“I miss Alex.”
The first “Jeopardy!” episode from the death of Alex Trebek aired on Monday, along with Ken Jennings, introduced as the first in a series of interim hosts, barely able to hold back tears when we talk about the late host.
“Sharing this stage with Alex Trebek was one of the greatest honors of my life,” he said on Monday. during the opening of the show.
Even without the man who brought intelligence and balance to the show for almost 37 years, “Jeopardy!” went on business as usual on Monday. Jennings, who holds the record for the longest “Jeopardy!” winner, opened the show with a monologue dedicated to Trebek – almost stifling in the process.
“Not many things in life are perfect, but Alex has done this job almost perfectly for more than 36 years – and it was even better up close,” he continued. “We were blinded by his intelligence, his charm, his grace – indeed, there is no other word for it.”
“Like all” Jeopardy! “Fans, I miss Alex. Very much. And I thank him for everything he has done for all of us, “he added.
Jennings, however, said the show should continue – despite Trebek’s death in November at the age of 80 after a battle with pancreatic cancer – because there are tens of millions of fans “who love this show.” Trebek’s emotional episode aired on Friday, filmed just 10 days before he died. The episode included a montage of Trebek’s greatest moments over the years, which moved many fans to tears.
“Let’s be clear: no one will ever replace the great Alex Trebek, but we can honor him by playing the game he loved,” he concluded, before entering Monday night’s game.
But it was not lost in front of the champion 74 times that fans would prefer to see Trebek the buzzer man, as he did for more than 8,200 episodes since 1984.
“Honestly, I’m with the public,” 46 years old he said in a promo released before the show. “I do not want to be here. I want to see Alex here. I know exactly how I feel when I see someone else behind this otter. “
“I’m just happy to complete and help,” said Jennings, who won the title of greatest of all time last year.
Fans seemed to agree after watching Monday’s episode, written: “Watching her right now and I’m not going to lie, but she feels weird” and “Wow. He’s going to take something it’s time to get used to it. “
Jennings worked as a consultant for “Jeopardy!” this season, which saw him present special video categories, assisting competitors and other aspects of the show. It is the first in “a series of interim hosts inside” Jeopardy! “Family”, which may include Katie Couric.
While Jennings said it was “surreal” to host the show, Trebek gave her some advice if she would ever replace him as a host in any capacity.
“Actually, I talked to him on the phone last weekend and he was – he was fragile, but he was still very much Alex,” Jennings told Good Morning America. “I remember he was very confident in me being a guest host if he ever needed it.”
Rumors circulated that Jennings was “neat” to take over the show, and his name was thrown into the ring as a potential permanent replacement – fueled even more when he apologized in advance for “insensitive” tweets before his hosting debut. He is also the host of the new series “The Chase”, together with his colleague “Jeopardy! James Holzhauer and Brad Rutter, the contestants of The Greatest of All Time tour ”.
But Jennings said in the last conversation, Trebek reminded her that “the host is not the star” Jeopardy! “” Noting that the host host “always referred to the players and the competition.”
“It’s hard to imagine that in today’s TV landscape, a star the size of it would say, ‘Hey, the game isn’t about you’ – but that was great advice.”