A Further Announcement...And The Question That Dare Not Speak Its Name

I feel I speak for everyone on the ABAALNJ team (that includes you, Ivy) by being happy and relieved that Alex Trebek is out of hospital after his "minor" heart attack. I've pasted the AP story below. A couple of things strike me as interesting from this (and I've discussed the first issue with Liza but as none of you live with us, it's exclusive blog content!).

1. I'm frankly staggered that Trebek, after going through his ordeal, is such a showbiz pro that his statements actually refer to the fact that the Jeopardy production had recorded enough new shows that they didn't need to go into re-runs. Now this is nuts: would anyone out there really be annoyed at sitting through old episodes...BECAUSE THE MAN SUFFERED A HEART ATTACK?!?

2. Now I'm not wishing to sound morbid but I couldn't help but think the following had Alex not pulled through (and, you know, I just mean a long layoff because clearly the guy is never gonna die). Which TV presenter would be your choice to take over from the legend that is Trebek? If Drew Carey = Bob Barker then please come forward and fill in the gap for ? = Alex Trebek. My sentimental choice (I took a photo of the man!) would have to be for Ken Jennings but I'm sure you can come up with better suggestions.


'Jeopardy' Host Trebek Out of Hospital
Dec. 15, 2007, 6:32 PM EST

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- "Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek is out of the hospital and plans to spend the holidays at home with his family as he recovers from a heart attack.

"I'm truly overwhelmed by the great show of support and compassion expressed in the past few days to me, my family and my co-workers," Trebek said Saturday after his release from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in a statement relayed by "Jeopardy" publicist Jeff Ritter.

"Even though I know 'Jeopardy' is a very popular program, I was still surprised at the number of people who took time from their schedules to call or send a note of encouragement," Trebek said.

Trebek, 67, was hospitalized Monday night after being stricken with what Ritter said was a minor heart attack.

The game show host promised to return to the "Jeopardy" studio on Jan. 14 to tape the program's "Teen Tournament." In the meantime, he said, enough episodes were taped before he was hospitalized so that people who tune in over the holidays are still seeing new shows.

"Jeopardy has been one of television's top-rated syndicated programs for more than 20 years. The Canadian-born Trebek has been its host since 1984.

He has been nominated for daytime Emmy Awards for game show host and has won twice, most recently in 2006.

Trebek, who holds a philosophy degree from the University of Ottawa, was a TV and radio reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Company before moving to the United States. He became a U.S. citizen in 1998.