“I miss Alex.”
The first “Jeopardy!” episode since Alex Trebek’s death aired Monday, with Ken Jennings, introduced as the first in a series of temporary guest hosts, who was barely able to hold back tears as he spoke of the late host.
“Sharing this stage with Alex Trebek was one of the greatest honors of my life,” he said on Monday during the opening of the show.
Even without the man who brought humor and poise to the show for nearly 37 years, “Jeopardy!” continued on Monday. Jennings, who set the record for the longest “Jeopardy!” winning streak, the show opened with a monologue dedicated to Trebek – almost stifling in the process.
“Not many things in life are perfect, but Alex has done this job almost perfectly for over 36 years – and up close it was even better,” he continued. “We were blinded by his intelligence, his charm, his grace – really, there’s no other word for it.”
Like all ‘Jeopardy! ‘fans, I miss Alex. Very much. And I thank him for everything he has done for all of us, ”he added.
However, Jennings said the show should go on – despite Trebek’s death in November at the age of 80 after a battle with pancreatic cancer – as there are tens of millions of fans “who love this show”. Trebek’s emotional last episode aired Friday, just 10 days before he died. The episode included one montage of Trebek’s greatest moments over the years, which has moved many fans to tears.
“Let’s be absolutely clear: no one will ever replace the great Alex Trebek, but we can honor him by playing the game he loved,” he concluded before starting Monday night’s game.
But it hadn’t been lost to the 74-time champion that fans would rather see Trebek man the buzzer, as he did for more than 8,200 episodes since 1984.
“Honestly, I’m with the audience,” the 46-year-old said in a promo released for the show. ‘I don’t want me here. I want to see Alex here. I know exactly how they feel when they see someone else behind this pulpit. “
“I’m just happy to fill in and help,” said Jennings, who won the Greatest of All Time title last year.
Fans seemed to agree after watching Monday’s episode, to write: “Watch now and I’m not going to lie, but it feels weird” and “Wow. This takes something time to get used to it. “
Jennings has served as an advisory producer for “Jeopardy!” this season, where he presented special video categories, assisted in contestants and other aspects of the show. He is the first in a series of interim guest hosts from the Jeopardy! “family”, which may include Katie Couric.
While Jennings said it was “surreal” to host the show, Trebek gave him some advice if he ever replaced him as host in any capacity.
“I actually spoke to him on the phone the weekend he passed and he was – he was weak, but he was still very much Alex,” Jennings said of “Good Morning America.” “I remember he was just very confident that I would be a guest host if he ever needed it.”
Rumors circulated that Jennings was being “groomed” to take over the show, and his name was thrown in the ring as a possible permanent replacement – fueled even more when he pre-emptively apologized for previous “insensitive” tweets ahead of his hosting debut. . He is also the host of the new series “The Chase”, along with his fellow “Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time” tournament participants James Holzhauer and Brad Rutter.
But Jennings said in that last conversation, Trebek reminded him that “the host is not the star of ‘Jeopardy!’ Noting that the beloved host “was always about the players and the competition.”
“It’s just hard to imagine in today’s TV landscape a star of his size saying, ‘Hey, the game isn’t about you’ – but that was good advice.”