In all honesty, Alex Trebek and I started off with a shaky relationship. I remembered Art Fleming from the original Jeopardy! Alex was no Art Fleming, just a young upstart replacing a mature professor. My fondness for the original program and my initiation into motherhood came in the same year. The demise of Art’s show and opening of the new one spanned almost ten years, but I decided I loved it enough to acclimate to the new host, though it took some time.
There aren’t many TV shows that are necessary in my life, but this is one. As our kids were growing up, we often watched together with multiple interests that meant different family members could give the right questions for the answers. As they left the nest, there were understandings to be had about the program, including the one that they were to refrain from calling me at 4:30 PM when the program aired, barring an exciting windfall or an emergency.
Anna took her interest with her to college and found kindred spirits. They interviewed for suitemates with the understanding that only Jeopardy! fans would be accepted since the TV was in their common area. One memorable visit to them had her leaning out a window telling me to hurry as I parked the car because Jeopardy! was coming on. Anna played the Jeopardy! theme on her keyboard while one of those suitemates recorded for their answering machine, “Angie, Laura, Robin, and Anna can’t come to the phone right now, but if you will leave your message in the form of a question, we will get back to you.” She said the caller often stammered back, “I don’t know how to form this into a question, but . . . ”
As technology has progressed the afternoon sacred time ceases to be a problem since I have programmed my TV to record all airings of the program. That works well until some long-running champion gets the boot and a friend posts a reaction on Facebook before I have seen the program – a small price to pay for the assurance that I don’t miss an episode.
I’ve come to appreciate Alex, with and without facial hair, over the years and to admire his tenacity as he battles cancer. I have been enjoying the new twist, which I am assuming has been brought on by the coronavirus and inability to get together, as summer programming has brought back old shows from his past. Jeopardy! and Alex have aged well since his debut with this syndicated version that began on September 10, 1984. I have noticed that in the early days, he talked so fast your ears had to run to keep up. Maybe we’ve all slowed just a little!
I am also seizing the opportunity to read two books just out that tell his story – one written from the inside and one from the outside. Check back on Friday for my review(s)!