I'm at work, so I can't link to the post, but The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Ken Jennings is out of the running as permanent host because of tweets he made in 2014.
Levar Burton to be the next host of Jeopardy?
- Thread starter TheMadCloner
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Yup, I was on my way to post exactly that.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Jennings’ Twitter account contributed to him losing the job. One 2014 tweet in particular—“Nothing sadder than a hot person in a wheelchair”—was widely circulated in the lead-up to Jennings’ stint as Jeopardy! guest host, and also resurfaced when he came to the defense of his Omnibus co-host John Roderick during the latter’s “Bean Dad” fiasco. Jennings issued an apology on social media, but people familiar with the host-selection process told WSJ that Jennings’ image was tarnished by the tweets: Executives at Sony reportedly cooled on Jennings in response to his Twitter activity. The tweets are also said to have impacted focus groups’ reactions to Jennings. “The succession plan started unraveling” from there, the WSJ writes.
Funny how one random comment can ruin you that way. That was one thing that drove the media ape-crap about Trump: no matter how totally they destroyed his reputation, it didn't seem to have any effect (since I dislike both of them intensely, I can watch them go at each other with detached amusement). Most people, if the media finds a speck of dirt in your past, you're done like dinner.
I watched the Trebek rerun today and they showed the Bialik Neuvira ad during the broadcast.
Actively rubbing it in that yes, the other person they gave the job too is a sleazeball con woman.
Actively rubbing it in that yes, the other person they gave the job too is a sleazeball con woman.
Hey, you can't move up to shilling for Colonial Penn until you get the gig.
Jennings made one insensitive tweet, and he's off the table. I think expectations for this job are a little excessive. Who hasn't made an insensitive tweet/post/whatever?
LeVar Burton.
It wasn't just one insensitive tweet, it was a number of them. And yes, other people have done that and subsequently been forgiven (looking at you, James Gunn), but there's a certain level of visibility that comes with being the host of Jeopardy!, and there's a certain level of integrity that Trebek established that they'd like to maintain. Apparently they think Ken Jennings is damaged goods. I'm curious how much of this was Sony execs coming to that conclusion on their own and how much was Mike Richards with his thumb on the scale.
The latter would be poetic justice, given what happened to him afterward. "Let him who is without sin..."
What did he tweet? If it’s not something that reveals actual bigotry that seems extreme especially if he apologized. At least compared to tricking old people into buying fake medicine.
Oh, so in this case it falls more in the category of "Jerkish sense of humor", the sort of thing that would be okay if he were a comedian as opposed to prospective Jeopardy host.
It has to be about being vocally anti-MAGA and Jeopardy having a large Boomer audience.
That's rather awkward, if that's the case, and it doesn't actually strengthen their case. I can just imagine the ire with the advertisers and the ensuing scramble.
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Can’t have a black man scare away the old white folks who buy what they see advertised on the show.
1. Is Neuriva any different from Prevagen, that's had ads on Jeopardy for years?
2. The problem with LeVar Burton isn't that he's African-American; it's that when he actually got his "chance to shine," he failed miserably: he was often painfully slow to confirm correct responses, and he frequently got so excited he looked and sounded like more like a caricature of himself than any hypothetical guest appearance on LD could ever be. Every single black newscaster who guest-hosted out-performed LeVar, and at least one of them out-performed most of the white newscasters as well.
3. Now that skeletons have turned up in Ken Jennings' closet, we need to recognize that there are only two ways to avoid having a host who can be shamed: (1) get a host who is absolutely and utterly honest and guileless (unfortunately, Mister Rogers and Regis Philbin are both dead, Yo-Yo Ma is too busy playing the cello, and Jesus Christ is not available), or (2) get a host who doesn't know the meaning of shame (and do we really want Donald Trump hosting Jeopardy?)
BTW, Anne Robinson occurred to me, but even if she could overcome her "world's meanest game show host" persona from Weakest Link, she, too, has skeletons in her closet. And of course, Bill Cullen could host anything, and do it brilliantly, but he died over three decades ago, and would have needed major accommodations to his physical limitations, the same as with all 23 of the game shows he did host.
2. The problem with LeVar Burton isn't that he's African-American; it's that when he actually got his "chance to shine," he failed miserably: he was often painfully slow to confirm correct responses, and he frequently got so excited he looked and sounded like more like a caricature of himself than any hypothetical guest appearance on LD could ever be. Every single black newscaster who guest-hosted out-performed LeVar, and at least one of them out-performed most of the white newscasters as well.
3. Now that skeletons have turned up in Ken Jennings' closet, we need to recognize that there are only two ways to avoid having a host who can be shamed: (1) get a host who is absolutely and utterly honest and guileless (unfortunately, Mister Rogers and Regis Philbin are both dead, Yo-Yo Ma is too busy playing the cello, and Jesus Christ is not available), or (2) get a host who doesn't know the meaning of shame (and do we really want Donald Trump hosting Jeopardy?)
BTW, Anne Robinson occurred to me, but even if she could overcome her "world's meanest game show host" persona from Weakest Link, she, too, has skeletons in her closet. And of course, Bill Cullen could host anything, and do it brilliantly, but he died over three decades ago, and would have needed major accommodations to his physical limitations, the same as with all 23 of the game shows he did host.
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The difference is that Prevagen isn't being hawked by the show's new host. (Now I'm curious whether Alex's ads for Colonial Penn life insurance were ever aired during Jeopardy!'s commercial breaks.)
Well, isn't that special. I'll come back when you have a serious suggestion for who would be a good host.
And yet, people expect him and many others who only had a single day to film all of their episodes, to be at their 100%! FFS! Trebek had decades of experience on other game shows before getting the Jeopardy job. Even then, he wasn't perfect when he started. Anyone, and I mean anyone getting the job, would gradually get better over time. But to expect an immediate 100% is frankly unrealistic. And when it comes down to it, everyone is human and has mistakes, yeah?
I have read in more than one article that the only reason Burton got a guest hosting stint was the loud outcry from his fans and that he was never even considered for the permanent host gig. His performance justified his not being considered. Having watched all the guest-hosts' performances I had him rated dead last. It would take 100% improvement for Levar even to be adequate. There are some things for which performers are temperamentally unsuited. There is no disgrace in being the wrong man for the job.
In a move that should surprise exactly no one, Sony has fired Mike Richards as executive producer of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. Michael Davies, who produces Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? through Sony's Embassy Row subsidiary, will step in as interim producer. Still no word on whether or when they'll air the week's worth of episodes Richards taped during his one-day stint as permanent host.
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Nobody expects instant perfection. But we all have reason to expect a host that is neither so easily distracted, nor so quick to be overcome with enthusiasm. There's a long history of both newscasters (e.g., Hugh Downs on the original Concentration) and disc jockeys (e.g., Wink Martindale on the original Gambit, or Trebek himself on a couple of Canadian game shows before his U.S. debut with The Wizard of Odds) hosting game shows. Not so much with those whose careers have been as actors in fully scripted productions, especially with most or all of their acting experience in single-camera. Dr. Bialik probably did as well as she did because she spent 12 years on a multi-camera sitcom in front of a live audience, after she'd already spent 5 years on a multi-camera sitcom that may or may not have had a live audience.
Multi-camera, whether it's a sitcom, a newscast, or a game show, and whether it's live-to-tape or live-to-film, is only one step short of live-to-AIR.
And there is no doubt in my mind that Mike's one week stint as not-so-permanent host will air. To do otherwise would be to punish the contestants for sins they had no part in.
Multi-camera, whether it's a sitcom, a newscast, or a game show, and whether it's live-to-tape or live-to-film, is only one step short of live-to-AIR.
And there is no doubt in my mind that Mike's one week stint as not-so-permanent host will air. To do otherwise would be to punish the contestants for sins they had no part in.
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