Today, Jeopardy! is the most well known game show in the world, and millions of people tune in every week to try and keep pace with some of the nation's quickest minds. But it wasn't always that way. 

After a brief stint with mediocre ratings in the 60s and 70s, Alex Trebek took the reins as the show's host in 1984, and the modern version was underway. America quickly fell in love with the Canadian host, and the rest is history. 

Here are 21 photos from the early days of Jeopardy! in the 80s and 90s.