Watch: A Long-Lost Episode of Alex Trebek’s First US Game Show
Come for Alex, stay for that catchy theme tune.
Youtube user JDSk8r uploaded a full episode of a long-lost game show called The Wizard of Odds. This one-season wonder was historically significant because it marked future Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek’s big break into American television, as the emcee of this game which I can only describe as “Trivia Price is Right”.
Reading the synopsis from Wikipedia, it feels like NBC was trying to capitalize on the frenetic energy of The then-new Price is Right, which premiered on CBS one year prior, but instead of pricing games, there were trivia formats. In this episode, contestants were asked to guess how old landmarks were based on the average age of all the landmarks, identify which of a group of actors started in a band, and to identify an actress based on vague clues.
Winners would be tempted with cash and prizes, while losers’ names were stuck on the Wizard Wheel which was spun for extra prizes. Alex is high-energy, loose, and fun, and corrals the game very well. While the show languished into obscurity, Alex’s career was just getting started: he would host High Rollers for NBC the next year, and had a steady career in game shows ever since.
Watch the episode below and tell us what you think on Twitter, Facebook or Discord!