I didn't enjoy the pile on criticism Mayim Bialik but honestly felt she was not good at all. Maybe she tried too hard. I Adont k ow. She just seemed to have an odd cadence and the show lacked any flow.
In that respect I thought for someone that never worked that side of television before had done a tremendous job especially where the pacing of the questions and answers is critical. How fair is it trying to compare Ken now to Alex after 30 years in the business?
And Ken has quite a sharp sense of humor. It can be a bit cutting and got in trouble early in co hosting era and nearly cost him the job. He's pulled back some and seems to be settling in now able to breathe and find his own identity.
That Santa question seemed like a head scratcher to me too, but I wasn't fully engaged in the show that night. Didn't catch the category name so not sure why the 'department store' Santa was necessary to the answer. There's post game editing to cut out offscreen judge's discussions and rulings on answers that goes unseen, so the host gets the blame.