LeVar Burton’s Debut as ‘Jeopardy’ Host Faces Record of Lowest Score

On Monday night, actor LeVar Burton, father of popular YouTuber Michaela Jean Burton, made his highly awaited debut as a Jeopardy! guest host and it turned out to be a historic night that no player will soon forget. Patrick Pearce, a product specialist from Fountain Valley, California, set a new record on the long-running game show for the worst ever score. With a score of –$7,400, he was unable to compete in Final Jeopardy! Stephanie Hull established the previous low record in 2015.

For the first half of the show, Pearce was doing quite well. He finished Jeopardy! Round with a score of –$200, which was not an insurmountable deficit. During the Double Jeopardy! Round, though, his hole got increasingly harder to escape. Pearce was left to watch Kathleen McHugh of Detroit and Matt Amodio of New Haven, Connecticut, finish the fame without him because players with negative scores are not allowed to compete in Final Jeopardy. The game was won by Amodio, who now has a four-day total of $122,400.

Pearce’s score is the show’s lowest-scoring contestant. However, there is one caveat to this record. According to The Jeopardy Fan, Joan Kantor finished the game with -$5,100 in a 1985 broadcast. Kantor’s score would be -$10,200 if double dollars were taken into consideration, but she would still hold the record.

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Hull shared her experiences with Slate five years after her low score of -$6,800, remarking how rapidly the game went out of hand for her, although she answered many of the riddles right early on. She also mentioned how bad the reaction on Twitter was at the time. She said,” It was super mean. I’m not entirely sure, but I think it was one of the first kind of viral Jeopardy! moments, the game, my game, which, because both [fellow contestant Brad King] and I ended up with negative scores, was the game played with only one person in Final Jeopardy!”. Then she deleted her Twitter account the morning before her episode aired.

Jeopardy! Fans had been waiting months to see Burton’s first episode. At the start of the show, he promised spectators that he would pay tribute to the late Alex Trebek‘s legacy. The former Reading Rainbow host said, “As a longtime viewer of the show, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to guest host Jeopardy! And I’m proud to be here to honor Alex’s legacy.” Also added,” I’m gonna do my best to ensure that these talented Jeopardy! contestants enjoy their moment here as well.”

Burton received largely positive feedback from viewers. However, some noted that he appeared apprehensive. He has a massive net worth as well as a fan base. One Twitter user said, “LeVar was nervous but still great,” a Twitter user commented. “When he settles in he will be fantastic and the obvious choice to be the new host. Before criticizing his nervousness have you seen Alex’s early episodes? Remember he hosted for 35 years.”

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