Monday, November 09, 2020

Remembering Alex Trebek; Decades Changes Schedule in December with The Odd Couple and The Love Boat Added

Alex Trebek

Canadian-American television personality and game show host Alex Trebek, who was best known as the longtime host of Jeopardy!, has died. He died at his home in Los Angeles on November 8 after a nearly two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Mr. Trebek was 80.

Trebek's television career began in 1961 in his native Canada where he worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC). His first hosting job was on a music program called Music Hop in 1963. He hosted the Toronto version of the high school quiz show Reach for the Top from 1966 to 1973. In 1969, he hosted the game show Strategy. He hosted the short film series Pick and Choose in 1971. He hosted I'm Here Til 9, the local morning drive radio show on CBC Toronto, from 1971 to 1972.

High Rollers - Alex Trebek

He moved to the United States in 1973. He hosted the 1973-1974 NBC daytime game show The Wizard of Odds. A year later he began hosting NBC's High Rollers from 1974 to 1976. It was brought back from 1978 until 1980. Between his stints on High Rollers, he hosted the short-lived CBS game show Double Dare from 1976 to 1977, which was produced by Mark Goodson—Bill Todman Productions. He hosted the second season of the syndicated game show The $128,000 Question from 1977 to 1978. He hosted the syndicated Pitfall from 1981 to 1982. After High Rollers was cancelled in 1980, he moved to NBC where he hosted Battlestars (1981-1982) and later The New Battlestars (1983).

Jeopardy - Alex Trebek

Trebek began hosting the syndicated game show Jeopardy! when it was revived in 1984. He hosted the series for 36 years and over 8,000 episodes from 1984 until his death. His last day filming in the studio was on October 29. His final broadcast will air on Christmas Day on December 25. Trebek received the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host seven times (1989, 1990, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2019, and 2020) for his work on Jeopardy!. The series has won a record 39 Daytime Emmy Awards as well as a Peabody Award. He hosed Super Jeopardy! in 1990. In January 2020, he hosted ABC's primetime tournament Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time.

Classic Concentration - Alex Trebek

He hosted the NBC daytime game show Classic Concentration from 1987 to 1991. This was his second show for Mark Goodson. In 1991, he made broadcast history by becoming the first person to host three American game shows at the same time when he began hosting NBC's To Tell the Truth. He hosted the show from February to March 1991.

Mama's Family - Alex Trebek and Vicki Lawrence as Mama

Trebek also made appearances in numerous television series, in which he usually played himself. Some of his sitcom guest appearances included Mama's Family, Cheers, Pacific Station, The Golden Girls, The Larry Sanders Show, Dave's World, The Nanny, Blossom, Seinfeld, Ned and Stacey, Ladies Man, How I Met Your Mother and Hot in Cleveland. His voice credits included Rugrats, The Simpsons, Arthur and Family Guy. Some of his other television guest appearances included Vega$ (as Arthur Martin, credited as Alex Trebeck), Beverly Hills 90210, The X-Files, Baywatch and Orange Is the New Black.

He was interviewed for The Interviews: An Oral History of Television on August 22, 2007.

Mr. Trebek was a true game show host legend. It will be hard to imagine Jeopardy! without him. He made learning trivia fun and cool. We thank him for the many hours of entertainment he brought us during his long career. He will be greatly missed.

20/20: Alex Trebek Remembered

ABC aired a 20/20: Alex Trebek Remembered special last night (November 8). It's available on their website and on demand.

Share your memories on our Game Shows message board. View photos in our galleries.


The Odd Couple and The Love Boat

Decades is making some schedule changes beginning Monday, Nov. 30. Since The Jeffersons is moving to Antenna TV this January, it will be off the lineup on Decades. The Odd Couple will be joining the lineup and will air weekdays at 5pm & 5:30pm. Then at 6pm, The Love Boat will be airing every weeknight, followed by The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show at 7pm, which will also air from 7-8am in the morning, too. Only other schedule change is 6-7am with back-to-back airings of The Millionaire. The weekdays 9am-5pm "Television Across the Decades" sitcom line-up from the '50s to the '80s will remain as is (The Lucy Show, The Donna Reed Show, Family Affair, Petticoat Junction, I Love Lucy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Bob Newhart Show/Newhart). The late fringe sitcoms will also remain as is from 10pm-5am and you can still see Decades Weekend Binges all weekend long. The Jeffersons will get one final Weekend Binge Dec. 5-6. View the full Decades schedule that begins Nov. 30.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, March 25

Scrubs - "My V.I.P." (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
J.D. and Dr. Park are forced to work together when a member of the hospital board experiences a mysterious health crisis. Turk helps Elliot navigate a newfound romance, while the interns practice vulnerability with patients.

Abbott Elementary - "No Homework" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Ava implements a no-homework policy at Abbott, sparking debate amongst the teachers.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "A Split Tree Grows" (BET, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Efe has a mock teaching session with the assisted living facility to prepare him for the classroom; Jeremy is on the fence about the court system's harsh punishment of the young robbers.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "A Rolling Stone" (BET, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Mr. Brown receives a surprise that brings up his sinful past; Reginald and Jeremy are at odds with the court system.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 23)

Wednesday, March 25

  • Ariana DeBose (Schmigadoon!) - Watch Ariana on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Robert Smigel (Let's Be Real) - Robert is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Chelsea Handler (Are You There, Chelsea?) - Chelsea stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. She also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Rocky Carroll (Roc/Welcome to New York) - Rocky talks about NCIS on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Patricia Arquette (High Desert) - NBC's Today catches up with Patricia in the 9am hour.
  • Heather Graham (Californication/Scrubs/Emily's Reasons Why Not) - NBC's Today catches up with Heather in the 10am hour.
  • Sterling K. Brown (Starved) and Ryan Michelle Bathe (First Wives Club/Retired at 35) - Sterling and his wife Ryan Michelle tell Sherri about the highly anticipated new season of Paradise now streaming on Hulu & Disney+ on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie joins Drew and Ross to cover the news with a special cleaning theme on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Melissa Peterman (Happy's Place/Young Sheldon/Baby Daddy/Working Class/Reba) - Melissa talksa about Happy's Place on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD) St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
09/30 - Touché Turtle and Dum Dum - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/16 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/16 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/20 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

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03/24 - Hacks Returns for Final Season on April 9; America Says Is Back for Sixth Season on Game Show Network
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03/20 - TBS Orders Season 13 of Impractical Jokers; HBO's Josh Johnson Comedy Special
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03/18 - Saturday Night Live UK to Launch This Weekend; Hulu Renews Paradise for Season 3
03/17 - Netflix Renews Free Bert for Season 2; The Neighborhood: A Farewell Special in April
03/16 - Color Theories by Julio Torres on HBO; Lifetime's Ripped from the Headlines Spring Slate with Two New Movies
03/15 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 16, 2026)
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03/13 - NBC Summer 2026 Schedule; Malcolm in the Middle Revival Series Trailer
03/12 - Season 9 of Rick and Morty This May; Fox Entertainment Studios Lines Up Frankie Quiñones for Comedy Series
03/11 - Antenna TV's Hazel 65th Anniversary Marathon; Kountry Wayne Prime Video Comedy Special
03/10 - XO, Kitty Season 3 Trailer Released for April 2 Launch; The Drew Barrymore Show Talker Gets 2 Season Renewal
03/09 - Beef Returns April 16 on Netflix; Remembering Jennifer Runyon of Charles in Charge
03/08 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 9, 2026)
03/07 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Scrubs Returns to Big Ratings; New Garfield Series Coming to Paramount+
03/06 - The Four Seasons Returns on May 28; More Details on I Suck at Girls
03/05 - COZI TV Pairs Up Al Bundy and Hondo at Last; ABC Renews Abbott Elementary for Season 6
03/04 - ABC's Scrubs Returns Big; Netflix's Little House on the Prairie Renewed for Season 2
03/03 - Prime Video's Kevin Premieres April 20; Fox Renews Best Medicine
03/02 - Running Point Returns April 23 on Netflix; A Different World Sequel Starts Production
03/01 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 2, 2026)
02/28 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Warner Now Set to Merge with Paramount, Not Netflix; X-Files Reboot Given Greenlight
02/27 - The Comeback Returns for Final Season on March 22; Animal Control Renewed for Season 5; Remembering Lauren Chapin of Father Knows Best and Robert Carradine of Lizzie McGuire
02/26 - AspireTV Gets First Ever Original Sitcom; Sullivan's Crossing Returns for Season 4 in April on The CW
02/25 - Scrubs Returns Tonight, Sneak Peek at Title Sequence; Stranger Things: Tales From '85 Reveals Odessa A'zion as Nikki Baxter