Jeopardy! fans spot newbie Alfred Guy’s secret game show past & praise Ken Jennings as a ‘refreshing’ change from Mayim
Jeopardy! fans have praised Ken Jennings as a “refreshing” change from Mayim Bialik on Wednesday.
But they also wildly realized a new contestant, Alfred Guy, isn’t so new to the stage.
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Ken, 48, has returned to Jeopardy! for his first week since May.
He earlier shocked his supporters when he announced that he’d be out for “months” – so fans of his are thrilled he’s closing out the season.
The permanent hosting slot between him and Mayim, 46 – who hosted since – is still unannounced with Season 38 ending on July 31st, 2022.
But tonight, the heated host discussion was briefly sidetracked when fans spotted a contestant they’ve curiously seen before.
New players Alison Trembly and Alfred Guy faced 1-day champion Matt Mierswa.
The New Jersey lawyer and dad-of-one won once more with a 2-day total of $55,845.
He’ll be back tomorrow to go for his 3rd win, but middle podium’s Alfred Guy, strangely enough, is no stranger to victory.
During the episode, a fan realized the beard-boasting New York assistant dean at Yale is a game show gargantuan.
WHAT A GUY!
“I remember Alfred in the middle lectern,” a Twitter user began.
“He was on Millionaire several years ago when he won $250K.
“He later appeared on Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader when we won $100K,” they claimed. “I wonder how well he will do on #Jeopardy!”
Another viewer replied, “Wow, Alfred living my dream.”
Indeed, Alfred Guy may not have made the show’s Leaderboard of Legends tonight, but his past is a bit legendary.
In 2011, he was seen on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire with Meredith Vieira.
He made it to 13 out of 14 questions and with all lifelines exhausted, elected to walk away with a quarter of a million dollars.
“You’re doing great!” Meredith said at one point as the gentleman rose the ranks of another classic show – confetti falling as he won big.
Under the clip from Millionaire, yet another person realized the streak didn’t even stop there.
“Is this the same Alfie Guy who was on Love Connection?” they asked.
“Yes, well spotted,” someone else replied.
And surely enough, Alfred Guy also appeared on that dating show in 1987 as “Alfie” – so this marked his fourth date, so to speak.
Something so great about Jeopardy! is there’s always more to learn about players than meets the ‘Guy.’
‘NO KEN-PARISON’
During tonight’s Q&A storytelling portion of the show, fans were quite impressed with Ken.
Eventual 2-day winner Matt gave a shout-out to his son with a “Cookie Monster” voice, as one noted, and Alison went long saying she rubbed elbows with Kamala Harris as well as Michelle Obama.
Fans felt Ken handled the quizzically quirky segment with game show gusto going back and forth with each player.
“So refreshing to have a host who actually listens to the contestant’s story and responds genuinely,” one tweeted.
“He seems 100% better than I remember after weeks/months of the other one!!” another replied, however harshly, on Mayim’s mannerisms up there in comparison.
“For whatever it’s worth, I feel compelled to state, lighting fast & funny Ken Jennings is an unbeatable host of Jeopardy…” wrote a third.
HOST LIKELY?
Ken and Mayim, 46, began filling in for the legendary Alex after his tragic 2020 passing and a fleet of Season 37 celebrity guest hosts, including now-disgraced Mike Richards.
The show’s ratings nearly doubled to 9.7 million viewers when Ken made his first appearance.
When Mayim took over her hosting duties the headcount dropped to 5.9 million viewers during a college championship and sadly, she hadn’t bested Ken’s ratings since.
Mayim unfortunately was regularly torn for her stiff interactions during the same segment during her past eight weeks.
The neuroscientist once replied to one contestant’s earnest children’s autism testing Q&A with a joke.
“Glad to hear spitting in a tube went better than taking blood,” the host bluntly said, which critics called “rude.”
And in another game in May, one said he was in a “fancy sports league” and Mayim responded: “That’s so thrilling,” and moved on.
Mayim had another joke that just flatlined with fans this season – she told a doctor he was “just an anesthesiologist, not a surgeon.”
Viewers have warmed up to the star and would surely be fine with an ongoing co-host situation.
But from telltale ratings to “cryptic hints,” fans have collected clues that the former champion will be chosen over the actress.
Some think at the end of this exciting season, Ken may get the main show, with “multiple hosts for the franchise” altogether with primetime specials given to Mayim and Buzzy Cohen.
Jeopardy! airs on weeknights at 7 pm ET.
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