The Return of Whose Line is it Anyway?

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by OdoWanKenobi, Mar 1, 2013.

  1. Mister Fandango

    Mister Fandango Fleet Captain

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    So they condemn it for being exactly what it was intended to be from day one? Okay...

    As for Aisha Tyler, she's shown time and again (mostly on Talk Soup) that she gets this type of comedy. If people are basing their opinions on her appearances on crap like Friends or The Talk, you're definitely not seeing her in her element. For something more current then Talk Soup you just have to look at Archer where, even when playing the straight woman, she's hilarious as hell.

    There's also this music video of hers.
     
  2. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Like this....

    [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm0hlfMPbLI[/yt]
     
  3. Mark_Nguyen

    Mark_Nguyen Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Classic Mochrie. Also even better in context - "Meow" was a running joke for that particular epsiode:

    [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuiIu3YNeiU[/yt]

    Fun fact - for the US Whose Line they would tape for 3-4 hours and get 3-4 episodes out of it, versus the UK version where they would film for 2-3 hours and get ONE episode out of it. After the stopped filming the US version they went back to the discarded footage and managed to wring another 1-2 episodes out of each studio taping, which made up the later seasons of the show. It *did* show that they weren't using the first-cut material though, but it was a cheap way of creating mid-season filler for ABC without having to pay the actors any more. I wonder how long they were going when "Meow" came along. :)

    Mark
     
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2013
  4. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Vice Admiral Admiral

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    ^ Which is why Drew Carey HATES ABC. He was pissed with the way The Drew Carey Show was treated, but it's ratings were falling so he seemed to understand a little bit. But he hated the way they threw Whose Line? under the bus and just started making up random episodes without paying anyone.

    So is Luara Hall coming back for the CW show?
     
  5. EmoBorg

    EmoBorg Commodore Commodore

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    To be really honest, I am gonna miss Drew Carey in the new show. I actually liked him a lot on whose line is it anyway ? and the Drew Carey show. I know he was not an improv comic but he does make a good stand up comic and an excellent host. I am not sure about Aisha Tyler though. She is funny without doubt but i just wonder about the new dynamics involved with her as the new host and the original improv cast.
     
  6. Danny99

    Danny99 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    So I managed to catch this on what I think is a random CW New York affiliate, but I can break it down into three categories:

    The Good

    It's great to see Ryan, Colin, Wayne and Laura Hall back. All of them are a bit older and look it, but they have not dulled in their abilities at all. Each of them had at least one moment tonight where they made me laugh out loud and it felt just like the good old days.

    The Bad

    Aisha Tyler as host. It's like she's trying way too hard to fit in with the cool kids. Almost like the new kid at school trying to make a name for herself. I really hope she comes out of it, but she did have some moments of brilliance tonight. It will take a lot to replace Drew Carey in that chair, but she is on the right track.

    The Ugly

    That set! It looks like they were going for a retro homage to the British version set, but it is the ugliest game show set I have ever seen!

    Did anyone else catch the return tonight?
     
  7. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    I never much liked Carey as the host. I still miss Clive, but Tyler's an improvement on Carey. If nothing else, it's a nice change of pace to have a host who can crack dirty jokes from a female perspective and have a new kind of banter with the male-dominated regular cast. Helps even things out a little.

    I'm not happy that Tyler is keeping Carey's intro line, "The show where everything's made up and the points don't matter." I hate that line every time I hear it, because it's explaining the punch line before the joke is even told, and that ruins it. It also kind of insults our intelligence. In the original show, it was quite easy to tell how arbitrary and ridiculous Clive's scores were, and the fun was being in on the joke without being told outright. I know, I know, American viewers expect game show points to count for something, but it only takes a little observation to figure out that this is different.

    Not to mention that Tyler barely bothered to award any points in the first place, or to name an alleged winner. So why not just drop that conceit altogether?

    It seems odd to have both a fourth weekly cast member and a celebrity guest who comes out for a couple of skits. It doesn't serve either of them well. The first guest, the really hot woman from The Walking Dead, did two games where she had to stay totally silent; I was figuring they couldn't afford to pay her speaking-role rates, until she participated in reading the credits. And then in the second episode, the kid from Glee had more to do than the woman who was nominally the fourth panelist. Why not just have the celebrity guest be the fourth panelist?

    Although, really, I wasn't as fond of the US format where it was always Ryan, Colin, Wayne, and someone else. The British show was willing to mix up the cast more. The problem with always having the same three is that their material gets predictable. I turned off the TV when the Helping Hands segment started, because I've seen Ryan and Colin do the same shtick over and over and over. I did like it that they tried some new games; the "Sideways Scene" bit with them lying down was fun, and the donated-handbags improv was novel (although I doubt it was quite as random as implied; I'm sure the producers searched the contents of the bags first to make sure there'd be nothing harmful, X-rated, or illegal). But I'd like to see more variety in the contestants, get some new player dynamics going. The celeb guests help in that regard, but I've mentioned my issues with the execution of that.

    So it's nice to have it back, but it's not perfect.
     
  8. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Anyone know if the other regulars like Greg Proops, Brad Sherwood, etc. will be back?

    Nobody ever did that sketch quite like Tony Slattery and Josie Lawrence. :devil:

    [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WWAj0Aqst0[/yt]
     
  9. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I really liked the episodes, the host was fine, it's not like Drew was better, and both are useless. The jokes just felt like no a day has pasted, which is good.

    I do find the fact the guy from Glee was on more than the 4th seat filler.

    And the set is ugly. It's OK when in the skits and such, but when they show the whole thing it was ugly.

    It's not perfect, nothing is, but I really laughed a lot and that's the point of it.
     
  10. stoneroses

    stoneroses Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Clive Anderson (of whom you speak) still appears on uk tv panel shows and documentaries, as well as radio he also writes in the papers here.

    In the uk we now have 'mock the week' which is more stand up than improv but it is made by the same production company.
    I would not be too surprised if our version made a comeback too.
    All available on YouTube et al
     
  11. shivkala

    shivkala Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I'm just happy to have Whose Line is it Anyway back! Yes, in some ways it paled in comparison to Drew's version and certainly nothing can hold a candle to the original, British version, but it kept me entertained and laughing through both episodes.

    I imagine (hope), they stuck to old favorites as a way to attract the viewers of Drew's version. Sadly, we as American consumers don't like change.

    Lauren Cohan's guest spot was just awkward. I would have liked a better introduction and better games for her to play. Kevin McHale got the better end of it, but even then, it seems the celebrity guest was a lame addition and they'd do well to drop it.

    The first episode's third player, Gary Anthony Williams, was much better than Heather Anne Campbell. Sadly, with Lauren staying mostly quiet in the first episode and Heather in the second, it seemed that they decided with a female host, the other females on set need to be pretty much silent.

    While I hate to complain, because again, I'm thrilled to have WLiiA back, but Wayne seemed a bit off his game. In the Drew version he stole the show almost every time he was on. At least in the beginning, it was great because he wasn't "WAYNE BRADY," but rather "That really great improv guy." Now it seems we've got "TV's Wayne Brady" and he seems downplayed. He did come alive doing the gospel bit with Kevin McHale.

    Overall, I think it will improve. Though, they really do need to ditch the celebrity guest, it's a crutch the show does not need.
     
  12. Kirby

    Kirby Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    It was a bit of a rough start, but I hope they make some improvements. It's great to see Ryan, Colin and Wayne in action again, and Shivkala is right on about Wayne Brady. He seems like kind of a different guy. The celebrity guest stars really took away from the 4th comedian, which was too bad. I hope they dump that part of the show.
     
  13. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    It's more than that. Wayne Brady and Ryan Stiles are two of the executive producers now (alongside its original producers, Dan Patterson, Mark Leveson, and Jimmy Mulville).


    It's a reasonable idea to have celebrity guests to draw viewer interest. But like I said, it'd make more sense to have the celeb be the fourth panelist. The previous show did it that way sometimes.


    I doubt it was planned that way. The thing to keep in mind is that a given recording session for this show runs for maybe 2 or 3 hours and they distill it down to what they consider the best 20-some minutes (of the material that's clean enough for TV, anyway). So it could be that in both cases, the women did participate more than we saw, but by the luck of the draw, a lot of it ended up on the cutting-room floor.
     
    Last edited: Jul 17, 2013
  14. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I wish iTunes would have this. :sigh:
     
  15. ATimson

    ATimson Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Ryan was an executive producer on the ABC iteration as well.

    Yeah, I was surprised when they didn't do that. I think the fourth panelists both ended up getting the short end of the stick.

    All in all, I enjoyed it. I just hope that hoedown makes a return in later weeks. :devil:
     
  16. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    I was interested to see Gary Anthony Williams on the show, since he's an actor I'm somewhat aware of from his occasional animation voice roles. He's probably best known as Uncle Ruckus on The Boondocks, but that's a show I rarely watched; I know him mainly from such roles as Mongul on Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Riff Tamson in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the Mutant Leader in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1, and Michael Holt in last Saturday's debut of Beware the Batman.
     
  17. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I think Gary Anthony Williams is more well known as the cross dresser from Boston Legal, it's aways great to see him.

    I think the mess of the celebrity is staying around for this season. But the ratings were massive (For CW) so the show will be around for awhile.
     
  18. Mark_Nguyen

    Mark_Nguyen Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Here are my thoughts (already posted elsewhere, so there is some repetition):

    - They really just picked up where they left off from the last tapings of the show in 2001. The format is basically identical, with (IMO unnecessary) guest stars dropping in for a game or two. Notable changes include keeping the host at the desk versus them doing a game with the cast.

    - I *did* like the new host. Aisha Tyler was snappy and seemed to genuinely surprise the cast at times with her banter. I won't miss Drew Carey - while he's better now, during the previous run he was not a very good improvisor IMO and I think it hurt the show, as I've posted about previously.

    - Two new games: the "sideways scene" we've seen in Improvaganza, Trust Us With Your Life and the show Colin and Brad were doing in the intervening years; and a neat one which found the gang improvising along to whatever they found in two handbags provided by the studio audience.

    - The "fourth chair" improvisors were woefully underutilized. They were even kept to the easier games (Scenes From a Hat, etc.) and had very little stage time. The guest stars had just as much, if not more time. Sad to see, since at least Heather Anne Campbell (also from Improvaganza) can easily keep up with Colin, Ryan and Wayne, and Gary Anthony Williams has quite the improv history himself.

    - A review of the show I read in the paper yesterday suggested that the show was deliberately pimping fellow CW shows; I guess last night was the anomaly with shows from other networks lending out their stars. Since I don't watch CW besides Arrow (and now this) I'll be mostly in the dark with people coming from various Vampire shows or whatever.

    As an aside, you can YouTube up more recent stuff, like a good half-hour Skype interview with Colin on the revival that delves into the show in some detail, and similarly a Whose Line UK Comic Relief "reunion" show from 2011 with Clive, Josie Lawrence, Niall Malarchy and Tony Slattery, plus Humphrey Carr and David Walliams. It was great to see some of those guys in action again, and also Whose Line with the classic UK feel to it.

    Mark
     
  19. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Which is a return to the way the original British show did it. The only reason the US version had Drew Carey participate in the sketches -- even though he wasn't very good at improv -- is because he was the big star at the time and the network wanted him to be more prominent.

    Actually I think I wouldn't mind seeing Aisha Tyler participate in the occasional sketch. She had some good banter with the players.
     
  20. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Exactly. People are complaining about the credit reading and the host not playing, but that's exactly how the UK version is.

    Plus the ratings were good, we can hope for more seasons and to fix the issues. However I have a feeling the celebrity guest stars will be around forever so CW can use it to get people to watch new CW shows.