Who is...Today’s Guest Host?

[Egg McMuffin]

I’d never heard of him before and never saw him when he was a contestant.

After just one night, he’s my favorite of all the guest hosts. Great presence and energy and love of the game. He was relaxed and seemed like he was having a blast. I liked Mike Richards too but he’s kinda Mr. Generic Game Show Host, while Buzzy has a unique presence.

Looking forward to seeing the rest of his run.

[Scott]

Wow, I must have been in a bad mood last night, because I really wasn't impressed with Buzzy at all.  I didn't dislike him, as I did when he was a contestant, but I thought his diction seemed sloppy and that he was just going through the motions.  Maybe a certain contestant's obnoxiousness set me off...I'll try to be more open tonight. 

[Mindthinkr]

I responded to Buzzy on Twitter. 

[mjc570]

I liked Buzzy, but I have to admit that I am still Team Ken.  

[rubaco]

5 hours ago, mjc570 said:

I liked Buzzy, but I have to admit that I am still Team Ken.  

I am too, but I'm surprised how impressed I am with Buzzy. (Did not like him as a contestant.) Dude really stepped up.

[shapeshifter]

32 minutes ago, rubaco said:

I am too, but I'm surprised how impressed I am with Buzzy. (Did not like him as a contestant.) Dude really stepped up.

Maybe I'm projecting, but I thought Buzzy was losing a little of his buzz (enthusiasm) the last couple of days.
Or maybe they told him to tone it down? Or to pace himself? 

Did anyone else notice this?
Just me?
Okay.

[Mindthinkr]

Actually when I was watching last nights show (Friday) I thought Buzzy looked and acted very excited for the players. 
I have heard from y’all how players lose steam when they are on a winning streak; it gets tiring doing show after show. I’m sure this is also something that effects the hosts as well. 

[HelenBaby]

45 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

Actually when I was watching last nights show (Friday) I thought Buzzy looked and acted very excited for the players. 
I have heard from y’all how players lose steam when they are on a winning streak; it gets tiring doing show after show. I’m sure this is also something that effects the hosts as well. 

Yeah, this is why I’m so impressed by multi day winners. And Ken Jennings? His feat was amazing. I realize that he got time off during his run, but he still had to play 10 games over two days most of the time. How did he keep from getting mush brain? 

[Roaster]

Mayim Bialik did a promotional interview.  Did you know Alex Trebek once did a guest shot on Blossom?

 

[shapeshifter]

10 hours ago, Roaster said:

Mayim Bialik did a promotional interview.  Did you know Alex Trebek once did a guest shot on Blossom?

 

I'm glad I watched this interview.
I am going to try to forget about that commercial. {La-la-la-la-laaaa. What commercial?}

Mayim's background bit here could be taken word-for-word for mine, and she is more like me than my real life sister. For example, I still have a row of blazers in my closet from working in academia. And we talk with our hands in the same way.

But to her 12-year-old: Little dude! Your Mom looks terrific! 

And her enunciation passes the fussy @shapeshifter test.

Edited May 30, 2021 by shapeshifter

[j5cochran]

5 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I am going to try to forget about that commercial. {La-la-la-la-laaaa. What commercial?}

Mayim's background bit here could be taken word-for-word for mine, and she is more like me than my real life sister. For example, I still have a row of blazers in my closet from working in academia. And we talk with our hands in the same way.

But to her 12-year-old: Little dude! Your Mom looks terrific! 

And her enunciation passes the fussy @shapeshifter test.

I'm looking forward to next week and I don't fault Mayim for her commercials. Don't y'all remember Colonial Penn Insurance?

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, j5cochran said:

I'm looking forward to next week and I don't fault Mayim for her commercials. Don't y'all remember Colonial Penn Insurance?

Agggh. I *had* forgotten! 

[Bastet]

I'm looking forward to Mayim Bialik's guest host stint.  From the basics I know about her, there's a lot I like, and she seems to love the show for the same reasons I do, so I'm happy for her to get this opportunity.  And I don't know anything about the specific charity she has chosen, but the cause sounds good.

Her victim-blaming Op-Ed in the early days of the Harvey Weinstein revelations and the metoo movement that escalated in response was horrible, and her initial response being defensive with an apology only coming later was disappointing, but in the overall context of what I know about her, I give her the benefit of the doubt that she did realize where she went wrong.

Shilling for some "brain supplement"?  Well, that's certainly not a good look, but she knows almost infinitely more about neuroscience than I do, and I'm not going to spend any time researching the product or parsing the commercial's language to determine degree of validity.  I think I'll just try to ignore it, like @shapeshifter.

A whopping two negative things spring to mind for someone who's been in the public eye since she was a kid over 30 years ago (I loved her in Beaches!).  She's an intelligent, accomplished woman, with tremendous intellectual curiosity (my favorite trait in people) who marches to the beat of a drum that's very different than mine in many ways but seems - one high profile example to the contrary aside, and, again, I opt to believe the reflection and remorse was genuine - quite non-judgmental of those who choose differently.

I'm here for it.  I mean, this show allowed Dr. Oz to sully its soundstage.  I'm not going to worry about Mayim Bialik.  In fact, I think she's a great fit for a show that is fundamentally about embracing knowledge.

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, Bastet said:

A whopping two negative things spring to mind for someone who's been in the public eye since she was a kid over 30 years ago

Thanks for putting that in perspective, @Bastet. 
Now I'm more excited to see her as a guest host than anyone else so far. 

[Gemma Violet]

Mayim Bialik did really well on her first show.

[chitowngirl]

I thought she did well too, just a little stiff. Hopefully she’ll loosen up after a show or two. I thought her way of saying the wager was odd. Instead of “fifteen o one” it was “one thousand five hundred and one dollars”. 

[Browncoat]

I think Mayim did a fine job -- better on her first show than some of the others.  I did think her jacket seemed a little tight, though.  Not a comment on her, but it looked uncomfortable.

[shapeshifter]

Included in my post for today on the Season 37 thread:

2 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Mayim totally wowed me. She was a cross between Vanna White, Elizabeth Banks, Alex, and Carl Sagan.
I think the scores might have been a little higher than they would have been had she not delivered the clues so clearly and kept it moving.

[Kromm]

41 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I think Mayim did a fine job -- better on her first show than some of the others. 

Putting aside any dumb things she may have said or done outside the show, this level is what I expected of her. I mean her competition so far has been former contestants, sports stars, newsreaders (good at reading copy, but not necessarily as good as an actor), quack celebrity doctors (good at lying, I guess), etc.  I mean, she really does have a good skillset for this. 

[Bastet]

She even has hosting experience.  Granted, of a really bad pandemic production called Celebrity Show-Off and a version of Candid Camera, but she has well over 100 more credits as herself in addition to her acting roles - she's very comfortable in front of the camera, whatever the extent of the script.

I missed tonight's episode, but I look forward to seeing the rest of her time as guest host.

[3 is enough]

I thought she did a great job.  

[PBnJay]

I very much like Mayim as host, but I'm a fan anyway. She's a favorite character on Big Bang and she's good as herself on other shows, like Match Game. I researched the "thing" she hawks on that commercial and it actually has pretty good reviews. I would buy it, and just might. 

It's interesting her charity is about mental illness. 

I thought Buzzy was stellar as host of the tournament. I enjoyed that two weeks. I know I will enjoy this week and next.

[Kromm]

4 hours ago, PBnJay said:

the "thing" she hawks on that commercial and it actually has pretty good reviews.

The consensus I've seen is that it's not likely to do anything measurable to your cognition, but unlike a lot of snake oil, it's harmless.  It's vitamins. 

I won't say she gets a full pass on it, but as questionable endorsements go, it's on the minor side.  If she does the job here well, I won't care about her hawking vitamins.  Unlike Dr. Oz, who was pushing weight loss pills, which are actually dangerous. 

[3 is enough]

Meh.  I give her a pass.  The ad just says it’s a supplement, it’s not promising increased cognitive function .  She probably got a nice sum of money.  Acting is not exactly known for job security.

I am enjoying her as host.

Edited June 2, 2021 by 3 is enough

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Kromm said:

The consensus I've seen is that it's not likely to do anything measurable to your cognition, but unlike a lot of snake oil, it's harmless.  It's vitamins. 

I won't say she gets a full pass on it, but as questionable endorsements go, it's on the minor side.  If she does the job here well, I won't care about her hawking vitamins.  Unlike Dr. Oz, who was pushing weight loss pills, which are actually dangerous. 

I'm still disappointed in Mayim's vitamin hawking. They are expensive. 
I'm also disappointed that Alex shilled life insurance.
And then there's Ice T, and Tom Selleck, and Joe Namath.
I guess they get to a level of wealth where they don't understand that they're asking folks to fork over their rent money for worthless crap and schemes?

*sigh*

I guess it puts the whole Jeopardy host lottery into perspective.  

[chitowngirl]

Jennifer Aniston does commercials for Vital Proteins as well as Aveno and you know she doesn’t need the $$. Let’s not forget George Clooney and Nespresso...

[catrice2]

Mayim may be my favorite yet, including past contestants. 

[Browncoat]

I like Mayim's enthusiasm and delight at some of the clues/responses.

[Fukui San]

A modest proposal: Do we need a permanent new host? Or could we just go with rotating guest hosts for now on? People are coming in and doing a decent job of it, and they're gone before they start to annoy viewers.

[Roaster]

59 minutes ago, Fukui San said:

A modest proposal: Do we need a permanent new host? Or could we just go with rotating guest hosts for now on? People are coming in and doing a decent job of it, and they're gone before they start to annoy viewers.

Sounds good to me.  People seem to think the choice of a new host is really important, though.  No matter who they pick some will grumble.  None of the guests have bothered me much, but I don't want any of them to get the job full-time.  And a new host every couple weeks keeps it all fresh.  There must be a near infinite supply of ex-champions and celebrity fans who would love to do it for a couple weeks.

[shapeshifter]

9 hours ago, Fukui San said:

A modest proposal: Do we need a permanent new host? Or could we just go with rotating guest hosts for now on? People are coming in and doing a decent job of it, and they're gone before they start to annoy viewers.

An interview with Jeopardy announcer Johnny Gilbert noted the added burden of working with new hosts every couple of weeks. It didn’t seem sustainable.
They could have just a few rotating hosts, but that would mean having to find qualified people who want a part time gig.  
And then there’d be the inevitable comparisons, which on today’s social media tend to devolve into nasty nitpicking. 

Edited June 5, 2021 by shapeshifter

[Browncoat]

There was an article in my local paper today about Johnny Gilbert.  I had a brief moment of panic, thinking he'd died, but it was fortunately just a feel-good story.  I had no idea that Johnny was born and raised in Virginia!

[estellasmum]

I just binged this week's episodes, and my reaction to Mayim is, "what is she laughing at"? It seemed especially noticeable on Wednesday. I'm also wondering if Julie might have been a bit more toned down (just a fraction) with another host. I really don't know much about her at all, other than I loved her "It's a tiara" bit on TBBT, so I was prepared to really like her, but she's not my favorite.

Edited June 5, 2021 by estellasmum

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, estellasmum said:

I just binged this week's episode, and my reaction to Mayim is, "what is she laughing at"? It seemed especially noticeable on Wednesday.

Wednesday was the show in which the last 2 categories in regular Jeopardy were "I'D LIKE TO BUY" and "'A' VOWEL."
After the second correct clue response in "I'D LIKE TO BUY" was revealed, Mayim, the contestant Robin [and I and no doubt many others] realized that all the correct responses for that category rhymed with "vowel," which seemed to amuse Mayim as much as it would amuse her The Big Bang Theory character to be in on a joke.

Edited June 6, 2021 by shapeshifter

[Roaster]

USA Today's TV critic ranks the 9 guest hosts so far.  She has Mike Richards number 1.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/the-best-and-worst-jeopardy-guest-hosts-from-mayim-bialik-to-buzzy-cohen/ar-BB1eUQnX

A couple weeks ago (pre Mayim), the website denofgeek.com also rated Mike Richards the highest.

https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/ranking-jeopardy-guest-hosts/

[PBnJay]

On 6/5/2021 at 12:18 AM, shapeshifter said:

And then there’d be the inevitable comparisons, which on today’s social media tend to devolve into nasty nitpicking. 

Truer words were never written. The online nastiness is so exhausting. It's easy to be mean, not so easy to find the bright side and say something positive.

That said, the list of guest hosts yet to come is long. I have to admit, I'm ready for them to pick one and just get on with the show.

[Bastet]

I'm perfectly content waiting until a new season to premiere the new host - and I'm really enjoying seeing the guest hosts' enthusiasm at getting to live out a fantasy for two weeks [and raise money for a favorite charity to boot]) - but if they fill the period of re-runs between this season's end and next season's premiere with Alex episodes, it could make the introduction of the new permanent host more difficult than it needs to be.  Yet if they fill it with re-runs from the guest host episodes, they're showing us things we just saw. 

I don't generally watch in between seasons, so how do they normally handle that six week summer reruns period -- show episodes from the season that just aired, or go back into the vault for some older ones?

[chitowngirl]

49 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I don't generally watch in between seasons, so how do they normally handle that six week summer reruns period -- show episodes from the season that just aired, or go back into the vault for some older ones?

They usually show the Tournaments that aired throughout the season-TOC, Teen, and College.

[Bastet]

1 minute ago, chitowngirl said:

They usually show the Tournaments that aired throughout the season-TOC, Teen, and College.

Hm, well, there were no teen or college tournaments this season, so they'll have to do something different.

[Browncoat]

It will be jarring if they go back to Alex episodes.

[HelenBaby]

1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

It will be jarring if they go back to Alex episodes.

I still see him every day and it’s difficult to remember that he’s no longer with us. Our local affiliate plays an old Jeopardy prior to the new episodes. 

[opus]

On 6/5/2021 at 4:55 PM, estellasmum said:

I just binged this week's episodes, and my reaction to Mayim is, "what is she laughing at"?

She seems to laugh a lot when someone gets a right answer.

[Egg McMuffin]

On 6/7/2021 at 8:04 PM, Browncoat said:

It will be jarring if they go back to Alex episodes.

I’d be surprised if they did for the “main” episodes (one of the local stations here also runs episodes from the previous season at an earlier time). The point of the guest hosts is to provide a transition period before the new host - they didn’t want to end Alex’s episodes on a Friday and then jump immediately to a new host the following Monday.

If Ken is the new host, then they’ll rerun his six weeks of episodes prior to the September premiere. Hey - you don’t think they planned it that way when they asked him to host for six weeks, do you? 😉

[Roaster]

In related news, the second-best game show on TV - the Bachelor franchise - has no host anymore.  This summer's Bachelor in Paradise will have a rotation of guest hosts including David Spade, Lil Jon, Tituss Burgess, and Lance Bass.  With more to be announced.

I am hoping Dr Oz gets in there somehow.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/bachelor-in-paradise-hosts-season-7-chris-harrison-exit-1234965422/

[secnarf]

Ok I definitely misread that post and thought Lance Bass was going to guest host Jeopardy 🤦‍♀️

 

[shapeshifter]

I happened to see part of an episode of the new(?)game show, The Chase, on which Ken Jennings is a regular, and it made me not like him so much as a future Jeopardy host because of his role on the show. Jennings and the other regulars are in the role of preventing the contestants from winning. Basically, the contestants have to be better at knowing trivia than Jennings and the other regulars. Even though the contestants did surprisingly well, it just made me see him as a sort of Villain of Game Showdom, LOL. It was similar to how I was less enthusiastic over Mayim once I saw her shilling vitamins for brain "health." It's almost as if one of the other future Jeopardy Host hopefuls is out there spending millions to make the others look bad, LOL. Hey, it would make an interesting plot of an episode of some mystery show, right?

Anyhoo, what I really came to post here relative to all that is that tonight, Sunday, on ABC in the second hour of primetime you can catch Ken Jennings in an episode of The Chase if you want to --whether to see him as a villain or a future Jeopardy Host. 

[saber5055]

@shapeshifter, swing on over to the thread for The Chase and read some of those comments, how Ken, Brad and James aren't being mean enough to the contestants. This show originated in the UK where "The Beast" Mark Labbett is the chaser and, from what I read, he is horribly mean and rude to the players, and that's the way this show is suppose to be.

Ken, Brad and James are mild, and all three are pretty nice to all the players if you watched Season 1 as I did. Season 2 just started and now The Beast is part of this show. So better skip The Chase from now on.

However, because someone plays a role on television doesn't make him or her a bad person, nor a bad choice to perform some other totally different role. Just like I doubt Danny Trejo acts like Machete IRL, or that Peter Stormare would really put someone in a wood chipper. However, tonight I recommend watching the Westminster Kennel Club dog show on Fox instead of The Chase.

[shapeshifter]

9 hours ago, saber5055 said:

@shapeshifter, swing on over to the thread for The Chase and read some of those comments, how Ken, Brad and James aren't being mean enough to the contestants. This show originated in the UK where "The Beast" Mark Labbett is the chaser and, from what I read, he is horribly mean and rude to the players, and that's the way this show is suppose to be.

Ken, Brad and James are mild, and all three are pretty nice to all the players if you watched Season 1 as I did. Season 2 just started and now The Beast is part of this show. So better skip The Chase from now on.

However, because someone plays a role on television doesn't make him or her a bad person, nor a bad choice to perform some other totally different role. Just like I doubt Danny Trejo acts like Machete IRL, or that Peter Stormare would really put someone in a wood chipper. However, tonight I recommend watching the Westminster Kennel Club dog show on Fox instead of The Chase.

Hah! Danny Trejo came to my mind when I was trying to express my concerns about Ken appearing on The Chase. "Geat minds think alike" and all that jazz, @saber5055, 😉.
I just don't think being in the role required by The Chase is going to win Ken any brownie points when TPTB decide *Who* will be the new host.
But I could be wrong. 
Like you said, he's not being mean by The Chase standards.
But if someone who has a significant measure of power to make the decision as to who is the new Jeopardy Host has never before seen  The Chase, seeing a clip might reduce Ken Jennings to mere mortal status in their eyes (as it did mine).

This Jeopardy host selection process really does have the makings of a future fictionalized script, IMO 
--sort of a First World version of Slum Dog Millionaire.

Edited June 14, 2021 by shapeshifter

[SoMuchTV]

3 hours ago, saber5055 said:

@shapeshifter, swing on over to the thread for The Chase and read some of those comments, how Ken, Brad and James aren't being mean enough to the contestants. This show originated in the UK where "The Beast" Mark Labbett is the chaser and, from what I read, he is horribly mean and rude to the players, and that's the way this show is suppose to be.

Ken, Brad and James are mild, and all three are pretty nice to all the players if you watched Season 1 as I did. Season 2 just started and now The Beast is part of this show. So better skip The Chase from now on.

However, because someone plays a role on television doesn't make him or her a bad person, nor a bad choice to perform some other totally different role. Just like I doubt Danny Trejo acts like Machete IRL, or that Peter Stormare would really put someone in a wood chipper. However, tonight I recommend watching the Westminster Kennel Club dog show on Fox instead of The Chase.

Wait, is there another thread for The Chase that I’ve missed?  The only one I saw (and posted on) was 99% about the British version.  Is there one where people are talking about how mean (or not) the US hosts are?

eta: oh now I see there’s a “chase 2021”. I’ll have to catch up. 

Edited June 13, 2021 by SoMuchTV

[shapeshifter]

Dragged over from the Season 37 thread:

5 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

12 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I do find Savannah Guthrie's wardrobe to be less obvious than Mayim's, which is a good thing for Jeopardy.

Obvious?

"Obvious" is probably not a great word choice on my part for a wardrobe, but "distracting" didn't seem to work either, because when "distracting" is used in reference to women's clothing, it is often in reference to sexuality, whereas I was thinking more of patterns, textures, and Mayim's somewhat unique style --although not unlike many of the blazers still hanging around my closet since I retired as an academic librarian 2 years ago. 
I found the wardrobe choices of both Savannah Guthrie and Katie Couric to disappear more into the background once the game commenced. IDK. I'm probably splitting hairs here.
I probably would have preferred some pants suits too.