So 2020 sucked. And the coup de gras' on the shit sandwich that was last year was the passing of the legendary Alex Trebek.
There have been a great number of tributes already, and no doubt the final week of episodes which will be airing this week will unearth more - I wanted to take the time to add my tiny voice to the chorus.
I'm old enough to remember my mom telling me that one of her favorite shows was coming back on the air, a game show called "Jeopardy!". We watched it and enjoyed it, and would watch it again. My mom said this new host didn't compare to the original, but overall it seemed worthwhile.
"Jeopardy!" had originally aired from 1964-1975 and it was hosted then by a man named Art Fleming, and it had been hugely successful in a noon time slot on NBC. It's numbers only faltered when it was removed from that time slot and it was cancelled shortly after this executive blunder.
To compensate the show's creator, Merv Griffin, NBC switched in a new show called "Wheel of Fortune" later that very same year. My mom detested Wheel. And in fact to this day detests almost all of television except for baseball with the Oakland A's.
So when she started watching the new "Jeopardy!" I was surprised but pleased that my mom would sit down and watch television with me that wasn't sports. Neither my mom nor I knew at the time, but the very reason "Jeopardy!" was brought back was to piggyback on the wild success of "Wheel of Fortune".
As we watched those first seasons, I am able remember that I was terrible at the game and that my mom was much better than me.
Slowly the years passed, and I did get better and also grew to appreciate the show more and more. Eventually as an adult I could hold my own again my mom, but I never passed the online test - though I've had half a dozen people in my life (ranging from good friends to acquaintances) who have been on and even some who made some money. My mom eventually did get around to conceding that Alex was just as good (maybe even a little bit better) than Art Fleming.
When Alex passed away, we all knew it was coming, and yet somehow it was still shocking. New shows were still airing, and he seemed on camera to be the Alex we had always known. A bit grayer, a bit more hoarse, but the energy and the twinkle remained.
Come to find out, he had just finished taping a bunch of shows and passed away only 10 days after wrapping. Shocking indeed.
But pancreatic cancer is one of the nastiest diseases there is in a family of diseases that is the absolute worst, and it turns out that the man who appeared to us on television for over 35 years as a great sage of wisdom and a font of firm but fair treatment to all who played his game - was in the end, only human.
That he would die so abruptly, without warning (even though we certainly had been warned) hit everyone hard.
Sure it was "just a game show" and Alex was in the end just a game show host. But looking at the totality of his work, of his life - it seems to me that he was a lot more.
Alex was to me, the very embodiment of the American dream. First and foremost, he was an immigrant. Second, he worked extremely hard to get where he was - starting out as a utility player for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, he worked endlessly announcing and hosting just about every show available to him at one time or another, all the while going to college at the same time.
In 1973 Alex moved to the US and began hosting a string of successful game shows, including two I remember very well - "High Rollers" and "Pitfall". The man never stopped - at one point, even after he had been hosting "Jeopardy!" for a few years he was also hosting two other game shows at the same time - "Classic Concentration" and "To Tell the Truth".
Third, perhaps the most American of all, he slowly but surely became a national treasure by hosting the very best game show in the very best way. He was firm but fair and exuded confidence without ever being overbearing or insufferable the way some of the best of his colleagues couldn't avoid.
And he outlasted them all, save one - Mr. Sajack who was clearly fed up with his job decades ago and still is snotty to his contestants.
But more than being calm and cool, Alex was at the helm of a show that exemplified what is great about the good ol' US of A.
Jeopardy is calmly and coolly, just like Alex - all about being the very best, in this case the best of "trivia" which is actually a massive amount of general information that we as worldly people should aspire to consume and retain.
It really is beyond a game show - it is a showcase of exceptionalism. A mixture of hard work (learning what you need to know), physical ability in timing (gotta get on that buzzer quick!) and a bit of luck - it's ALL about the categories! If I as a poker player and Star Wars nerd got "Sci-Fi Movies" and "Vegas Gaming" as categories I would be much happier than if I got "Latin Broadway Musicals" (an actual category from a rerun the other night). I do know musicals pretty well, but the latin part stumped me!
It's tough to communicate why the show has grown so large in importance to me and to our country over the years - I feel like I'm falling very short of giving reasons why it matters. And why Alex mattered so much in this equation.
So now's the part where some of you may get mad at me - because I have to spell it out.
I will NOT say it has to do with politics - because in my view what is happening to our country has nothing to do with policies or even ultimately politicians.
My issue with the way things are going with our country and why I love "Jeopardy!" so much is all of the marxist garbage that has migrated from college campuses into the real world is absolutely refuted by a show like "Jeopardy!" and by a man like Alex.
Let me say this - in a world where the values of hard work and determination are now facing push-back as somehow unjust or even somehow racist (yes, this is an actual thing now) - "Jeopardy!" for me has become a reassuring bedrock of reliability as a venue where excellence still matters.
Being on time is not "colonialism". Turning your work in on time is not "a value of whiteness". Striving to be the best is something we as a nation, and as a world for that matter, should always hold up as admirable.
"Jeopardy!" is a firm and unwavering statement against the forces of idiotic "wokeism" that has infected our youth and gone from college campuses to the mainstream in only a few short years.
Alex embodied this refutation until his last breath. My favorite line of his that he would use often when the first round commenced was "Let's go to work." Indeed.
No one could say it better or mean it more. Alex was and will forever be a national treasure, and Jeopardy hopefully will continue on for many years to come. Whoever ends up hosting, and I'm praying it's not the shrill and panicky Ken Jennings (not to mention his awful politics which he loves sharing on twitter) - but rather someone, anyone, who can keep things calm and sensible, without turning over yet another treasured institution to the social justice nonsense that is breaking our country and breaking my heart.
For now and hopefully forever, Alex Trebek will stand as far more than just a game show host. He will be remembered as the cool and calm Canadian who came to the US and helmed one of the biggest and best legacies in television history.
A tv show that became far greater than just a tv show - it is an institution and a statement against mediocrity and destructive group think. One that our country needs now more than ever.
Whoever steps into Alex's shoes, I do pray for them - to stay strong, stay mostly silent on twitter, and to keep the faith in hard work and the pursuit of objective excellence.
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| 2nd Row right to left - me, my mom, my wife and my brother - watching the legend! |
