A staple of Jeopardy! is quizmaster-host Alex Trebek’s mingling with the mortal contestants who appear on the show. Reading from cue cards with notes supplied by respective players doesn’t exactly encourage an easygoing exchange, but some interactions are notably poor. Case in point was last night’s episode, when Alex Trebek attempted to chat up Susan Cole, a legislative librarian from Bowie, Maryland.
Perhaps mistakenly believing that game recognize game in Burbank, Susan decided to use the segment to share her love of nerdcore hip-hop. But as evidenced in this video clip, Trebek had no love for the Nerdy South:
“Her favorite type of music is something I’ve never heard of, but doesn’t sound like fun,” Trebek says, setting up his guest to explain something he clearly has no interest in. Ignoring the host’s dismissiveness, Cole cheerily introduces Jeopardy! audiences to nerdcore hip-hop, her niche music genre of choice. “It’s people who identify as nerdy, rapping about the things they love,” Cole explains. “Video games, science fiction,having a hard time meeting about romantic partners…you know. It’s really catchy and fun.” Or as YTCracker might have put it:
Still a nerd, Fuck what you heard
I’ll emerge king of the suburbs
And lord of the Adwords
Nerdier than Star Wars, geekier than Star Trek
Getting rides to PAX like, mom we there yet?
“Losers, in other words,” the host responds, keenly reminding us what nerdcore is both celebrating and pushing back against. Having seen the proverbial mic dropped in front of her, Cole has no choice but to laugh it off. Meanwhile, possibly sensing that pigeonholing Cole’s self-identity as the domain of “losers” could be construed as unkind, Trebek then chivalrously walks back the comment as teasing.
Fortunately, you can tune in to your local station tonight and see if Alex brushes up on his MC Frontalot for round two, or if he’s going to get his ass hacked like the NSA: Susan emerged victorious last night, with a one-day Jeopardy! total of $20,600.