Ken Jennings pays tribute to Alex Trebek in the first episode as a guest guest

For the first time in more than 8,000 episodes, someone who Alex Trebek is hosting “Jeopardy!” … so the new guy made sure to pay tribute to the late TV legend.

Ken Jennings he began his stint as interim presenter of the famous game show by honoring the man who made him famous … saying that Alex was practically perfect at what he did for over 36 years.

Jennings pointed to Trebek’s intelligence, charm and grace as reasons why he will never be replaced … but he told the audience that the best way to honor him is “playing the game he loved”.

Jennings will be the host throughout January to help the program as he looks for a permanent replacement. Ken is obviously known as the greatest “Jeopardy!” competitor of all time, but when it comes to his presenter skills … he has already made it clear: “There will be only one Alex Trebek.”

“Danger!” paid his last respects to his beloved host last week with a 90-second video tribute, thanking him for his 37 seasons of service since he started the show in 1984. The featured montage was shown during the last episode’s airing recorded in Trebek.

In Trebek’s moving final farewell, he thanked viewers for watching and said he would see them again next week. Unfortunately, Alex died 10 days later, without filming another episode.