The World's Common Tater

I am a big fan of Jeopardy. I used to watch every day with my daughter before she went to college. We, like everyone else, loved Alex Trebek, Jeopardy will not be the same without him, but we are still watching and judging each of the guest hosts. I have followed the announcements of the slate of guests hosts. Because of this I have seen a lot of the tlk that LeVar Burton should be the host. A large number of people think Burton is the one one only person who should be hired to be the host They don’t want guest hosts, They think he should be hired right now. Many say they will refuse to watch Jeopardy unless he is hired. I don’t have an issue with Burton. He might be a good host. What has soured me on Burton as the host is how angry the Burton group gets when anyone mentions that someone else would be a good host. When Burton was announced yesterday as an upcoming guest host I read one of the dumbest things I have read online in a while on Twitter. One of the Burton fans said the non-Burton guest hosts were to appease the MAGA crowd. The implication being that if you don’t demand Burton be the host you are obviously a racist Trump supporter. I could use just the people in the announcement yesterday to highlight how stupid that is, but I will instead go through the entire list and note how dumb the whole MAGA statement was.

Ken Jennings – I don’t know his politics. He is a white guy. Obviously given the shot because of his long time connection to the show. He did a good job and obviously loves the show.

Mike Richards – another white guy. Again obviously there because of his connection to the show. He was OK, but a little to “game show host” for me

Katie Couric – hated by the MAGA crowd, especially after recent comments about the Capitol riots. She was OK and seemed delighted to be there.

Dr Oz – Does anyone like him? He is a friend of Trebek, so his appearance make sense. As a host he was fine but is way wrong for a show like this.

Aaron Rodgers – Again, I don’t know his politics. He has been on the show before as a contestant. Maybe the MAGA people like him. He was very good as host.

Anderson Cooper – I doubt they asked a gay CNN guy to do the show to appease the MAGA crowd. He is fine as host so far. I like him a lot but doubt he wants the job full time.

Bill Whitaker – a black man who hosts 60 Minutes and is part of the “fake news media” Sure, he’s there to appease MAGA people.

Buzzy Cohen – a former contestant to host the champions tournament. Again, given the spot because of his connection to the show

Mayim Bialik – I don’t know how the MAGA crowd feels about her. She’s very smart and seems a good choice for a show like Jeopardy.

Savannah Guthrie – Also hated by the MAGA crowd and part of the “fake news media” that was mean to Trump. I watch the Today Show every day and think she will be good.

Dr Sanjay Gupta – a medical correspondent for CNN among other things. Not exactly a MAGA magnet. I’ve never really seen him on anything so I am curious about how he will do.

And now the ones in the announcement where the guy said they were obviously there to appease the MAGA crowd:

Robin Roberts – a gay black woman. That’s right in the MAGA wheelhouse right? I think she could be really good.

George Stephanopoulos – a liberal who worked for Clinton. He was one of the people listed a possible replacement from early on. I could see him being considered as the full time host.

David Faber – A CNBC guy. I know nothing about him. I don’t really know anything about CNBC. I can’t judge his MAGA appeal or his potential as host.

Joe Buck – all I really know about Joe Buck is that a lot of people don’t like him. I don’t know his political views. He seems like someone who might appeal to the MAGA crowd. I don’t see him being the full time host.

And finally, LeVar Burton. I don’t really have any thoughts on Burton. I have only really paid attention to him on Star Trek and Community. I’ve never watched Reading Rainbow. I know people love him. The angry Burton fans almost make me want to see him completely flop as host.

What I do know is this – The host should respect and love the show. The host should not overshadow the show nor the contestants. The show should not be about the host and their personality. Alex was great because he let the show be about the contestants an the knowledge, not him. A host who does not do this could ruin a good thing.