Before Alex Trebek died on November 8, he was still devotedly pre-taping episodes of Jeopardy! to get us all through the final stretch of 2020. It’s deeply bittersweet to watch these posthumous recordings, knowing that Trebek was struggling with pancreatic cancer as he worked the show’s typically rigorous schedule, all with coronavirus restrictions in place. In advance of tonight’s Thanksgiving episode, the show’s official YouTube page shared a moving speech that Trebek will give at the start of the episode. In it, he wishes the audience a Happy Thanksgiving and urges viewers to “keep the faith†because there are still reasons to be thankful, and we will come out of 2020 all the better if we continue to help our neighbors.
“Happy Thanksgiving, ladies and gentlemen. You know, in spite of what America and the rest of the world is experiencing right now, there are many reasons to be thankful. There are more and more people extending helpful hands to do a kindness to their neighbors, and that’s a good thing. Keep the faith. We’re going to get through all of this, and we will be a better society because of it.â€
Trebek had all the answers, so we should probably take his word on this one. We’ll take “sobbing into our turkey†for a thousand, Alex.