In my experience of the at-the-LA-studio test-giving and auditions, there is no full game. You don’t stand at the podiums. You just stand in front of folding tables, though admittedly you do get to use a buzzer that’s (presumably) like the ones at the podiums.
At regional auditions, it’s the same thing (of course they don’t bring the podiums on the road!)
In both cases there’s someone in charge of the entire process (including the test-taking that determines who gets to do the practice game), but it’s all pretty informal. I don’t know if Richards has done that ‘in charge of auditions’ job, but in any case the job isn’t really akin to ‘pretending to be the host of Jeopardy!’
I’m liking Mike Richards. Today’s episode (2/24) had a bit more levity, which seems forced with Ken tries it. But they will definitely go with a big name for any permanent replacement.
Interesting article in USA Today about Jeopardy and its guest hosts with quotes from Richards. Apparently Dr Oz the quack will have two weeks of episodes starting March 22. Aaron Rodgers will follow for the next two weeks starting April 5th. Katie Couric will follow Richards on March 8th. Richards went out of his way to praise Oz, claiming that he was “close” to Alex. How convenient. At least I know what two weeks for skip. [USA Today Jeopardy article](https://USA Today Jeopardy article)
Seemed pretty obvious that he’d had some on-air experience- he was too comfortable in front of the camera to be a total neophyte.
I liked Mike Richards- he was better than Ken Jennings, even if Ken did much better than I’d have expected. I don’t think they could go very wrong by having Mike Richards be the permanent host if he was willing to do so.
Wow, I found Richards quite horrible. He sounds like he’s doing a boardroom presentation. Sure, a well practiced boardroom presentation but I kept expecting the answer board to be on PowerPoint.
I agree with those who say that Mike Rogers is too bland.
Despite my previous complaints about Ken as a host, centering mainly on his thin voice, I warmed to him considerably over the course of his run. I particularly liked how he interacted with the players in the interview section. IMHO, he was better at that than Alex was. He gave them a little more time, and seemed to connect better.
Between him and Rogers, I prefer Ken. We’ll see how the other guest hosts do.
I’ve never seen him in any of the above mentioned shows but he looks so familiar to me. Like he resembles some actor or someone I’ve known at some point. It’s annoying me that I can’t figure it out and distracts me during the show. But I think he is doing a good job to have just stepped in at the last minute.
I found this quote from Richards at the end of the interview interesting:
Q: What would you like fans to know as they watch these next several weeks of shows?
Richards: " Jeopardy!" is about inclusion, and it’s a respite from what’s happening in the outside world. As you watch guest hosts come through, you might like some, you might not like some others. Let’s be that welcoming “Jeopardy!” community. Let us know what you think, but let’s all be kind and open. Because in the end, that’s what “Jeopardy!” is and that’s what Alex was, and that’s the way we all should behave.
I strongly suspect that this is a reference to the negative reaction to Dr. Oz, whose selection he justifies (lamely, IMHO) earlier in the interview.
Laroquette is 73. I think they’re probably looking for someone younger who would have the potential to host the show for decades, like Alex did.
Quoting the article above:
The challenge is to plan for the long term, because the show’s longevity isn’t in doubt: “Let’s make sure we get someone we are going to feel even better about in a decade than we do this year,” Richards says.
