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 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.
He’s a perfect fit for Jeopardy. It’s funny to see him hosting other game shows in the 1970s.
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 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.
Please tell me you are kidding. He was the worst game show host ever!
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.
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.
His job is much more demanding than meets the eye, and he’s mastered it. I gave him a 10.
Chuck Woolery, he ain’t. 
Never. Gene was perfect for Match Game.
I actually thought it was pretty funny.
mmm
I read all the criticism and I do see the point. I still have him a 10. He is Jeopardy.
I gave him a 9. Art Fleming was a 10.
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.
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.
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.
Seriously, he was amazing on that show. Often as ridiculous as the guests, while still moving things along.
Innovative adjectivery always makes my day.
Thank-you for sharing.
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.
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, 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, with that strange plexiglass scoop thingie for gathering up the dice. (and WHOA that fro and 'stache!)
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.
Man I hope you’re wrong. I’d hate to give up Jeopardy.
mmm