Whose Line Is It Anyway?
The show consisted of a panel of very quick witted comedians who create characters, scenes and songs on the spot with very little by way of props. It was, in my opinion, the best improvisation because it was always random and off the top of their heads. It was sometimes difficult to even keep up with speed on thought of some of the comics involved. Topics were suggested by the audience, so no preparation was possible. Their quick-wittedness always impressed me.
This British, true and true, improvisational comedy subsequently aired on August 5 in the US, My favourite 3 characters were Josie Lawrence, Ryan Stiles and Tony Slattery. There were 2 main presenters, Drew Carey in the US, but my favourite was the UK presenter, one Clive Anderson. There was 0 prize for the winner of each show but Clive managed to provide an outrageous scoring table. The winner would read the credits at the end of the show in a voice suggested by Clive.
In the late 90s, the show was presented as a likely hit comedy for the US market and both Drew Carey and Ryan Stiles, who was one of the main stars, were the initiators. I liked Colin Mochrie in the US version. The test episodes were so tremendously successful that even repeats of the older British series were presented by BBC America in April 2006.
It all began on Radio and among the 15 original voice-only performers were such well know names as Rory Bremner, Stephen Fry, Lenny Henry and Dawn French. This radio series ran for only 6 episodes before transferring to TV. It still appears on TV today and there is a DVD of the best bits from the U.K. show, which was released several years ago on the 27 March. It is still available in Easons.
**Congratulations to 'theswerve' for FTF**