After appearing in a Daily Beast feature on how the Mike Richards hosting scandal has tarnished Jeopardy!, 11-time champ Arthur Chu has penned an op-ed on how the beloved quiz show can restore its reputation by getting back to basics.
Writing for the Washington Post, Chu openly admits that this advice might sound strange coming from him. He was known as a Jeopardy! “villain” because of his unorthodox play style, but that was part of the show’s appeal. “The fantasy that you or I or anyone else could be the one in the spotlight. Anyone who’s good enough at trivia, even a schlubby nerd from Ohio, could get their turn to write the story of the show.”
Focusing on the show and the contestants was also the bedrock of Alek Trebek’s approach to hosting the show, but thanks to Richards, that’s no longer the case. “It all started with the loss of Trebek,” Chu wrote. “At my tapings, Trebek told us that if he were ever to retire, his one piece of advice to his successor would be, ‘Stay out of the way, and let the contestants be the stars.'”
Chu goes on to say that the reality show “churn” of cycling through guest hosts and creating drama around who will be Trebek’s new successor is a “stain” on Jeopardy! but he argues that it doesn’t have to be that way. Via Washington Post:
There can still be a place for “Jeopardy!,” so long as it centers on the contestants again, and on its own reliability. It just needs some help getting back there. So let me pass on what one child said to me back when I was playing the villain, a message that might be useful to Richards, or to interloping celebrities, or to anyone else who would steal the spotlight or shake up the show: “Why can’t you just do something else, and leave ‘Jeopardy!’ alone?”
While Chu’s advice makes sense, Sony Pictures Television is continuing to allow Richards to serve as executive producer despite the disastrous hosting selection process. Other former champs have argued that removing Richards would be a step in the right direction, but there’s been no sign that Sony is moving in that direction. Yet.
(Via Washington Post)
