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May 22, 2012

Things I Hate About TV: Alex Trebek's "sense of humor"

by Joel Keller, posted Jan 5th 2006 9:10PM

Trebek in 1974Alex, just admit it: you're not funny. You never were funny. For the last twenty-two years, every time you've tried to be funny on Jeopardy!, you've sounded like one of those guys at a party who says the lame line that makes everybody scatter. Just stop it, stop it right now. Read the clues, act all smug when you give an incorrect contestant the answer that's right in front of you, pronounce every year by saying things like "nineteen-hundred and ninety-two", we don't care. We already know you're pompous. Just stop trying to make jokes; it's very, very painful.

(Of course, because we do have senses of humor here at TV Squad, we give you a picture of Alex hosting High Rollers in the mid-Seventies. Nice perm, Trebek.)

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Bob Stephan

I always thought Alex was careful to use very proper language but he made a gaff tonight (Jan 18, 2006). He mentioned that a dead deer was "laying" in the road. I doubt the accuracy of that. Hens lay. I suspect the deer was lying in the road.

January 18 2006 at 10:49 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Bob Stephan's comment
Bob

It's "gaffe"

April 20 2011 at 10:24 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Joel Keller

To MW... that was the incident that inspired me to make this post. I just didn't want to publish it and encourage the poor guy to make even more "jokes" on the air.

January 05 2006 at 11:54 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
MW

He attempted to make a joke just this evening, actually. A contestant correctly responded to a clue and Trebek said "Yes," then thought the response was actually wrong and said "No," realized he was wrong and said "Yes" again.

On the next correct response, Trebek, this time on purpose said "Yes! No! Yes!" as if to say, "Hey, look at me! I can laugh at myself!" Well, Alex, if you have to do something like that, then clearly you can't.

I love Jeopardy, but man, Trebek can be grating. His little chats with the contestants in the middle of the first round has to be some of the most awkward conversation in all of television.

January 05 2006 at 10:58 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Gudlyf

Spoken just as Sean Connery would have, Joel. Only it'd be: "Nysh perm, Trrrebeck! Haw Haw HAW!"

January 05 2006 at 9:57 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jamie

Geez. He looks like Gabe Kaplan.

January 05 2006 at 9:48 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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