There’s a reason that “casting director” is its own job. The general public, looking at Alex at the time, would have just seen High Rollers and Card Sharks. But he turned out to be a really great pick. Whoever chose him did their job well.
I can’t even figure out the point of mentioning High Rollers and Card Sharks. (Not Alex’s only game shows before Jeopardy!, BTW - he’s been doing game shows since 1966, when he started hosting Reach For the Top*, though Americans could be forgiven for not knowing Reach, Strategy or Pitfall, since they were Canadian.)
The fact that they chose a very experienced presenter (and not just game shows) argues against the ‘any jerk could do it’ premise.
- It’s too bad there’s no chance I could get on Jeopardy! before Alex retires, now… I was on my high school’s Reach team, so that (admittedly distant) connection to him would have been good interview fodder. We never made it to the provincial level (the level that gets televised), though we invariably ended up in second place at the regional level.
I am opposed to any restrictions on which “question” the player selects.
The one change I’ve been advocating for years is to stop requiring them to phrase their response in the form of a question (ie, “What is…?”). This gimmick from when the show began is equivalent to the fake shutter click on digital cameras.
You may be right, but since that “gimmick” is basically how the show got its start, and has been its defining characteristic for decades, eliminating it would create an unbelievable shitstorm among fans. It will *never *happen.
Jennifer Quayle, who is currently on a six-game win streak (before Thursday’s show at least, which I am watching now) and appears dominant enough to keep it going awhile, works as a “wine tasting consultant” in Michigan. Pretty fancy pantsy job–and in Michigan? Huh.
Nice work, if you can get it. 
How long before we can start calling her “Jeopardy Jennifer,” to go along with Jeopardy James and Jeopardy Jason?
I think we’ve cracked the secret of big success on Jeopardy–have a name that starts with J!
I’m a James, and it only got me one win. 
But it was a lot of fun, and I was happy just to get that far. I couldn’t possibly do as well now. My brain and reflexes today, almost 30 years later, are much slower. And I have no idea about all the pop music and TV shows the kids are watching these days.
Am I the only one who panics every time this thread gets bumped?
I think it’s safe to say that, if there is significant news on Trebek or his eventual replacement, it’ll get its own thread.
Jennifer is a great player, but you’ve gotta admit she’s had some pretty weak competition so far.
Well watch how much these young’ns miss classic rock questions. And I bet not one would get a question about It’s About Time. 
Jeopardy Jennings?
ABC has been running commercials for the tournament they’re running in prime time, I think starting on January 7.
BTW, I noticed some time ago that in several cities Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune air on ABC stations. Is there a reason for that?
You mean, as opposed to other affiliates? I think it’s just a matter of which ones decide to pick them up.
In Toronto, they’re aired simultaneously on two different cable channels at 19:00 and 19:30 Monday through Friday.
I meant as opposed to stations that are not affiliated with the American Broadcasting Company.
When I was living in Minneapolis/St Paul, I’m pretty sure they were on WCCO (the CBS affiliate) in late afternoon. Again, I think it was just because it was the station that wanted/got to to air them.
Yep, it’s just a matter of which affiliate buys the package.
Here in Charlotte, it’s an NBC affiliate.
I used to live in Winston-Salem, where it’s a CBS affiliate.
I grew up in Columbia, SC, where it’s an ABC affiliate (though I could swear when I lived there it was NBC).
Jeopardy! is syndicated, which means that any station in a given market can bid for the rights to show it. In my area, it’s on the NBC affiliate, but it varies in different markets.
The prime-time tournament will be on ABC, presumably because Sony has made a deal with ABC to broadcast it. That has nothing to do with what station it’s broadcast on in various local markets.
The USA Today article linked to in post 818 says, “‘Jeopardy’ is syndicated to local stations, but airs on ABC outlets in many top markets.” So there is something to what I noticed. FYI, Wikipedia says that it airs on all eight of the ABC owned-and-operated stations.