SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2021
COM | LIFESTYLE B
EUREKA
SUNNY FLOWERS,
SUNNY SKIES
Even though the season has shifted to autumn, sunny summer sunflowers continue to bloom in a Eureka yard
against a bright blue sky. There’s a slight chance of rain on Monday, but otherwise the local coastal region should
see sunny skies over the coming days.
TELEVISION
Bialik’s ‘Jeopardy!’ goal: maintaining its integrity
By Lynn Elber
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES » Mayim Bi-
alik knew she’d be busy
around this time of year,
but not this busy.
Besides starting produc-
tion on a new season of Fox’s
sitcom “Call Me Kat,” Bi-
alik was recalled to duty as
a “Jeopardy!” guest host —
the result of the quiz show’s
publicly messy effort to re-
place the late Alex Trebek.
Mike Richards exited as
newly minted host (and pro-
ducer) in August after past
unsavory podcast com-
ments came to light. Bialik
and “Jeopardy!” champ Ken
Jennings were then brought
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in by studio Sony while its
host search begins anew.
Bialik had already been
hired as emcee of “Jeop-
ardy!” prime-time and spi-
noff series, including a new
college championship. She,
Jennings and Richards
were among the dozen-plus
temp hosts who vied earlier
this year for the plum job.
While Bialik didn’t spec-
ulate on whether she might
ultimately be Sony’s pick,
she said she considers her-
self part of the show’s “fam-
ily” and was glad to help
out on the syndicated show
around the season-two tap-
ing of “Call Me Kat.”
Returning midseason,
it stars Bialik as a single
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HEATHER SHELTON — THE TIMES-STANDARD
woman who changes up her
life by becoming a cat-cafe
owner and, when last seen,
was caught between her af-
fection for Max (Cheyenne
Jackson) and Oscar (Chris-
topher Rivas).
A cat parent herself times
three, Bialik is a spokes-
woman for Purina’s Pro
Plan LiveClear cat food line,
developed to reduce feline
allergens that can be irritat-
ing to humans — including,
the actor noted, her boy-
friend.
In an interview with The
Associated Press, Bialik dis-
cussed adapting to “Jeop-
ardy!”, her comedy’s direc-
tion and her past comments
on vaccines.
Q Was the “Jeopardy!”
turmoil awkward for
you or could you distance
yourself?
A There have been
many conversations
and weeks and weeks of
us all getting adjusted
to what’s been going on.
There hasn’t really been
anything that’s been a sur-
prise, so there wasn’t re-
ally awkwardness. I’m just
excited to be able to do my
job and do it to the best
of my ability, as someone
who likely would get ev-
erything wrong on ‘Jeop-
ardy!’ It’s a real honor to
get to stand up there.
BIALIK » PAGE 4
TIMES-STANDARD.
Birth announcements
The Times-Standard
St. Joseph Hospital
Ryker Philip Thomas
Millie Jean Hawkins Wood was born Sept. 17,
was born Sept. 6, 2021, to 2021, to Kelly Schmidt and
Kelly and Lee Hawkins. Chance Wood.
STRIVING FOR 'IMPREFECTION'
Are we at a
turning point?
There are moments in
cinematic history forever
etched into our culture’s
collective
conscious-
ness. Paddy
Chayefsky’s
“Network”
(1976) con-
tains a par-
ticularly
strong one.
In it, How-
ard Beale, a fired national
newscaster (played by
the late Peter Finch), ral-
lies his viewers to chan-
nel their anger over the
current state of the coun-
try. Forty-five years later,
it is nothing less than un-
canny how prescient were
the character’s words.
Says Beale: “I don’t
have to tell you things are
bad. Everybody knows
things are bad … we
know things are bad —
worse than bad. They’re
crazy. It’s like every-
thing everywhere is going
crazy.”
The famous scene cul-
minates in Beale holler-
ing, “I want you to get
up right now, sit up, go
to your windows, open
them and stick your head
out and yell, ‘I’m as mad
as hell and I’m not go-
ing to take this any-
more!’ Things have got to
change. … You’ve got to
say, ‘I’m mad as hell and
I’m not going to take this
anymore!’”
While listening to my
podcast, one of the com-
mentators pointed out
that the overriding mood
of our population is “an-
gry.” Captain Obvious
to the rescue, please. It
doesn’t take a degree in
psychology to see that.
We have divided along
any lines we can find, in-
cluding some that don’t
exist. There are “red”
states and “blue” states,
each seemingly following
different sets of “facts”
in dealing with the dead-
liest public health cri-
sis in our history, which
has now surpassed the
U.S. death toll of the 1918
Spanish flu pandemic.
Additionally, it’s not out
of the question that we’ll
pass the Civil War’s toll of
750,000 before this whole
tragic situation is in our
rear-view mirrors. What
makes it even more vex-
ing is there’s now a 99%
effective solution that
many won’t consider. In-
stead, they’d rather shout
and curse school boards,
airline attendants, even
health care providers.
Much of the blame goes
to “news” networks and
social media sites that
claim to be reputable but
haven’t had a relationship
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I too am
frustrated and
worried — and
so very angry.
I know I am
not alone. The
fuming path on
which we now
find ourselves is
not an isolated
trail; it’s more
like Madison
Avenue at rush
hour.
with the truth since the
internet arrived via AOL
dial-up modems.
And as they say on
late-night infomercials,
“But wait! There’s more!”
The climate is heat-
ing to never before ex-
perienced levels, dry-
ing out some areas while
flooding others, leav-
ing us in an endless sea-
son of wildfires and hur-
ricanes. Take-home pay
can hardly survive the
trip. Oh yes, at least our
politicians are working
together to solve all these
issues. Yeah, right. Civil
discourse? That’s a quaint
concept.
I don’t like being Neg-
ative Nathan, and most
certainly don’t enjoy this
stomach-churning, mi-
graine-triggering, heart-
pounding turn of events
any more than anyone
else, but I do understand
from whence it rises. I
too am frustrated and
worried — and so very
angry. I know I am not
alone. The fuming path
on which we now find
ourselves is not an iso-
lated trail; it’s more like
Madison Avenue at rush
hour.
I also get it that I
am not — at least in
this venue — a politi-
cal or news commenta-
tor. I write a “lifestyle
piece” on wellness, moti-
vation, and change, leav-
ing the “hard news” and
punditry for others. Yet,
it is foolish to deny that
one’s emotions are dis-
connected from our per-
ception of how the world
is turning, so it stands to
reason that the state of
current affairs is, at least,
a mental health issue, if
not so much more.
Maybe anger is only
a defense to quell the
sense of panic that too of-
ten rises up and grasps
us around the windpipe.
The fury is a cloak of pro-
tection, for when neither
mad nor frightened, what
MARCUS » PAGE 4
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