Was This the Most Embarrassing Jeopardy Category Ever?

11.06.2014 | Matt Fox |

I never thought I’d say it, but perhaps Jeopardy! needs to just focus on making us all feel like idiots. After all, whenever the writers break the mold and “dumb down” their categories for a change of pace, it’s usually a disaster.

And this may have been the lamest example ever.

The category was called “Not a Successful Rap Musician,” and as its name implies, contestants had to identify which “rapper” out of a short list was actually a made-up name.

The fake names? “Ice Berg,” “Corn Dogg,” “MC Medium,” “Boogaloo B,” and “Xtremanator.” And of course, we had to suffer through Alex Trebek reading each and every one of those. How this category was any test of knowledge is anyone’s guess, but perhaps the clue writers are just worn out.

Still, it wasn’t quite as bad as hearing the famously pompous Trebek rapping tunes like “Nuthin’ but a G Thang” for a similar category earlier this year called — wait for it — “It’s a Rap.”

Yeah, I think Jeopardy! needs to stick to its bread and butter of stumping most of America with obscure references from our high school geography textbooks. If this is their attempt to connect with a younger audience, I shudder to think what the game show will look like 5 years from now. Hey, it’s time for the “Not an Official Twerking Position” category!

On a positive note, if there’s any good to come out of the “Not a Successful Rap Musician” category, let’s just hope that those fake rap names become REAL rap names by next week.

Matt Fox

Senior Editor

Fox has history in broadcasting that spans two decades. From his early days as an FM host and club DJ in the mid-90′s to his later experiences in political talk radio, he has always had a knack for combining topical news with his love for popular culture. Those experiences culminated in his position as executive producer for several radio shows featured in the TALKERS Heavy 100. Originally from New York, Fox has made the great pilgrimage down to sunny south Florida.

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