J! Guest Host news...

[Kevin Prather]

Several former Jeopardy contestants have taken to Twitter to protest Dr. Oz getting a guest spot.

[WarioBarker]

Several former Jeopardy contestants have taken to Twitter to protest Dr. Oz getting a guest spot.

I don't blame 'em - the guy's been promoting bullcrappery on his show and elsewhere for years now, especially last April when he said that reopening schools "may only cost us 2-3% in terms of total [COVID-19] mortality", which "might be a tradeoff some folks would consider" (the source Oz was citing, The Lancet, doesn't argue for what he claims it does, instead saying that "Public health officials must prioritise national plans for how and when to reopen schools, with consideration of alternative measures such as reduced hours or staggered lessons.").

So yeah, fark that guy.

[Neumms]

Apparently, Aaron Rodgers is getting a shot at guest hosting. Yes, that Aaron Rodgers.

That whiny sack of puss? He'll make Rolf Benirschke look like Allen Ludden. I say that as a Vikings fan and as someone who's seen his commercials.

Ahmad Rashad, the former Viking, did a bang-up job on his show, of course.

[Neumms]

I would still like to see LeVar Burton and Mark L. Walberg get a shot at guest-hosting the show.

Me, too. I still think Brian Williams is someone they should consider or might be. His MSNBC hour is terrific, yet the hours are crummy.

Someone we haven't heard about who should be considered is Paul Magers, a longtime news anchor from KCBS in LA and KARE in Minneapolis. Incredibly smooth and naturally funny. He retired young a couple of years ago.

[chrisholland03]

Brian Williams has some baggage, which is why he's scheduled the way he is.  To his credit, he's managed to stay employed, clearly at arms length.

[weaklink75]

Well Ken's last ep (for now, probably) will be 2/19:

https://tvline.com/2021/02/03/ken-jennings-last-jeopardy-episode-guest-host/

We know Mike Richards will be doing 2 weeks, and as of now there are 8 confirmed guest hosts which I assume are one-week stints. That takes it to April 30th- that would leave 8-10 weeks of the season (if they go to mid-July before going into summer reruns). I have to think they're going to continue the guest hosts, Ken probably gets another go-round if he's the pick for the full-time gig (for a Tournament perhaps?), and in September whoever the final pick is starts the permanent role.

[chris319]

CNN made an effort at a quiz show some time ago and Anderson Cooper was the emcee. I think he has a lot of potential.

In office run-thrus, Dick Martin seemed like he could handle Mindreaders. Once he got in the studio, though, he seemed a little overwhelmed and the "deer-in-the-headlights" came out a little bit.

As I think back, Dick Gautier and Greg Morris should have at least done an office run-thru of something. We discovered Pat Sajak who did the Puzzlers pilot. Bobby Van turned out to be pretty good on Showoffs and Make Me Laugh. We never tried out Nipsey Russell and probably should have. Geoff Edwards eluded us but eventually did a pilot.

Jim Perry emceed an office run-thru of Puzzlers IIRC but was never up for the job. He just came in to do the office run-thru. Several names were tossed around for Blockbusters, including Jack Clark, but Ira Skutch wanted Bill Cullen. Jack Narz would have been good on Blockbusters but was never given a shot. I'm sure he would have welcomed the work.

[tyshaun1]

We never tried out Nipsey Russell and probably should have.

Nipsey eventually did the "Star Words" pilot for Goodson in 1983. He seemed uncomfortable with running the game, but had potential. The show itself..... not so much.

[Casey]

As I think back, Dick Gautier and Greg Morris should have at least done an office run-thru of something.

As good as Greg Morris was especially at Password, I could definitely have seen him hosting a word game if one had come his way.  Dick Gautier would have been a good choice in a number of formats I think.

[calliaume]

As I think back, Dick Gautier and Greg Morris should have at least done an office run-thru of something.

Dick Gautier did a year hosting It's Your Bet after Hal March died. That show had a very confusing host history, due to March being diagnosed with lung cancer a few months into the run. I believe it went from March to Tom Kennedy, to Gautier, then back to Kennedy, and finally to Hal Waggoner. I have no idea whether that was because Gautier did a lousy job or because Ralph Andrews preferred Tom.

[BrandonFG]

Jim Perry emceed an office run-thru of Puzzlers IIRC but was never up for the job. He just came in to do the office run-thru. Several names were tossed around for Blockbusters, including Jack Clark, but Ira Skutch wanted Bill Cullen. Jack Narz would have been good on Blockbusters but was never given a shot. I'm sure he would have welcomed the work.

Would Ira have had the final say, enough for Goodson to take his word for it? Not counting a revival like MG73 or P+, was it unheard of for a show to be created specifically for one host?

[chris319]

Emcee selection was generally the last consideration, after the format, rules, etc. had been settled on.

[Bob Zager]

Dick Gautier did a year hosting It's Your Bet after Hal March died. That show had a very confusing host history, due to March being diagnosed with lung cancer a few months into the run. I believe it went from March to Tom Kennedy, to Gautier, then back to Kennedy, and finally to Hal Waggoner. I have no idea whether that was because Gautier did a lousy job or because Ralph Andrews preferred Tom.

You meant to say Lyle Waggoner. 

I think because of his move to IYB, Gautier was dropped as the regular joke teller on Can You Top This? and succeeded by Richard Dawson.  Judging by air dates in the EOTVGS, it seems to coincide!

No idea why Gautier was dropped from IYB, but maybe Kennedy was originally expected to just be a substitute host, then March died, and Kennedy was too busy with his talk/variety show.  After that ended, Kennedy was available to host full-time.

[Jimmy Owen]

Gautier was an in-demand TV actor (even starring in a couple sitcoms) and he appeared on later Andrews shows as a panelist (YDS, Celeb. Sweepstakes and Liars Club among them)

[BrandonFG]

J! sent me an email yesterday. Right now, only Mike Richards and Katie Couric have scheduled dates, February 22-March 5 and March 8-19, respectively.

The other guest hosts, all TBA:

• Dr. Oz
• Aaron Rodgers
• Savannah Guthrie
• Anderson Cooper
• Dr. Mayim Bialik
• Bill Whitaker
• Dr. Sanjay Gupta

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