Friday, shortly before 8 p.m., will truly mark the end of an era in American television.
Though Alex Trebek, the popular host of “Jeopardy” since its revival in 1984, died in early November after a yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer, his last show will air Friday, beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Channel 4. Trebek finished taping for this particular group of “Jeopardy” shows one week before his Nov. 8 death.
As fans from around the area thought about the curtain coming down on one of the country’s great entertainment institutions from the last 35 years, they also got reflective about some of the rituals in their own lives that made the show such a major part of their lives.
“When I went down to Texas to be with my (then-girlfriend), I found out that I would watch the show twice a day — once at 3:30 on the Houston station and again at 5:30 on the local Beaumont channel,” said Dennis Skeadas, who grew up in Lynn and graduated from Lynn Trade.
“She didn’t get out of work until 5, so we’d watch it together at 5:30,” he said. “But I’d also have watched it already at 3:30.”
And, said Skeadas, “I’d answer every question when we were both watching. One day, I heard her on the phone telling one of her friends how smart I was because I knew all the answers.”
Skeadas still sends his son Matthew, who lives in England, the Final Jeopardy question nightly.
“I’ve been a fan for years,” said Skeadas. “When he died, I felt as if I’d lost a member of my family.”
A smattering of other comments will make it evident how much the show — and Trebek himself — had become a part of a lot of families.
“I try to answer every question before my husband does,” said Saugus Selectwoman Debra Panetta. “It depends on the categories who wins.”
“The remote gets handed over to me every night at 7:30,” said Suzanne Enos, also from Saugus. “It’s family game night. I’m very sad.”
Said Lynn’s Chris Chipouras, “I’ve watched almost every night since its inception. I gained so much knowledge from the show.”
Those whose images of “Jeopardy” may be 100 percent tied up in Alex Trebek may not know, or may have forgotten, that the show, and its famous “answer/question” format, was created by Merv Griffin and debuted on NBC on March 30, 1964, with Art Fleming as the host. The original run lasted until Jan. 3, 1975.
There were other iterations, also hosted by Fleming, through 1976 (a weekly prime-time show). But it was famously revived in 1984, with Trebek, a veteran TV personality both in the U.S. and his native Canada, as the host.
“I love the show and am old enough to remember when Art Fleming was the host,” said Bob Curtin of Peabody, who is the assistant town administrator in Lynnfield. “I shout out my answers, definitely, and feel great when I know something that the contestants don’t know.
“At the same time, when I don’t know the answer to some obscure question, I can only wonder: how the heck do these people come up with the correct answer?”
Curtin’s wife Sharon Cameron, Peabody’s public health director, also enjoys the show, but takes a more laid-back approach when watching.
“I’m more of a yell-out-my-answers player, whereas Sharon is definitely more quiet,” Curtin said.
The show is generational. James Magner, of Lynn, watches religiously, and has a unique feather in his cap that he’s eager to share.
“The show when Ken Jennings (who still holds the record for combined winnings, and who will, for the short term, host the show when it resumes) finally lost, I got the Final Jeopardy question right and he didn’t,” Magner said. “I forget the answer, but it was simple, and it made me think he lost on purpose.”
His son, Jim, a former Lynn Classical football player who was The Item‘s one-time “Defensive Player of the Year,” also watches.
“Seven o’clock, watch ‘Wheel of Fortune’ and solve every puzzle before the contestants and anyone in the living room watching with me,” the younger Magner said. “Seven-thirty, watch ‘Jeopardy’ and softly mumble answers one second after contestants give the correct answer, making it seem like I know the answer.”
And of course, people often parlay their fascination with the show into their own entertainment. Lynn’s Rose Watson is on a trivia team of her own, “and it is amazing how some of the answers come from the deep recesses of my brain.”
Every night, says Lois Bragan, of Lynn, “my husband (Jim) and I have a sugar-free fudgsicle and watch ‘Jeopardy.'”
And the show was even on the minds of some earlier this week during the crisis in Washington.
“It’s my favorite show,” said Carol Dullea, of Lynn. “I watch it every night. I DVR it. Even the repeats.”
Dullea couldn’t find it Wednesday night, but once she did, she happily watched.
“I didn’t know the Final Jeopardy answer, though,” she said.
“I wish I could remember how many years I have been watching,” said Bragan. “After what happened (Wednesday), watching ‘Jeopardy’ for 30 minutes, I was able to concentrate on Alex Trebek.”
Steve Krause can be reached at [email protected].
