So if you’re like me you tuned in to Jeopardy last night to witness the final five episodes taped by Alex Trebek. Only to see a very old episode (with a very young Ken Jennings) airing in place of new ones.
This is for good reason, it turns out. Showrunners were concerned that one or more episodes could be preempted for holiday mishagos or that people would miss them because they were tied up doing said mishagos.
The final episodes will now air January 4th – 8th and we’re told they are sad as hell. So get ready. Jeopardy showrunner Mike Richards previously told CNN. “He was in pain and we knew it. He [recently] had surgery and I couldn’t believe he was already back from the surgery.”
Richards also revealed that at the top of the first of Trebek’s final five episodes, the host delivered a heartfelt speech to viewers “talking about togetherness, how important family is… It will resonate even more now. It was so beautiful that we were all emotional; we were all in tears. And then we started clapping, and [the noise] almost distracted him because he was going, ‘OK, now let’s play Jeopardy!’ It was one of those days where he was at the top of his game, even though, clearly, he was very ill.”
Leading up to that fateful week, the game show will air two weeks of reruns that celebrate Trebek’s spirit of adventure.