I Lost On Jeopardy, Baby

An A.V. Club tribute to Alex Trebek, of all people. The clip from High Rollers is pretty good, and then I like this passage which shows the writer working overtime without completely falling off the cliff:

I grew up with Alex Trebek on my TV, but never gave him much thought until I started getting deeper into game shows in my early 30s. My interest was sparked in part by a growing affection for old-school showbiz craft, and in part by the almost knee-buckling nostalgia factor of watching a rerun of The Price Is Right or Card Sharks. When we first started getting Game Show Network on our cable system, I’d gaze at the faces of all-but-forgotten celebrities and hear the music of Match Game, and it was like being transported back to the shag carpet in my grandparents’ sunken living room. I saw my life flashing before my eyes--though none of the big moments. Not the triple I hit in Little League, or my parents’ divorce, or my first kiss… no, just the day-to-day idleness that makes up so much of our lives and then disappears a dim haze.

As someone who remembers days home sick from school in front of game shows, Perry Mason re-runs, and soap operas, I can completely relate to what he's getting at here. It also illustrates how you can take a fanciful association (a personal memory) and spin it into something richer and more universal.