Zoren: Adam Joseph is the 2020 MVP of the airwaves
Stars, at least television stars, do not seem as “mega” as they once were.
During most of the last century, the latter half when television became a household staple, broadcasting celebrities were second only to professional sports figures in terms of local fame and cachet. Each station, including Channel 29 once it launched a lasting newscast, boasted three or more on-air personalities who qualified as bona fide local stars, Philadelphia’s equivalent of Hollywood glilerati.
It was a three-, then fourchannel news world. Cable hadn’t made its mark. Games and on-demand services weren’t eating viewing time, so television personalities, known in the biz as “talent,” were “it.”
In the 1990s, chefs would join TV and sports folks in the limelight, but for the most part, if someone was on TV in any capacity, he or she would be recognized on the street and considered a celebrity.
Today, I watch every station at least once a day, yet I fear I wouldn’t know most of the on-air talent if I saw them without their subtitled I.D.s, let alone off the air
enuine stars are few in a cadre of anchors and reporters that meld into an amorphous, anonymous pack.
Sure, there are stickouts or favorites, and most of them were considered for this year’s Most Valuable Player Award. (Many of them have received it in previous years.) Certainly, Mike Jerrick, Sue Serio, and Bob Kelly of Channel 29’s “Good Day Philadelphia,” Glenn Schwartz from Channel 10’s weather department, and anchors Jim Gardner from Channel 6 and Ukee Washington from Channel 3, qualify as household names. Same with Channel 6’s Cecily Tynan. About the only wild card considered for 2020 honors was Richard Curtis, host of Channel 29’s weeknight trivia competition between students and teachers, “The ClassH Room,” which COVID has taken out of production since April.
It became clear to me I had to choose between Curtis, a strong contender, and one of the above.
Oh, and one other who announced, “Me. It’s me” when I saw him in one of his station’s promos.
Of all the local TV personalities that qualify as stars, this one is the most luminous.
Literally. He lights up the screen with every appearance.
Best of all, he is a fluid, knowledgeable communicator who is trustworthy in addition to being personable and fun to watch.
This person has been working in the Philadelphia market for 15 years now. He was popular, a star, from the get-go. Early stardom was based on looks so good, he was a heart-throb of both genders. (He probably still is.) The reporting skill was always there, but it has matured as the personality has.
This is a person who is first and foremost a communicator. A classic broadcaster, he can fulfill any on-air role, yet he has a specialty and conveys his information as well as anyone in the market. All appearances and clean, crisp, and fun. Reporting from his home for most of the year, this person always looks groomed and pressed even when his wardrobe choice is casual – open-collared shirt with tails hanging out.
The specialty is weather. The ability to forecast and explain it is perfect. The knowledge behind each analysis is evident. The personality is abundant. The energy is indefatigable. The delivery is direct and lively. The mood wherever this star may be, at the weather map or on the town within our region, is happy and engaging.
He’s also loved. Never have I ever heard a negative word about him. In any context.
Who else can it be?
The Most Valuable Player in Philadelphia television for 2020 is Adam Joseph.
In a gloomy year, the Channel 6 meteorologist at 4 p.m. (Channel 17 at 10 p.m.), provided only sunshine when he was on the screen. Talk about someone who makes you think he’s talking only to you! And making it delightful.
Adam, you are the star of stars, a shining burst of joy in a field in which the light has become mundane.
Keep on being you. No question about it, you are the MVP on Philly TV! G
Last week of Trebek
This week, starting today, the last “Jeopardy!” programs taped by longtime host Alex Trebek will air, locally at 7 p.m. through Friday on Channel 6.
Trebek died in November after a noble battle against pancreatic cancer. The most successful all-time “Jeopardy!” champion, Ken Jennings, will be the first temporary host of the quiz show starting Jan. 11.
Advance word says Trebek delivers an emotional, heartfelt speech about people sticking together and conquering adversity on his last show.
Congenial, conversational, and convincing in terms of persuading his audience he knew the information contained in “Jeopardy!” clues and the questions they were meant to elicit, Trebek set a bar it will be difficult to anyone else to reach. Jennings, whose broadcast experience is limited as anything else but a game show contestant, will have to quickly put his own stamp on the show to make an impression and continue to succeed Trebek.
Moderating a quiz program, or any television show, is more than reading clues from a board. It involves time management so as much of the game that is possible is editable to clean 22 minutes, the length the general half-hour show is after allowances for commercials.
There’s also badinage. Trebek got better and better over his decades on “Jeopardy!” at being urbane and high-toned. On early. shows, from the ‘80s, he might coax guests and try to create suspense by using tried-and-true tricks of the game show trade – high energy, exaggerated enthusiasm, making remarks if a particular clue could affect a contestant’s score. In the final years, he became more professorial, more intent on keeping “Jeopardy!” classy and different in pitch from other quiz programs.
It’s only from watching “Jeopardy!” episodes from the past that the comparison became so marked. Razzmatazz from past decades evolved into an intellectual approach that better matched the tenor of “Jeopardy!” and made it more of a pleasure to watch.
With all the game shows on the air today, only Pat Sajak of “Wheel of Fortune” and Jimmy Kimmel when he doesn’t have a celebrity contestant on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” display the decorum and gift for schmoozing Trebek did. (Jane Lynch also does a good job on “The Weakest Link,” but there is a character built into the host’s job, and Lynch has to play that character, which she does well.)
Friday brings an honored, extended era of “Jeopardy!”, and of television, to a close, one that would always have been bittersweet but is sad and solemn now because Trebek passed away rather leaving by retiring, something he was rumored to be on the brink of doing before his illness struck and made him reconsider his plans.
Trebek had a life well spent and a career well spent. He entertained one of television’s largest audiences consistently and grandly. It will be as tough as it will be delight to see his final week of broadcasts.