Questions Worth Asking (Maybe)

• What is Rachel Maddow going to be doing going forward?
  Hint: It’s not going to be business as usual at MSNBC. If you pay any attention to the cable news business, you will know that Rachel Maddow is the only liberal commentary host that can command an audience on the same scale as Fox’s top stars. So when she hired a big-deal talent agency to negotiate her new contract, no one figured it was primarily about money. She has clearly been worn out by writing and appearing on a prime-time show five days a week for the last 13 years. And along with putting out that show she has written two well regarded books and co-produced a podcast called Bag Man on the fall of Vice President Spiro Agnew. What Maddow’s future looks like isn’t completely clear, but sometime in the spring she will likely end her five-day-a-week show and move to either a weekly show or a series of specials.
• How did Jeopardy manage to blow replacing Alex Trebek so badly?
  For the last several months, since the death of beloved host Alex Trebek, the quiz show Jeopardy has been going through a long series of guest hosts, many of whom seemed to be auditioning for a shot as the permanent host.  Among them were big winner Ken Jennings, NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers (who prepped for it like he was getting ready for the Super Bowl), Good Morning America host Robin Roberts, who was absolutely charming, actress/neuroscientist Mayim Baialik, and, of course, fan favorite Geordi La Forge, I mean, LeVar Burton, legendary actor and host of Reading Rainbow.

The one guest host no one on social media seemed to be interested in was show executive producer Mike Richards. But it was Richards who was named as the permanent host, and he managed to last eight days in the job as people remembered his sexist and racist behavior from the past. So Richards has stepped down and management has declared a do-over and gone back to guest hosts. Apparently no one gave this a serious thought.

• Who can replace long-time Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts?

  While I’m certain someone will, no one can really replace the steady and sure-handed beats Watts provided. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards garnered all the attention, but Watts was clearly at the core of the band. Here’s an interesting video of Jumping Jack Flash in concert that keeps Watts front and center, all the way through.