# Do you like Alex Trebek as host of Jeopardy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 4, 2018, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087 "2018-08-04T11:08:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087/21 "2018-08-04T16:41:12Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > The moustache was an important contribution to the show. Once he shaved it, there’s no point. This and > [@Bullitt](#): > > \*\*ut also he’s a bit of a pervert. He’s usually subtle about it but I’ve noticed it from time to time. Once, it was not so subtle. Trebel has nothing on herpes vector Richard Dawson. What I quite viscerally react to is all the smearing, the disrespect, and invective he’s gotten over the years, especially [mean satires](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF2jdTQyyyE) that serve only to besmirch the Great Man. Is there a special place in heaven for Margaret Meehan? ETA: > [@RealityChuck](#): > > He does a good job, but he’s no Art Fleming. And Fleming pales compared to the long-thin-mic’ed Gene Rayburn. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087/22 "2018-08-04T16:51:47Z")
He’s a perfect fit for Jeopardy. It’s funny to see him hosting other game shows in the 1970s. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087/23 "2018-08-04T17:01:48Z")
Why WOULDN’T I like him? He’s Alex Trebek, and this is Jeopardy, yo!..I do like watching Will Ferrell as Alex Trebek on SNL, there’s a bunch of hilarious examples on youtube. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087/24 "2018-08-04T17:39:31Z")
I assume that 5 means I don’t really notice or care… I do notice what other people say, but only when I’m specifically looking for it. Playing along, I don’t notice the host, which is exactly the way I think it should be on Jeopardy. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087/25 "2018-08-04T18:00:51Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > And Fleming pales compared to the long-thin-mic’ed Gene Rayburn. Please tell me you are kidding. He was the worst game show host ever! ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087/26 "2018-08-04T18:15:29Z")
I never found anything objectionable about him. His quick-paced, slightly deadpan delivery was perfect for a quiet, knowledge-oriented show like Jeopardy. I thought he was a pretty good fit for Perfect Match too. If it were the type of show that fed off the crowd (The Price is Right, Wheel of Fortune, Let’s Make a Deal) or where the host was supposed to crack lots of jokes and essentially be a director (Deal Or No Deal, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader, It’s Worth What), he’d probably be a bad fit. IMO “You’re doing fine so far.” was _really_ close to the line but stopped short of actual piggish behavior. I’d love to have watched it live just to see the reactions. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087/27 "2018-08-04T18:44:36Z")
I gave him a 10 because I can’t offhand think of anything he does that annoys me, or at least anything that’s under his control. I could live without the awkward “meet the contestants” segment, but I don’t think doing that is Trebek’s call. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087/28 "2018-08-04T18:53:29Z")
His job is much more demanding than meets the eye, and he’s mastered it. I gave him a 10. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087/29 "2018-08-04T19:07:38Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > I’ve never cared for him, although I don’t hate him. I still consider Art Fleming to be the One True Host. It’s possible someone else could be a suitable successor, but Trebec ain’t it. > > For that matter, I can’t stand Pat Sajak. Chuck Woolery, he ain’t. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087/30 "2018-08-04T19:09:34Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Please tell me you are kidding. He was the worst game show host ever! Never. Gene was perfect for Match Game. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087/31 "2018-08-04T19:18:56Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > …IMO “You’re doing fine so far.” was _really_ close to the line but stopped short of actual piggish behavior. I’d love to have watched it live just to see the reactions. I actually thought it was pretty funny. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087/32 "2018-08-04T19:24:40Z")
I read all the criticism and I do see the point. I still have him a 10. He is Jeopardy. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087/33 "2018-08-04T20:11:36Z")
I gave him a 9. Art Fleming was a 10. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087/34 "2018-08-04T20:14:01Z")
He strikes me as very condescending from time to time, but he does a pretty good job otherwise. He makes errors a lot less often that I would, and I suspect less often than most other professional game-show hosts. I like him more now that I almost always fast-forward through the chit-chat segment. He can be condescending during the gameplay, but he’s much worse during the chit-chat. I give him 7/10. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087/35 "2018-08-04T22:28:31Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > This and > > Trebel has nothing on herpes vector Richard Dawson. > > What I quite viscerally react to is all the smearing, the disrespect, and invective he’s gotten over the years, especially [mean satires](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF2jdTQyyyE) that serve only to besmirch the Great Man. > > Is there a special place in heaven for Margaret Meehan? > > ETA: > > And Fleming pales compared to the long-thin-mic’ed Gene Rayburn. I’ve been catching some old _Match Game '7x_ reruns lately, and Rayburn has his share of Trebekian and Dawsonian moments. He’s not shy about pointing out bad answers. With the celebs it’s good-natured joshing, but it comes across a bit harsh when he tells the contestants they suck. And it was a tradition to kiss the female panelists on their first appearance on the show; he carried breath spray in his pocket. Truly, it was a different era. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087/36 "2018-08-05T01:00:34Z")
Trebrek is real and often speaks his mind. I like that. Pat Sajak is similar. I get so fed up with tv hosts that never say a word off script. It’s all fake teeth and blow dry hair. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087/37 "2018-08-05T01:19:00Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Never. Gene was perfect for Match Game. Seriously, he was amazing on that show. Often as ridiculous as the guests, while still moving things along. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087/38 "2018-08-05T18:53:21Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > …Trebekian and Dawsonian… Innovative adjectivery always makes my day. Thank-you for sharing. > [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Please tell me you are kidding. He was the worst game show host ever! Well, maybe it could be just the mic. And those sunken, ghoulish eyes, and hulking frame that both terrified and fascinated this easily terrifyable and fascinatable kid. > [@aceplace57](#): > > Trebrek is real and often speaks his mind. > > I like that. Pat Sajak is similar. > > I get so fed up with tv hosts that never say a word off script. It’s all fake teeth and blow dry hair. Yes Trebel is so damn real and mind-speaking. Sajak - not bad rallying pep talk at Caps play-offs game a while back, and some [scripts,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYTc84cjosw) though, can be seriously effed up. (warning, dopers - this seriously, _seriously_ gets cringeworthy - no, fucking repulsive. Made it only about halfway through, myself.) (almost verging on criminal?😕) (and yes, I am serious here - maybe one of the most stomach-turning things I’ve seen in a long, long time) Anyway - AT was way better in [_High Rollers_,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt9ZNqy-ZDM) with that strange plexiglass scoop thingie for gathering up the dice. (and WHOA that fro and 'stache!) ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087/39 "2018-08-05T19:12:59Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Why WOULDN’T I like him? He’s Alex Trebek, and this is Jeopardy, yo!..I do like watching Will Ferrell as Alex Trebek on SNL, there’s a bunch of hilarious examples on youtube. I’m sure this has been said before, but I can imagine a timeline where Ferrell ends up as the host of Jeopardy. Richard Dawson, Steve Harvey, Howie Mandel, why not Will Farrell? He doesn’t have a reputation as a thinker, but if Jeopardy needs a ratings boost, and if Farrell’s career craters –– It Could Happen. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087/40 "2018-08-05T21:05:32Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > I’m sure this has been said before, but I can imagine a timeline where Ferrell ends up as the host of Jeopardy… Man I hope you’re wrong. I’d hate to give up Jeopardy. mmm [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-alex-trebek-as-host-of-jeopardy/819087.md?page=3)