OT: Jeopardy! fans

[albionmoonlight]

Earlier in the thread, I said that announcing Richards and then backtracking could be 4D chess to make the final choice seem more appealing.

I don't think that this was 4D chess. I think that this was Jeopardy just messing it up by letting Mike Richards name himself with no one external vetting him, etc.

Whoever is making the decision now, it feels like Burton or Jennings would be the choice to get the most people to say "Fine. That's pretty much who we all thought it would be. Let's just get the Mike Richards stuff behind us."

[albionmoonlight]

dola

I know some books had a market on this. I wonder how that worked.

Mike Richards got named as host. But he never hosted a game. I guess read the fine print.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

It looked like he had survived the first round of digging up old comments, but the stuff from that podcast was too much. If only he had run for president instead...

There's a Dick Cheney joke here somewhere, too

SI

[Joe]

So you’re saying Buzzy has another shot…

[sterlingice]

Where does this leave Mayim Bialik?

SI

[Joe]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Where does this leave Mayim Bialik?

SI

Same spot, unless she’s found a way with her schedule to be the full time host. That was the reason for the split duties.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by Joe

Same spot, unless she’s found a way with her schedule to be the full time host. That was the reason for the split duties.

That may be what they said, but I think Richards was the choice before anyone started guesting. Bialik was a way to make it look like there was a real search.

[NobodyHere]

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers 'definitely would've' taken the 'Jeopardy!' job if offered

I'm up for this.

[Butter]

Richards was the most "host-y" host, and I agree with what I read that said there was no real search and he was just biding time until he could give himself the job.

Cohen was probably my next favorite host, then the familiarity of Jennings would definitely be something I can get behind. Rodgers seems like he could grow into the job though and might be the closest to a high ceiling / high floor type.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers 'definitely would've' taken the 'Jeopardy!' job if offered

I'm up for this.

But here's the problem:

"I mean, if they would have figured out a way to make it work with my schedule, yeah, for sure."

[RainMaker]

I couldn't stand Jennings. Just talked way too fast.

[Joe]

It’s a shame that EP Richards didn’t do a better job vetting host Richards. Hopefully he’ll do a better job next time around.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I don’t really watch Jeopardy! at all, but I’ve found this whole saga fascinating.

So, this mediocre (really by his own admission) white guy manages to work himself up into a position - very likely through some sort of initial connection or contacts - where he is able to choose himself to be the next host of Jeopardy! He actually succeeds in doing this, gaming/rigging the game to give himself one of his dream jobs. All he had to do is not step on his tiny dick in the process and he couldn't even manage to get over that incredibly low bar. This is exactly what entitlement and privilege look like. He thought he could say whatever he wanted about whomever he wanted without facing any consequences, because he pretty much always could and did because of who he is.

The bill's come do, Mike.

[Comey]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

Sony hasn't exactly displayed glasnost in this process. We don't know what they can do if they really want someone. They can throw a lot of money into this.

I thought Bialik did well. Burton... not so much. I wanted him to succeed, being a big TNG fan. It was bad enough that I don't think he could keep the audience. I thought he and Dr. Oz were the ones who struggled so much with the clues and pacing that it just wouldn't work.

They say they'll have another round of guest hosts, which just adds to the mess. I hope they rethink that and use Ken Jennings until Bialik is available - maybe cancel that silly Team College Prime Time thing they proposed so that they can maximize what she can do until Call Me Kat fades into the shadows of sitcom lore.

Sony hasn't been honest about this, so the claim that they wanted Bialik in the first place, but scheduling got in the way, is probably untrue.

David Faber was surprisingly good, if not great, in his week. He said he would accept the full-time gig. Maybe that's a possibility. I wouldn't mind simply giving it to Jennings. His voice isn't great, but everything else is good and he has that long-term connection to hard-core Jeopardy fans - I could get used to the voice.

In LeVar Burton's defense, he was really given the short end of the stick. It appears that Richards went out of his way to sabotage him, based on various reports about how Burton was coached, the timing of his hosting, and other factors.

He definitely got off to a slow start, but had picked it up towards the end. IIRC, he also only got half of the shows as everyone else, and did all of his tapings in one day (which I know happens, but given all the other factors...Burton deserves much more of a shot).

[albionmoonlight]

New Jeopardy! host Mayim Bialik has some interesting views on C-sections pic.twitter.com/Gsrqy216S1

— Eoin Higgins (@EoinHiggins_) August 24, 2021

Picking a new Jeopardy host(s) should not be as hard as they are making it.

[QuikSand]

I'm trying to conjure up the right wording for an analogy...

Robert Bork : SCOTUS :: Mike Richards : Jeopardy!

...I think there's something there. "Richards'ed" is hard to verbify though.

[QuikSand]

frex, Ken Jennings has been a public figure with a lot of things said into the twittersphere to render him unable to survive the murderous scrutiny that this process now apparently demands. He has said things that will prove ableist, sexist, and offensive in other ways. He's cooked.

You need a candidate who literally just walked out of a cave. Some sort of recently unfrozen caveman classics scholar with an uncannily high Q rating.

[thesloppy]

I think Tom Hanks or Obama are the only acceptable choices at this point.

[sterlingice]

I think we might be making this too complicated. They clearly messed this up with Richards. Like if he was popular, they just stand behind him, ignore the old Tweets, and it goes away in a couple of months unless he's really bad at the job or does something new. Sure, Jennings has had some stuff come up but it's also been litigated before in the court of public opinion already. If you, say, go with him (or whoever) and then roll with it - this sort of stuff evaporates in a couple of months unless it's really egregious. The only reason the Richards stuff stuck to him is because everyone hated the pick to begin with.

SI

[JPhillips]

I don't care one way or the other about Bialik as a host, but thinking all the 1.2 mil c-section babies each year and their mothers should be allowed to die is crazypants.

[GrantDawg]

Am I reading that wrong? Doesn't she literally say "I don't subscribe to this"? She is literally saying some believe but she does not. What the heck is the problem?

[Kodos]

Yeah, I was confused by that too. She wasn't saying it, she was saying she knows others who feel that way.

[GrantDawg]

According to what I have read about this online, if you ever quote someone else's beliefs then you believe it too.
I guess me quoting that means I believe it as well. I don't, but the internet knows better.

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[JPhillips]

How does this all play out if Richards is staying on as Executive Producer? Will they try to go back to him after another round of guest hosts?

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

How does this all play out if Richards is staying on as Executive Producer? Will they try to go back to him after another round of guest hosts?

no

[Ksyrup]

Richards fired as EP of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.

[albionmoonlight]

Talk about a failed power play.

[cuervo72]

*snort*

Oh, finally made it to the Faber episodes (or second, anyway -- DVR missetting zapped his first and the last Burton ep). Yeah, he was pretty damned good. I'd have no qualms about giving him the job.

[GrantDawg]

Richard's gives a new meaning to the song "I Lost On Jeopardy."

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[Jughead Spock]

Huge, long-time Jeopardy! fan, and literally could not care less who hosts. Have IBM's Watson do it. Who watches for the host? Alex was great, but mostly because he was competent and familiar. It's not about the host, never was.

Granted, I'm not unhappy to see entitled, untalented white-guy #7,800,303,401 fail.

[sterlingice]

Looks like Bialik and Jennings will split duties for the rest of the year:

Jeopardy: Mayim Bialik, Ken Jennings to Host After Mike Richards Exit - Variety

SI

[QuikSand]

Well, in the onstage drama, multi-champ Matt Amodio could have lost last night. Score going into FJ was around 33-17-2… he missed it, and a rival knew it… but it was the wrong rival. So he lucked out a bit.

[QuikSand]

Amazing most of all that the internet didn't spoil this in advance...

Matt Amodio lost tonight after a great run for 38 episodes. Sorry for those of you who who are on a three week delay or whatnot.

Good well-fought game where he finished in a legit third place, not a fluky Fj or something like that. He was a very solid but humble champ.

[QuikSand]

Record-breaking contestant Matt Amodio ends “Jeopardy!� win streak with over $1.5M

[cuervo72]

Two weeks, but I'd already heard the spoiler (WaPo). Not that it matters much.

(might have been CNN; either way I saw the blurb)

[korme]

So, how does this work? I've admittedly followed Amodio's run more closely than previous lengthy champions. Does the winner that unseated the champion now typically go on a long run or is it more to it than that? What made this guy so special to take Amodio down?

[QuikSand]

I don't think the guy who beat him was a monster player, but let's say he's just a better than average J! contestant. Pretty good players who return (anytime) have a built-in edge of lessened nerves and more comfort with the timing of the signal and the general setup.

So, in the way that any returning champ is probably a favorite over two random new contestants, this guy has a solid shot to win a few games, sure. But there's nothing super special about him, I don't reckon.

[cuervo72]

IIRC, the woman who dethroned Ken lost the next game.

[JPhillips]

It's amazing how many people are convinced that he lost on purpose because he was tired of playing.

[cuervo72]

There were a couple of games earlier on when he very well could have lost -- he missed FJ but so did his opponents. Or at least so did the opponent in position to beat him.

[JPhillips]

Here's an interesting story on the season of streaks and how the game has changed this year.

What’s Behind All the Winning Streaks on ‘Jeopardy!’ This Season?

[QuikSand]

The current champion, Amy Schneider @Jeopardamy, is gathering a following as she gets past the $1m mark. She is an excellent player. Some are taking note in bizarre ways because she is a trans woman. I'm hopeful that for many people, "getting to know" her over a long stint as champion will prove to be an ease into a life being with and around those who are noticeably transgendered.

[QuikSand]

And last night there was a TERRIBLE wager in FJ. It's another familiar runaway for Amy, where she's up something like 36K 1K 4K. The guy in second place, who obviously has no shot to win for the night, bet it all on FJ and missed, and fell to third place rather than second. I know next to a million bucks a thousand bucks doesn't feel like a ton, but he literally threw a thousand dollars down the toilet by being either innumerate or nervous.

The number of book smart people who have time to prepare for being on this show that they active sought out to be on and presumably watch and know well, who nonetheless don't get the basic math at the end is easily an order of magnitude above what I'd find reasonable. Yikes.

[cuervo72]

One thing that I think Ken mentioned at some point is that Amy seems to be very good at the word puzzle categories. It's funny, because I feel like I have been "full-time training" as the Ringer article calls it, but I still don't think I'd be able to beat Amy (despite having good comparative results in LL recently). I have been absolutely flummoxed by some of those trick categories lately. Now, I'm sure watching at the end of a day where I've both worked AND gone through scores of trivia questions doesn't help (brain a little run down come 8PM or so), but those have been killing me.

[CarterNMA]

That guy with the annoying effing glasses? He's my neighbor.

Spoiler

Down goes Frazier! Just after passing Amodio. Did not see that coming...

He's not really my neighbor, just wanted to have double protection for spoiler the results today.

[Ksyrup]

You could tell she didn't know it during the time and then right after. All she was hoping is no one got it.

[Ksyrup]

Oh, and I hope that guy goes down in the next game. I don't like his vibe at all.

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Oh, and I hope that guy goes down in the next game. I don't like his vibe at all.

It's refreshing just to see someone who knows he has to bet it all when hitting a DD against someone that good.

[cuervo72]

James has great troll game:

What a run by @Jeopardamy!

- 40 games won (35 more than @bradrutter)
- Fifth-ever Jeopardy millionaire
- Made @KenJennings watchable

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

It's refreshing just to see someone who knows he has to bet it all when hitting a DD against someone that good.

yes 100X this ... i am astounded how many people who are smart enough to get onto the show and smart enough to be in contention then make inexplicably bad wagering decisions that reveal that they never bothered to think through how the game works

that guy absolutely HAD to push nearly all his money in on the last DD, correctly did so, and then had a chance to benefit the way he did (he got FJ, Amy missed it) ... but it seems like an unreasonable share of people facing that situation click on their risk-averse glasses too comfortably