I’ve been a Jeopardy! fan since it first aired in 1964, Andrew. For nine years Art Fleming was the host. Changing tastes (wacky stuff like The Gong Show were all the rage then) led to lower ratings and the show was canceled.

After Trivial Pursuit became a craze, Merv resurrected Jeopardy! and offered Fleming his old job back. He declined because he didn’t like the way the producers began putting little hints in some of the answers and because he wanted to stay in NY where the show originally aired. (Griffin was moving production to LA.)

I didn’t watch for years because it took me that long to get over missing Art Fleming. I liked Alex eventually, but there will always be a soft spot in my heart for Art. So, you see, even though the show wasn’t the same without Art, and won’t be the same without Alex, it will still be Jeopardy! and we still love the game.