How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

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Rate LeVar Burton on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is best.

1
4
5%
2
6
7%
3
16
19%
4
14
16%
5
12
14%
6
16
19%
7
10
12%
8
4
5%
9
1
1%
10
3
3%
 
Total votes: 86

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alietr
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How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

Post by alietr »

How do you think LeVar Burton did as host?
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Re: How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

Post by squarekara »

My husband and I watched LeVar's Monday episode on mute in a Subaru dealership while our car was being serviced. With a third of the screen obscured by trade-in incentives flashing up on a banner, the full scope wasn't apparent until I caught the episode on YouTube later on. Man, was that rough. He carried so much goodwill into that opportunity, and, with his long experience as an actor and TV personality, his hosting made perfect sense. I was really rooting for LeVar to ride that rainbow, chase that butterfly as the embodiment of whatever beloved, hallowed persona from the 70's, 80's, 90's. . . However, this gig was on a par with Albert Brooks subbing for the weekend anchor in Broadcast News. The potential was there for LeVar, but things just went wrong. His professional experience seemed to count for nothing in terms of pacing, modulation, or, most importantly, being (or appearing to be) at ease so that the contestants could be at ease. Instead, the players had to deal with delayed calls and miscues that were painful to watch. A bona fide "Bless his heart" run. I'm sorry the production staff only rehearsed him the day before taping. More prep could have made a world of difference.
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Re: How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

Post by CailinGaoilge »

Awful. I went in not knowing the guy at all other than his social media pressure campaign but kept an open mind. Tried to keep it still even after that train-wreck of a first day, but he really did not rise above "terrible". Judging errors. Poor timing. Terrible clue reading. Enthusiasm that didn't sound authentic. A combination of trying too hard and ill-preparedness.

I thought no-one could do worse than Oz and Richards, but I was wrong. His fan club on Twitter is blanket-tweeting about how he is the best ever and should be named the permanent host now and I can only wonder what show they were watching. I felt sorry for the contestants, though clearly this disaster didn't impact Matt.
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Re: How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

Post by pdano »

I was VERY pro-LeVar this whole time, and am really glad he had the opportunity. As others have said, with enough training, maybe it would have come together - he's got amazing presence and connection in other places. But unfortunately it just wasn't quite there.
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Re: How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

Post by JeopardyMom »

I wish so much it had been better. He just tried too hard, and it showed.
I have no idea how that affected the contestants, but as a viewer, it felt awkward and uncomfortable.

For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: "It might have been!"
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So far, Aaron Rodgers and Mayim Bialik have been the best.
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Mario500
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Re: How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

Post by Mario500 »

alietr wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 7:04 am How do you think LeVar Burton did as host?
(believes he did his very best with great joy, enthusiasm, and professionalism; believes he could be a better (regular) host)*

(*thoughts expressed in the form of a narrative)
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Re: How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

Post by triviawayne »

A train derailed into a dumpster factory and it caught on fire.
Total game show career losings = $171,522
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Re: How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

Post by Xu Donym »

JeopardyMom wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 11:22 am So far, Aaron Rodgers and Mayim Bialik have been the best.
Are there many non-football fans who rate Aaron Rodgers highly as a potential host? I doubt it. Just as I doubt there are many who rate LeVar Burton highly as a potential host who aren't already fans of Star Trek and/or Reading Rainbow.

Rodgers wasn't incompetent by any means, but he had such a soporific manner that I can't see him holding the attention of viewers who weren't awed by his sports status. Bialik, on the other hand, caught many viewers by surprise -- her performance may have elevated her from stunt-casting ("Let's get nerdy Amy from BBT!") to credible contender. Also Robin Roberts; I don't think people expected much from her, but she did a really nice job of providing a warm presence without dominating the show and taking attention off the contestants.

My suggestion? Keep Ken Jennings around as Consulting Producer and increase his visibility a bit (giving clues, and possibly curating the writers' room's latest weak efforts), and make Bialik or Roberts the new host.
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Re: How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

Post by Xu Donym »

triviawayne wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 11:39 am A train derailed into a dumpster factory and it caught on fire.
And yet, if anything were to happen to Pat Sajak, Burton might be an excellent host for Wheel of Fortune, where bubbly perkiness is more or less required.
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Re: How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

Post by cthulhu »

Xu Donym wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 11:54 am Are there many non-football fans who rate Aaron Rodgers highly as a potential host? I doubt it. Just as I doubt there are many who rate LeVar Burton highly as a potential host who aren't already fans of Star Trek and/or Reading Rainbow.

Rodgers wasn't incompetent by any means, but he had such a soporific manner that I can't see him holding the attention of viewers who weren't awed by his sports status.
I haven’t been a football fan in decades, and when I was, I followed a team which was an arch-nemesis of the Green Bay Packers, so I had no predisposition at all to like Aaron Rodgers (I also didn’t watch his Celebrity Jeopardy appearances). And I thought his first week was nothing special. But in the second week, he seemed to really get the hang of the game, his pacing was excellent, a very droll and witty sense of humor made regular appearances without disrupting the flow of the game (the complete opposite of Bialik’s incessant sotto voce chuckling), and I thought he had substantial long-term potential. If you go back and look at this board’s poll on his performance, two-thirds of the responses (59 out of 89) rated him an 8, 9, or 10, and 95% of responses rated him at least a 6. These numbers seems well outside of the “awed by his sports status” conjecture.

As far as LeVar…my kids loved Reading Rainbow and ST:TNG (I’m neutral on the first and can’t stand the latter), but they saw a couple of this week’s shows, and panned them. As do I. Just awesomely bad on all fronts.

(I will also note that 88% of poll respondents rated Buzzy’s performance an 8, 9, or 10. Anybody want to summarize the poll results for all the hosts?)
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Re: How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

Post by econgator »

As much as I hate to ...

Ken 9
Buzzy 8.99
Mayim 8.8
Aaron 8.75
Robin 8.5
Anderson/Guthrie/Gupta 8.25
Katie/George 8
Dr. Oz 7.5
Mike 7
Bill 6.75
LeVar 6.5
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Re: How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

Post by Robert K S »

squarekara wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 9:45 am My husband and I watched LeVar's Monday episode on mute in a Subaru dealership while our car was being serviced. With a third of the screen obscured by trade-in incentives flashing up on a banner, the full scope wasn't apparent until I caught the episode on YouTube later on. Man, was that rough. He carried so much goodwill into that opportunity, and, with his long experience as an actor and TV personality, his hosting made perfect sense. I was really rooting for LeVar to ride that rainbow, chase that butterfly as the embodiment of whatever beloved, hallowed persona from the 70's, 80's, 90's. . . However, this gig was on a par with Albert Brooks subbing for the weekend anchor in Broadcast News. The potential was there for LeVar, but things just went wrong. His professional experience seemed to count for nothing in terms of pacing, modulation, or, most importantly, being (or appearing to be) at ease so that the contestants could be at ease. Instead, the players had to deal with delayed calls and miscues that were painful to watch. A bona fide "Bless his heart" run. I'm sorry the production staff only rehearsed him the day before taping. More prep could have made a world of difference.
+1
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Re: How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

Post by squarekara »

Xu Donym wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 11:54 am
JeopardyMom wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 11:22 am So far, Aaron Rodgers and Mayim Bialik have been the best.
Are there many non-football fans who rate Aaron Rodgers highly as a potential host?
When it comes to football, I'm just there for the guac and chips, Lucy Van Pelt, and another viewing of Rudy on DVD. I gave Rodgers an 8, and I'd rank him just below Buzzy and Mayim at the top of my preference list.
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Re: How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

Post by Robert K S »

In terms of presence, voice, and personability, I would rate him a 9 or 10. But preparation and comfortability on set, he was a 1. An inexcusable let-down. Anyone close to him who wanted to help him get this job should have been helping him prep. I will still be happy if he gets the job, because I think the things he was bad at are all things that will improve with time, but I will certainly understand if he does not get the job. If you're an actor who is given sides before the audition, you don't show up to the audition having failed to learn your lines.
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Re: How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

Post by Woof »

Since Econ posted his (and to annoy Sg), here’s my updated list, hopefully this time without omissions and wrong names :mrgreen:

9 - Buzzy
8 - Ken, Mayim
7 - Aaron, Savannah, Anderson, Robin
6 - Bill, Sanjay, George
5 - Mike, Katie
3 - Dr Oz, LeVar
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Re: How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

Post by Linear Gnome »

squarekara wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 12:56 pm
Xu Donym wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 11:54 am
JeopardyMom wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 11:22 am So far, Aaron Rodgers and Mayim Bialik have been the best.
Are there many non-football fans who rate Aaron Rodgers highly as a potential host?
When it comes to football, I'm just there for the guac and chips, Lucy Van Pelt, and another viewing of Rudy on DVD. I gave Rodgers an 8, and I'd rank him just below Buzzy and Mayim at the top of my preference list.
I'm not a football fan, and I really liked Rodgers. Although he could be criticized for being low-energy, I really liked his clue-reading, and I thought he displayed an appropriate amount of personality. I'd rate him below Buzzy and Ken, on a par with Robin (despite their very different styles), and above Mayim.
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Re: How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

Post by sarisson »

Tough crowd!
I gave him a 7. Probably generous, as I wished I could've pulled a VISOR over my eyes when he gave delayed (or outright wrong) rulings. The root of his hosting difficulty was trying too hard, which is odd because he only got the temporary gig from fan support. Too much enthusiasm over contestants getting easy clues right, also. Zero probability that he gets the permanent job. But you don't have to take my word for it.
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Re: How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

Post by AFRET CMS »

There's an "anticipation bias" in performing employee performance appraisals. Assume employee A is hired with the anticipation that he or she might perform at a mediocre level, simply because he or she was the only applicant. Also assume employee B is hired in a different department with the anticipation that he or she will perform at an excellent level.

If both then perform identically at a slightly-better-than-satisfactory level, at their three-month performance appraisal employee A is very likely to receive a higher rating from his or her boss than employee B does. They have identical performance, but A is exceeding anticipations and B will be punished for not achieving the anticipated level.

I think people were expecting great things from LeVar, and got "meh." There are a couple of other hosts from whom little was expected, and when their performance was "meh," people were surprised that they were better than expected.

It would be very interesting to be able to re-watch Alex Trebek's very first week of Jeopardy and compare it to the guest host stints.

All that said, I was hoping LeVar would be a 9, and I gave him a 6.5. But I think he could still be a very strong candidate for the permanent gig if he just stopped trying so darn hard.
I'm not the defending Jeopardy! champion. But I have played one on TV.
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Re: How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

Post by MarkBarrett »

6 from me as LeVar had the most mistakes air of any of the guest hosts. By Friday I thought a little progress had been demonstrated, but not enough for me to think LeVar could be the ultimate choice.

No other host came off so poorly for simply executing the job. The why is what interests me. Did LeVar think his previous experience in the entertainment field was enough to carry the day? Or did he feel that being a faithful watcher of J! would be enough to perform duties?

It could be other hosts had a lot more trouble while by air time the show staff could have it all cleaned up better. Was LeVar set up to fail in some way? What we need is some insider to spill the beans on this season as there had to be a lot going on behind the scenes. Whether someone quits and writes a about it, or someone goes rogue as anonymous, I imagine there are a lot of juicy details that could make a book.

Even if names cannot be named, give each host a letter and let us speculate about identities. Various contestants across the season have shared opinions and experiences even if those are of course only limited to a taping day or two in most cases.

Something was different with LeVar's week compared to all the other guest hosts and I wonder if it really falls only on Mr Burton?

What viewers ended up hearing was a guest host fumbling to fit the role. There were various mistakes through all aspects of the game and in the daily threads I noted some things I noticed each day.

LeVar seemed to drive up interest in this week of J! more than other weeks and the most avid of his supporters saw only positives and top notch skill. That's fine and it reminds me of the movie The Dark Knight Rises when comments were allowed on IMDb. The fans of that movie had it marked for at least 12 Oscar nominations and a huge pile of wins.

The reality turned out to be a shutout.

LeVar Burton won't be hosting J! again. That's the truth. The petition worked and he got a chance. Take the small win and move on.
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Re: How Did LeVar Burton Do as Host?

Post by Linear Gnome »

AFRET CMS wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 2:21 pm There's an "anticipation bias" in performing employee performance appraisals. Assume employee A is hired with the anticipation that he or she might perform at a mediocre level, simply because he or she was the only applicant. Also assume employee B is hired in a different department with the anticipation that he or she will perform at an excellent level.

If both then perform identically at a slightly-better-than-satisfactory level, at their three-month performance appraisal employee A is very likely to receive a higher rating from his or her boss than employee B does. They have identical performance, but A is exceeding anticipations and B will be punished for not achieving the anticipated level.

I think people were expecting great things from LeVar, and got "meh." There are a couple of other hosts from whom little was expected, and when their performance was "meh," people were surprised that they were better than expected.
There could also be "confirmation bias" which would have the opposite effect.

I went in hoping LeVar would do well, but with no expectations one way or the other. I thought he did a "meh" job on Friday and was significantly worse than that the first four days. For me, Anderson Cooper was probably closest to your description of expecting great things and getting "meh".

Maybe it honestly didn't occur to LeVar that he could try to prepare (the way Aaron did), but it probably should have.
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