‘Jeopardy!’ Gives Disappointing Answer To Fans’ Burning Question

Jeopardy! premiered for the very first time on September 10, 1984, and no one knew that it would turn out to be such a legendary game show. While the show achieved the heights of its success under the hosting capabilities of the late Alex Trebek, he wasn’t really the first host.

Art Fleming Was The First Jeopardy! Host

It was Art Fleming who hosted the initial few iterations of the show between 1964 and 1979. However, he wasn’t a fan of how frequently the production team kept changing the premise of the show.

Art Fleming Jeopardy! YouTube

[Source: YouTube]

Fans reminisced the past after a one-day champion, Martha Bath, last week revealed that she was a part of the show way before Trebek started hosting.

Martha Bath YouTube

[Source: YouTube]

As per The Sun, the contestant revealed that she had played before in the show during the Art Fleming era in 1972. Not just that, she even won a set of encyclopedias and $40. Although she spent the money, she still has the encyclopedias with her. After this revelation, fans started wondering if they could see the champion in action in the 70s era. However, the makers had bad news for fans.

Fans Wish To Watch Martha Bath’s Old Jeopardy! Episode

During the weekly podcast Inside Jeopardy!, host Sarah Foss was joined by alum Buzzy Cohen. A fan impressed by Martha’s 2-day performance enquired during the podcast, “Other than his original pilot, do you have access to other Art Fleming episodes?”

“I was wondering if you could pull out Martha Bath’s original episode in light of her success,” they continued.

However, the answer the fan received from the host was a clear ‘No.’

Ken Jennings YouTube

[Source: YouTube]

Fans who wished to watch Martha in action in the 70s won’t be able to do so because the show’s 15-year iteration ranging between 1964 and 1979 are all gone.

Sarah Foss Provides Details About The Old Episodes

Talking about it, Sarah replied, “I wish we did, I wish we had more of those. The only episode we have is the original pilot which never aired. We don’t even have the first episode of the show. It’s just one of those things, tape used to be so big and so heavy and over time we didn’t have space or storage to store them, all these older programs. It’s lost.”

However, Buzzy defended, “The idea of a rerun wasn’t around so why would you keep it? And this game show was one of hundreds airing, who knew it’d be part of such a storied history?”

Sarah Foss YouTube

[Source: YouTube]

Sarah quipped, “If only we could have known, so many special episodes I’d love to go back and watch- but I have my imagination.”

The show makers also enquired Martha if they had any pictures from her appearance in the show 50-years-ago. However, even she didn’t have anything to remember it by other than her memories. It would seem that the show doesn’t have any episodes from the time before late Alex Trebek started hosting.

Would you have loved to watch the old episode with Martha Bath? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Allie Johnson

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