I thought so! (Wasn’t sure he said it.)
The history of the Big Four of the Central Pacific Railroad may be more widely known among Californians (I knew it) … I don’t think any of the contestants were. Brigham Young was not a bad guess.
The presence of “Utah” in the clue was probably influential in the genesis of those three wrong answers. Had that word been left out–and it could have been–some minds might have wandered to other Western universities named after major figures in mid-19th-century history.
There may well be a book to be written about clues that include information likely to mislead contestants (though admittedly it would have a small readership).
I guessed Robert Ucla.
Hah!
I honestly thought Berkeley, since it was Rodgers final clue, and wondering if the college might have existed before the city.
In 1868, the founders of the University of California selected for the campus an unoccupied site north of the city of Oakland, and named it after 18th century philosopher George Berkeley (although he pronounced his name “Barkley”). So…yes, the college came before the city.
Joe Buck will take his turn as a guest host. What I find interesting about this is not Joe Buck, but that his episodes will air this summer. It’s entirely possible that the producers will not name any permanent host until Season 38 begins some time after Labor Day.
I assume that’s always been the plan. They know the level of attachment viewers felt to Trebek, and knew that those emotions would tend to create resistance to any new permanent host.
The ‘guest hosts season’ is intended to lessen that resistance (I would guess). It might also serve to keep the new host from getting ideas along the lines of ‘only I can do this job’ and therefore make that host easier for the producers to work with.
There aren’t as many game shows as there used to be, so there isn’t a bench of game show hosts the producers can look to bring in a replacement. Long gone are the days of Ludden, Rayburn, Cullen, Perry, Kennedy, and Narz; each with a track record and an established style all his own. Trebek hosted other shows before Jeopardy!, so the producers knew who they were getting. Whoever they get to replace him won’t have a background in game shows, so I don’t blame them for wanting to give the candidates an extended try out.
Anderson Cooper is a natural. Head and shoulders above all of the others. Not sure he would take this gig forever but it would be great if he did.
There’s actually been a bit of a resurgence in game shows on prime time network TV over the past few years, I imagine, in part, because they’re cheap to make (and a number of them are reboots of old game shows).
But, what we’ve been seeing is that these game shows are tending to use established actors or stars as their hosts – as you note, we no longer have that group of “serial game show hosts” anymore, and I also suspect that having a recognizable personality as host adds some appeal. For example, Alec Baldwin hosts Match Game, Anthony Anderson hosts To Tell the Truth, Jane Lynch hosts Hollywood Game Night, etc. Even on the few remaining daytime game shows, they’re using comedians (Drew Carey on The Price Is Right, Wayne Brady on Let’s Make a Deal) as their hosts.
I thought of some of those, actually, but none of them put quite the same demands on a host that Jeopardy! does; read the questions without stumbling, make instant rulings on whether someone is right or not (or needs to be more specific), break for the commercial, remind the players whose turn it is to select, do the math when asking for the Daily Double wagers, etc. None of it is rocket science, but I think it must be harder than it looks. A game show doesn’t run itself, but a good host makes it look like it does.
I love this, and wish you could’ve been on the show to give it as an answer (but would you have…?).
Okay, Aaron gets the job, but he says he’ll only host if they add a fourth contestant every week. It’ll be an assortment of hilarious people (Comedians? Or just me and my friends? Hmmm… should we each be named “Turd Ferguson”?).
It’ll be their job to break the stress with answers like “Robert Ucla”!
To which Aaron will keep a straight face and say “No, you’re thinking of Robert Urich, who played Spenser on TV. We were looking for Leland Stanford… Leland. Stanford.”
Anyone suggested Ben Bailey of Cash Cab?
It’s either that or “Sregdor noraa” so I could send him back to the fourth dimension where he belongs.
He’d likely be sharp enough to recognize the ploy and not say it.
My main issue with Rodgers was his diction (or lack of it, from my POV). Granted that I spent a good part of my life in the theatre — much of it working with old-school directors to whom good diction was a requirement — still, he sounded to me like someone who had had almost-but-not-quite too much to drink.
I like Anderson Cooper; he did a smooth job and came across as genuinely interested in the contestants.
However, there was consistently a second or so of delay to his responses that I found disturbing. Was he waiting to get confirmation from show officials before answering? (Possibly this delay will shorten as he gets more experience.)
“That’s all for toda… oh, wait, it looks like I read the Final Jeopardy wrong! I am so sorry, I said “Kalamazoo” when my answer card clearly said “Capulet”. Gotta tell you, I am supremely embarrassed…”
Just get Keenan Thompson. He’s got the chops.