What is...In the Media?

[Trey]

This is all making me feel very bad for the future of Jeopardy! They should ditch Richards right now and go with someone else who doesn't have any baggage.

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, possibilities said:

Nothing will convince me that the J! producers had no idea Richards had a history of sexual harassment on his resume.

Nope.  They knew.  Or heard about it.  But I have no doubt they managed to justify it to themselves as "not that bad." 

This is a huge opportunity and this is best they can do?

 

[Prevailing Wind]

I sure hope this was leaked to judge public/fan reaction and they're taking notes.

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, possibilities said:

Nothing will convince me that the J! producers had no idea Richards had a history of sexual harassment on his resume.

If the Sony execs who hired him didn't know, it was only due to gross negligence in vetting him; he only signed the Sony deal in August of 2019, and the three lawsuits (for discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination) had been filed in 2010 and 2011, with one settled in 2013 and the other two I'm not sure when.

So, yeah, if they want to claim ignorance - which I would never believe in a thousand years; they (and quite possibly Alex, too) knew, and didn't care, which is what almost always happens - they'll have to claim gross incompetence in not even doing a cursory background check.

[rcc]

Because of the lawsuits with one being settled no less he should not be named the new host. He wasn't bad but did seem smarmy to me. They should give it to Jennings.

[Prevailing Wind]

7 minutes ago, rcc said:

Because of the lawsuits with one being settled no less he should not be named the new host. He wasn't bad but did seem smarmy to me. They should give it to Jennings.

Buzzy!!!

[rcc]

2 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Buzzy!!!

Nope sorry. Not a Buzzy fan.

[Prevailing Wind]

I wasn't when he was a contestant, and no one is more flabbergasted than I am that I enjoyed him so much as a host.

[shapeshifter]

5 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

13 minutes ago, rcc said:

Because of the lawsuits with one being settled no less he should not be named the new host. He wasn't bad but did seem smarmy to me. They should give it to Jennings.

Buzzy!!!

Any of the above (not the Tainted One).

[possibilities]

3 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I sure hope this was leaked to judge public/fan reaction and they're taking notes.

They shouldn't need a public outcry to figure out this is a terrible idea. It shows who they are, as much as who Richards is. And it's a totally arrogant, unforced error. They could have been getting great publicity, building excitement and momentum. They blew a lot of good will with this BS.

[Mario500]

"Alex Trebek's likely 'Jeopardy!' successor defends himself on allegations he mistreated colleagues" (article)

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Mario500 said:

"Alex Trebek's likely 'Jeopardy!' successor defends himself on allegations he mistreated colleagues" (article)

Way to bury the lead, CNN!

Quote

Richards, who is currently the executive producer of “Jeopardy!,” said “no final decisions have been made” about the next host. “Discussions with me and other potential hosts are still ongoing,” he wrote in an internal memo Monday morning.

 

[Hpmec]

So it's Mike Richards for the everyday stuff and Mayim Bialik for "specials." I think they are planning to go prime time on ABC with tournaments and she can host those. Not happy about this. I still think he picked himself, and the nod to Mayim is nice but feels a little like grudgingly tossing a bone to appear fair minded. 

[3 is enough]

Oh well.  It is what it is, I guess.  I do wonder how many special events there will be?  The fact that they have named Mayim means there must be a few things in the works.  Maybe a prime time version once a week?

I did read somewhere that the show wanted the new host to give up all other projects, so the choice of Mike Richards makes sense.  I don't know what Buzzy does for a living, but all the other guest hosts have jobs that I can't see them giving up.  

Mayim has a sitcom on Fox, but since her new role at Jeopardy seems more limited I guess they can work around it.  Also, there is no guarantee her show will last past this season, as is the case with most tv shows.

Edited August 11, 2021 by 3 is enough

[biakbiak]

4 minutes ago, 3 is enough said:

I don't know what Buzzy does for a living, but all the other guest hosts have jobs that I can't see them giving up.  

He runs a company that makes jingles/does music placement for commercials. 

[Mario500]

"Sony Pictures Television Names Mayim Bialik And Mike Richards As Jeopardy! Hosts" (article)

[shapeshifter]

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/mike-richards-jeopardy-host-mayim-bialik-1235039354/

includes a quiz of your opinion of "How do you feel about Mike Richards becoming the permanent 'Jeopardy!' host, with Mayim Bialik hired to fill in for primetime specials and a potential spinoff series?"

[seacliffsal]

I did not enjoy Mayim during her run on the show.  I felt she made it about herself quite a bit.  Oh well.  Maybe she'll settle in a bit.

I think the big problem is they went with an "insider" even though they gave the appearance of considering several candidates for the position so it seems like it was all a con.

[Prevailing Wind]

I'm disgusted.

[Trey]

11 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/mike-richards-jeopardy-host-mayim-bialik-1235039354/

includes a quiz of your opinion of "How do you feel about Mike Richards becoming the permanent 'Jeopardy!' host, with Mayim Bialik hired to fill in for primetime specials and a potential spinoff series?"

"Not a fan" is at 47% in the quiz. I contributed to that 47%.

[Mario500]

"PREEMPTION ALERT - WEEK OF AUGUST 9, 2021"

Quote

If you watch Jeopardy! on the following stations, due to various events, Jeopardy! may be preempted or moved this week. Below are the following locations that may be affected. In some areas Jeopardy! may air at a later time. Please check your local listings for more information.

STATION                              ORIGINAL TIME                UPDATES

Boston, MA, WBZ-TV          7:30 p.m.                           8/12 - Show will not air due to "NFL Football" (Washington/New England) in time period.

Denver, CO, KDVR-DT         6:00 p.m.                           8/12 - Show will air at 8:00 p.m. due to "MLB Baseball" in time period.

Cincinnati, OH, WXIX-TV    7:30 p.m.                           8/12 - Show will air at 1:05 a.m. due to "MLB Baseball" in time period

New Orleans, WVUE-DT     6:00 p.m.                           8/12 - Show will air at 1:30 a.m. due to "MLB Baseball" in time period

Buffalo, NY, WIVB-TV         7:30 p.m.                           8/13 - Show will shift to WNLO at 7:30 p.m. due to "NFL Football (Buffalo/Detroit) in time period.

"FOX Sports Goes the Distance with First-Ever MLB at Field of Dreams Broadcast" (article)

Quote

New York – For the first time ever, FOX Sports and Major League Baseball tap into the compelling recollections from the Academy Award®-nominated film from Universal Pictures, Field of Dreams, to deliver a regular-season matchup between the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox. MLB AT FIELD OF DREAMS PRESENTED BY GEICO airs live from the site of the American movie classic Thursday, Aug. 12, at 6:00 PM ET on FOX.

Just steps away from the original movie set in Dyersville, Iowa, the lead MLB on FOX broadcast team of Emmy Award winners bring the action to life as Joe Buck and John Smoltz have the call and reporters Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci provide the latest information from the ground at the purpose-built ballpark. Coverage is slated to begin at 7:00 PM ET on FOX.

 

Edited August 12, 2021 by Mario500

[shapeshifter]

12 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/mike-richards-jeopardy-host-mayim-bialik-1235039354/

includes a quiz of your opinion of "How do you feel about Mike Richards becoming the permanent 'Jeopardy!' host, with Mayim Bialik hired to fill in for primetime specials and a potential spinoff series?"

10 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I'm disgusted.

That was not an option. 🙃

 

[possibilities]

I would have been fine with them choosing a no name person rather than a celebrity. I just really think the picks they made are terrible. 

[Linda956]

I'm not happy with their decision regarding Mike Edwards.  Why go through all this fuss with the guest hosts only to end up with an EP of the show?  Look, there were guest hosts that definitely weren't going to be considered - like Robin and George from Good Morning America, but others might have been a better fit than Mike Edwards.  And not only that, what really bugs me is his previous allegations of sexual harassment of women when he was EP on The Price Is Right. Let's hope this doesn't come back and bite them in the ass.  I just feel it's a slap in the face to the guest hosts (like Levar Burton) who really wanted the gig. Although I didn't think he did that well in his tryout, I did like Mayim Bialik.

[Prevailing Wind]

1 hour ago, Linda956 said:

I'm not happy with their decision regarding Mike Edwards.  Why go through all this fuss with the guest hosts only to end up with an EP of the show?  Look, there were guest hosts that definitely weren't going to be considered - like Robin and George from Good Morning America, but others might have been a better fit than Mike Edwards.  And not only that, what really bugs me is his previous allegations of sexual harassment of women when he was EP on The Price Is Right. Let's hope this doesn't come back and bite them in the ass.  I just feel it's a slap in the face to the guest hosts (like Levar Burton) who really wanted the gig. Although I didn't think he did that well in his tryout, I did like Mayim Bialik.

Richards, not Edwards.

This crap of "special events" just smacks of Richards' trying to make J! "exciting."  How long before we get contestants that jump up & down and squeal when they're correct?

[Caoimhe]

2 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Richards, not Edwards.

This crap of "special events" just smacks of Richards' trying to make J! "exciting."  How long before we get contestants that jump up & down and squeal when they're correct?

It might work nicely with Mayim’s giggling exuberance.

[Trey]

2 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

How long before we get contestants that jump up & down and squeal when they're correct?

We need a barf emoji for that.

[Driad]

8 hours ago, Mario500 said:

Boston, MA, WBZ-TV          7:30 p.m.                           8/12 - Show will not air due to "NFL Football" (Washington/New England) in time period.

Try channel 38.  They are showing Wheel of Fortune right now, so they may have Jeopardy at 7:30.

During yesterday's Jeopardy, WBZ ran a crawl that said today's WoF would air in March.  Maybe they meant to say J! would be on 38, but someone pushed the wrong button and ran the wrong crawl.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Trey said:

5 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

How long before we get contestants that jump up & down and squeal when they're correct?

We need a barf emoji for that

Like this?   
🤢🤮

[Halting Hex]

Pathetic.

Not only does Richards have scandals, but he was BORING.  And putting the showrunner as host has obvious problems.  (Who's going to tell Mike when he sucks?)

Mayim "I have a Ph.D!"  Bialyk was annoyingly self-congratulatory, I thought.

Not that anyone cares, but

1. Rodgers (his disappointment when people flub Cal-Berkeley or Packers questions reminded me of Alex when there was a "Canadian geography" stumper)

2. Faber (years of playing foil to Jim Cramer have given him the dry humor that works so well in the role)

3.  Ken (the original is still the best?  I can just imagine him cocking an eyebrow at Matt's accomplishments)

This pair of failures is just embarrassing, IMO.  I'd rather have had LeVar, even.  JMO.

[Lilac2000]

And they didn't even give the one person Alex himself mentioned, Laura Coates, a tryout.

Although to be fair they maybe asked her and she passed.

[ProudMary]

This is from TMZ. I'd give it more validity were it from THR or Variety, but according to their "Sony sources", Mayim Bialik was their first choice for the full-time Jeopardy! host. They couldn't make the scheduling work with Mayim's other projects and this hybrid hosting was the alternative. 

https://www.tmz.com/2021/08/13/mayim-bialik-top-choice-jeopardy-host-sony-execs-other-commitments/

groups.

Our sources say several Sony execs were "very interested" in Mayim for hosting duties on the daily syndicated program, but because of her other commitments -- she stars and executive produces "Call Me Kat" on FOX, and hosts a podcast -- they knew it wasn't going to be possible.

So, because they loved her so much ... we're told "Jeopardy!" honchos came up with the idea for 2 hosts -- one for the daily show, and Mayim for the quiz show's primetime and spin-off specials.

[Trey]

On 8/12/2021 at 8:11 PM, shapeshifter said:

Like this?   
🤢🤮

Exactly like that! I forgot we already had one.

[shapeshifter]

8 hours ago, ProudMary said:

This is from TMZ. I'd give it more validity were it from THR or Variety, but according to their "Sony sources", Mayim Bialik was their first choice for the full-time Jeopardy! host. They couldn't make the scheduling work with Mayim's other projects and this hybrid hosting was the alternative. tmz.com/2021/08/13/mayim-bialik-top-choice-jeopardy-host-sony-execs-other-commitments/

Huh. I had high hopes for Mayim going into the Guest Hosting, but was not impressed. Still, I am not in that industry, and maybe they saw potential I could not. Her diction was better than a lot of the others.

I wonder if this means Mayim might take over in season 39?

 

 

 

9 hours ago, Lilac2000 said:

And they didn't even give the one person Alex himself mentioned, Laura Coates, a tryout.

Although to be fair they maybe asked her and she passed.

And it would be nice to know that, but I can understand her not wanting to get a slew of social media attention for just having to say "No thank you."

 

 

Edited August 15, 2021 by shapeshifter

[deemac]

21 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

This pair of failures is just embarrassing, IMO.  I'd rather have had LeVar, even.  JMO.

Oh no.  I don't have kids so I know nothing about Reading Rainbow, heck when I was a kid only rich people got to go to kindergarten.  But in my limited experience Burton used 'reading to toddler' voice and facial expressions to make everything an exclamatory sentence.  Both he and Oz would make me give up Jeopardy.  Mayim hosting will make those shows an 'if I have nothing else to do' situation.

 

d

[shapeshifter]

"Video: Alex Trebek makes a permanent mark on Sudbury Secondary: Montreal muralist Kevin Ledo puts a 1970s spin on tribute mural to Jeopardy! host and Nickel City son at Sudbury Secondary School"
sudbury.com/local-news/video-alex-trebek-makes-a-permanent-mark-on-sudbury-secondary-4236894

[shoregirl]

Wrong thread

Edited August 19, 2021 by shoregirl

[tomorrowgirl]

Nevermind

 

Edited August 20, 2021 by tomorrowgirl

[junemeatcleaver]

11 minutes ago, tomorrowgirl said:

Mike Richards will not be the new host of Jeopardy after all.

The executive producer hiring himself was always going to be a distraction.

[Mario500]

"Mike Richards Out As ‘Jeopardy!’ Host Amid Backlash" (article)

[CVC]

Ouch…

[dcalley]

"Man Quits Job, Keeps Job In Which He Gave Himself That Job" aka The Mike Richards 'Jeopardy!' Fiasco Was Maddeningly Predictable by Linda Holmes at NPR. An excerpt:

Quote

Is it the intent that he would now oversee a new host selection process? That he would be the person a candidate would sit down with, who would say, "What do you think makes you right for this job?" And that this candidate would have to resist saying, "I have never made a podcast with 'dumb' in the title at any of my workplaces?"

If anything, you can argue that it's more pressing that Richards be relieved of the EP job than of the hosting job, and that the only reason he'd leave the latter and not the former is that he's leaving the one that draws more attention and thus more fire. The substantive problem with these remarks is not that he was somehow going to make them on the air on Jeopardy! in his capacity as host, since he probably wasn't going to call anyone a slut while calling on her during the Daily Double. The substantive problem with these remarks is the attitude they convey, and in the context of management jobs, the environment they could create for employees.

It comes down, honestly, to this: How do you leave someone in charge of your show who opened with a catastrophic handling of the biggest possible executive producing task, apparently to his own benefit? And how do you make someone the boss who didn't meet the character requirements to be the host?

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Mario500 said:

"Mike Richards Out As ‘Jeopardy!’ Host Amid Backlash" (article)

The buried lead?: "Meanwhile, guest hosts once again will be stepping in."

Also worth reading (IMO) at the moment is the post just above mine by @dcalley quoting the most important (IMO) bits of the NPR piece.
 

 

[EllenB]

I'll take "Who needs his ass to be fired?" for $1000, please. And let's make that a true Daily Double.

[dcalley]

10 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

The buried lead?: "Meanwhile, guest hosts once again will be stepping in."

Also worth reading (IMO) at the moment is the post just above mine by @dcalley quoting the most important (IMO) bits of the NPR piece.

Another thing I think is worth talking about is this, from Claire McNear's piece in The Ringer: "a college tournament ... and a recently advertised competition for college professors have been promoted by a professional casting agency." I don't think Jeopardy has ever wanted for contestants, and given Mike Richards's comments about people's bodies, this concerns me.

[Prevailing Wind]

1 hour ago, EllenB said:

I'll take "Who needs his ass to be fired?" for $1000, please. And let's make that a true Daily Double.

I'd prefer it be his Final Jeopardy!

 

[Thalia]

On 8/6/2021 at 6:04 PM, Prevailing Wind said:

I wasn't when he was a contestant, and no one is more flabbergasted than I am that I enjoyed him so much as a host.

I have to vehemently disagree!  I was certainly the most flabbergasted and didn't think I'd get through the TOC because of the Buzzster.  After one show he shot up to the top of my list. 

Richards should NOT have a large say in choosing the next host, at least IMHO.   I just read that he didn't let Buzzy or Ken attend yesterday's taping (Richards hosted 5 shows which are supposed to air before production was suspended.)  I read that Cohen and Jennings were asked to watch from the green room.  Reading between the lines for $1600:   Maybe there is some enmity between Richards and the other candidates for the job.  

 

[Hpmec]

My opinion counts for nothing, but at this point they can only redeem themselves by giving Mayim the job, or, Buzzy or Ken. Those guys live Jeopardy and Mayim brought warmth and enthusiasm to her hosting stint. Maybe hire the three of them as rotating hosts. As much as I like LaVar as a person, I didn't think he was right for the job. 

[ams1001]

8 minutes ago, Hpmec said:

My opinion counts for nothing, but at this point they can only redeem themselves by giving Mayim the job, or, Buzzy or Ken. Those guys live Jeopardy and Mayim brought warmth and enthusiasm to her hosting stint. Maybe hire the three of them as rotating hosts. As much as I like LaVar as a person, I didn't think he was right for the job. 

Please not Mayim. I know some people have issues with some of her views/statements, too, though of a different sort...but mostly I just found her annoying. Not a fan of rotating hosts, either. I wish they would just pick an interim host instead of another round of guests.

[Doctor Whom]

Thursday was a taping day.  What happens to those episodes?  It would be kind of awkward to air them, but on the other hand, not airing them could wreak havoc with the contestants.