Final Jeopardy:(
Jan. 8th, 2021 08:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
captainsblogNot using the Sean Connery icon for this one. What is "R-E-S-P-E-C-T," Alex.
Tonight, across North America at 7 or 7:30 (ours) local time, the final Trebek episode of Jeopardy! airs, months after its filming and weeks after his sad passing to the cancer he'd been fighting for so long. I wrote this in two pieces.
Let's play, Jeopardy! (Pre-show)
They're both dead now, Alex Trebek and Sean Connery- we lost them about a week apart in 2020, and by all accounts the real people never met- but tonight brings that final airing hosted by the man who revived the Jeopardy! franchise and made it into even more of a cultural icon than its NBC original had been. I was a fan of both.
The original Merv Griffin-created incarnation began airing on daytime TV in March of 1964, a few months before I would begin kindergarten a block away from home. Kids were allowed to "go home for lunch" in those days, and most days I did. Mom would have a card table set up in front of the telly, and I would watch the original "star of Jeopardy!, Art Fleming!" and the dulcet tones of announcer Don Pardo, for many of those lunch hours. The show was taped in New York City at the time, and one of the school's third-grade teachers, Paula Kavett, made it onto the show. They rolled televisions into our classrooms so we could watch. I think she came in second; pretty sure she didn't win because that was the only day we did it.
Mrs. Kavett made it to the year 2010, outliving Art by 15 years and preceding Don in passing by about four (he was still active as SNL's announcer to near the end of his life). Her son and daughter both work as chiropractors not far from the town where their mom taught; I'm trying to track them down to see if they'll be watching tonight. Meanwhile, it's been touching how many of her former students remembered her, after I posted in an East Meadow group about her connection to tonight's show. Some specifically mentioned her influence on them deciding to go into teaching. I've only known a few of that character in my life, and they are among the most special.
Strangely, Art Fleming died of pancreatic cancer, the same disease that later took Trebek. I first remember Alex with much bigger hair and much less gravitas on a series of less intellectual game shows in the 70s- High Rollers and The Wizard of Odds are the ones I watched at least a few of on summer non-school days (going home for lunch was no longer a Thing by then). Jeopardy! had gone off network daytime programming around the time I left for college, and some later syndicated versions either missed my attention or seemed too gimmicky with added rounds of cars and fabulous prizes. (What, a couple grand and a case of Rice-a-Roni wouldn't be enough?) Fleming turned down the chance to return to the 1984 reboot, although he played off its fame in the interregnum, in the less successful sequel to Airplane! and, more memorably, in the Weird Al parody of the Greg Kihn song "Jeopardy," also featuring Don Pardo's voiceover and a cameo by Kihn himself. That was done right before the show restarted; one of my biggest non-memories of the Trebek era is that Weird Al never updated the video to include Alex and Johnny. I suppose he still could with some simple editing; I can't find any Youtubes of the song and new show mashed up, but this one is as perfect a blend of the two as I could come up with. (And she did lose! Only in Final Jeopardy!)
----
I became a semi-regular viewer in the new era, coming to respect Alex for his demeanor and humor. In time, Emily would join me for some of the sofa time; after she moved on and Eleanor and I began watching hardly any network television, most of my views of the show were online and usually connected to the legendary performances of Ken and James and a few others. A couple of friends from old AOL trivia days made it on (one modestly going by "Jeopchamp" after his five-time retirement as they did things back then), and at least two friends remaining from LJ were on the show more recently. No wins or even Rice-a-Roni, but incredible memories and the treasured photos of each of them with Alex:)
It became a winter tradition for me to try "now entering the studio" by passing the online test when word of it would pop out most years. I never got a callback; in at least one year, I signed up and then forgot to take it until the last opportunity that year, way late at night in the PST timezone, was more than halfway finished. The other years, I just sucked. Never mind that any night I did watch the show, or took the online practice test, I did much better. (Just took it again: 22 out of 30. The real one's 50 questions and I usually get barely half.) Now, with COVID, you can take the test anytime. I'm not bothering.
I can't think of any particular person who would be best to take over. Jennings is first up and I have no particular love or hate of him; his recent entanglements with some Tweets will probably rule him out. Katie Couric is the only other one lined up; others include, per this recent rundown,
Steve Kornacki, the MSNBC political correspondent who has developed a rabid cult following for his savant-like analysis of vote counts on election nights; actress Mayim Bialik; and Mike Richards, the executive producer of “Jeopardy!” who also has experience as a game show host.
No, not the Kramer Michael Richards. Bialik would be a fun choice. But, to explain the icon I DID use, Why Not Fry? Or failing that, Alan Davies could do Blue Whales for $1,000!
Back after the final show....
----
And now, Double Jeopardy! (Post-Airing)
Thank you, Johnny:(
That was the perfect exit. It may still be aired later in other time zones so I'll hold off on embedding the montage that I'm sure will be posted, but....
It was taped months ago, and was originally scheduled for a Christmas Night airing. That got changed to the end of this week, but numerous holiday references, in the banter and the clues, remained. It seemed appropriate somehow.
As did having a contestant on Alex's final show named Cliff- who, while he did not pull a Clavin,....
He did flame out in the Double J round and wound up negative at the end, leaving an empty podium between the two remaining contestants. Cliff did come back out for an abbreviated round of chatter over the credits, but then they ran the montage of more than 30 years of Alex moments. Silly Alex, sentimental Alex, even dancing Alex. And then he walked off for the last time. It didn't bring the buckets I hoped it would, but I felt some welling-up.
I'll take that, even if it wasn't in the form of a question.
ETA1. Heard from Paula's son. Waiting for an okay to share a sweet story about his mom's appearance. Meanwhile, here's the tribute run at the end of the show:
ETA2. Mark got back to me to okay my sharing his recollection of his mom's appearance:
Tonight, across North America at 7 or 7:30 (ours) local time, the final Trebek episode of Jeopardy! airs, months after its filming and weeks after his sad passing to the cancer he'd been fighting for so long. I wrote this in two pieces.
Let's play, Jeopardy! (Pre-show)
They're both dead now, Alex Trebek and Sean Connery- we lost them about a week apart in 2020, and by all accounts the real people never met- but tonight brings that final airing hosted by the man who revived the Jeopardy! franchise and made it into even more of a cultural icon than its NBC original had been. I was a fan of both.
The original Merv Griffin-created incarnation began airing on daytime TV in March of 1964, a few months before I would begin kindergarten a block away from home. Kids were allowed to "go home for lunch" in those days, and most days I did. Mom would have a card table set up in front of the telly, and I would watch the original "star of Jeopardy!, Art Fleming!" and the dulcet tones of announcer Don Pardo, for many of those lunch hours. The show was taped in New York City at the time, and one of the school's third-grade teachers, Paula Kavett, made it onto the show. They rolled televisions into our classrooms so we could watch. I think she came in second; pretty sure she didn't win because that was the only day we did it.
Mrs. Kavett made it to the year 2010, outliving Art by 15 years and preceding Don in passing by about four (he was still active as SNL's announcer to near the end of his life). Her son and daughter both work as chiropractors not far from the town where their mom taught; I'm trying to track them down to see if they'll be watching tonight. Meanwhile, it's been touching how many of her former students remembered her, after I posted in an East Meadow group about her connection to tonight's show. Some specifically mentioned her influence on them deciding to go into teaching. I've only known a few of that character in my life, and they are among the most special.
Strangely, Art Fleming died of pancreatic cancer, the same disease that later took Trebek. I first remember Alex with much bigger hair and much less gravitas on a series of less intellectual game shows in the 70s- High Rollers and The Wizard of Odds are the ones I watched at least a few of on summer non-school days (going home for lunch was no longer a Thing by then). Jeopardy! had gone off network daytime programming around the time I left for college, and some later syndicated versions either missed my attention or seemed too gimmicky with added rounds of cars and fabulous prizes. (What, a couple grand and a case of Rice-a-Roni wouldn't be enough?) Fleming turned down the chance to return to the 1984 reboot, although he played off its fame in the interregnum, in the less successful sequel to Airplane! and, more memorably, in the Weird Al parody of the Greg Kihn song "Jeopardy," also featuring Don Pardo's voiceover and a cameo by Kihn himself. That was done right before the show restarted; one of my biggest non-memories of the Trebek era is that Weird Al never updated the video to include Alex and Johnny. I suppose he still could with some simple editing; I can't find any Youtubes of the song and new show mashed up, but this one is as perfect a blend of the two as I could come up with. (And she did lose! Only in Final Jeopardy!)
----
I became a semi-regular viewer in the new era, coming to respect Alex for his demeanor and humor. In time, Emily would join me for some of the sofa time; after she moved on and Eleanor and I began watching hardly any network television, most of my views of the show were online and usually connected to the legendary performances of Ken and James and a few others. A couple of friends from old AOL trivia days made it on (one modestly going by "Jeopchamp" after his five-time retirement as they did things back then), and at least two friends remaining from LJ were on the show more recently. No wins or even Rice-a-Roni, but incredible memories and the treasured photos of each of them with Alex:)
It became a winter tradition for me to try "now entering the studio" by passing the online test when word of it would pop out most years. I never got a callback; in at least one year, I signed up and then forgot to take it until the last opportunity that year, way late at night in the PST timezone, was more than halfway finished. The other years, I just sucked. Never mind that any night I did watch the show, or took the online practice test, I did much better. (Just took it again: 22 out of 30. The real one's 50 questions and I usually get barely half.) Now, with COVID, you can take the test anytime. I'm not bothering.
I can't think of any particular person who would be best to take over. Jennings is first up and I have no particular love or hate of him; his recent entanglements with some Tweets will probably rule him out. Katie Couric is the only other one lined up; others include, per this recent rundown,
Steve Kornacki, the MSNBC political correspondent who has developed a rabid cult following for his savant-like analysis of vote counts on election nights; actress Mayim Bialik; and Mike Richards, the executive producer of “Jeopardy!” who also has experience as a game show host.
No, not the Kramer Michael Richards. Bialik would be a fun choice. But, to explain the icon I DID use, Why Not Fry? Or failing that, Alan Davies could do Blue Whales for $1,000!
Back after the final show....
----
And now, Double Jeopardy! (Post-Airing)
Thank you, Johnny:(
That was the perfect exit. It may still be aired later in other time zones so I'll hold off on embedding the montage that I'm sure will be posted, but....
It was taped months ago, and was originally scheduled for a Christmas Night airing. That got changed to the end of this week, but numerous holiday references, in the banter and the clues, remained. It seemed appropriate somehow.
As did having a contestant on Alex's final show named Cliff- who, while he did not pull a Clavin,....
He did flame out in the Double J round and wound up negative at the end, leaving an empty podium between the two remaining contestants. Cliff did come back out for an abbreviated round of chatter over the credits, but then they ran the montage of more than 30 years of Alex moments. Silly Alex, sentimental Alex, even dancing Alex. And then he walked off for the last time. It didn't bring the buckets I hoped it would, but I felt some welling-up.
I'll take that, even if it wasn't in the form of a question.
ETA1. Heard from Paula's son. Waiting for an okay to share a sweet story about his mom's appearance. Meanwhile, here's the tribute run at the end of the show:
ETA2. Mark got back to me to okay my sharing his recollection of his mom's appearance:
That’s great that you have the memory of my mom and her Jeopardy appearance. I’m glad it’s not just my family that remembers. It was a big deal for us back then and is always fun to remember.
And they gave all contestants a set of encyclopedias as a parting gift. I used them for many, many years after. Now kids don’t even know what an encyclopedia is! (but we couldn’t carry all the world’s information in our electronic pockets!)
He didn't remember the Rice-a-Roni, though;)
And the portraits of two lovely friends with an amazing man:
Tracey:
And, more recently, Mer:
:
He didn't remember the Rice-a-Roni, though;)
And the portraits of two lovely friends with an amazing man:
Tracey:
And, more recently, Mer:
:
