Alex Trebek: From blades to brains

Canadian Alex Trebek hosting the game show "Jeopardy!" back in the 1980s.

Source: https://ew.com/tv/jeopardy-photos-evolution/

(may be subject to copyright)

The first time I ever saw Alex Trebek was like you would imagine – he was playing the host on TV.

Except he was on ice skates.

And he had an afro.

That’s right ice skates – and an afro.

It was part of the journey that took the longtime “Jeopardy!” host from blades to brains.

Icy reception

“Stars on Ice” aired on Channel 13 when I was really little, from 1976 to 1981, and Trebek hosted it the first four years. It was a variety show on ice, shot in Toronto, featuring a regular cast of 14 world-class skaters. It featured various acts such as tributes to Hollywood musicals, elaborate set pieces, and celebrities who had little to no experience on skates. Through it all, there was Alex Trebek hosting the show.

"Pitfall"

The first time I ever saw Alex Trebek host a game show it was not the one you would think. Instead, it was a syndicated game show I watched mostly during the summer, often with my visiting cousins from Brooks, called “Pitfall”. It also aired, usually after supper, on Channel 13.

It did have a question and answer period as well, but in a much different format. It was broken into two parts, as a lot of game shows are. The first part had the audience asked a question and the two contestants trying to guess the answer the majority of the audience provided. The winner of that round advanced to the bonus round, which was a bridge with eight sections. In 100 seconds, the contestant had to answer questions moving to the next section, or elevator, with each correct answer. However, there were three “pitfalls”. When a contestant stepped on one, he or she would drop to the bottom and could only answer the next question when the elevator hit the bottom. The antidote to the pitfalls came before the round began. The studio darkened and each of the sections flashed. The “pitfalls” flashed twice. The contestant then could choose three sections to pass, called "pit passes". These would allow them to pass over the “pitfall”. Getting to the other side of the bridge won the contestant a prize.

The show was taped in the 1981-1982 for only one year, but we’d see it in syndication years after. Wikipedia revealed the producers went bankrupt after that first season, and sadly Trebek never got paid.

“Reach for the Top” meets “Jeopardy!”

It was “Jeopardy!” before “Jeopardy!” – with high school students. "REach for the Top" was produced by CBC, and shot all across Canada, with regional championships, provincial championships and, ultimately, a national championship. Trebek actually hosted a regional “Reach for the Top” in 1966.

When I was in Grade 10, my little high school in Coaldale, Alberta won the national championship. The team was made up of graduating Grade 12 students, so there would be a whole new team. I joined that team, only to discover CBC cancelled “Reach for the Top”.

Still, we would meet in the office of our guidance counsellor Ed Ryan, who had been the “Reach for the Top” coach.

I met some new friends on that team, including one named Craig.

When we did do question and answer practice, and Craig got an answer, he would sometimes attribute that to hearing it on a game show called “Jeopardy!”

“What’s that?” I asked.

Questions not answers

Craig explained that it was a question and answer show, but instead of answering the question directly, like “Reach for the Top”, you had to phrase your answer in the form of a question.

A few months later, I went over to Craig’s house to hang out. We had a great spaghetti supper, then sat back to watch – “Jeopardy!”. It was the summer of 1985. It all happened so fast. His parents were incredibly smart people and they were answering everything, and in the form of a question – which still baffled me. “What is Hammurabi?” is the one I remember his mom blurting out.

“Bet the farm!”

After that, I never saw it again until I went to university, because at the time it was not on peasant vision. Later CBC would pick it up, but by then I had moved away from home.

I watched it every day in res in 1987 and 1988, and would keep score in my head. That used to vex my friend Chris Vining who never believed me. So, one day, he would find out how accurate I was by grabbing a pen and paper and keeping track. It turned out I was bang on.

Another time, this friend of ours knew the answer to every question. It was very impressive. Then, after "Double Jeopardy!", she made a confession. “Jeopardy!” also aired earlier in the day, on the NBC affiliate broadcasting from the Eastern Time Zone. She had watched it, and learned all the answers. We all laughed.

The other thing, Vining and I always did, was yell “Bet the farm!” before "Final Jeopardy!". That made for the best drama. And we greeted contestants with derision when they didn’t.

Parting thoughts

Alex Trebek was much more than “Jeopardy!” and he built a whole career before the show re-booted in 1984. Some of his achievements, such as “Stars On Ice” and “Pitfall” were not even mentioned in his Wikipedia entry. Although they did have their own entries.

Yet that is where I first encountered Alex Trebek, back in the 1980s on Canadian television.

After “Jeopardy!” re-booted, it became synonymous with Alex Trebek, and vice versa. He has been nominated 31 times for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show host, and won seven times.

From blades to brains, or skates to smarts, he has always shown the greatest of grace and class. Now, facing his greatest challenge – pancreatic cancer – he has shown that same class and grace.

It is another part of the journey he started in Canada so many years ago. He is in our thoughts and prayers.