Matt Roush Defends Mayim Bialik, Still Endorses Ken Jennings As Next 'Jeopardy!' Host

Who will be the next host of "Jeopardy!"?

That's one question that no one has an answer for, but many believe that Sony executives will reveal the answer just before season 38 wraps up this summer. There is likely to be a heavy debate over the next few months, with the successor to the late Alex Trebek being named in either July or August.

The question comes down to whether the next host will be "Jeopardy!" Greatest of All Time tournament winner Ken Jennings or former "The Big Bang Theory" alum Mayim Bialik.

One prominent TV critic, Matt Roush, defended the "Blossom" child star from recent criticism... but ultimately still reasoned that the man with the highest "Jeopardy!" win streak (74 games won in a row in 2004) should be named the next permanent host.

Matt Roush responded to one critic named Joan who described Ken as “egotistical, haughty, and thinks he is better than everyone.” Joan said that she will completely stop watching “Jeopardy!” if Ken becomes the new host, although many in Ken’s corner have said the exact opposite.

Roush replied, “The only thing I can guarantee is that whatever decision Jeopardy! ultimately makes regarding a full-time host (or alternating hosts) is that it will not please everyone.”

Roush continued, “I personally feel that Joan is reading Ken Jennings all wrong, that his confidence is actually an expression of enthusiasm for the game he loves and has excelled at. (Whether you like his delivery or demeanor is a matter of personal taste.)”

“I also enjoy Mayim Bialik’s interplay with contestants and think they’ve each done an admirable job keeping the show going this season after the unfortunate hiccup early on regarding the former executive producer,” he continued. “Jeopardy! is also currently in the hands of a gifted producer, Michael Davies, who seems quite passionate about the show and its future.”

“I’m surprised I didn’t get more heated mail like this after TV Guide Magazine’s recent cover story essay advocating for Ken to get the top job permanently,” he went on, adding, “I didn’t write it, but I agree with the reasoning.”

His comments were shared on the “Jeopardy!” Reddit page, where many users agreed that Ken was the best fit for the position.

Many avid watchers of the show have been vocal about their desire to see Ken Jennings become the new permanent host of “Jeopardy!”.

One user named siphillis wrote, “You could do far worse than Bialik (as we saw first hand), and in a world where she's going against a lesser competitor for the permanent spot, I'd be more amenable to her getting it. The problem is, Ken is not a lesser host; he's a terrific one, and it's difficult to name even a single thing Bialik does better. It's not really a matter of Bialik not deserving it, so much as Ken deserving it far more.”

Another user named Lady_von_Stinkbeaver commented, “Ken is so [much] more natural and relaxed. His quips even come off as feeling spontaneous. It's so weird [Mayim] has kind of a stilted, odd delivery with occasional weirdly placed pauses when she's been on TV nearly her entire life. There's also the noticeable pause waiting for her to accept or reject an answer. I'm positive she waits for a judges' ruling on nearly every question, no matter how unambiguous the response is.”

CTMalum replied, “The weird pauses are typically because she has to also read and confirm the correct answer on her game sheets. She has admitted to knowing shockingly few responses by herself. For Ken, it must be much quicker and smoother to already know most of the answers and just glance to confirm.”

Another user named huskergirlie quoted one of Joan’s comments, which read “Mayim Bialik is an excellent host and communicates with contestants in a good way.”

“Maybe it's just me, and I'm not just saying this because I widely prefer Ken, but I don't get this impression,” they added. Every time Mayim reacts to the contestants stories, she comes off as bored and not really interested. Which, Alex did the same thing sometimes and it didn't really bother me (and I know he wasn't actually bored), but I really like the way Ken truly feels like he's listening to their story, and the jokes/puns he makes with them.”

“95% she just repeats the last thing they said or makes it about herself,” added BloodyJourno. Several other users compared it to the way Alex used to say “Good for you!” after some contestant responses. It just goes to show that whether Ken or Mayim is named the next “Jeopardy!” host, there’s no replacing the late Trebek.