# Who should be the next host of "Jeopardy!"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** reality-or-game-show\ **Created:** [November 12, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460 "2020-11-12T20:49:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**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:** [April 2, 2021, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/282 "2021-04-02T19:03:48Z")
I didn’t know who he is either. But at least he’s easier to look at than Oz. MUCH easier. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/283 "2021-04-02T19:06:22Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > He’s the star of several State Farm commercials: He’s got a more well know career, too. Well, outside of the SD, well known. 🙂 Wonder if we can get BJ Raji as another guest host? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/284 "2021-04-02T19:14:00Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > He’s got a more well know career, too. Well, outside of the SD, well known. 🙂 You mean his appearance in Celebrity Jeopardy, right? ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/285 "2021-04-02T19:55:14Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > **FUN FACT:** I just got back from a trip to Kiev via Istanbul. Dr Oz does a video promo for Turkish Air, in which he’s partly animated. He should maybe get an acting coach to help with that. [insert rimshot here] ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2021, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/286 "2021-04-05T23:14:22Z")
Rodgers did fine IMHO. I will wait for more episodes before I give a more detailed critique. Brian ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/287 "2021-04-06T00:03:53Z")
Agree that he was fine. Hes a little too soft spoken to be a full time host, but he kept the game moving just fine. That FJ answer was cold though. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/288 "2021-04-06T00:14:39Z")
I was taken aback at his “I never heard of it either” comment with regard to “sackbut.” It was the last piece of trivia in the column. It was _supposed_ to be difficult\* He sounded as though he was seeing the word for the first time, though the staff goes through all the clues before each game… Frankly, I thought he was terrible. He almost put me to sleep. \*Not all that difficult, actually. I’ve known what a sackbut was (is) for almost fifty years now. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/289 "2021-04-06T00:29:55Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Not all that difficult, actually. I’ve known what a sackbut was (is) for almost fifty years now. For me, it was _“since AD&D came out with the Complete Bard’s Handbook”._ ---
**Author:** ![dbygawdcapn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dbygawdcapn/32/3995_2.png) [@dbygawdcapn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dbygawdcapn)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/290 "2021-04-06T00:35:53Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I was taken aback at his “I never heard of it either” comment with regard to “sackbut.” I would have told him “That’s why they make Celebrity Jeopardy easier”. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/291 "2021-04-06T00:39:04Z")
I learned about it from my older brother, who was an authority on classical music. We briefly contemplated naming our respective cats (a male and a female) “Crumhorn” and “Sackbut.” ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/292 "2021-04-06T00:43:42Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I was taken aback at his “I never heard of it either” comment with regard to “sackbut.” > > It was the last piece of trivia in the column. It was _supposed_ to be difficult\* He sounded as though he was seeing the word for the first time, though the staff goes through all the clues before each game… Yeah, that was an odd comment, given the way we know they run things (he must not have been paying attention). Also, it’s in the Old Testament, fer corn’s sake. Not that everyone reads the Old Testament, but it’s not exactly an obscure source. (See Daniel 3:5, for example.) \ > [@dbygawdcapn](#): > > I would have told him “That’s why they make Celebrity Jeopardy easier”. 😄 ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/293 "2021-04-06T02:27:41Z")
Go Bears! ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/294 "2021-04-06T02:31:17Z")
Me as a contestant: “That’s when da bears SACK you on your BUTT, a-a-ron!” ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/295 "2021-04-06T02:38:18Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Yeah, that was an odd comment, given the way we know they run things (he must not have been paying attention). Or he could have meant “I never heard of it either (before i first saw this clue)”. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/296 "2021-04-06T02:42:12Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Hes a little too soft spoken to be a full time host, I’m guessing that of all the potential guest hosts, he was one of those considered less likely to take the permanent job. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/297 "2021-04-06T02:47:29Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > > [@Sherrerd](#): > > > > Yeah, that was an odd comment, given the way we know they run things (he must not have been paying attention). > > Or he could have meant “I never heard of it either (before i first saw this clue)”. Either way, it doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, does it? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/298 "2021-04-06T04:01:09Z")
If I needed to be confident that the game show host knew all the answers and could beat every contestant…yeah, I’d be concerned. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2021, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/299 "2021-04-06T05:32:57Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Also, it’s in the Old Testament, fer corn’s sake. Not that everyone reads the Old Testament, but it’s not exactly an obscure source. (See Daniel 3:5, for example.) Except that sackbuts didn’t exist when the O.T. was written. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/300 "2021-04-06T11:54:03Z")
If he doesn’t know one as easy as “sackbut,” he’s got no business hosting. It’s not _that_ obscure. Trebek once said he probably knew 80% of the material before going into a briefing. I think that should be the minimum standard for a _ **Jeopardy!** _ host. After all, it ain’t _ **The Price Is Right** _. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460/301 "2021-04-06T12:24:32Z")
Good point. But isn’t that what we’re using for criteria for judging all of them - how would this person do as a permanent host? I think how the host sounds, and how they keep the game rolling, is a lot more important than if they had prior knowledge of “sackbut”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy/925460.md?page=16)