How has host Alex Trebek reacted to these changes?
In the first two seasons in syndication, Alex produced the show. He had that point of view of knowing the show intimately as the producer, but also as the host. I think there was understandably, a fair amount of skepticism that the changes were going to make the show less challenging, that the caliber of play was not going to be maintained. Again, it was a question of earning his trust and showing him that I wasn’t going to mess with the basic game. I was just trying to make it more interesting. Q: How would you describe his work? A: When Alex gets out on stage, he is so focused on the game – and it moves like lightening. He is very meticulous in wanting the game to be played right, to be played fair, and to be Jeopardy-esque – operating at a level for which there is no compromise. We have our meetings before each tape day. The meeting runs about an hour, and he will have read over the games. He will bring up something about a particular clue, and say, “This doesn’t sound right to me.
