folks. They had one interview segment. Some of them answered eight times. There is no rooting interest for any of these folks, including folks who post here - sorry.

People watch it because they want to see people answer questions and sometimes miss those questions. Folks at home like getting questions that folks on TV do not get.

These contestants are not sports teams and they are rarely memorable. My well-being and happiness are not tied to whether or not any one person wins one episode.

Similarly, their Twitter and social media presence has no bearing on my life also. I really don’t care what any of these folks tweet about. Their being on TV does not mean they have any insight or humor regarding anything I care about.

[Trevor807]

There are people who do care about said contestants, but do they even make up half the show's audience?

[davey]

I think his most fundamental air is that he thinks that you were at home care in particular about certain contestants.

A megachamp, sure, but those also can be divisive.

But there’s no reason to bring back 90% of these folks. They had one interview segment. Some of them answered eight times. There is no rooting interest for any of these folks, including folks who post here - sorry.

People watch it because they want to see people answer questions and sometimes miss those questions. Folks at home like getting questions that folks on TV do not get.

These contestants are not sports teams and they are rarely memorable. My well-being and happiness are not tied to whether or not any one person wins one episode.

Similarly, their Twitter and social media presence has no bearing on my life also. I really don’t care what any of these folks tweet about. Their being on TV does not mean they have any insight or humor regarding anything I care about.

I find the catastrophizing in this thread overblown (if everything goes to streaming, so will J!), but I do agree with this. The idea of making J! players stars is a no-go...

[Trevor807]

Alex did say the contestants were the stars, but Davo probably took it literally.

[Austin Powers]

The incidental absurdity is that the one thing that does get folks in the public talking is a mega champion. By cutting out more and more of the season in favor of a perpetual tournament, it’s just that less likely that will get such a champion.

This approach is making the wildcard game more important than the Super Bowl.

[Robert K S]

Will no one step up to defend the CWC?

If not, then is it not ironic that a tournament ostensibly created as fan service would alienate fans?

[Volante]

And J! is still the top rated syndication program for something like 25 weeks now, which included the Second Chance and High School Reunion tournaments.

https://tvnewscheck.com/article/tag/wee ... n-ratings/
SCT week 1: Jeopardy (CMV) 5.2 NC
SCT week 2: Jeopardy (CMV) 5.4 +4%
TOC week 1: Jeopardy (CMV) 5.3 -2%
TOC week 2: Jeopardy (CMV) 5.5* +4%
TOC week 3: Jeopardy (CMV) 6.1* +11% (this was the week of five games with Amy, Andrew and Sam only, by the way.)

HSR week 1: Jeopardy (CMV) 5.5 -5%
HSR week 2: Jeopardy (CMV) 5.5 NC
HSR week 3: Jeopardy (CMV) 5.5 NC

[LucarioSnooperVixey]

No change.

[OrchidEntity]

So this is my first topic here. Apologies for the wall of text...

It was an engaging read, I must say. Even so...I lack a very strong opinion on Davies/the show's direction besides the following:

1.) Provided a morally bankrupt person doesn't take over the show again at some point down the road, it's likely I'm gonna see this show's wild ride through to the end, whenever and however the end may be.

2.) Burnout to the show and its gimmicks amongst the general public is very possible eventually. How long will it take? Who knows. But when the ratings start to tumble (and it has happened or will happen to nearly every show that's ever been made), that is when Davies could be in danger of losing his job.

No change.

A few opinions on the Internet have painted the CW as a calamitous decision when we've only known about it for a day (though I'm a bit mixed on the idea myself), so I kind of appreciate this take.

[Woppy T]

Bring back Mike Richards.

[Bamaman]

Bring back Mike Richards.

Bob Barker’s issues dealing with women in the workplace were a lot worse than Richards’.

[Anachronism]

I'm not happy with the direction. More tournaments gets us further and further from the "everyman" feel of the show. I think they should be looking for more opportunities to bring in new players, not less.

I don't think the second-chance tournament worked. It felt like they were trying to turn "normal" people into celebrities. It felt like it was being cast rather than organically grown. This only expands the same concept, like this is now a special club to which I will never belong as a viewer.

When Alex said the contestants were the stars of the show, he didn't mean it in an individual sense, that we were now tied to the two new contestants of the day.

Bringing back someone, for any reason, makes that person a celebrity, no longer one of us. That should be reserved the best of the champions.

[econgator]

I've certainly soured on him. He's too intent on milking the cash cow and he's going to ruin it in the process. There was a reason it's been as successful for as long as it has (obviously in part because of Alex) ... it was left alone to be what it is.

+1

[Bamaman]

I've certainly soured on him. He's too intent on milking the cash cow and he's going to ruin it in the process. There was a reason it's been as successful for as long as it has (obviously in part because of Alex) ... it was left alone to be what it is.

+1

He is fixing what wasn’t broken.