If you’re like me, tonight is going to be a very emotional moment. After 37 seasons, tonight is the moment that audiences will officially say their goodbyes to Alex Trebek. Jeopardy! as a series is something that’s way too easy to take for granted, having existed for five nights a week (and occasional weekend reruns) for most of our lives. For me personally, this and The Simpsons are the only hallmarks that I have a great affection towards that were around when I was born. I do not know a world without Trebek. So long as I’ve watched TV, he has always been there at 7 P.M. PST, ready to quiz everyone on random trivia.
I am scared to know what next Monday will look like. I have technically known about it for two months now. In theory, I’ve been preparing for this ever since it was announced that Trebek had Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer. Even then, you had the belief that he was a warrior, someone who would always pull through and continue to make this show magical. He seemed to thrive on the reality that hundreds of fans wrote him letters of encouragement, telling him during the mid-game interview about how the show changed their lives. For the intellectuals among us, Jeopardy! was the great unifier, encouraging a desire for education, a need to appreciate every facet of trivia including puns and anagrams. Nothing was off-limits. If you had a garden variety of knowledge, you stood a decent chance of being on the show.
As one can guess, I’ve never been on Jeopardy! More regrettably I never actually attended a taping of the show. Some years I tried more actively than others to be there, but it was always a dream to be in a room with Trebek. I loved to see how the show got made, to be in that room for one of the pre-show Q&A’s. I wanted to go to that gift shop and have my own personal experience wandering those halls full of memorabilia. I’m confident it will be there with whoever will be selected the new host, but it’s clear that I will be looking at those walls in the past tense. This WAS what Jeopardy! was like when Trebek was there, making it from this middling quiz show into an institution.
Even if he has been gone for two months now, there has been some comfort in knowing that there were still new episodes. He was prolific until the end of his life, even as his health provided some noticeable difficulties. While he still was capable of cracking jokes and keeping contestants on their toes, it was clear that he wasn’t as spry, able to be how he was even five years ago. Still, he was so charming and lovable, able to captivate because he seemed genuinely interested in everything. Even when he gave a flippant “Good for you” during interviews, there was never the sense that he was mean about it. He made everyone feel special, even that lady who suggested that she wanted to buy two donkeys and call them Dinky Donkey and Badonka Donkey (true story).
I was never the smartest person. There were nights where I could score below 10% correct across the board. As much as this intimidation would turn many off, to me it was a chance to learn something new. What I loved more than the show itself was the feeling of constant stimulation, constantly having something new to learn about the world. Sure, a lot of it would wash away after the evening, but the amount of geography and etymology that inspired me to look further can be attributed to those evenings, feeling comforted by the presence of Trebek reading these facts to me, forcing myself to wonder if I actually knew more than I thought. Every now and then, he’d be right… and it was the greatest feeling in the world.
What makes him even more endearing is the reality that he was humble. To read “The Answer Is…” is to see a man who understood his place in the public image. Jeopardy! was somehow capable of transcending the quiz show market. Trebek could guest star on any show he wanted (a favorite of mine is a very bizarre Orange Is the New Black cameo) and yet he always saw himself as simply a man who talked. He never desired preferential treatment and instead did everything to emphasize what was great about the show: the contestants. There’s a reason that figures like Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer became noteworthy names in their own rights. This show wasn’t about Trebek, it was about us.
Maybe that is what’s going to be missed most about Trebek. As much as he taught us, there was the reality that he was merely a moderator. He allowed everyone to express themselves within the realm of competition. He lucked into a format that is frankly unsurpassed. Every game show wishes that they had the immediacy of Jeopardy!, where it was a nonstop run of questions answered in a way that has entered the vernacular. Soon it became a dream to be on the show simply because it was a symbol of being accepted as someone who was smart and competitive. It was positive reinforcement for being a nerd, and even the second and third place contestants were capable of standing out.
I’ve watched Jeopardy! since I was a child and believed that the series would always be there for me. On the one hand, it’s thankfully accessible through various streaming platforms. The episodes will always exist in some form.
However, there was always something about being there at 7 P.M. to watch whatever episode was on. To me, that is a ritual that has kept me sane for almost 30 years. Trebek would always be there, and it was a relief to see him there, annunciating with the best of them. His voice becomes a Pavlov’s dog, waiting to answer the question ahead of whoever is sitting next to you. There is a desire to feel smart, to be something greater. For me personally, he was a hero who encouraged me to constantly be curious and feel like every day was a chance to learn. Having so many likeminded individuals reaffirm that fact only makes everything better.
I know that Jeopardy! as it is constructed will not change. It would be difficult to destroy what makes the series timeless. However, I think there is something to be said for what a person you’ve never met symbolizes. It’s the power of actors and political leaders, who have this way of touching altruism for a brief time and convincing the world that there’s so much more out there. Maybe it’s the idea that you’re not alone in your emotional or financial struggles. Maybe it’s that you’re capable of breaking free from some psychological block that’s held you back. These heroes have done wonders to alter the world, using an expressive medium to motivate.
Trebek did that in the most uncanny way possible. There was a time when Jeopardy! was just another gig in a long line of them. This was far from his first hosting job, but it was the one that clicked in profound ways. He was gifted at making the contestants feel wanted, and his ability to overcome any personal struggle by being friendly and encouraging is something that is difficult to ignore. When I look at Trebek, I think of everything he taught me both in trivia, but also how to make someone feel like their intelligence was valid, that everyone had their own special way of communicating with the world. The fact that he could correct someone and make it sound polite is an achievement that has rarely been matched. I’m scared to know what a world without his kindness looks like, though he’s left behind enough inspiration to make that transition easier.
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