The game show hall of fame would also include Jim Lange, Gene Rayburn, Peter Marshall, Bob Eubanks, Allen Ludden, Bob Barker and Chuck Woolery. The modern era includes titans such as Alex Trebek, Pat Sajak, Ben Stein, Jeff Probst and, of course, Regis. It's been three decades since the modern feminist movement transformed virtually every American institution. In game show land, it's still the age of the Neanderthal. Women have traditionally played lesser roles in the rigid game show social hierarchy.
Panelists get to answer questions and solve puzzles, of course, and they are valued for their wit.
But it's a middle-management gig, the glass ceiling. Panelists don't have real authority. They can't initiate the action or direct it, nor can they engage in the ceremonial greeting or sign-off. Only the host is vested with these ritual symbolic powers. Even so, it's better than the next rung down, the game show's pink-collar ghetto.