How well would Alex Trebek do if he were to play Jeopardy?

[drewtwo99]

Did he get the job because he was smart at all? I don't know anything about his background. Surely after having hosted the show for so long he's probably learned a ton of stuff.

But I don't know how often old Jeopardy clues get reused. Assuming he was able to remember many of the clues, would he be able to do well?

Would he be able to go up against the absolute masters, perhaps even Watson itself?

I think he's probably a pretty smart guy, but would get his clock cleaned against the Jeopardy pros. He'd probably be able to win against the vast majority of players though.

Then again, I hear Jeopardy is all about the timing of buzzing in. He's not exactly in the prime of his life, so I'm not sure if he'd have the reaction time necessary to win.

What do you all think?

[Covered_In_Bees!]

Before all the Trebek haters get here, I'd like to say that I think he'd do pretty well under one condition: he gets the hang of the buzzer.

Assuming he gets the timing decently down, I think he'd still get destroyed by multiday winners, but would at least be able to hang with more normal people.

[The Devil's Grandmother]

Trebek has made jokes about how he'd never get on the show if he had to take the test, so perhaps not well. I'm sure he'd get his clock cleaned by Watson, as I would also.

[snowthx]

I don't mean to hijack - but did anyone see the other night on Jeopardy that our own Straight Dope and Cecil Adams were mentioned in one of the clues?

I think it was Tues - I was not really watching but when Alex said "Straight Dope" I looked up from the computer.

[TreacherousCretin]

Originally Posted by snowthx

I don't mean to hijack - but did anyone see the other night on Jeopardy that our own Straight Dope and Cecil Adams were mentioned in one of the clues?

Yes.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...light=jeopardy

[Happy Lendervedder]

Originally Posted by snowthx

I don't mean to hijack - but did anyone see the other night on Jeopardy that our own Straight Dope and Cecil Adams were mentioned in one of the clues?

I think it was Tues - I was not really watching but when Alex said "Straight Dope" I looked up from the computer.

Yep!

But I don't know how often old Jeopardy clues get reused.

They don't reuse them.

[Gatopescado]

He would kick serious butt! He's got the cards with the answers on them!

[snowthx]

Originally Posted by TreacherousCretin

Yes.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...light=jeopardy

I should have assumed. Still have a case of vacationitis and the mind is still addled somewhat. Thanks for the linky to the discussion!

[Khadaji]

I recently read an interview with him and he said that at one time he would have done quite well, but he confessed that he has slowed down with age. He is around 20 years older than I am and I already understand what he means.

[HeyHomie]

I met him at an audition many years ago, and he was asked, during a Q & A, how he would do if he competed. He answered that he'd hold his own in a senior tournament, but that he'd get smoked in regular play.

[Idle Thoughts]

Moving to CS.

[dropzone]

Originally Posted by Gatopescado

He would kick serious butt! He's got the cards with the answers on them!

The cards with all the questions, too!

[panache45]

I'm sure Trebek could beat Wolf Blitzer

[Koxinga]

I'd like to see Trebek go up against Sean Connery.

Originally Posted by Covered_In_Bees!

Before all the Trebek haters get here . . .

This is a thing? I had no idea.

[Bryan Ekers]

Sean Connery would like to see Trebek's mother up against Sean Connery!

[Koxinga]

Category: "The Penis Mightier!"

[TreacherousCretin]

Originally Posted by Gatopescado

He would kick serious butt! He's got the cards with the answers on them!

Originally Posted by dropzone

The cards with all the questions, too!

Yeah, but that advantage would be cancelled out by his having to constantly run back and forth from MC's podium to Contestant podium.

I apologize for being extremely silly.

A somewhat more serious question:
If Alex is going to be one of the contestants...
a) which contestant position does he get?
b) who should the other two contestants be?
c) who should moderate?

[TreacherousCretin]

Originally Posted by Covered_In_Bees!

Before all the Trebek haters get here...

Originally Posted by Koxinga

This is a thing? I had no idea.

God, yes. Lots of people can't stand the guy. My wife and I, for example.
.

[Chronos]

Am I imagining things, or was Trebek once a contestant on Win Ben Stein's Money?

[Wheelz]

Originally Posted by drewtwo99

Did he get the job because he was smart at all? I don't know anything about his background. Surely after having hosted the show for so long he's probably learned a ton of stuff.

He'd been hosting game shows for 20 years before he started the Jeopardy gig. I imagine he got the job either by auditioning or being selected on the basis of his previous work. He's always had a kind of scholarly demeanor and I suppose that was the tone they were going for.

He does seem like a pretty smart guy, yes, but then I think I'm a pretty smart guy and I guarantee I would absolutely suck on Jeopardy. It takes a special kind of smarts to do well there, I think. Of course, Trebek surely wouldn't get flustered or nervous by being on camera, and he knows every kind of strategy there is, so that would help him. I'm betting he'd do OK, maybe not stellar.

[terentii]

There's at least one interview with him on YouTube, about his early days in Canadian broadcasting and how he came to end up in California. He really is a very intelligent, thoughtful guy.

Back in the '80s or early '90s, he was asked in an interview for ET or some other show just how much of the material on Jeopardy! he would admit to knowing right off the top of his head. He said then the figure was "about 80%," which is certainly about as well as I could hope to do.

I sent him a letter around the same time because I thought I could call him out on a question about the Wright Brothers. (They were identified as "Hoosiers" on the show, and I was sure they had never lived anywhere other than Dayton, Ohio.) He sent me a really nice letter back saying no one can be right all the time, but they do try.

Turned out I was the one who was wrong. Even though they're forever identified with Ohio, the Wrights did live for a time in Indiana.

I didn't learn this until much later. To this day, I wonder if Alex ever checked on the veracity of my claim.

[kath94]

Originally Posted by TreacherousCretin

Yeah, but that advantage would be cancelled out by his having to constantly run back and forth from MC's podium to Contestant podium.

I apologize for being extremely silly.

A somewhat more serious question:
If Alex is going to be one of the contestants...
a) which contestant position does he get?
b) who should the other two contestants be?
c) who should moderate?

b) Pat Sajak & Steve Harvey. Alex Trebek for the win!

[suranyi]

Originally Posted by Wheelz

He'd been hosting game shows for 20 years before he started the Jeopardy gig. I imagine he got the job either by auditioning or being selected on the basis of his previous work. He's always had a kind of scholarly demeanor and I suppose that was the tone they were going for.

He does seem like a pretty smart guy, yes, but then I think I'm a pretty smart guy and I guarantee I would absolutely suck on Jeopardy. It takes a special kind of smarts to do well there, I think. Of course, Trebek surely wouldn't get flustered or nervous by being on camera, and he knows every kind of strategy there is, so that would help him. I'm betting he'd do OK, maybe not stellar.

I remember him being the host of a game show called "The Wizard of Odds", before he was on "Jeopardy". That was a long time ago. Maybe in the 70s.

[terentii]

Originally Posted by suranyi

I remember him being the host of a game show called "The Wizard of Odds", before he was on "Jeopardy". That was a long time ago. Maybe in the 70s.

Somewhere on line there's a video of the new Jeopardy's debut back in the '80s. Alex was sooooooooo hyper back then, it was like he was hosting "Split Second" or something. (I think I was actually watching the show that evening, as I remembered the FJ answer, "It will be the last day of the 20th century.")

Maybe it was just nerves from launching a new show, or he just hadn't shed his old emcee habits yet. But he certainly has mellowed out since then, and I don't believe it took him all that long to do so.

[Elendil's Heir]

Originally Posted by HeyHomie

I met him at an audition many years ago, and he was asked, during a Q & A, how he would do if he competed. He answered that he'd hold his own in a senior tournament, but that he'd get smoked in regular play.

He said exactly that in a recent one-paragraph Parade magazine blurb.

[Maserschmidt]

Originally Posted by Happy Lendervedder

They don't reuse them.

Henrik Ibsen and Madame Curie would tell you that's only true in some literal sense.

[oreally]

I think he's an idiot and a butthead besides. I'd LOVE to see him on the show while the host makes thinly veiled jabs about how far behind he is. Talk about a celeb in desperate need of replacing.