Been watching reruns of the 1989 version of this show on some afternoons. I like it because it's a good way to exercise my brain and keep my memory sharp. However, I've noticed a few things about it:

- Alex Trebek was a perv! Whenever a pretty girl would come on as a contestant, he would say things to them that could never fly today, and he would practically grope them. A pretty college student who was studying chemistry was on the show, and Alex said, "I'm feeling some good chemistry right now." Jeez!

- There was a puzzle that featured a picture of an elephant being ridden by what I assume was an African native. They were depicted with a bone through their nose and with giant lips and ears. I couldn't believe it!

- They often had really good looking male contestants on the show, and that seemed to bother Alex, too. It was almost like he was threatened by them. Alex would always root for the females when they were matched up with good looking guys, and if the guy would win, Alex was visibly disappointed and grumpy about it.

- Marjorie Goodson, the show's model and daughter of producer Mark Goodson, had really bad skin.

by Anonymous

reply 7

October 19, 2022 9:03 AM

Younger people only know Alex in his "professor" mode while hosting Jeopardy. We who watched him during the 70s and 80s on various other games know what a pervy goofball he could be.

Marjorie Goodson was especially inept as a prize model, always stumbling and bumbling around. I don't know if I loved her because of that or in spite of that.

by Anonymous

reply 1

October 18, 2022 6:45 PM

R1 I tend to think Marjorie knew she only got the job because her daddy produced the show, so instead of trying to be an actual model, she just clowned around a lot. I kind of liked that about her.

Alex could also be a bit of a racist. On one show, a black man was a contestant, and one of the prizes he won was a tanning machine. Instead of just keeping his mouth shut about it, Alex said, "Well, you can't use that prize, but do you have any white friends who can?" Cringe!

by Anonymous

reply 2

October 18, 2022 7:07 PM

Welcome back to 1989 when men could still say nauseating, sexist things to women and get away with it.

by Anonymous

reply 3

October 18, 2022 7:19 PM

[quote]They often had really good looking male contestants on the show

I noticed that too! I thought maybe Alex was giving in to his closet queen but it was probably just the casting director. I never noticed Alex being bothered by them but I was probably too busy googling their names to see if I could find what they look like now.

by Anonymous

reply 4

October 18, 2022 7:39 PM

R4 There was a really stunning red-headed guy on this week with model good looks. He had a girlfriend, and Alex, like an idiot, was needling the guy about why he hadn't proposed to her yet. So the guy, obviously feeling pressured, asked his girlfriend to marry him right there on TV. She stalled and didn't say yes. It was so uncomfortable.

by Anonymous

reply 5

October 18, 2022 7:43 PM

I love this show for the cars, they gave away better ones than The Price is Right, which always had a crappy Chevette or something as a prize.

by Anonymous

reply 6

October 18, 2022 7:44 PM

Yeah, I had a hard time with all of the fawning over him with his disgusting behavior over the years.

If anyone needed to be canceled for bad behavior...

by Anonymous

reply 7

October 19, 2022 9:03 AM