MAYIM Bialik has shouted on stage in a moment that Jeopardy! fans were just jolted by.
A video clue for pickleball was correctly guessed by a contestant, and the TV host rewarded him by screaming: “Yes!”
ABCMayim Bialik – hosting the three-week-long High School Reunion Tournament – screamed on-stage[/caption]
ABCWhen a player correctly guessed this video clue as ‘Pickleball’ the host deemed him correct by yelling: ‘Yes!’[/caption]
Mayim, 47, is hosting the 14-episode High School Reunion Tournament featuring 27 former Teen Tournament contestants who first duked it out in 2018 and 2019.
On Tuesday, Audrey Satchivi, a senior at Indiana University from Carmel, Indiana faced Anish Maddipoti, a junior at the University of Texas from Austin, Texas, and Lucas Miner, a junior at Yale from Miami, Florida.
This is the second week of the ongoing special and the winner will get $100,000 and a slot in the 2023 Tournament of Champions.
It’s also the second time the actress has gotten more excited than her studious contestants over a video clue for an unconventional sport – this time, people were just bewildered.
Audrey selected “Hobbies and Pastimes” for $400 and a video was played showing athletes with paddles.
Mayim read over it: “How about hitting the court for this rapidly growing sport?”
Anish then buzzed in correctly with: “What is pickleball.”
Mayim’s reaction was to shout quite loudly in response: “Yes!!”
The camera cut back to the contestants who smiled nervously.
Lucas entered Final Jeopardy with $16,600, Audrey with $12,600 and Anish with $7,200.
Under “Names in Myth” it read: Her brothers, Castor & Pollux, saved her after Theseus stole her away as a kid; a larger force would seek her later in life.”
Lucas and Audrey were both correct on “Helen of Troy,” and Lucas will soldier onto the special’s semifinals with the highest score of $25,201.
‘WHAT EXACTLY WAS THAT?’
Fans on Reddit discussed the mid-game moment as one posted in a thread about the episode:
“Ok, I don’t hate Mayim like some people here do, but I have to ask – what exactly was that ‘YES!’ after the pickleball clue?!?
“Most bizarre response to an answer I have heard on the Alex Trebek Stage.”
A second user wondered: “I don’t know. I guess she’s a pickleball fan?”
A third replied: “Mayim’s thoughts on various sports, a saga -She is very enthusiastic about pickleball – [and] she finds curling funny looking.”
Last week, Mayim had to stop in her tracks to chuckle over a clue looking for “curling.”
The video clue under “It’s great to ‘CU’” showed athletes on ice.
“Grab a broom! It’s the sport being played here,” Mayim said as the video ran and she started laughing, barely getting the words out.
“What is: Curling?” a student correctly responded looking less humored.
Gasping for breath and gripping the host podium, the actress needed a second and eventually told the mum in-studio audience: “That’s correct, it just makes me laugh every time I see it!”
One fan wrote on Reddit: “Not sure anyone has ever found the concept of Curling as funny as Mayim”
So far the semi-finalists of ongoing tournament are Lucas, 2018 Teen Tournament winner Claire Sattler, Jackson Jones, 2019 Teen Tournament winner Avi Gupta, Brown freshman Justin Bolsen who became a fan-favorite with a bold Daily Double bet last Wednesday, and Maya Wright, a senior at Emory.
The semi-finals will begin later this week as the students are dismissed and until three remain for a two-day total point affair finals.
‘STOP TRYING TO MAKE MAYIM HAPPEN’
The Jeopardy! hosting schedule for the rest of the season was announced on Monday’s “Inside Jeopardy!” podcast — and viewers are seething about the decision-making.
“Ken Jennings will be back on March 10, and then he will continue the rest of his syndicated run, which will take us through April 28,” producer Sarah Foss shared. “Then Mayim [Bialik] will take over on May 1, and she’ll take us all the way through the summer.”
Following the reunion tournament, Ken’s episodes will run from March 10 through April 28.
After that, he likely won’t be back as host of the syndicated episodes until September.
Fans of the beloved game show responded angrily to the scheduling news when it was posted by the Twitter account “Is Ken Jennings Hosting Jeopardy! This Week?”
“Great! I’ll put it in my calendar for when I can resume watching Jeopardy again,” one user slammed.
“I want Ken full time … I don’t understand why they have the switch-a-roo thing. Why can’t Ken be the whole regular season?” another complained.
“Keep Ken! For crying out loud he is a natural host. Mayim play-acts host and it is annoying. Let her host celebrity shows,” a third argued.
“Ugh. Hoping that 4/28 gets extended,” one more wished.
“Jeopardy, stop trying to make Mayim happen. It’s not going to happen,” a fifth joked.
“Can we for the love of god just have Mayim host Celebrity Jeopardy! One of the contestants even admitted that her pacing and the way she reads the clues is just plain bad. There’s literally no reason why she should be hosting syndicated,” a sixth even said.
Last week marked the first time Mayim has hosted regular episodes this season instead of Ken Jennings, 48 – she has only hosted Celebrity Jeopardy! which wrapped Feb. 2.
Fans have made it no secret that it’s been an adjustment, as the former 74-time champ lives and breathes Jeopardy!.
Outlets have gone as far as to run headlines like: “Mayim Bialik Is Almost Universally Despised As Jeopardy! Host.”
One quantifiable issue is Mayim’s cadence; namely, her pause when deeming a contestant correct or not on nearly every clue.
Many fans have agreed she is doing a “serviceable job” on specials like Celebrity Jeopardy compared to the buzzer-fast regular show and a former champion recently told The U.S. Sun she should stick to that.
Ken will not be gone for good – he will helm the primetime series Jeopardy! Masters on ABC, which features six fan-favorites competing over 10 hourlong episodes this spring.
ABCAfter Mayim Bialik yelled, the contestants laughed nervously and one fan wrote it was the ‘most bizarre response to an answer they’ve heard’[/caption]
ABCLast week she lost her composure over a clue for ‘curling’ – ‘That’s correct, it just makes me laugh every time I see it!’[/caption]
NBCMany fans are unhappy Ken Jennings is hosting for a month after her current tournament and then off until next September[/caption]
