Petitions are a funny thing when it comes to people voicing their opinion and trying to sway a decision, but in this case it’s worth stating that LeVar Burton of Reading Rainbow and Star Trek: Next Generation fame might actually be a good choice. He’s not perfect, since Alex Trebek, who sadly passed away recently, is impossible to replace, but he could be a great candidate to keep the show going. If he doesn’t work out then at the very least he can help out until a permanent replacement can be found since he is a personable individual and is loved by quite a few people since he’s been a part of pop culture for quite a while and folks tend to trust him to do a good job. It’s hard to say that anyone would be a good fit for the show since Trebek was THE guy for such a long time, but a lot of people still love the idea of Jeopardy! and don’t want to see fade after Trebek’s passing. This would almost feel like an insult since the man that made it so much fun for so long deserves to be remembered, and the show that he helped to make so great is a mainstay that a lot of people would love to see remain for a while to come.
The problem with assigning a host this soon is that people are still getting over the passing of Trebek, meaning that seeing someone else behind the podium is bound to upset some folks, even if the general feeling is that getting over it is necessary. Plus, the old saying that ‘the show must go on’ is entirely applicable since a show can’t end even if the star passes away, especially if the show is still bigger than the star running it. In some cases it might be necessary to fold up the tents and move on, but Jeopardy! is still a popular show, and it does feel as though Trebek would have wanted it to continue forward. He also struck a lot of people as the kind of guy who enjoyed what he did, was proud to run a show that people enjoyed, but wasn’t so far above it that he would think himself to be more important than the show itself. The moment someone starts to think that they’ve become more famous than the program they star in is the moment they’ve become irrelevant and are attempting to find a way to maintain their own level of fame. Trebek wasn’t like this, he ran the show, he enjoyed the show, and for the most part, he knew the show had to go on.
LeVar won’t be perfect, that much is obvious. He’s not Trebek, and it’s not likely that he’ll try to be since there’s no one else like Trebek that can do what he did. But with the need to keep the show going it’s necessary to find someone that can keep people entertained and keep their attention for longer than a few minutes. LeVar is the kind of guy that people have enjoyed listening to for a long time now and it’s fair to say that he could run this show without too much difficulty since he’s managed to captivate people for many years and people are actively signing a petition to put him in this position. If this is the will of the network then it will happen obviously, since petitions, despite being useful in gauging the will of the fans, aren’t much of a deciding factor a lot of times when it comes to taking action based on what the fans want. Petitions don’t really affect ratings that often, and that’s what the heads of said networks look at most often since if the ratings dip too low then a show just has to go. If people respond negatively to one person then that person will likely be released from their contract. If the people enjoy a person, then it’s possible that the person in question will be kept around for a while. Trying to find the next host of Jeopardy! isn’t bound to be easy since it’s likely that a lot of people have an idea of who they would like to see behind the podium, but so far it does sound as though LeVar does have the support of quite a few people.
No matter who gets selected for the position it feels as though people will need to take the time to get used to someone else reading the questions and answers. It might sound silly, but this is a big responsibility to pass off to another person, and it’s one that’s going to come with at least a little bit of pressure since folks are going to be watching that individual closely.
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