Well, not only does Ken usually know the answer, but as a Jeopardy! veteran he also has a very good feel for what kind of borderline answers are acceptable, and what are not. Therefore it’s probably rare he would need to wait for a prompt through the earpiece, and rarer still he would give a decision before the prompt and later have to reverse it. Whereas Mayim not only doesn’t have that level of knowledge (which is in no way a slight against her, just, you know, it’s Ken Jennings), she doesn’t have the experience of the show.
I appreciate that doesn’t explain why you didn’t notice it happening with other guest hosts, but maybe Mayim has also been unlucky a couple of times and that has led to her hesitating more.
I’m 99% sure Ken is not wearing an earpiece, and I don’t think Mayim is, either. There’s really not much need for it. She has a sheet of paper in front of her with the answers, including DNA (do not accept) responses, and if they needed more they could use a display in her desk. If something goes wrong they can stop the tape and do a retake.
I think her hesitation on some responses is just because she’s looking down to double-check the answer sheet, or possibly the display.
But I could be wrong. If anyone has any evidence that they’re using an earpiece, let us know.
No evidence here, to be honest I don’t even watch the show - I just thought it was standard TV practice these days for the presenter to have an earpiece in most cases, even for taped shows - on the premise that it’s a better (and cheaper) experience for all concerned for the producer/director to guide things along as needed, rather than have to stop and retape stuff. I take your point that for Jeopardy! and many other quiz shows it is potentially even better for the host to just have the answers on a card/screen.
Anyway, whatever the mechanism, my suggestion of why Mayim may appear to hesitate more than Ken still stands. My supposition is Ken won’t even need to look at the answers the vast majority of the time.
Ken wears an earpiece. Producer and former Clue Crew member Sarah Foss has mentioned it on the official Jeopardy! podcast. I’m going to hazard a guess and say that Miyam does as well.
Also, now that Alex is gone the hosts have a screen in front of them rather than a large piece of paper and a crayon to keep track of the answers and game progress.
The Jeopardy! podcast is a great listen and features lots of Buzzy!
I can’t find a count online, but don’t you think that by now even Mayim has hosted more episodes than Ken ever appeared in as a contestant? At what point does that stop being an excuse? Besides, as people have pointed out, most of the other 1-2 week guest hosts didn’t have that problem.
Ken does wear an earpiece. And I think the Mayim hate stems largely from it having become fashionable to dislike her. My own standard for liking anyone on that show, indeed my standard for liking anyone on this or any other planet, now completely depends on whether or not he or she is Yogesh.
I find it interesting that, while regular Jeopardy often features contestants from varied walks of life, and some of the longer-running champions have had occupations that could be seen as “slackerish” or underachieving (ride-share driver, tutor,) these kids who were in the Teen Tournament a few years ago almost all attend elite schools and, to hear their majors and career aspirations, are on track to become members of the professional-managerial class.
(Of course it can’t hurt to gain a relatively-large sum of money just before your college-age years. Gives career ambitions a bit of a leg-up to have those resources (no need for holding jobs that distract from the studies in order to support oneself, etc.))
They were good at making small talk and banter, something Ken Jennings isn’t half bad at either, unlike Mayim Bialik.
Another “color commentary” issue. Ken (or Alex) might have said, after the correct response was given, something like “yes, 48 strings would make for a pretty unwieldy violin!” Or the other night, when in “13 Letter Words” a contestant guessed “monochrome,” after another contestant gave the correct response, “monochromatic,” they might say “yes, that’s the 13 letter word.” Stuff like that not only makes the game more interesting, but helps the contestants, in that it’s a subtle reminder to pay attention to the category or parse the clue carefully. But with Mayim, it’s always just an unelaborative “yes” or “no.”
