Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Here We Go Again

 

It seems everyone is yammering on over the drama finding a new host for "Jeopardy!," so I might as well chime in.

Newly selected host Mike Richards quit after news of some past inappropriate behavior surfaced.  It's too bad, because I thought he did the best job of all the fill-ins.  He had actual game show experience, as a host and a producer.

I'm just throwing it out there, and I don't know what the answer is, and I'm not defending anything Richards said or did, but what is the statute of limitations on stupid?  When does someone get out of the penalty box for things that happened years ago?

Mayim Bialyik gets the substitute call once again, and she handled the show well.

If I was doing the choosing, Bialyik would be on the list, as well as Anderson Cooper and Joe Buck.

It's just been reported that Joe Buck improved on the ratings by 16 per cent.  Sony, who makes "Jeopardy!" has to sit up and take notice of that news.

It reminds me of something that happened in 1980.  The great Allen Ludden was host of "Password Plus" on NBC.  He got sick.  The even greater Bill Cullen filled in for a month and didn't miss a beat.  When Ludden died in 1981, the exceptionally talented Tom Kennedy took over until the show was canceled a couple of years later.  Relevance to 2021?  There are fewer game shows on the air these days.  That pool of talented hosts, male and female, isn't as deep as it once was.  The daytime network schedule was filled with game shows and there were several others in night time syndication.

There has to be somebody out there who is both a talented host and a safe choice.