Who is...Today’s Guest Host?

[Driad]

I sent one too.

[Trey]

Just sent my message.  Don't know if they care about opinions from Canada but they got it anyhow.

[Welshman in Ca]

10 minutes ago, Trey said:

Just sent my message.  Don't know if they care about opinions from Canada but they got it anyhow.

They don't care about anyone's opinions but they probably feel they need to be seen to be politically correct so expect to see more of MB.

[Toothbrush]

Message sent 

[rcc]

16 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Go to jeopardy.com. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen where it says, "Contact us."  Tell them this.

 

Done.

[Moose135]

They don't care about anyone's opinions...

You're right. I much prefer Buzzy as host, but did they listen to me? Nooooo. I'm fine with Mayim, I'm not a fan of Ken.

[Scott]

20 hours ago, Moose135 said:

I'm fine with Mayim, I'm not a fan of Ken.

I'm not a fan of Ken either, but as someone else said above, seeing last week's and this week's shows back to back forces me to admit that he's a better host.  

Granted, he was at the end of a few weeks of taping, and she was at the start of her session, so he may have had the benefit of having settled in, and it's possible things might change...

 

...but I kinda doubt it.

[estellasmum]

I've been on nights the last few days, and am just catching up on this week's episode. I didn't realize she was back. I made it halfway through Monday, and deleted, and deleted Tuesday's episode, too. I'll be watching here to see if and when he is back. It's not that I don't like her, Ken is just more Jeopardy to me. I know it shouldn't be such a big deal about who is hosting, but the whole prolonged search and Mike Richards debacle has made not watching Jeopardy for extended periods a thing in this house.

[alias1]

On 1/31/2022 at 10:39 PM, Prevailing Wind said:

Go to jeopardy.com. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen where it says, "Contact us."  Tell them this.

 

Thank you for posting this.   I sent them a message too. 

[seacliffsal]

I think I figured out why I so prefer Ken to Mayim and it's that Ken lets the game speak for itself while Mayim uses the game as a way to highlight herself.  

[SomeTameGazelle]

I don't think I fully agree with this opinion (and even the author admits that the examples of Pointless and Only Connect are different beasts from Jeopardy), but I found it interesting nonetheless.

[Prevailing Wind]

1 hour ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

I don't think I fully agree with this opinion (and even the author admits that the examples of Pointless and Only Connect are different beasts from Jeopardy), but I found it interesting nonetheless.

I don't want ebullience from my J! hosts - witness Bialik. It's overbearing.

[ABay]

Thank you posting that link and I'm going to read the article, but I'm so excited someone else knows about Only Connect and Pointless that I can't wait to post.

I wouldn't call Victoria ebullient. She's mostly wry & dry except when she makes the contestants sing. I would call Xander smarmy and the worst part of Pointless. What differentiates Pointless and Only Connect from a straight trivia show like Jeopardy or The Chase is that you have to know the answer and do something additional with the information. In Pointless, for example, it's kind of the opposite of Family Feud--you and your partner are trying to guess which one no one in the survey said. Lowest score wins. In Only Connect, your team of 3 has to figure out the link between 4 clues in the first round, in the next round you have to provide the last clue in a sequence, then there's the connecting wall where you have 2.5 minutes to arrange 16 clues into 4 groups of 4 connected clues, and then there's the missing vowel round.

Off to read...

And I've read...

Ha! That author also uses the Family Feud analogy. The only times I've seen Victoria wearing anything like the author describes is during the charity specials, like the Children in Need Special, or Red Nose Day special. I totally agree she's one of a kind, and I think I have a girl crush on her.

Edited February 5, 2022 by ABay

[Prevailing Wind]

1 hour ago, ABay said:

I think I have a girl crush on her.

But not her husband. I find David Mitchell as overbearing as Bialik. I like VCM, though.

[Irlandesa]

Meh.  That author seems to want to have written about their current game show discoveries and their editor told them "better link it back to what the US does in order for us to print it."

Daily British trivia shows vs. American trivia shows are, as the author states, different beasts.  The British shows are longer (no commercials.) They also give a lot of the time to the hosts.  The bit of Pointless I saw gave so much time to the host talking with the contestants and his co-host.  And Only Connect was a much slower paced game than Jeopardy!  Challenging, to be sure, but slower.

Is the idea of going with a broadcaster a good idea?  Sure.  Jeopardy! had that option.  But they still wouldn't be the kind of hosts the British hosts are.  I know Alex is this revered figure in game show history but even though he had a similar background to those British hosts, his hosting style was closer to Ken's than what the British hosts were asked to do.  That's just the nature of a 20ish minute show with approximately 14 minutes to do 60 questions, another few minutes for introductions and then anecdotes and final Jeopardy.

So much of what made Alex an icon is how long he had been doing the job. 

And I disagree that Ken's interaction with the contestants is flat.  In fact, I think it's what makes him quite good.

[Clanstarling]

6 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

And I disagree that Ken's interaction with the contestants is flat.  In fact, I think it's what makes him quite good.

I agree - his connection with the contestants is anything but flat, in my opinion. It's what made me want him as the permanent host.

[ProudMary]

Ken is genuinely good at small talk and it shows. That's a natural gift and not something easily developed. 

[Clanstarling]

12 hours ago, ProudMary said:

Ken is genuinely good at small talk and it shows. That's a natural gift and not something easily developed. 

I agree. I'm terrible at small talk, so I really appreciate it in others.

[Ailianna]

Mayim always seems fake and like she is trying too hard in the chat portions. I muss Ken!

[shapeshifter]

Although it's like one step forward and half a step backward, little by little I think Mayim is improving.
But I think tonight's wardrobe person hated her.

[Prevailing Wind]

3 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Although it's like one step forward and half a step backward, little by little I think Mayim is improving.
But I think tonight's wardrobe person hated her.

I thought she was her own wardrobe person.

[shapeshifter]

1 minute ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I thought she was her own wardrobe person.

If so, perhaps a therapist is required to resolve their conflict of interests.

[junemeatcleaver]

Mayim hosts how I imagine a Disney Channel star would host Jeopardy.  There is something child actor-y about her hosting that I can't really explain.

I hope they're auditioning more potential hosts on the DL, but I know it's going to be Ken or Mayim. *sighs*

[seacliffsal]

Okay, this is going to sound horrible but I don't mean it to be.  I was just thinking about this and wanted to ask-to be considered a neuroscientist, wouldn't Mayim actually have to be working in the field?  Although I have a doctorate and was a teacher, I don't reference myself that way anymore as I am retired (but I do refer to myself as a former teacher).  Even though Mayim has a doctorate isn't she more accurately an actress (well, and game show host...)? 

[Prevailing Wind]

I think so. She's an actress with a neuroscience degree. She's not a practicing neuroscientist. I don't even consider her a game show host; I think she's a bad actress playing the part of a game show host.

[chessiegal]

I have a PhD in chemistry. I'm retired, but just because I'm not working doesn't mean I'm not a chemist. My husband is a lawyer and retired. That doesn't mean he's not a lawyer. They didn't take our degrees away when we retired. He's a lawyer, I'm a chemist.

[Prevailing Wind]

5 hours ago, chessiegal said:

I have a PhD in chemistry. I'm retired, but just because I'm not working doesn't mean I'm not a chemist. My husband is a lawyer and retired. That doesn't mean he's not a lawyer. They didn't take our degrees away when we retired. He's a lawyer, I'm a chemist.

Has Bialik ever had a paying gig as a neuroscientist?

[Mindthinkr]

1 minute ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Has Bialik ever had a paying gig as a neuroscientist?

My guess is no. The closest she’s gotten to it is the Big Bang Theory. 

[HelenBaby]

13 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

My guess is no. The closest she’s gotten to it is the Big Bang Theory. 

I just checked her IMDb page and it appears that while she did some voice acting she wasn’t on camera from 1995-2003. I know she had a couple of kids in that time but I think she was in graduate school during some of her pregnancies. 

[seacliffsal]

22 hours ago, chessiegal said:

I have a PhD in chemistry. I'm retired, but just because I'm not working doesn't mean I'm not a chemist. My husband is a lawyer and retired. That doesn't mean he's not a lawyer. They didn't take our degrees away when we retired. He's a lawyer, I'm a chemist.

I understand that our degrees don't end when we stop working.  I guess it's more when people ask you what you do, do you still respond "I'm a chemist" or do you respond with what you are currently doing?  I am not questioning our degrees, I'm questioning Mayim referring to herself as a neuroscientist when not ever having been a practicing neuroscientist.  I know she has a PhD and is well versed on the focus of her research and dissertation.  This is really not even an important thought on my part-it's probably more that I don't like her and feel she is being pretentious.  

[chessiegal]

6 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

I guess it's more when people ask you what you do, do you still respond "I'm a chemist" or do you respond with what you are currently doing? 

I usually say I'm retired. But I've had instances where I'm in a social setting and something chemistry related comes up, and someone says, ask (me), she's a chemist. Not a retired chemist, or used to be a chemist, or has a degree in chemistry.

[PBnJay]

44 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

I'm questioning Mayim referring to herself as a neuroscientist when not ever having been a practicing neuroscientist.

If she's never worked as a neuroscientist, she's not a neuroscientist. I have a friend with a degree in history. He's employed by a manufacturing plant, he is NOT a historian. Another friend has a degree in economics. He manages a warehouse, he's not an economist. Another friend has an MBA; he is a professional dog handler. His profession is dog handler, not a business administrator.

Mayim is and has been employed as an actor, never as a neuroscientist. So for her to say she is one is bogus. She has that DEGREE, not that OCCUPATION. And yes, she is being pretentious but no surprise there.

Anyone with enough money can get a degree in anything. Doesn't mean they are what their degree is.

Edited February 10, 2022 by PBnJay

[Jeanne222]

On 2/5/2022 at 10:44 AM, seacliffsal said:

I think I figured out why I so prefer Ken to Mayim and it's that Ken lets the game speak for itself while Mayim uses the game as a way to highlight herself.  

Yes that’s it!  Well said. She’s just too on!

Ken is more like Alec. Cool and calm  

When will they stop playing around and settle on a permanent host. Hopefully Ken Jennings!

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Jeanne222 said:

When will they stop playing around and settle on a permanent host

I wonder if Amy has entered the realm of possible Jeopardy hosts?

[853fisher]

My undergraduate degree is in history and theater.  I have worked as a historian, although it's not my principal occupation right now (I would like it to be in the future), and would describe myself as such.  I have not been in a theater without buying a ticket since the day I graduated, so I would not describe myself as a stage manager.

I do think that Mayim's self-description as a neuroscientist is pretentious and affected.  I believe I would probably feel about the same way about someone I otherwise liked, but maybe not perhaps as passionately as I do about her, since I don't.

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, 853fisher said:

My undergraduate degree is in history and theater.  I have worked as a historian, although it's not my principal occupation right now (I would like it to be in the future), and would describe myself as such.  I have not been in a theater without buying a ticket since the day I graduated, so I would not describe myself as a stage manager.

I do think that Mayim's self-description as a neuroscientist is pretentious and affected.  I believe I would probably feel about the same way about someone I otherwise liked, but maybe not perhaps as passionately as I do about her, since I don't.

I wonder if having been a professional actor since she was a child, Mayim is always in the mode of presenting herself as an actor and considers being a neuroscientist to be one of her roles?

Anyway, I've noticed her wardrobe for the College bowl is much more camera friendly.

 

[Bastet]

23 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I wonder if Amy has entered the realm of possible Jeopardy hosts?

I wouldn't think so; does she have any hosting experience?

But she has quit her job to see where her public figure status can take her; she has an agent, is working on a book proposal, and wants to do charitable and voice acting work (along with traveling, going on a shopping spree, and saving up for a house).  She apparently said on Twitter she would be "willing to explore" becoming a J! host in the future, but I don't know the context (I assume in response to a question, but you know what they say about assuming) and said - I know not where, due to lack of citation <sigh> - “It would certainly be a cool experience.  It’s a lot harder than it looks. Whether I’d actually even be good at it, I don’t know … But yeah, I’d certainly consider it if somebody asked.”  But she also cast her vote for Ken Jennings:

Quote

“Ken Jennings should be the host,” Schneider said on CNN, according to The Week. “I really can’t say enough about him. I didn’t necessarily think that before going into this because, yes, he was a great champion, but this is a different skill set. But you could see the work that he put into it, and I just thought he did a really great job. So as far as I’m concerned, that’s my endorsement.” 

 

Edited February 11, 2022 by Bastet

[Caoimhe]

11 hours ago, 853fisher said:

I do think that Mayim's self-description as a neuroscientist is pretentious and affected.  I believe I would probably feel about the same way about someone I otherwise liked, but maybe not perhaps as passionately as I do about her, since I don't.

If she replaced “I’m a(n actual) neuroscientist” with “I have a doctorate in neuroscience” it would be accurate and doesn’t strike me as pretentious since it’s a fact.  Some writer might have scripted that line for her annoying vitamin ad but she still seems to describe herself that way.

I have a younger family member who holds degrees in microbiology.  Their jobs have never been in that field.  They will say their degrees are in microbiology but have never claimed to BE a “microbiologist”.

Must go watch last night’s Call Me Kat now, not to try keeping her from the permanent daytime hosting gig but that would be a bonus.

[Irlandesa]

On 2/10/2022 at 5:46 PM, shapeshifter said:

I wonder if Amy has entered the realm of possible Jeopardy hosts?

I just don't see Jeopardy! messing with what they have.  They have stability. 

I don't think they want to go back to the chaos that was rotating guest hosts and the warring faction of fans.  Right now they only have to contend with the Ken fans vs. the Mayim fans for the most part.

[Clanstarling]

7 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I just don't see Jeopardy! messing with what they have.  They have stability. 

I don't think they want to go back to the chaos that was rotating guest hosts and the warring faction of fans.  Right now they only have to contend with the Ken fans vs. the Mayim fans for the most part.

I'd be happy enough if they finally stabilized it to the deal she had before Richards was tossed -  Mayim for prime time shows, Ken for regular episodes.

[shapeshifter]

8 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

I'd be happy enough if they finally stabilized it to the deal she had before Richards was tossed -  Mayim for prime time shows, Ken for regular episodes.

Yes, but if Ken isn't up for that, instead of doing another rotation of various potential (and seemingly unvetted) hosts, hopefully Ken can continue as "hosting" while they occasionally bring in a new "substitute" when Ken is not available. It could be done very subtly, to avoid as much social media hoopla as possible, with Mayim still filling in, just not all the time.

[possibilities]

I like that idea, shapeshifter. And then if someone does a great job, it's a subtle way of developing the bench.

[PBnJay]

On 2/15/2022 at 8:32 AM, Clanstarling said:

I'd be happy enough if they finally stabilized it to the deal she had before Richards was tossed -  Mayim for prime time shows, Ken for regular episodes.

I'd be happier if they tossed that deal at the same time they tossed Richards and made Ken host for regular episodes, Buzzy host for prime-time and tournament shows.

[A commenter]

If she becomes the permanent host, I'll never watch the show again. 🤷‍♂️

[Clanstarling]

Though I'm not terribly fond of her, I watch to answer the clues myself, so I'm not going to stop doing that because of her quirks. Which is not to say that I very much want Ken to be the permanent host. I do, but I won't cut off one of the daily pleasures I share with my husband because of her.

[Back Atcha]

I prefer Mayim to Ken...but I prefer JEOPARDY! to any game show/trivia show, etc. so I'll accept what little they decide to give me.

That said, can't STAND poor Mayim's "sitcom."   The writing is so beneath her.

[deemac]

4 hours ago, Back Atcha said:

I prefer Mayim to Ken...but I prefer JEOPARDY! to any game show/trivia show, etc. so I'll accept what little they decide to give me.

That said, can't STAND poor Mayim's "sitcom."   The writing is so beneath her.

I would watch her if I thought there was a chance of a loser saying "But I took your brain pill!"  Not going to happen and even if it did they'd edit it out.

[Roaster]

Many Jeopardy! fans were concerned when Dr Oz got some hosting time.  Dr Oz is known to flirt with pseudoscience and unproven miracle weight loss supplements.

On his website he now has an article: "What Your Astrological Sign Can Tell You About Your Health"
 

UNFIT FOR JEOPARDY.

[Jeanne222]

I think enoughs enough!  Choose a host!  Pee or get off the pot!

I'm thinking they are playing this out for show publicity!

[ProudMary]

I think they've already decided on Ken as the permanent host, but may never make a big deal out of announcing it. They are unfortunately going to continue doing these subpar prime-time tournaments as long as ratings will allow. (Personally,  I don't think ratings will warrant their continuation for too much longer.) Mayim will continue to host those as she was officially named to that position. If for some reason, Ken is unable to host a week or two of the regular game, we may see Mayim as host, but I'm assuming that Ken is going to prioritize Jeopardy! over The Chase and MasterMinds so there will be little chance of needing a substitute host. JMHO.