The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: aaron sica on December 16, 2014, 02:19:30 PM
-
Another game-show related fallout from the Sony hack - unlike Pat Sajak's episode (which of course wasn't really one at all), apparently Trebek was a bit peeved for reals - http://pagesix.com/2014/12/16/alex-trebek-threatened-to-quit-jeopardy-sony-emails/
-
Another game-show related fallout from the Sony hack - unlike Pat Sajak's episode (which of course wasn't really one at all), apparently Trebek was a bit peeved for reals - http://pagesix.com/2014/12/16/alex-trebek-threatened-to-quit-jeopardy-sony-emails/
This is indeed a red letter day: I agree with internet commenters.
-
Another game-show related fallout from the Sony hack - unlike Pat Sajak's episode (which of course wasn't really one at all), apparently Trebek was a bit peeved for reals - http://pagesix.com/2014/12/16/alex-trebek-threatened-to-quit-jeopardy-sony-emails/
I started not to believe the story because the link included the words "page" and "six" consecutively.
-
On the one hand, the girl was definitely a sore loser (what did her mother expect, for Trebek to pull a unicorn and an ice cream sundae out of his suit jacket right then and there?). But on the other hand, threatening to give up not just a job, but the status of being the public face of a beloved institution, over one incident strikes me as an equal overreaction on Trebek's part. I don't want to judge too much as we don't know the full story (and it is the NY Post, after all), but Trebek always struck me as a good-humored, level-headed person, which is why I was surprised to read this.
-
J! Archive has the synopsis of the game in question:
http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=4740
Brian
-
Looking at Alex's comments in that article, I don't think he's upset about this specifically but rather that this kind of stuff's been happening for a while -- the "Emanciptation Proclamation" blowup comes to mind from the "vilified" comment.
If I'm making mistakes and saying things you don't like, maybe it's time for me to move on. It's not a threat, but I want to let you know how I'm feeling.
But I want to say that for 30 years I've defended our show against attacks inside and out. But it doesn't seem to operate both ways. When I'm vilified, corporate (and certainly legal) always seems to say 'don't say anything and it'll blow over,' and I'm not feeling support from the producers, and that disappoints the s—t out of me.
...and honestly, these remarks sound like either Pat or Alex said them.
-
I thought it was more of a Lietenant Murtagh moment: he is tired of dealing with this stuff. (Well guess what Bunky, social media is a thing now and there's a big fat news hole that bloggers and cable news outlets have to fill.) But he's got a point: why get up to work if he has to deal with this sort of thing? Or more specifically, cut out the Kids Week shows.
I'm guessing he has plenty enough money saved up and could retire to his garden and truck and could choose to leave it as a career at whatever the next contract signing is.
-
what did her mother expect, for Trebek to pull a unicorn and an ice cream sundae out of his suit jacket right then and there?
Yes.
It's saber-rattling on Alex's part, but he is justified in doing so. What did he do wrong that would warrant retaping? He was a consummate pro, as always.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USNi6Raa37Y#t=1047
-
Brenda Lee can fix it all up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBkGdbci-wM
-
But he's got a point: why get up to work if he has to deal with this sort of thing? Or more specifically, cut out the Kids Week shows.
I don't think removing the Kids Weeks would solve anything, primarily since it'd be kowtowing to a complaining mother who's overreacting and a mass media that can't do math.
I'm guessing he has plenty enough money saved up and could retire to his garden and truck and could choose to leave it as a career at whatever the next contract signing is.
...2016, I think?
What did [Alex] do wrong that would warrant retaping? He was a consummate pro, as always.
"He was a consummate pro instead of tending to my poor baby backstage!" ...Even though the article makes it clear that Gabby was upset at first (totally understandable, IMO), but then recovered and stayed around to watch another episode's taping.
I think the thing that bothers me the most about this is that (per this article (http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2014/12/sony-email-hack-alex-trebek-jeopardy-rant/)) a producer wanted him to retape the segment "to appease an upset mother who could start another feeding frenzy about Alex's perceived insensitivity." How about, oh I don't know, actually responding to such media blowups if and when they happen?
(No, wait, I know why -- because that'd mean you think bad publicity is bad.)
-
Stage mothers should be vetted by the production staff long before the kid gets on the air.
-
Or, he could just have been having a really bad day and was venting his frustrations...happens to the best of us.
-
Did Alex actually re-tape his comments? It doesn't look to me like anything changed outside of editing out when she ran off the stage. If he DID, then what did he say originally?
This isn't like the time Trebek pointed out the boy's misspelling of "Emancipation". I felt him saying "Well, it's misspelled badly" was a poor choice of words, and unlike Gabby, this guy had a MUCH harder time keeping it together as the cameras kept rolling during the credits.
-
I felt him saying "Well, it's misspelled badly" was a poor choice of words,
As opposed to what, then?
and unlike Gabby, this guy had a MUCH harder time keeping it together as the cameras kept rolling during the credits.
Which makes sense because she was offstage for the final act.
-
I felt him saying "Well, it's misspelled badly" was a poor choice of words, and unlike Gabby, this guy had a MUCH harder time keeping it together as the cameras kept rolling during the credits.
What exactly would YOU have said?
-
For the record: Based on the article, the mother's complaints weren't about what happened in the episode itself, but rather what Alex said at the beginning of the following episode. A transcript from JBoard:
Thank you, Johnny. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome. I'm sure you've noticed that one of the main differences between our kids week shows and our regular fare, aside from the age factor, of course, is the element of emotion. As talented as they are, these very bright young people, haven't yet had too many experiences in life where they were not the winners. And that can be pretty tough on some of them. Nevertheless, we hope that their visit to Jeopardy! winds up being viewed by them as a positive one. Olivia, Courtney, and Zane, welcome, good luck. Let's go to work. Here are the categories for the first round of play today...
-
"Unfortunately, you misspelled it, and we have to rule against you" would be one of about 300 ways of wording it. "Badly" strikes me as not only harsh, but inaccurate. These are picky distinctions, to be sure, but the fact that Alex has a bit of a reputation for being condescending and aloof even to adult players probably isn't doing him any favors here.
Besides, Aaron Sorkin tells me it's none of my business.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/15/opinion/aaron-sorkin-journalists-shouldnt-help-the-sony-hackers.html
-
Some other interesting info- apparently Jeff Zucker wanted to do a version of J! for CNN with all politics-based material....don't think that would have translated well...
(Though they are doing a GS for HLN called "Keywords" with Summer Sanders as host...
http://www.buzzerblog.com/2014/12/08/summer-sanders-to-host-new-hln-game-show-keywords/)
-
For the record: Based on the article, the mother's complaints weren't about what happened in the episode itself, but rather what Alex said at the beginning of the following episode. A transcript from JBoard:
Thank you, Johnny. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome. I'm sure you've noticed that one of the main differences between our kids week shows and our regular fare, aside from the age factor, of course, is the element of emotion. As talented as they are, these very bright young people, haven't yet had too many experiences in life where they were not the winners. And that can be pretty tough on some of them. Nevertheless, we hope that their visit to Jeopardy! winds up being viewed by them as a positive one. Olivia, Courtney, and Zane, welcome, good luck. Let's go to work. Here are the categories for the first round of play today...
I mentioned on Facebook that I once had a team advisor send us a pretty nasty e-mail after a QuizBusters taping, because my efforts to be consoling to a team that got their butts handed to them was perceived by him (and apparently by some of his players) to be condescending. No matter how well-meaning Alex's comments may have been, there's not a good way to say something like that and not rub the sore loser's family the wrong way. And that's giving him the benefit of the doubt that his comment were actually well-meaning, and not a deliberate jab at a player and family he found annoying. It strikes me as something that was totally unnecessary to bring up at the start of an episode that people are watching 23 1/2 hours later.
-
I mentioned on Facebook that I once had a team advisor send us a pretty nasty e-mail after a QuizBusters taping, because my efforts to be consoling to a team that got their butts handed to them was perceived by him (and apparently by some of his players) to be condescending. No matter how well-meaning Alex's comments may have been, there's not a good way to say something like that and not rub the sore loser's family the wrong way. And that's giving him the benefit of the doubt that his comment were actually well-meaning, and not a deliberate jab at a player and family he found annoying. It strikes me as something that was totally unnecessary to bring up at the start of an episode that people are watching 23 1/2 hours later.
Alex does bring up notable moments from previous shows sometimes, especially during special weeks/tournaments. Also, is it possible that Alex wasn't sure how the girl's outburst would come across on TV (or how the editors would cut it), so he felt the need to mention it the next show?
-
With Sony projecting a 100 million dollar loss from pulling "The Interview", what does that mean for our game show properties?(GSN, WOF, J, etc)
-
The flap about the kid writing "emanciptation" instead of "emancipation" can get us into a gray area. My understanding is that "Jeopardy!" doesn't penalize for spelling on "Final Jeopardy!" unless the spelling is so off that a completely different answer results. I don't think this was the case here; I think everybody watching knew what the kid meant. I've seen an episode of "You Bet Your Life" where Groucho's daughter Melinda teamed with Candice Bergen (both then 11 years old) to win some money for the Girl Scouts, with George Fenneman asking the questions. One was to name the mountain range that separates Spain and France, and Melinda simply couldn't pronounce "Pyrenees"; it kept coming out as something like "Pyaneea." But (and maybe it was because they were playing for a cause) Fenneman gave it to her, preventing them from missing two in a row and being eliminated. (They went on to win $1000 but their dads wouldn't let them risk it on the wheel.) Should they have been penalized as well? You decide.
The "Jeopardy!" call, as far as I'm concerned, was crappy, but then again I think Trebek is crappy and have ever since "High Rollers."
-
The "Jeopardy!" call, as far as I'm concerned, was crappy, but then again I think Trebek is crappy and have ever since "High Rollers."
Are you implying that Trebek made the call?
-
He didn't exactly take exception with the judges nor do I feel he was sympathetic with the unfortunate kid. Had this been the days of live TV, there would have been an excuse to replay the game (as happened on "Twenty-One" when Hank Bloomgarden named "coccyx" instead of "coccygeal" as one of the groups of bones in the spinal column, was ruled right, and was later overruled). Of course, those days are over, so losers have to live with their misfortune unless it's a brazen error on the part of the judges. I do think, in answer to your question, that Trebek could have said something other than that the kid misspelled "emancipation" (in his words) "badly." Sometimes he just reminds me of a male Anne Robinson; it doesn't take much for me to imagine him saying, "You are the weakest link, goodbye."
-
He didn't exactly take exception with the judges nor do I feel he was sympathetic with the unfortunate kid.
For what reason do you believe that a game show host even has the right to take exception with a judges' decision? He is the host, NOT the judge...they are different jobs...if you want a host who is there to contradict a judge's decision, dig up the corpse of Richard Dawson.
JakeT
-
My understanding is that "Jeopardy!" doesn't penalize for spelling on "Final Jeopardy!" unless the spelling is so off that a completely different answer results. I don't think this was the case here
Okay. How would you pronounce "emanciptation?"
I think everybody watching knew what the kid meant.
"Everybody knows what you meant to write" is, by your own admission, not the show's criteria for being "right enough."
-
All of the rules are set forth with great precision in a document called the "bible". It is the document the judges, the producer, standards & practices and Alex are bound by. Every nationally-broadcast game show in the U.S. has a bible.
-
The flap about the kid writing "emanciptation" instead of "emancipation" can get us into a gray area. My understanding is that "Jeopardy!" doesn't penalize for spelling on "Final Jeopardy!" unless the spelling is so off that a completely different answer results.
Or it throws off the pronunciation, like it does here. Could it have gone either way? Perhaps...but even with kids, it's not out of line for the show to penalize the incorrect spelling, esp. if it adds another syllable. I can't remember; did the opponents spell it correctly?
I don't think this was the case here; I think everybody watching knew what the kid meant. I've seen an episode of "You Bet Your Life" where Groucho's daughter Melinda teamed with Candice Bergen (both then 11 years old) to win some money for the Girl Scouts, with George Fenneman asking the questions. One was to name the mountain range that separates Spain and France, and Melinda simply couldn't pronounce "Pyrenees"; it kept coming out as something like "Pyaneea." But (and maybe it was because they were playing for a cause) Fenneman gave it to her, preventing them from missing two in a row and being eliminated. (They went on to win $1000 but their dads wouldn't let them risk it on the wheel.) Should they have been penalized as well? You decide.
Apples and oranges, as far as quiz shows are concerned. You Bet Your Life was known for its comedic banter from the host...it's never going to be held as the gold standard for difficult game shows the way Jeopardy! is. Besides, like you said, celebrity episodes bend the rules quite a bit.
The "Jeopardy!" call, as far as I'm concerned, was crappy, but then again I think Trebek is crappy and have ever since "High Rollers."
Well, you may be letting one thing cloud the judgment of another, when the two really don't have much to do with one another. It would be like saying TPiR handled a questionable call wrong because you think Bob Barker is an a-hole.
-
I can't remember; did the opponents spell it correctly?
The eventual winner added a further $30,000 to his total, setting a Kids Week record and #5 on the list of highest one-day totals.
If there's $66,000 on the line mind your spelling.
-
I'm going to reiterate what I said before, when this non-issue was first raised.
It isn't called the "Emanciptation Proclamation".
-
For what reason do you believe that a game show host even has the right to take exception with a judges' decision?
I can think of some Pyramid Winners' Circles where Dick Clark went to bat for the player against the judges' wrong decision.
-
For what reason do you believe that a game show host even has the right to take exception with a judges' decision?
I can think of some Pyramid Winners' Circles where Dick Clark went to bat for the player against the judges' wrong decision.
Although his "Would you please consider this rebuttal and make a final decision" followed by a "The judge is almost always right and is oh, so very good at his job" was a far cry from Dawson's tantrums.