Alex, just admit it: you're not funny. You never were
funny. For the last twenty-two years, every time you've tried to be funny on Jeopardy!, you've sounded like
one of those guys at a party who says the lame line that makes everybody scatter. Just stop it, stop it right
now. Read the clues, act all smug when you give an incorrect contestant the answer that's right in front of you,
pronounce every year by saying things like "nineteen-hundred and ninety-two", we don't care. We already know
you're pompous. Just stop trying to make jokes; it's very, very painful.(Of course, because we do have senses of humor here at TV Squad, we give you a picture of Alex hosting High Rollers in the mid-Seventies. Nice perm, Trebek.)
The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-05-2006 @ 9:48PM
Jamie said...
Geez. He looks like Gabe Kaplan.
Reply
1-05-2006 @ 9:57PM
Keith McDuffee said...
Spoken just as Sean Connery would have, Joel. Only it'd be: "Nysh perm, Trrrebeck! Haw Haw HAW!"
Reply
1-05-2006 @ 10:50PM
elf said...
In 1977 all men looked like Gabe Kaplan.
Reply
1-05-2006 @ 10:58PM
MW said...
He attempted to make a joke just this evening, actually. A contestant correctly responded to a clue and Trebek said "Yes," then thought the response was actually wrong and said "No," realized he was wrong and said "Yes" again.
On the next correct response, Trebek, this time on purpose said "Yes! No! Yes!" as if to say, "Hey, look at me! I can laugh at myself!" Well, Alex, if you have to do something like that, then clearly you can't.
I love Jeopardy, but man, Trebek can be grating. His little chats with the contestants in the middle of the first round has to be some of the most awkward conversation in all of television.
Reply
1-05-2006 @ 11:54PM
Joel Keller said...
To MW... that was the incident that inspired me to make this post. I just didn't want to publish it and encourage the poor guy to make even more "jokes" on the air.
Reply
1-18-2006 @ 10:49PM
Bob Stephan said...
I always thought Alex was careful to use very proper language but he made a gaff tonight (Jan 18, 2006). He mentioned that a dead deer was "laying" in the road. I doubt the accuracy of that. Hens lay. I suspect the deer was lying in the road.
Reply