Jeopardy Productions should be courting NPH

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Robert K S
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Jeopardy Productions should be courting NPH

Post by Robert K S »

I love Alex. I hope he goes for five, ten more years if he's able. But after a performance like last night's Tonys, Jeopardy!'s producers should be sending muffin baskets to Neil Patrick Harris's dressing room. Jeopardy! will never find another Alex Trebek. His combo of debonair looks, rich clue delivery, and the persona that says "erudite", or at least fakes it as convincingly as possible, is irreplaceable. So when the show needs new blood, it might as well go in a new direction. We could do worse than NPH.* He's got talent, charisma, and he does know some trivia. Also, his "playsicles" "mashups" bit sounded like he was auditioning material for a BEFORE & AFTER category.

*If we're to believe the rumors about Lauer, Jeopardy Productions is doing worse than NPH.
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Re: Jeopardy Productions should be courting NPH

Post by Johnblue »

A thousand times no! He's a lightweight. Of course there can't be an exact replica if Alex but don't jump off the pier with that guy.
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Re: Jeopardy Productions should be courting NPH

Post by Leander »

I don't disagree about NPH, but I think he's too big a star right now to bother hosting a quiz show. Maybe in another 20 years...
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MarkBarrett
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Re: Jeopardy Productions should be courting NPH

Post by MarkBarrett »

Anyone have a time machine? Go fetch Jim Perry from his Card Sharks/Sale of the Century days during the Carter/Reagan years for the perfect host.

NPH would be better than Matt Lauer, no argument there. While NPH would have worked well with Kelly Ripa (not that I don't think Michael Strahan was an excellent choice to replace Regis) he is too much of an entertainer for the game show hosting gig of Jeopardy! I do not think NPH could show the proper restraint within the parameters of what it takes to do 61 clues in such a short time.
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Robert K S
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Re: Jeopardy Productions should be courting NPH

Post by Robert K S »

Anyone calling TPH a lightweight can't have seen the Tonys last night, or read how much he's being credited for the ratings boost.

He's not too big a celebrity for How I Met Your Mother, where I bet his salary is a lot lower than Trebek's. At this point, he's no longer in the running to make a career as a leading man in features. He really digs hosting stuff. And the J! taping schedule would probably be able to work around NPH's movie and TV activities. I think he's kind of a natural fit.
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Re: Jeopardy Productions should be courting NPH

Post by dhkendall »

Robert K S wrote:Anyone calling TPH a lightweight can't have seen the Tonys last night, or read how much he's being credited for the ratings boost.

He's not too big a celebrity for How I Met Your Mother, where I bet his salary is a lot lower than Trebek's. At this point, he's no longer in the running to make a career as a leading man in features. He really digs hosting stuff. And the J! taping schedule would probably be able to work around NPH's movie and TV activities. I think he's kind of a natural fit.
Eh, I wouldn't hold my breath.

As for the salary thing, though, keep in mind that whether they get Matt Lauer, Neil Patrick Harris, Tom Cruise, or my uncle to host the show, they won't be paid Trebek's salary. Trebek has his salary because he's been hosting for almost 30 years, and has the experience of a Jeopardy! host that his salary requires. Whoever replaces Trebek won't have the seniority in the job that Trebek has and they can afford to pay him (or her!) a lower salary than Trebek got. I'm sure Trebek didn't start out (in 1984 dollars) anywhere near where he is now.
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Re: Jeopardy Productions should be courting NPH

Post by DadofTwins »

Agree that NPH would be a solid pick.

The question then becomes whether NPH would be interested.

How many time shave you seen Drew Carey or Wayne Brady on TV or in movies since they got their game show hosting gigs? Do they even travel/do stand-up anymore?

NPH's next career move is Broadway and winning Tonys of his own. I doubt he would want to spend the next decade on a game show.
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Re: Jeopardy Productions should be courting NPH

Post by Jasoni22 »

Nah. NPH is a great actor, and he's funny... but those aren't things I would be looking for in a Jeopardy host.
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Re: Jeopardy Productions should be courting NPH

Post by dhkendall »

DadofTwins wrote:NPH's next career move is Broadway and winning Tonys of his own.
Agreed. For all the reasons Robert thinks he'd be great as a J! host.
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Re: Jeopardy Productions should be courting NPH

Post by SwanShadow »

What's Rolf Benirschke doing these days?
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Re: Jeopardy Productions should be courting NPH

Post by TenPoundHammer »

Robert K S wrote:Anyone calling TPH a lightweight can't have seen the Tonys last night, or read how much he's being credited for the ratings boost.
I really think I'd be a terrible host. I'm short and overweight, I have a really nasal voice, and I stutter. Also, I don't like wearing suits.
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Re: Jeopardy Productions should be courting NPH

Post by Jasoni22 »

TenPoundHammer wrote:
Robert K S wrote:Anyone calling TPH a lightweight can't have seen the Tonys last night, or read how much he's being credited for the ratings boost.
I really think I'd be a terrible host. I'm short and overweight, I have a really nasal voice, and I stutter. Also, I don't like wearing suits.
And every time a contestant correctly answers a $200 clue, you'd have this awestruck "how did he know that?!" look on your face. ;)
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Re: Jeopardy Productions should be courting NPH

Post by Rex Kramer »

Nine-Pound Hammer?
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Re: Jeopardy Productions should be courting NPH

Post by slam »

Robert K S wrote:Anyone calling TPH a lightweight can't have seen the Tonys last night, or read how much he's being credited for the ratings boost.

He's not too big a celebrity for How I Met Your Mother, where I bet his salary is a lot lower than Trebek's. At this point, he's no longer in the running to make a career as a leading man in features. He really digs hosting stuff. And the J! taping schedule would probably be able to work around NPH's movie and TV activities. I think he's kind of a natural fit.
According to a little googling, NPH is making $210K per episode. With 24 episodes in Season 8 (the just concluded season) of HIMYM, that comes to about $5 million. Similarly, I found that Trebek makes $10 million per year (and also that his net worth is $50 million which seems low - what have you been spending it all on Alex?). I agree that J! wouldn't pay the same salary to any Trebek replacement, but NPH will be looking for a gig and if he and TPTB wanted each other, there's room for the money to be worked out for to both sides' satisfaction.

I don't know if NPH would be the best possible host, but I'd think he would be an excellent one. It's clear there's a brain behind all that other ability and I believe he could adapt to the format very readily. And J!'s taping schedule would leave him the flexibility to continue doing the other stuff that he clearly loves - not another series, of course, but hosting the Tony's, a film here and there, some guest shots on TV shows, etc...

I should disclose, though, that I've always been a big NPH fan ever since the days of Doogie.
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Re: Jeopardy Productions should be courting NPH

Post by jeff6286 »

I'm in favor of this, and hopefully it means Vinnie Delpino will be back on our television screens, in place of Johnny Gilbert, perhaps?

Image

Actually, I was surprised to learn from IMDB that Max Casella has had a pretty constant stream of work over the past 20 years. Nothing too major, other than a role in the Sopranos, and very little that I've seen, but I was kind of expecting to see only a handful of credits since the days of Doogie: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0143295/
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Re: Jeopardy Productions should be courting NPH

Post by TenPoundHammer »

slam wrote:I should disclose, though, that I've always been a big NPH fan ever since the days of Doogie.
Personally, I liked him on Capitol Critters. ;)
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Re: Jeopardy Productions should be courting NPH

Post by MinnesotaMyron »

TenPoundHammer wrote:
Robert K S wrote:Anyone calling TPH a lightweight can't have seen the Tonys last night, or read how much he's being credited for the ratings boost.
I really think I'd be a terrible host. I'm short and overweight, I have a really nasal voice, and I stutter. Also, I don't like wearing suits.
Rex Kramer wrote:Nine-Pound Hammer?
That's some funny business, guys. Well played, both of you. :lol:
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Re: Jeopardy Productions should be courting NPH

Post by ahirbhairav »

Todd Alan Crain will be the future host. Nobody else even DESERVES the position...
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