On Mar 25, 2021, at 4:59 PM, Jim Ellwanger <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> I do agree with much of the piece, but I disagree with using this to make a
> point:
>
>> Those seeking to find fault in his first couple of episodes by looking
>> closely at his interjecting himself into the gameplay, adding unwanted or
>> unneeded context after correct answers, will find it.
>
> Trebek would add frequently add context after contestants' answers (for
> example, a first name if the contestant had only given a last name), at what
> seems to me about the same rate that Dr. Oz has been doing it. I suspect what
> one viewer finds "unwanted or unneeded," another viewer will find to be
> something that helps them remember, "oh, yeah, it's THAT person."
I'm gonna disagree with you on that one. I've no problem whatsoever with the
expansion of a last name only response to first and last names, but it seems to
me like both Oz and Katie Couric have added more "explainers" in their time--if
a player rings in and says "Who was Lincoln?", I don't want the host to say
"That's right--he was at Ford's Theatre seeing 'Our American Cousin' when Booth
shot him". I don't recall Trebek doing that very often, and when he did, it
was usually during Final, where it doesn't really disrupt the rhythm of the
game. When I was on, the contestant coordinator flat out told us when
selecting clues to shorten the category names and values ("Rivers for sixteen"
instead of "South American Rivers for sixteen hundred") and to not say "please"
because every second counts when you're playing the game--those little host
tidbits could literally change the outcome of the game.
One thing I'd really, really like to see is a guest host capable of even a
moderate understanding of the scoring. Alex understood the scoring system
well--you could hear the disapproval in his voice when a player down by $9,000
in Double would hit a late Daily Double and wager too small ("Just $1200?
Okay."), and you could hear the approval when a third place player in Final
would wager just enough to get into a strategic position ("Interesting wager;
we'll see if it works out"). In tonight's Final, Oz sounded positively
astonished when the third place player revealed he'd wagered everything, which
would put him into first place with a correct response.
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