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For Mayim Bialik, speaking "Jeopardese" was the toughest part of becoming acclimated to hosting Jeopardy!

  • "Speaking Jeopardese, as we call it, is an acquired skill," says Bialik, who has been guest-hosting the one week a month she has off from Call Me Kat, in an interview with Variety. "Not saying the same thing every time something is right, having each commercial break sound a little bit different, those are all challenges. I think the steepest learning curve is also (having) someone in your ear. You are processing a lot of information in real time. When things go wrong, it’s hard because wrong can mean they have to reset the whole board. Wrong can be very time consuming. There’s a lot of pressure. It is a high pressure job that I do in heels." Bialik jokes that learning the tricks of the trade hasn’t come without hiccups. “I have two red buttons, but they removed one,” Bialik says with a laugh. Unlike the contestants, who use clickers as a means to lock in answers, her signaling device is intended to alert Jeopardy! producers if she’s confused about a clue or stumbles over words. “I accidentally hit the wrong one, so they took it away," she says. "They left my other emergency button in place. So I have a defunct emergency button.”

     

    TOPICS: Mayim Bialik, Jeopardy!, Game Shows