And Alex....

 

I kind of feel weird even covering this one, but a surprising number of people asked me if Alex was a jerk. My initial response was "No! Are you crazy? Why would you even ask that?", but it was asked enough that I have to wonder if a lot of people have this impression, and since I disagree with it, I want to confront it head-on. 

That being said, I can't quite hit it head on, because Alex is the person you spend the least amount of time with really, which is important for the integrity of the game. He comes on right as the game starts, and all the time you spend with him is filmed. In Prisoner of Trebekistan, Bob Harris (no relation, that I know of) mentioned that he gets asked a lot what Alex is like, and he told different anecdotes, and let people draw their own conclusions, and I'm kind of going to do it that way. 

First off, let's go over possible reasons why people may think it. I was told that there was a video on Youtube of him swearing and cursing people out. I could not find that. There were some weirdly edited videos and some of people filming the television and laughing in the background, where you can't even tell what they are laughing at, but nothing impressive there. I know he does have a somewhat reserved manner, but he's Canadian, and it seems appropriate. He is also self-deprecating, which not everyone likes, but it works for me. 

It could be a matter of the corrections he does, but those serve a purpose. One of the things Maggie told us is that they work really hard to get things right, because she has heard people say that something has to be right because they saw it on Jeopardy! Therefore, having a correct pronunciation given is important, and when they do those clarifications like "You were thinking of..." that actually shows why the person's response was not way off base, even if it was wrong. Actually, even with my game, there was a moment that could have been misconstrued. In the Shells category, I guessed "Awl" when the correct answer was "Auger". Alex's "No" is broken into two syllables, and it could have been taken as condescending, but what I understood it as is that when I started to say "Aw-" he thought I was getting it right, and then had to adjust. There wasn't any bad will there. 

 Without strong evidence of jerkiness, I have to attribute any rumors to haters, which is a real thing, especially on the internet. Apparently, some people may just have nothing better to do, or no desire, anyway. 

 I have my own reasons for thinking Alex is not a jerk. My first impression of him was that he has kind eyes. It is just an impression, but I have never met anyone with kind eyes who turned out to have a bad personality. Also during the visiting he was nice, and made a point to praise all of us, and that was good. 

 For other indications, look at what a great set it is. I can't remember whether I had the conversation with my friend Cathy the night before I left, or with one of the other contestants in the green room on game day, but I was talking about how great the group of people I work with is, and the person I was talking to said that is really a sign of good management, because those things carry on down. Having been in highly dysfunctional workplaces, I have seen the reverse of that as well, and it is true: leadership matters. 

Now, you could argue that Alex is not really the boss--that maybe that would be the executive producer or the head of Sony, or something like that, and that is entirely plausible. Even so, all of those awesome people love him. Of all of the references to Alex that came up during the storytelling and preparation and even at the audition, all of those references were affectionate. They were so proud of him for chasing down the robber. 

Even when I was in the audience, and there was a crew member behind me running some equipment, and he heard me explaining something about the robbery to the guy I was sitting next to. Even he weighed in, saying that he knew all Alex cared about was the bracelet his mother gave him (we were wondering if he had gotten his stuff back, and at the time he hadn't yet), and there was a protectiveness in his voice that was really kind of touching. 

If Alex Trebek is a jerk, they've got the most brilliant cover-up ever. The CIA should take lessons. And I also hope he gets his mother's bracelet back. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/27/alex-trebek-chases-down-burglar_n_911550.html