What Would You Ask Alex?
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What Would You Ask Alex?
I'm headed to LA to sit in the audience for a taping on Tuesday. I'm in the contestant pool for the third time but have wanted to meet Alex since I was a kid and was afraid I'd miss my opportunity if I don't go now. I know he sometimes takes questions from the audience during commercial breaks and was curious...what would you ask Alex? I'm trying to think of something not cliche like "what's your favorite Jeopardy moment" or "who do you want to replace you someday?" Hoping I don't bawl like a little baby the whole time I'm there
- Robert K S
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Re: What Would You Ask Alex?
When I was an audience member, I asked him what his birth name was. As a result of some vandalism that went uncorrected for years, Wikipedia had it wrong at the time.
- triviawayne
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Re: What Would You Ask Alex?
Since we saw him standing inside the floor in his house...
Is there any home improvement project you decided was beyond your abilities and paid someone to do because you felt you couldn't?
Is there any home improvement project you decided was beyond your abilities and paid someone to do because you felt you couldn't?
Total game show career losings = $171,522
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Re: What Would You Ask Alex?
Yes that's a good one! I was trying to think of something home improvement related. That was one thing I actually didn't know about him!triviawayne wrote: ↑Sat Jan 04, 2020 6:06 pm Since we saw him standing inside the floor in his house...
Is there any home improvement project you decided was beyond your abilities and paid someone to do because you felt you couldn't?
- trainman
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Re: What Would You Ask Alex?
He does have pat answers for all the clichés -- during the special Thursday night, you saw his standard "Betty White" answer for "who do you want to replace you?"
One time years ago when I was in the audience and there was an awkward silence when nobody else was asking a question(!), I raised my hand and asked him who his pick was to win the Super Bowl that season. He does like to talk sports.
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Re: What Would You Ask Alex?
He showed up at my last audition unannounced and did a Q&A while the written test was being scored. I asked him what his favourite game show to host was, aside from J!. He answered To Tell the Truth, “because that was the only one where I got to sit down.”
- DBear
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Re: What Would You Ask Alex?
"Do you think the writers overemphasize Hollywood and pop culture at the expense of academic subjects?"
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Re: What Would You Ask Alex?
I would much rather you ask, “when is Maggie gonna put Wayne on the show?”britt408 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 04, 2020 6:56 pmYes that's a good one! I was trying to think of something home improvement related. That was one thing I actually didn't know about him!triviawayne wrote: ↑Sat Jan 04, 2020 6:06 pm Since we saw him standing inside the floor in his house...
Is there any home improvement project you decided was beyond your abilities and paid someone to do because you felt you couldn't?
Total game show career losings = $171,522
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Re: What Would You Ask Alex?
My initial thought was "how many times does one have to pass the test in order to get on the show? Asking for a friend..."triviawayne wrote: ↑Sat Jan 04, 2020 11:28 pmI would much rather you ask, “when is Maggie gonna put Wayne on the show?”britt408 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 04, 2020 6:56 pmYes that's a good one! I was trying to think of something home improvement related. That was one thing I actually didn't know about him!triviawayne wrote: ↑Sat Jan 04, 2020 6:06 pm Since we saw him standing inside the floor in his house...
Is there any home improvement project you decided was beyond your abilities and paid someone to do because you felt you couldn't?
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Re: What Would You Ask Alex?
I had the same thought when I went two years ago. I considered asking him something like "has there been any more useful invention than the cordless screwdriver" or something like that but couldn't really frame it to make it sound as profound a statement as it is. These tools, especially now with their lithium batteries and higher voltages have been a big game changer in handyman and professional construction because they are basically interchangeable with powered electric tools for performance.britt408 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 04, 2020 6:56 pmYes that's a good one! I was trying to think of something home improvement related. That was one thing I actually didn't know about him!triviawayne wrote: ↑Sat Jan 04, 2020 6:06 pm Since we saw him standing inside the floor in his house...
Is there any home improvement project you decided was beyond your abilities and paid someone to do because you felt you couldn't?
Anyway, I wound up asking him if he had a thousand suits just to give him an opening to riff about the wardrobe department or something. Just speak up right away, as most people will be bashful. There might be a pregnant pause after the first question, but don't count on it. In the afternoon session some lady used 2-3 minutes framing her very boring story and Alex patiently waited it out, so no time for more questions. Damn polite Canadians .
Disclaimer - repeated exposure to author's musings may cause befuddlement.
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Re: What Would You Ask Alex?
I would guess he'd politely say "No, I like the mix" - Alex probably doesn't want to tick off the writers. In fact, he gives the air of being fairly laid-back off-camera.
When I think about the J! cannon, and the four big categories they mentioned in the special (academics, pop culture, lifestyle, and wordplay) give different opportunities to show off different skills. Would you want to give your tax return to someone who has in-depth, encyclopedic knowledge of accounting? Sure. But outside of 9 to 5, would you want to talk to someone who shuns every single movie, TV, or "frivolous" bit of news? Even within pop culture, there's academic material - books that become films, paintings that become musicals, plane crashes that become songs.
The ivory tower is great, and the academic topics on J! do give folks an idea of at least what the writers feel is important. And even within those four categories, we all have our likes and dislikes - I'd do very well in chemistry, but poorly in architecture. I know my 80s sitcom theme songs, but wouldn't be particularly good at horror movies. I could probably come up with words to describe cooking techniques, but would be fairly hopeless in identifying flowers. I can do okay on some rhyme time clues, but "before, during, and after" during ToCs absolutely baffles me.
J! rewards people who have a broad spectrum of interests. If you're a scientist, you should have an appreciation for literature. If you're a historian, you should be familiar with some basic physics principles.
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Re: What Would You Ask Alex?
When I sat through multiple days of shows here, it got to the point where I could almost recite his answers word-for-word before he said them. As Robert alluded to above, he gets a lot of the same questions, and has his answers down pat. So yeah, you're heading in the right direction.
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Re: What Would You Ask Alex?
I would turn this around and ask if there were any home improvement projects that he did himself that he later regretted not hiring out.britt408 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 04, 2020 6:56 pmYes that's a good one! I was trying to think of something home improvement related. That was one thing I actually didn't know about him!triviawayne wrote: ↑Sat Jan 04, 2020 6:06 pm Since we saw him standing inside the floor in his house...
Is there any home improvement project you decided was beyond your abilities and paid someone to do because you felt you couldn't?
- triviawayne
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Re: What Would You Ask Alex?
I might like that even better...but still pulling for the "When is Wayne getting the call" question...heppm01 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 05, 2020 11:28 amI would turn this around and ask if there were any home improvement projects that he did himself that he later regretted not hiring out.britt408 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 04, 2020 6:56 pmYes that's a good one! I was trying to think of something home improvement related. That was one thing I actually didn't know about him!triviawayne wrote: ↑Sat Jan 04, 2020 6:06 pm Since we saw him standing inside the floor in his house...
Is there any home improvement project you decided was beyond your abilities and paid someone to do because you felt you couldn't?
Total game show career losings = $171,522
- Robert K S
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Re: What Would You Ask Alex?
That was trainman but it could as easily have been most of us
- MinnesotaMyron
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Re: What Would You Ask Alex?
About his 1983 unsold pilot, Malcolm. Given the cruddiness of the pilot, the response should be epic.
Adam Seth Moss
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DoorDasher (since May 7, 2020)
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Re: What Would You Ask Alex?
I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, but in my less-mature days (about 15 years ago), I actually asked Alex about Malcolm at a taping. He seemed to have no recollection of it whatsoever.Roadgeek Adam wrote: ↑Mon Jan 06, 2020 10:31 am About his 1983 unsold pilot, Malcolm. Given the cruddiness of the pilot, the response should be epic.
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Re: What Would You Ask Alex?
That man is sharp as a tack, even 15 years ago, that seems more like he wants to forget it. I can't imagine he's forgotten that.Steve McClellan wrote: ↑Mon Jan 06, 2020 1:32 pmI'm almost embarrassed to admit this, but in my less-mature days (about 15 years ago), I actually asked Alex about Malcolm at a taping. He seemed to have no recollection of it whatsoever.Roadgeek Adam wrote: ↑Mon Jan 06, 2020 10:31 am About his 1983 unsold pilot, Malcolm. Given the cruddiness of the pilot, the response should be epic.
Adam Seth Moss
DoorDasher (since May 7, 2020)
M.A. History, Western Illinois Univ, 2017
B.A. History (minors in PoliSci & PubAdm), Montclair State Univ, 2015
A.A. History & Education, Middlesex County Coll., 2013
DoorDasher (since May 7, 2020)
M.A. History, Western Illinois Univ, 2017
B.A. History (minors in PoliSci & PubAdm), Montclair State Univ, 2015
A.A. History & Education, Middlesex County Coll., 2013