MAYIM Bialik has admitted she would not fare well if she were a Jeopardy! contestant instead of the host.
The actress – who co-hosts Jeopardy! with former champ Ken Jennings – even admitted she’d be near-clueless if the answers weren’t in front of her.
ABCMayim Bialik admitted she wouldn’t be good as a Jeopardy! contestant – ‘I would cry’[/caption]
Youtube @Club Random PodcastShe told Bill Maher: ‘People ask if I know all that stuff, and I’m like, ‘no”[/caption]
Mayim, 47, was the guest on the latest episode of Bill Maher’s podcast.
He asked the Big Bang Theory alum if she would do well if she were ever a contestant on the game show.
She replied: “People ask if I know all that stuff, and I’m like, ‘no.’”
Mayim continued: “No. First of all, answering things like that under pressure with a timer is not gonna happen for me. It’s hard!”
‘I WOULD CRY, I THINK’
“There’s a rhythm that winners get into – there’s a huge psychological component.
“If you get something wrong, it can be debilitating.
“I would cry, I think.
“The knowledge I have is not necessarily Jeopardy! knowledge,” Mayim, who has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience, continued.
“There are categories,” she said she could handle.
“I’m trained in science and I am a crossword puzzle person.”
“Hebrew and Jewish studies,” she added: “but it’s a different knowledge.”
She gave an example of a topic she’d be lost in: “18th-century British poets- I don’t know!”
It can’t be easy to be compared to Ken, 49, who is the winningest contestant ever.
But fans think Mayim has struggled to make up for the instincts Ken has from his contestant days.
Mayim has been criticized for taking too long to rule after a contestant answers- so much so that one player last season began adding to his response.
She’s also been slammed for inconsistent rulings, including asking for clarification on some clues in a category but not others.
MAYIM GOES MISSING
Jeopardy!’s Season 40 kicked off on September 11 and runs until July 28, 2024.
Fans have not been pleased with many aspects of the current season, including that it’s consisted of “endless” past player tournaments as a workaround for the since-resolved WGA strike.
There’s also been an overarching issue for fans – the absence of Mayim, who hasn’t appeared this season.
Mayim exited the nightly show and Celebrity Jeopardy! (which was hers last year) because of the strikes.
Ken has hosted the entire season thus far and will do so indefinitely, as well as the weekly special.
The former Blossom star is a member of the still-striking actors’ union, Sag-Aftra.
Reports circulated Mayim had no interest in filming anything while the writer’s strike continued, as she bowed out last May when the WGA did and before Sag did.
“It’s not for me to personally judge anyone else’s decision [but] I am a union supporter,” Mayim told Vanity Fair last month in her first public statement.
“While it’s not for me to personally judge anyone else’s decision, for me, I am a union supporter — pretty much all unions and what they fight for.”
Most fans have a host preference, but with 74-time-champion Ken at the helm, Mayim criticism has reached a fever pitch.
“[Mayim] is unwatchable with none of the personality that Ken brings to the show,” a fan wrote on X.
“Good riddance, please don’t put that weirdo Mayim back as host she is terrible,” one more wrote.
“It Takes More Than Being Smart To Host Jeopardy. The Powers That Be Should Announce They Were Mistaken To Hire Hollyweird To Host Jeopardy,” a third recently posted.
MAYIM ASKED TO ‘CHANGE HOST STYLE’
Recently, producers revealed that when Mayim began hosting, she was asked to change her behavior.
Prodcuer Sarah Whitcomb Foss revealed the advice she gave Mayim to help her become a better host on the podcast Inside Jeopardy!.
Foss played a clip of Mayim doing a Q&A with the audience, where Mayim said: “I did not expect to enjoy as much watching while I’m up there as much as I do, and it’s hard not to get honestly sort of starstruck by the contestants up here.”
“And I have to remember that I can’t be exceptionally surprised when they get things right, which I used to be,” she continued. “I used to be, ‘Wow, yes, you got it!’
After reviewing the clip, producer Foss confirmed that Bialik’s behavior had been an issue: “I can say this is really true for Mayim.
“She is constantly impressed and often even surprised at how many things our Jeopardy! contestants can recall so quickly.
“So it was something we talked about in the beginning.
“That, as impressive as it is, just say, ‘Yes, correct, you got it.’
“Because they are amazing, and you are going to be continually impressed by their knowledge.”
This critique from the show’s producer joins many complaints fans have had about Mayim since she was officially tapped as co-host in 2022.
ABCFans largely prefer Ken Jennings as host and haven’t complained much as he’s hosted the new season solo[/caption]
