Jeopardy! fans heartbroken as beloved 'odd quirk' is axed after Alex Trebek's death

Jeopardy! fans are reminiscing about this "odd quirk" the late host Alex Trebek did.

On a subreddit for the trivia game show , one person on September 21 made a thread bringing attention to the habit that the late host did and how it "never happens anymore." They mention that none of the new hosts, including Mayim Bialik and current host Ken Jennings, have done it.

"Sometimes a clue would be read, there would be no immediate response from the contestants, then just as Alex would provide the answer (question) a contestant's lectun [sic] would light up and Alex would say 'Sorry ____, not quickly enough,' the person explained.

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"This NEVER happens anymore with Ken hosting - EVER. I've never seen it and I watch the show daily," the user concluded their post.

Many fans took to the comments to explain why that habit is no longer on the show. One fan responded while adding a link to how the Jeopardy! buzzer works : "I recall on one of the podcasts (Inside Jeopardy or This is Jeopardy) they mentioned that the host is in control of closing responses. Perhaps the episode where they talk to Michael "The Enabler" Harris?" A second fan said: "Alex would control the 'beep beep beep' sound if nobody rang in. Now the producers control it."

Another said: "When I went to a taping of Jeopardy during the Alex era he talked about this during a commercial break. He said he looked at the contestants body language. If he could tell 1 or more of the players was thinking, he’d give them a moment. But if all 3 players were just staring at him with blank looks then he knew to move on." A fourth fan talked about another thing they miss about the late 80-year-old: "I miss when Alex would say 'Answer:' on a clue that wasn’t a DD, and then just read the normal clue. A fake out of sorts."

Current host Ken confirmed the information of Alex controlling the beep in December 2020. He had answered someone's post on X, declaring they'll "never watch Jeopardy! the same" after learning that tidbit. He responded: "I didn’t learn this until last year and I really had to re-evaluate my life."

Alex Trebek passed away on November 8, 2020, after a battle with Stage IV pancreatic cancer. He first announced his diagnosis in March 2019. The Canadian native hosted Jeopardy! from 1984 until his death in 2020.

His final episode aired on January 8, 2021. The Jeopardy! stage was renamed "The Alex Trebek Stage" in honor of him in August 2021, with his family present. Recently, The United States Postal Service also honored Alex by having a commemorative Forever postage stamp of him that released on his birthday of July 22 of this year.

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