Jennings unloading tweetybox baggage

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Bob Jersey

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Dec 30, 2020, 8:31:50 PM12/30/20
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Did we cover this back in the day?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/12/30/jeopardy-star-ken-jennings-apologizes-insensitive-tweets/4094179001/ (link)

B

Joe Hass

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Dec 30, 2020, 8:45:47 PM12/30/20
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No, I don't think we did.

I think it flew under the radar, but I do know that amongst those it offended, it was never forgotten and was frequently brought up as "Oh, you may think Ken Jennings is awesome, but he's really an ablist!!!"


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Brad Beam

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Dec 30, 2020, 11:14:29 PM12/30/20
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From: tvor...@googlegroups.com [mailto:tvor...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Joe Hass

>No, I don't think we did.

> 

>I think it flew under the radar, but I do know that amongst those it offended, it was never forgotten and was frequently brought up as "Oh, you may think Ken Jennings is awesome, but he's really an ablist!!!"

 

So now I can’t joke about Dad’s Parkinson’s and my brother’s spina bifida? Well then, remove me from the host search….

 

_   _

|_>|_>  Brad Beam- Belle WV

|_>|_>  http://www.facebook.com/74bmw

Mark Jeffries

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Dec 31, 2020, 1:26:29 PM12/31/20
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Jennings' less tweetable problem with replacing Trebek is that he knows too many people in the trivia community who would become automatically ineligible to appear on "Jeopardy!" (if they haven't yet appeared) if he became permanent host.  (Those people would have no problem getting booked on "The Chase"--it would just be for an episode where Brad or James is the Chaser.)

I do find it interesting that with Jennings' first day only seven shows away (or five new shows away) they have yet to announce who else are going to be guest hosts, since I assume that there will not be a permanent host until the fall and the beginning of Season 38.  Dan Patrick's already said he's not interested, but Jeff Probst won't be doing anything until "Survivor" can go back up.   And of course, there's the Clue Crew and Sajak could step in for a week or two.

Mark Jeffries
spotl...@gmail.com


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Jon Delfin

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Dec 31, 2020, 1:37:35 PM12/31/20
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On Thu, Dec 31, 2020 at 1:26 PM Mark Jeffries <spotl...@gmail.com> wrote:
Jennings' less tweetable problem with replacing Trebek is that he knows too many people in the trivia community who would become automatically ineligible to appear on "Jeopardy!" (if they haven't yet appeared) if he became permanent host.  (Those people would have no problem getting booked on "The Chase"--it would just be for an episode where Brad or James is the Chaser.)

The likelihood that the contestant coordinators on The Chase would try to match up contestants who know one of the Chasers to play against one of the other two is nearly zero. That would involve tampering with the random draws that are required by (game show, at least) law for match-ups. Much easier to reject and replace.

Tom Wolper

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Dec 31, 2020, 1:38:43 PM12/31/20
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On Thu, Dec 31, 2020 at 1:26 PM Mark Jeffries <spotl...@gmail.com> wrote:
Jennings' less tweetable problem with replacing Trebek is that he knows too many people in the trivia community who would become automatically ineligible to appear on "Jeopardy!" (if they haven't yet appeared) if he became permanent host.  (Those people would have no problem getting booked on "The Chase"--it would just be for an episode where Brad or James is the Chaser.)

I don't see what the problem would be here. There's such a huge pool of applicants that disqualifying a few wouldn't make any difference. And the TV audience doesn't know the stars of the trivia community and wouldn't care if they weren't on Jeopardy.

I do find it interesting that with Jennings' first day only seven shows away (or five new shows away) they have yet to announce who else are going to be guest hosts, since I assume that there will not be a permanent host until the fall and the beginning of Season 38.  Dan Patrick's already said he's not interested, but Jeff Probst won't be doing anything until "Survivor" can go back up.   And of course, there's the Clue Crew and Sajak could step in for a week or two.

Whoever is hosting the shows have already been recorded, at least for January, and if Sony or the Jeopardy front office isn't releasing names it's their marketing strategy.

Joe Hass

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Dec 31, 2020, 1:44:41 PM12/31/20
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For what it's worth, the joke was along the lines of "If she wasn't in a wheelchair, she'd be hot!"

As John Scalzi noted over on his Twitter feed, in his opinion the problem was that Jennings never deleted the tweet, which made it sound like Jennings never withdrew the comment.

Kevin M.

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Dec 31, 2020, 1:56:20 PM12/31/20
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Pat Sajak and Chuck Woolery might be two of the most obnoxious if not outright offensive people on social media, but that doesn’t make them bad game show hosts. Bad people, maybe, but not bad game show hosts. Dick Clark was a cheap bastard who went through wives like Kleenex, but that didn’t make him a bad game show host.

I get the feeling, and maybe I’m wrong, that Alex Trebek had a full, rich life outside of being a game show host. But I get the feeling, and maybe I’m wrong, that Ken Jennings has no life outside of learning trivia. And while that sounds like a character judgment, it isn’t. There are people who obsess over sports, and if that’s what gets them through each day, the fact that it doesn’t interest me doesn’t matter. But what is a judgment is that Jennings lacks the charisma to carry a long-term job as a host, and I think that’s because I do not see him as having a life outside of trivia. And even if my perception of him is wrong, I doubt I’m the only one who has that perception. He might not be a bad person, but I do not think he possesses what it takes to be a good host.

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Jim Ellwanger

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Dec 31, 2020, 1:57:56 PM12/31/20
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I’m sure, if necessary, the Sony lawyers will come up with a set of standards involving different levels of “knowing” the host. I can’t imagine — for example — that someone would be disqualified as a “Jeopardy!” contestant just because, in the Facebook group for fans of Ken’s “Omnibus” podcast, Ken has responded to a couple of their posts and comments. (At least, I hope so!)

Ken has pulled back from the “trivia community” in at least one visible way — he stopped competing in the infamous online invitation-only trivia quiz LearnedLeague.

Brad Rutter is definitely also a part of the “trivia community,” e.g., he’s a regular at pub trivia around the L.A. area — most notably O’Briens in Santa Monica, where a good number of “Jeopardy!” alumni play. At a different venue in Santa Monica, way back in 2019, a friend of mine as a solo player beat a team consisting of Brad, fellow “Jeopardy!” contestant Pam Mueller, and a couple of other people. (My friend doesn’t watch “Jeopardy!” and didn’t know who he was up against. I heard about this from a third party, the quizmaster, who is in a pinball league with me. Sometimes L.A. can be like a small town!)

For what it’s worth, Brad DID compete in the most recent season of LearnedLeague. (LearnedLeague requires a username based on your real name in all but the most exigent of circumstances, so there’s little doubt who “RutterB” in Los Angeles, California — referred by “MuellerP” — is.)


Jim Ellwanger

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Dec 31, 2020, 2:26:42 PM12/31/20
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Ever since the money from his initial “Jeopardy!” run allowed him to quit his job as a computer programmer, Ken has made his money as an author of nonfiction… which means he does spend time studying trivia, but it’s called “research” when it’s for use in a book.

He does have a wife and two kids, has traveled extensively, and is a fan of Seattle sports teams (especially the Mariners) and indie rock music, so he does have interests other than pure trivia. Granted, I really only know a lot about his non-trivia life because of his trivia-related podcast “Omnibus,” which allows for extensive personal anecdotes and other chatter. (And his co-host, musician John Roderick, definitely has a much more interesting biography, and more diverse interests, than Ken does.)


Greg Diener

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Jan 3, 2021, 2:15:58 PM1/3/21
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On a semi-related note Ken's Omnibus Podcast Co-Host John Roderick has been in a social media scandal of his own over the last 24 hours.

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