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Jeopardy! fans have the opportunity to watch the show in one of its earlier incarnations, thanks to the recent resurfacing of Alex Trebek's first episode as host.
The enduring syndicated quiz show initially debuted in 1964, running for more than a decade in its original daytime format. The show briefly returned to screens in the late 1970s before Trebek revived it several years later.
Canadian-born Trebek served as host for its premiere in syndication on March 30, 1984. He would hold the position until 2020, when he died at age 80—more than a year after announcing that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
To mark the show's 59th anniversary, the production team announced that Trebek's full debut episode would be released online. The episode landed on YouTube last week.
While fans reveled in the nostalgia, some said they found some of the now-defunct elements on display in the episode somewhat jarring.
"Buzzing in before the answer is read is so annoying!" wrote one viewer on Reddit. "Glad it got changed at some point!"
Commenting on the studio audience, another said: "Also the applause after each correct response, and the groans when someone is wrong."
"Have been listening to the TuneIn radio stations, and it's the one thing that drives me nuts about those early episodes," another said about the audience.
"The [applause]—and more so the 'OMG' gasps after a wrong answer are far more distracting than the buzzing in early, IMO," said another.
Meanwhile, another Reddit user said during the conversation that the audience applause after every answer was eliminated from the start of Season 2.
Contestant Greg Hopkins was the winner on Trebek's inaugural episode as host. In an interview in 2021, the Ohio native revealed that he landed on Jeopardy! after trying out for game shows more than 40 times on regular visits to California.
"It was the grace of God that I ended up on the first show," Hopkins said, according to West Virginia NBC affiliate WSAZ-TV.
Explaining the shows he wasn't drawn to, Hopkins added: "I didn't want to get on any games with stars, because if you get on $100,000 Pyramid and Betty White screws up, you can't hate Betty White for the rest of your life."
Hopkins, who at the time was traveling throughout the Gulf Coast and teaching students about energy science, eventually got his break via Jeopardy!—and as a result he had a memorable meeting with Trebek.
"Alex interacted with us off camera," Hopkins recalled. "He was a class act, and the entire production staff were class acts.
"It's very touching how courageous he was going back into work every day [after his cancer diagnosis]. Most of us have known people who have gone through chemo and things like that. It's a debilitating horrible thing. He had a purpose, and he was an entertainer to the very core."
After winning $8,500 on his episode of the show, Hopkins said that he used the cash to "marry the woman I couldn't live without."
Since Trebek's death, the road to finding a permanent presenter to replace him was a long and rocky one, starting with a revolving door of celebrities that guest-hosted the show in episodes aired from January to August 2021.
Jeopardy! Executive Producer Mike Richards was eventually announced as the new host on August 11, with Mayim Bialik made the presenter on the show's tournaments and specials.
Just nine days later, Richards stepped down from his role amid a backlash over a series of offensive comments he had made on his now-defunct podcast. The fallout also led to him losing his executive producer position by the end of August.
Bialik stepped in to host the prime-time show, later splitting presenting duties with Jeopardy! all-time champ Ken Jennings for the remainder of the season. Ahead of the current Season 39, Bialik and Jennings were announced as permanent hosts.
About the writer
Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more