If Alex Trebek retires from Jeopardy! in 2016...

[Pink Jazz]

There have been rumors that Alex Trebek might be retiring from Jeopardy! in 2016, since that is when his contract expires.  So, who do you think should be his replacement?

It has been stated that Sony Pictures Television may be considering either Matt Lauer or Anderson Cooper for his replacement. Some have suggested Jeff Probst as well, since he was the former host of VH1's Rock & Roll Jeopardy.  Many seem to want Ken Jennings, however, I have heard that Sony Pictures Television has a policy that prohibits former contestants from hosting its game shows.

I personally would like Richard Karn, who hosted Family Feud from 2002 to 2006.  He was probably my favorite Family Feud host.

[Pete from Boston]

Karn?  Never.   No scholarly gravitas in him like Trebek was able to summon. 

Of course, when I caught a couple of tapings of "Battlestars" in '83, Trebek didn't have much gravitas while going at it with Jm. J. Bullock, nor did he put on a stately display on "High Rollers."  So who knows.

[Pink Jazz]

Sorry, I made an error in both the title and the post.  Alex Trebek's contract expires in 2016.  However, there are indeed rumors that he is considering retirement when his contract expires.

[jeffandnicole]

Over at the Price is Right, I though Drew Carey was an odd replacement for Bob Barker.  But, he's worked out very well on that show, which had the strange transition from being a show primarily geared to seniors sitting at home to a show geared for those around college age and their 20's.

(I happened to be at the Price is Right shortly before Bob Barker announced his retirement.  Sat 5 rows behind contestants row; we were on TV nearly every time the camera panned by.  Didn't get called on down, but absolutely loved the experience!)

[briantroutman]

I personally would like Richard Karn, who hosted Family Feud from 2002 to 2006.  He was probably my favorite Family Feud host.

Among the pool of former Family Feud hosts, John O'Hurley projects more of a high-brow, intellectual aura. But he's spent so many years being an over-the-top parody of himself, it might be impossible for people to take him seriously at this point. It would be like the late Leslie Nielson going back to the kinds of roles he played in the '60s and '70s.

Of course, when I caught a couple of tapings of "Battlestars" in '83, Trebek didn't have much gravitas while going at it with Jm. J. Bullock, nor did he put on a stately display on "High Rollers."  So who knows.

Trebek's gravitas was already in force as host of Double Dare in 1976, so I think he already had it in him.

It's hard to imagine anyone replacing Trebek–with apologies to Art Fleming–he is Jeopardy to most people. Someone like Matt Lauer might be a good choice. Remember, Jeopardy's key demo is the 65 to death group, and many of the seniors I know tune into Today every morning and would likely refer to him as "that nice young man" .

[vdeane]

I personally would like Richard Karn, who hosted Family Feud from 2002 to 2006.  He was probably my favorite Family Feud host.

If a contestant named Tim got a clue wrong, would he say "I don't think so, Tim"?  Also, would he be wearing flannel when he does this?

[Pete from Boston]

Over at the Price is Right, I though Drew Carey was an odd replacement for Bob Barker.  But, he's worked out very well on that show, which had the strange transition from being a show primarily geared to seniors sitting at home to a show geared for those around college age and their 20's.

(I happened to be at the Price is Right shortly before Bob Barker announced his retirement.  Sat 5 rows behind contestants row; we were on TV nearly every time the camera panned by.  Didn't get called on down, but absolutely loved the experience!)

I'm going to have to respectfully and completely disagree there. While it's true that Bob Barker left very big shoes to fill, Drew Carey, every time I have watched him host the show, has seemed out of his element, out of hope, and out of the will to live.  His forced smile says "How did this happen?" like a man who made a deal with the devil to have the career that he had, and now his payback is to walk housewives from Akron through the rules of Plinko for eternity.

[cjk374]

Retire Jeopardy and Trebek together at the same time.

[WillWeaverRVA]

Retire Jeopardy and Trebek together at the same time.

Unfortunately I think this is probably the best solution. I really don't think there's anyone who could do as good a job as Trebek has. Richard Karn was great on Family Feud and is my favorite host of that show not named Richard Dawson, but he wouldn't be a good fit for Jeopardy!.

(Maybe Will Ferrell could host.)

[jeffandnicole]

Retire Jeopardy and Trebek together at the same time.

Unfortunately I think this is probably the best solution. I really don't think there's anyone who could do as good a job as Trebek has. Richard Karn was great on Family Feud and is my favorite host of that show not named Richard Dawson, but he wouldn't be a good fit for Jeopardy!.

(Maybe Will Ferrell could host.)

And Sean Connery will be a guest every. single. night.

[DaBigE]

Retire Jeopardy and Trebek together at the same time.

Agree.

It was bad enough they had to mess with the music. Alex made Jeopardy; the show just won't be the same without him. Similarly, could you imagine Wheel of Fortune without Pat or Vanna? But as long as we're throwing successors names out there, how about Ben Stein? (Bueller? Bueller?)   Thought he did a nice job on Win Ben Stein's Money. Couldn't be any worse than Al, er Richard Karn.

IMO, Richard Karn was made to play Al and do infomercials, nothing else, certainly not a game show host. As far as Family Feud is concerned, he is topped only by Louie Anderson and John O'Hurley as worse hosts.

[Pete from Boston]

Similarly, could you imagine Wheel of Fortune without Pat or Vanna?

Sure.  I remember it well with Chuck Woolery, and remember it being odd that they were pushing the new guy (Sajak) so hard.

IMO, Richard Karn was made to play Al and do infomercials, nothing else, certainly not a game show host. As far as Family Feud is concerned, he is topped only by Louie Anderson and John O'Hurley as worse hosts.

Steve Harvey gets something Richard Dawson got–Family Feud is about embarrassing behavior, embarrassing jokes, jiggling, etc.  I like that he rides the limits of taste without going over, as Richard Dawson did.

[DaBigE]

Similarly, could you imagine Wheel of Fortune without Pat or Vanna?

Sure.  I remember it well with Chuck Woolery, and remember it being odd that they were pushing the new guy (Sajak) so hard.

Sorry, Chuck was before my time.

IMO, Richard Karn was made to play Al and do infomercials, nothing else, certainly not a game show host. As far as Family Feud is concerned, he is topped only by Louie Anderson and John O'Hurley as worse hosts.

Steve Harvey gets something Richard Dawson got–Family Feud is about embarrassing behavior, embarrassing jokes, jiggling, etc.  I like that he rides the limits of taste without going over, as Richard Dawson did.

Exactly. That's why Steve has brought Family Feud's ratings out of the bargain basement and into relevance. I couldn't stand the dry humor of Richard and John. Didn't exactly care for John's character on Seinfeld either.

[Scott5114]

Jeopardy! is not going away. It makes too much money for Merv Griffin Enterprises.

I would like Ken Jennings to host, if for no other reason than because it would make him the first registered AARoads Forum member to host a nationally-syndicated TV show. He was very polite in the brief time he was here, and his camera presence is decent enough.

Richard Karn only gave the appearance of being a decent host because he had the fortune to follow the abysmal Louie Anderson. He had all the charisma and hosting talent of a desk lamp. The Family Feud format was designed as a vehicle for Richard Dawson, and as a result, it requires a host that is willing to get involved and actually play back at the contestants. Karn never did this; you could give "Ontario" as the answer to "Name a U.S. city that starts with the letter C" and he would just mug and say "Show me Ontario! *buzz*" like it was a reasonable answer and move on to the next contestant. With a host that bland, the format falls apart because the game tends to come down to a coin toss on the Triple round. The host has to make the preliminary rounds entertaining to disguise the fact that they mean nothing. Steve Harvey gets the idea a lot better.

[Scott5114]

Over at the Price is Right, I though Drew Carey was an odd replacement for Bob Barker.  But, he's worked out very well on that show, which had the strange transition from being a show primarily geared to seniors sitting at home to a show geared for those around college age and their 20's.

(I happened to be at the Price is Right shortly before Bob Barker announced his retirement.  Sat 5 rows behind contestants row; we were on TV nearly every time the camera panned by.  Didn't get called on down, but absolutely loved the experience!)

I'm going to have to respectfully and completely disagree there. While it's true that Bob Barker left very big shoes to fill, Drew Carey, every time I have watched him host the show, has seemed out of his element, out of hope, and out of the will to live.  His forced smile says "How did this happen?" like a man who made a deal with the devil to have the career that he had, and now his payback is to walk housewives from Akron through the rules of Plinko for eternity.

The Price is Right has many more problems than Carey. If you manage to catch some of the shows of Carey's first year (Season 36) he was actually a pretty decent host. This is because the production staff was still Barker's crew, including showrunner Roger Dobkowitz, who was the one training Carey to host the show. For whatever reason Carey somehow managed to get Dobkowitz canned at the top of Season 37 and that marked the descent of the show into mediocrity. I understand things have stabilized recently but I haven't bothered to watch the show since early Season 38 so I couldn't tell you anything about how it's doing.

[1995hoo]

Heh. Nobody but Richard Dawson and Steve Harvey could have handled these answers so well. Every show requires its own temperament, and that's also why Harvey, for example, would not be suited for Jeopardy.

Whoever takes it on, hopefully people would give him some time before judging. I'd be nervous as heck if I had to succeed Alex Trebek!

[Fred Defender]

Someone like Matt Lauer might be a good choice. Remember, Jeopardy's key demo is the 65 to death group, and many of the seniors I know tune into Today every morning and would likely refer to him as "that nice young man" .

Dear Lord! I quit watching "Today" about fifteen years ago. I don't watch Jeopardy, but Lauer as host would give me a really good reason to never watch it again.

[Thing 342]

Someone like Matt Lauer might be a good choice. Remember, Jeopardy's key demo is the 65 to death group, and many of the seniors I know tune into Today every morning and would likely refer to him as "that nice young man" .

Dear Lord! I quit watching "Today" about fifteen years ago. I don't watch Jeopardy, but Lauer as host would give me a really good reason to never watch it again.

Lauer is one of the better points of TODAY nowadays. He mostly only sticks around for what still passes for hard news on there.

[Fred Defender]

Someone like Matt Lauer might be a good choice. Remember, Jeopardy's key demo is the 65 to death group, and many of the seniors I know tune into Today every morning and would likely refer to him as "that nice young man" .

Dear Lord! I quit watching "Today" about fifteen years ago. I don't watch Jeopardy, but Lauer as host would give me a really good reason to never watch it again.

Lauer is one of the better points of TODAY nowadays.

Scary.

[Pete from Boston]

Someone like Matt Lauer might be a good choice. Remember, Jeopardy's key demo is the 65 to death group, and many of the seniors I know tune into Today every morning and would likely refer to him as "that nice young man" .

Dear Lord! I quit watching "Today" about fifteen years ago. I don't watch Jeopardy, but Lauer as host would give me a really good reason to never watch it again.

Lauer is one of the better points of TODAY nowadays. He mostly only sticks around for what still passes for hard news on there.

When Matt Lauer was a presenter on the human-interest fluff-piece show "PM Magazine" thirty years ago, his face and name were very similar to Mitchell Laurance, fluff reporter on the news comedy program "Not Necessarily the News," and I constantly confused the two.  For years I had trouble believing Matt Lauer was not fictional, and for years after I had trouble taking him seriously at all. 

[SteveG1988]

What about Marc Summers. He has done serious game show hosting. History IQ in the early 00s. He did not seem out of his element there.

[NJRoadfan]

Jeopardy! is not going away. It makes too much money for Merv Griffin Enterprises.

I would like Ken Jennings to host, if for no other reason than because it would make him the first registered AARoads Forum member to host a nationally-syndicated TV show. He was very polite in the brief time he was here, and his camera presence is decent enough.

Sony Pictures has owned the Jeopardy! franchise for quite a while. The syndication rights for it and Wheel of Fortune are big bucks. Don't know if its the case in every market, but it is usually in the 7pm slot between the evening news and prime time.

Where did Ken Jennings post here?

[Pink Jazz]

Note that I have heard that Sony Pictures Television does not allow former contestants to host its game shows.  If true, then Ken Jennings isn't an option.

[Scott5114]

Jeopardy! is not going away. It makes too much money for Merv Griffin Enterprises.

I would like Ken Jennings to host, if for no other reason than because it would make him the first registered AARoads Forum member to host a nationally-syndicated TV show. He was very polite in the brief time he was here, and his camera presence is decent enough.

Sony Pictures has owned the Jeopardy! franchise for quite a while. The syndication rights for it and Wheel of Fortune are big bucks. Don't know if its the case in every market, but it is usually in the 7pm slot between the evening news and prime time.

Where did Ken Jennings post here?

He was doing research for his book "Maphead" and had some questions about road enthusiasts.

[bugo]

If Trebek retires, they should end the show. To my generation and the generations that have come since, Alex has been the only host. I wouldn't want to watch Jeopardy with another host.