Egg-shaped tomato / MON 11-3-25 / Fleming who was the unique host of “Jeopardy!” / Two-time Emmy-winner Remini / Document artwork area / Overly keen private harm lawyer, derisively / Movie that will have impressed “Sharknado” / Guitarist, in slang / Roaring Twenties fashion, informally / Morning waker-upper / Not categorical, as a practice

Constructor: Kevin Christian and Andrea Carla Michaels

Relative problem: Simple 

THEME: ACS (65D: Summer season coolers, for brief … or a touch to the solutions to the starred clues) — theme solutions are acquainted phrases/names with the initials “A.C.”:

Theme solutions:

• ACCESS CODE (17A: *PIN, e.g.)
• ALLEY CAT (26A: *Stray feline)
• AMBULANCE CHASER (40A: *Overly keen private harm lawyer, derisively)
• AL CAPONE (52A: *Gangster a.ok.a. Scarface)
• ALARM CLOCK (66A: *Morning waker-upper)
• AREA CLOSED (10D: *Warning signal that is likely to be seen on a chain-link fence)
• ALBUM COVER (30D: *Document artwork area)

Phrase of the Day: ART Fleming (24A: Fleming who was the unique host of “Jeopardy!”) —

Arthur Fleming Fazzin (Could 1, 1924 – April 25, 1995) was an American actor and tv host. He hosted the primary model of the tv sport present Jeopardy!, which aired on NBC from 1964 till 1975 and once more from 1978 to 1979. […] After leaving the Navy, Fleming turned an announcer at a radio station in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Right here, he modified his identify to “Artwork Fleming”. His radio profession later took him to Akron, Ohio, and again residence to New York. He was the primary announcer to ship the slogan “Winston tastes good, like a cigarette ought to” for Winston cigarettes. […] Fleming additionally appeared in lots of tv commercials, along with anchoring the eleven o’clock information on WNBC. He was first noticed by Merv Griffin on a industrial for Trans World Airways. Griffin thought Fleming was “authoritative, but heat and attention-grabbing”, and Fleming was invited to audition to be the host of Griffin’s new sport present Jeopardy!. Fleming gained the job, and hosted the present throughout its authentic run of March 30, 1964, to January 3, 1975, and once more from October 2, 1978, to March 2, 1979. Relatively than describe him because the “host” of this system, announcer Don Pardo launched him by saying, “and this is the star of Jeopardy!, Artwork Fleming”. Fleming would instantly return the favor and thank Pardo throughout his introduction. As “the world’s best quiz present’s” first host, Fleming earned two Emmy Award nominations. Whereas he was host of Jeopardy!, Fleming by no means missed a taping. (wikipedia)

• • •

This does not seem to be a lot of a theme. Or, moderately, it looks like a theme from thirty years in the past. Having phrases with all the identical initials is an outdated and completely acceptable theme sort, however you count on one thing extra from a revealer nowadays than simply ACS. That’s, extra than simply the initials themselves. There’s zero cleverness right here, nothing past probably the most rudimentary wordplay. If there have been one thing that made ACS significantly *acceptable* past the initials, or if “AC” had been a part of an extended, extra colourful, extra attention-grabbing revealer phrase. However as it’s, there’s none of that. I imply, you could possibly’ve a minimum of run this one on the peak of summer season warmth, in order that ACS would’ve felt seasonally acceptable. However as an alternative it runs on the time of 12 months when everyone seems to be lastly placing their window AC unit away after weeks of placing it off (simply me? significantly, that is on at this time’s to-do record). You’ll be able to see how this theme sort might be executed infinitely. An MCS puzzle. A PCS puzzle. A DAS puzzle. And on and on. However why? Conceptually, that is fairly flat. What this one lacks in originality it makes up for in quantity, with seven (!) theme solutions crisscrossing the grid. Are a few of them attention-grabbing? Sure, AMBULANCE CHASER is attention-grabbing, and it is aware of it, because it has determined to take middle stage. The remainder are simply … there. ALBUM COVER is good. However largely the themers aren’t right here to be thrilling; they’re right here to meet their “A.C.” duties and that’s all. No less than the themers are strong—properly, all besides AREA CLOSED, that one didn’t really feel … nice. I had AREA and no thought what the AREA was imagined to be doing (or, on this case, not doing). Anyway, AREA CLOSED positively looks like the weakest themer to me. It is all the time the seventh themer that journeys you up. Thematic hubris. Greek tragedians warned us about this.

As a Downs-only resolve, this was astonishingly simple. The one slow-downs got here, predictably, on the longer theme solutions, significantly AREA CLOSED. I additionally hesitated at ALBUM cowl, primarily as a result of the clue appeared so inscrutable: 30D: *Document artwork area. I do know all these phrases, however what they had been doing in that order, my mind couldn’t compute. It felt like three random phrases, or like a protracted misplaced collaboration between Yoko Ono and Solar Ra: RECORD / ART / SPACE (I would take heed to that album). “Document” has a number of meanings, clearly, and that was throwing me. However not for lengthy. And each different clue I checked out, I obtained immediately, or practically so. Perhaps I hesitated for a number of seconds (at MESA v. YUMA, for example) (27D: Arizona metropolis or Native American tribe), however a second’s hesitation was the closest I ever obtained to caught. 

[from Airplane II: The Sequel]

He’ll additionally say something. This bit is gold. Go off, ART!: