classicalsteve High quality sketch comedy was dormant for about 15 years after the last episodes of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" aired before another rivaled it. By the 1990's, the UK improv television show, "Whose Line Is It Anyway?", was the first sketch comedy show to equal the originality of Monty Python, even when you take into consideration Saturday Night Live which has always been rather mixed in the effectiveness and funny department. The later US version of "Whose Line" was decent but was never quite as entertaining as the original British offering which had a subtle spontaneity lacking from most other comedy shows on both sides of the pond.Unlike "Flying Circus" and "Saturday Night Live" which were scripted, "Whose Line Is It Anyway" was entirely improvised. The host, Clive Anderson, would moderate four comedian/contestants and contrive interesting and often wacky scenarios upon which the contestants would then improvise. These could be scenes, songs, or just dialog. Aside from Anderson's often quirky settings, inspiration could come from the audience members whom Anderson would ask to come up with characters and/or places which the contestants would then act on. At the end of each show, Anderson would decide the winner who would read the credits in a style of Anderson's choosing.One of the reasons the show worked so well was the endless plethora of material since the performers could act out any situation, which could be a bank, a prison, a hardware store, or any number of settings, either mundane or sophisticated. They enacted scenes in the style of genre movies, like westerns and horror movies, film noir and romance. They could act out historical figures, movie/television actors, or characters completely made up. One favorite was having three of the performers each play a character with some strange quirk (like one person believing he's Superman) and arrive at a party in which the host has to figure out who they are. Another was a scene in which two performers have a dialog in which they can only ask questions. They even improvised the lyrics of songs which always stunned me.Many great stand-up and comedic talent were put through Anderson's ringers, and I don't believe there was ever a weak link. However, two talents stood out beyond most of the rest (in more ways than one), which were the American Ryan Stiles and the Scotsman Colin Mochrie. Whenever either of them were among the performers, and particularly if both were at Anderson's disposal, you were guaranteed an half hour of incredible comedic entertainment. I honestly don't know how these guys did what they did. Their improvised lines were as good and often better than scripted TV shows being shown on other stations. In one scene, Mochire and Stiles are at a bank vault. Whiles Stiles is pretending to be sealing the vault, Mochrie says "Why are you putting my wife in there?" Without a moment's hesitation, Stiles replies, "Collateral."Despite much of the mediocre shows offered by the networks in the 1990's, particularly in the United States (barring Seinfeld) "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" demonstrated how much mileage could be gotten without a huge budget or elaborate productions. There were no sets, no costumes, no writers, and no scripts. Only four performers, a stage, an occasional chair or two, and a moderator. And ten years of some of the funniest television I have ever seen. Saturday Night Live, eat your heart out.

corner-2 I once had a conversation with some people about "Whose Line Is It Anyway". One intelligent, educated young man said he didn't like to watch it because "you have to pay attention." In other words, for him (and a few tens of millions of others) television entertainment is meant only to pass the time, not to keep you interested. On the other hand, for anyone who wants to be totally glued to the set, listening carefully for every line, this is a wonderful show.The original, British MC, Clive Anderson, is far superior to the American version's Drew Carey, who seems to kill some of the humor (or humour, if you are British). But the cast of four improv comics are astonishing, and are funny more of the time than sitcom performers working with a carefully written script.If you want your comedy really laugh-out-loud funny rather than just amusing enough to spend a half hour with, this show is for you.

hunterdu I have to admit, I stopped watching this on Comedy Central when they showed the same 20 episodes over and over again in the mid '90s. (As they do with EVERY series they have.) I am glad they are showing some newer ones, as I just can't stand Drew Carey in the least. But the original left such an impression on me that I immediately recognized Ryan Stiles in his tiny role in Hot Shots Part Deux. No one else knew who I was talking about.I do have some bad news for serpent though. The show is NOT completely improvised. They have SOME idea of the games and even some topics in the games. Trust me, I know. They also tape more than 22 minutes worth of footage and use the best. This is not a knock on them, but it is unrealistic to think that these group of 10 or so comedians can consistently come up with 100% funny improv bits right on the spot. Check out a real improv and you'll see the success rate for GOOD improvs is nowhere NEAR 100%, and certainly not high enough that they would put it on TV. That being said, it is still a great show, and a nice way to pass 30 minutes, or more during one of Comedy Central zillion marathons throughout the year.A warning however to some American viewers. It definitely is not for everyone. Some of the recurring skits don't translate all that well to American culture. Too much singing (which is a mainstay of Improv in general), and especailly the horrible Hoe Down singing (why on earth?) are usually not worth watching. But you will be rewarded for sitting through that the first time you see John Slattery play the Host of Party Quirks and desperately try to figure out the guests quirks.

sngbrd39 As many people have pointed out before, this is one of the very few IMDb entries with absolutely no completely negative reviews. This honor is well deserved. IMHO, "Whose Line" is the funniest show on TV, and it's great that we are once again seeing the British version in America. I missed it the first time around, so it was a new experience to me when I sat in front of the TV on New Year's Day watching the marathon which heralded its return to Comedy Central. I had been hooked on the American version ever since it started, so I was curious as to how good the British ones were. I was not disappointed in the least. The British version is just as funny as the American, at times, even funnier. I just wish I understood more of the British references, like those to Jeremy Beatle or the movie "El Dorado" which I have yet to figure out. It's kind of funny to see how the performers who we still see on the American version have changed and aged since the British ones. Josie Lawrence is the biggest example. When she made an appearance on the American "Whose Line", she had whacked off a lot of that long, beautiful hair of hers. Also, she looked a lot paler and her voice was deeper. Seeing these changes just testifies to the lasting power of the show, which barely missed a beat coming to America from England. May it be on as long in America as it was in England (even though its timeslot across from "Friends" won't help much)!