A JEOPARDY! contestant tried winning Mayim Bialik’s heart in a flirty exchange for the books on Wednesday’s episode.
College senior Dan Oxman’s “celebrity crush growing up” was none other than the sitcom star, who he said “hasn’t aged a day.”
JEOPARDY! / ABCMayim Bialik asked the student contestant: ‘I was your celebrity crush growing up?’[/caption]
JEOPARDY! / ABCDan ruled the host correct and told her she ‘hasn’t aged a day’[/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.
Now in its second week, the eventual winner will get $100,000 and a slot in the 2023 Tournament of Champions.
Eesha Sohail, a UCLA graduate from Bakersfield, California faced Dan a University of Maryland senior from South Orange, New Jersey, and Tim Cho, a senior at Columbia University from Champaign, Illinois.
While Tim won the episode with $20K total and the first runaway game of the special, it was Dan who tried to score points with Mayim.
‘YOU HAVEN’T AGED A DAY’
The sitcom actress asked him during the interview portion: “I dont really want to talk about what were gonna talk about.
But apparently, I was your celebrity crush growing up?” she scrunched her face in hilarity.
Dan smiled and replied: “This is a long time ago Mayim, but you know, when I was a little kid I saw you on TV and I really admired how you played a super awesome scientist.”
He continued, referring to Mayim’s PhD in neuroscience while shooting his shot: “And then I found out that you were a scientist and doctor in real life and I was like-” he made a head explosion gesture.
He added: “And you haven’t aged a day.”
The TV personality nearly fell to the ground and collected herself to politely say: “Thank you, I will take that and move on,” as the audience just laughed.
The Blossom (1991 to 1995) and Big Bang Theory (2007-2019) sitcom star is taken – her boyfriend and podcast co-host is Jonathan Cohen.
Mayim divorced her husband in 2013 and they co-parent two children.
Meanwhile, it was Tim at the left podium who wasn’t spitting game but playing the game – picking up more than 15 correct responses in just the first round.
The scores going into Final Jeopardy saw Tim at $20,000, Eesha at $9,400, and Dan at $1,700.
Tonight’s Final Jeopardy read: “A radical Republican championed this 1875 act but the Supreme Court struck it down in 1883; a new version was passed 81 years later.”
Tim and Eesha were correct with “The Civil Rights Act” with Tim betting $0 to advance to the semi-finals.
‘CRUSH ON MAYIM!’
Twitter went wild at the thirsty moment as one fan wrote: “DAN SHOOT YOUR SHOT KID, GIVE HIM THE DIGITS MAYIM.”
“Dan might be the horniest Jeopardy contestant ever. Kudos for shooting your shot,” wrote another.
“That awkward moment where you talk about your celebrity crush TO your celebrity crush,” wrote a third.
Fans on Reddit cracked up too and debated the timeline as one wrote: “The kid who had a crush on Mayim because of The Big Bang Theory made me feel ancient!”
Another wrote: “Haha, when he said he’d had a childhood crush on her, I was sure it was from [her first hit sitcom] Blossom. Either I’m getting older or these college kids are getting younger. Probably both.”
A third agreed: “He was referring to The Big Bang Theory not Blossom! Rename this tournament Make Me Feel Old Tournament!“
So far the semi-finalists of Mayim’s ongoing tournament are Tim, Lucas Miner, 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 when three remain, there will be a two-day total point affair finals ending on March 10th.
TIME FOR MAYIM TO BLOSSOM
Last week marked the first time Mayim has hosted regular episodes this season instead of Ken Jennings, 48.
Fans have made it no secret that it’s been an adjustment, as the former 74-time champ lives and breathes Jeopardy!.
One quantifiable issue with Mayim is her cadence; namely, her pause when deeming a contestant correct on nearly every clue.
On Monday, longtime producer Sarah Foss cleared the board on the hosting schedule for the rest of the season on the show’s podcast.
It was announced that Ken will be back after Mayim’s three-week tournament, but not for very long.
“Ken Jennings will be back on March 10th and then he will continue the rest of his syndicated run which will take us through April 28th.
“Then Mayim will take over on May 1st and she’ll take us all the way through the summer.”
Fans were left in a frenzy since after May 1st, we won’t see Ken on the regular show until Season 40, or September 2023 – many daily viewers are begging the show to just let him host.
One PO-ed fan Tweeted upon the news: “Then I’ll be in for a month and then promptly out.”
Another defended: “Alex Trebek believed the show was about the contestants, not the hosts.”
To which a third wrote: “It’s not about Ken, but it is about the flow of the show. I’ve watched since 1964, and it’s a different show with Mayim. I won’t watch and I won’t disparage others who won’t.”
A fourth wrote: “Jeopardy, stop trying to make Mayim happen. It’s not going to happen.”
Last year, Amy Schneider and Mattea Roach stated in interviews they prefer Ken given he went from its winningest contestant (74 victories in 2004) to host, as did recent divisive three-day champ Jake Dearruda slamming her as “inconsistent.”
The energy in the room seems to be that the sitcom star with no notable past ties to Jeopardy is doing perfectly well on specials like Celebrity Jeopardy!, a former champion recently told The U.S. Sun she should stick to that.
Ken will still be on-air for a bit hosting the new Jeopardy! Masters spinoff, which is scheduled to air during the spring in primetime on ABC.
Ken and Mayim were chosen as the co-replacements for the late, legend Alex Trebek over the summer and he helmed the two Teen Tournaments this new event has combined into one.
JEOPARDY! / ABCMayim Bialik concluded: ‘Thank you, I will take that and move on’[/caption]
JEOPARDY! / ABCTim Cho won the High School Reunion Tournament episode’s first runaway and came out looking like stiff competition in the semifinals[/caption]
Instagram/bialikbreakdownMayim has been dating her boyfriend Jonathan Cohen for more than a decade[/caption]
