Each episode of Jeopardy! launches with Johnny Gilbert’s voice announcing the contestants and the hosts of the beloved American TV game show. However, since Ken Jennings was brought in with Mayim Bialik to replace Mike Richards, who disgracefully lost his position on the show, one particular detail in Gilbert’s introductory announcements has always bothered and unsettled Jennings’ fans: Ken Jennings was always announced as ‘hosting Jeopardy!‘ while Mayim Bialik is announced ‘the host’ of the show, much to the chagrin of the fans.
One of Jennings’ fans, who was very bothered by the disparity, tweeted in frustration: “If you’re not going to make a choice between Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik, can you at least announce them both the same? Enough with the ‘host of’ and ‘hosting’ differentiation. That’s a diss to Ken.” However, one of the executive producers of Jeopardy!, Micheal Davies, has rolled out some good news for Jennings’ fans. Micheal, while responding to the question about how Ken Jennings and Mayim would be introduced when emerging on stage, said, “I have gotten this question a lot, I should have put this in the newsletter. Last season, Mayim – we had a deal with her as the host of Jeopardy!. … I can now officially announce they will be referred to as both the host of Jeopardy!.”
Jennings’ Fans React To The Announcement
Many of Jennings’ fans were excited over the announcement that the Jeopardy! champion is now co-host of the TV game show. Some fans expressed their delight and reactions to the news through tweets. One tweeted: “Interesting, I’d always wondered about that. I imagined it was Jennings’s modesty.”
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Another fan revealed, “Well, yay for that ‘host of Jeopardy!‘ tweak.” While a third fan simply thanked the announcer for giving a satisfactory answer to the question.
Jennings’ fumbled as Jeopardy! audience cheered
While reporting on the performance of Ken Jennings on his first five episodes, some attendees expressed their reservations concerning Jennings’ performance and reported how Jennings handled these concerns with maturity. One attendee wrote, “Ken doesn’t really interact with the audience or take questions during breaks the same way Alex used to. He came down to the front of the stage after the first show’s commercial break to thank the audience for coming. And mentioned it was his first time in front of a Jeopardy audience since his “Greatest of All Time” appearance. And that nobody would have been happier to see guests return than Alex.”
Another attendee added, “I feel like he will open up to the crowd with time, but he doesn’t seem comfortable enough to do it the same way that Alex did for so many years. He [Alex] was often cracking jokes during the breaks, which the audience enjoyed. When Ken walked out on stage for the first time, everyone was cheering and hollering so loudly that he fumbled his introduction and stopped, muttering ‘Damn it!’ And apologized for not being used to doing the intro in front of a room full of people. Ken went backstage and taped it again. He nailed it,” the attendee concluded.