Welcome to another dose of Andy’s Weekly Thoughts!
I had a full editorial column just about ready to go—and the happenings of the last 48 hours meant that I probably should push the more evergreen items back a week.
The Fanbase Is Definitely Divided, Even If You Don’t See It
As someone who keeps an eye on multiple facets of social media, the reaction to the news of Mayim Bialik no longer being a syndicated host on the show differs greatly based on what platform you’re reading the news on. The very pro-Ken Jennings Reddit practically broke out in celebration, with the news already being the 5th-most upvoted post on the r/Jeopardy subreddit of 2023, in less than 24 hours since the announcement. However, looking at Facebook, the enthusiasm towards this news is much more muted, with many fans on Facebook expressing their disappointment. Mayim definitely had her fans. It should also be noted that the majority of the show’s audience is much more likely to congregate on Facebook than it is any other social media platform. It’ll be interesting to see how Ken resonates with the Facebook crowd going forward.
Something To Be Mindful Of
Something that I think a lot of people have lost sight of: Someone has lost their job. Moreover, someone who hasn’t fomented hate or harassed people has lost their job. Celebrating that someone has lost their job in this case feels really gauche to me.
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Mayim Bialik Could Still Be One Of The Faces Of The Show
On June 4, I stated, “I think it’s very important for Jeopardy!’s place in society that Mayim is one of the faces of the show.” I would also like to point out that while Mayim clearly won’t be hosting any more syndicated Jeopardy!, both her statement and the show’s have left open the possibility that Mayim will return for primetime specials.
And, as much as some are very closed to the idea at this point, I absolutely think that it’s an avenue that should be pursued by Jeopardy! and ABC. The concept of “see one to be one” is still crucial in today’s society, and it does look very good to have a woman host a knowledge-based game show. (My other comments from June 4 still stand, in that Mayim’s “anticipating the flow of the game” could stand to get better.)
Mayim May Have Inadvertently Done Jeopardy! A Favor By Announcing It Yesterday
Certainly, the biggest “talking point”, especially on Reddit, in the hours prior to the host news was the revelation of the untelevised play-in round for Champions Wildcard in January. And, as much as Jeopardy! seemed to be caught off guard by Mayim’s announcement yesterday, she may have inadvertently done the show a big favor, as this has completely changed what fans are talking about today when it comes to the show. This news is definitely going to dominate the talking points over the next few days.
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What Fans Did Think About The Play-In Games
In the 24 hours after the news was released about the play-in games, the general consensus from those who gave their opinion was definitely that it isn’t a major issue if the games aren’t televised—with the caveat that the games do need to be made available online. For the sake of transparency and completionism, it would anger a lot of people if these games were played behind closed doors without everyone eventually being able to see the happenings themselves.
Many times, Michael Davies has talked about how he sees Jeopardy! as a sport. While I do grant that games “behind closed doors” do happen in sports, those games are generally closed off to in-person spectators, instead of cameras being forbidden. I must therefore reiterate that I think that it is absolutely crucial, for the sake of both transparency and completionism, that these games are filmed and released online.
I should also mention that in my cursory research of potential hiccups here, the people with more expertise than myself in terms of syndicated broadcasting contracts do not believe that it would be an issue for Jeopardy! to release “bonus content” online. I am also presuming that these play-in games would lead off a normal taping session; thus, your whole production crew is already in the studio, so it would not lead to much extra expense in that department. (There were a couple of concerns on Reddit about “production expenses” that I wanted to dispel here.)
In Closing
You’ll get to see most of my initial column next Saturday. I hope everyone enjoys next week’s games!
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Andy;
Your thought on the emphasis in the announcement that Mayim would not be hosting SYNDICATED (daily) episodes of Jeopardy, dovetai;s with my thought. That Mayim would only be hosting prime time Jeopardy, the Celebrity competition, the College Championship, and, the like. Which was the role she initially was to fulfill when Jeopardy co-hosts were announced.
I am also with you that at least highlights of those play in games ought to be available on line, if not the wholes games. 27 contestants sounds like 9 quarter final games, 3 semi finals, and, a two day total points final. In other words, an extra tournament. To keep the click bait sites at least off balance, transparacy is important.
Speaking of click bait, one from what would be considered main stream, blames KEN, for the algae, plankton confusion. The “blame” (if any) should be on the writers, and, editors, for writing, then allowing an “answer” that needed such an confusing correct response.
Looking at the comments on instagram on Miyam being let go from syndicated jeopardy was a bit shocking. Over 5,000 comments saying the same thing about a show they clearly don’t even watch. I truly do hope Miyam sticks around for prime time specials but the comments I’ve read are beyond ridiculous.
I enjoyed Mayim’s clear enthusiasm for the game and the players. That always trumped any of her missteps or settling in to the job. I got the vibe from the Jeopardy! side of the announcements that she’s still hosting primetime specials (maybe just Celeb Jeop?) and that’s encouraging. Ken has always read as too inside baseball for me… but that’s probably also cause I’m a bit too inside baseball. So I liked the contrast with Mayim. Alas.
I never minded Mayim as a host, except, perhaps, for little missteps like forgetting to remind a contestant about the maximum bet on a DD, or taking too much time ruling on a response. It could as well be that the producers have thought that after her prolonged absence, the visible difference in hosting experience of fast-paced syndicated games between Ken and Mayim would be too much for the audience to bear, and if it leads to unplayed clues, it would stand out as a sore thumb.
On a separate note, I consider “lost their job” an overstatement. “Lost one of their gigs” is more like it.
I had also thought that about “gigs”. Also, in the entertainment industry long-term gigs are the rarity [even though, being the easiest for viewers to remember, they may not seem so] and Mayim came up through the entertainment industry (since childhood) and Ken did not (until relatively recently).
[For example, at any point the writers could have broken up Sheldon and Amy and moved him on to someone else (to try to boost ratings if they had lagged for unknown reasons). ‘Call Me Kat’ might well have managed at least one more season if not for the death of Leslie Jordan.]