07 February 2008
"HELLO. I'M BULGE TEMPTINGLY!"
I'm enjoying the repeats of Whose Line is it Anyway? on Dave, although there has been some quite brutal editing done for watershed purposes; the type which Canadian and American audiences used to suffer even in more appropriate later slots when the episodes were first aired. This was not what Hat Trick nor Channel 4 intended ...
The comedy hasn't dated, and neither have the games. I read through my OTT history of the show and still feel generally happy with it despite these retrospective viewings. Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie still make me laugh really, really hard; Greg Proops is still on autopilot and Josie Lawrence is still bloody awful, awful, awful. I think I was harsh on Tony Slattery though; maybe his ubiquity and eventual decline within the trappings of celebrity contributed to my lack of sympathy for him or his skills. Or maybe I've mellowed.
The only things to have really dated are Steve Frost's floral shirts.
It seems inevitable, as interest returns through these repeats and the forthcoming DVD releases, that some form of revival may be in the offing. But is this brand of genuinely clever comedy which suits a family audience any good to a TV channel any more?
The comedy hasn't dated, and neither have the games. I read through my OTT history of the show and still feel generally happy with it despite these retrospective viewings. Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie still make me laugh really, really hard; Greg Proops is still on autopilot and Josie Lawrence is still bloody awful, awful, awful. I think I was harsh on Tony Slattery though; maybe his ubiquity and eventual decline within the trappings of celebrity contributed to my lack of sympathy for him or his skills. Or maybe I've mellowed.
The only things to have really dated are Steve Frost's floral shirts.
It seems inevitable, as interest returns through these repeats and the forthcoming DVD releases, that some form of revival may be in the offing. But is this brand of genuinely clever comedy which suits a family audience any good to a TV channel any more?
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Only Steve Frost's shirts? All their wardrobes have dated... it actually makes the show even funnier.
I agree with most of what you've written but not so much your views on Greg Proops (actually, even if he was on auto-pilot he is still very funny). Josie Lawrence is great too - she did the songs etc better than anyone else.
Still, you're right, it was Colin and Ryan's show.
I agree with most of what you've written but not so much your views on Greg Proops (actually, even if he was on auto-pilot he is still very funny). Josie Lawrence is great too - she did the songs etc better than anyone else.
Still, you're right, it was Colin and Ryan's show.
Josie Lawrence wasn't even close in skill at making up songs as Mike McShane. Nor, for that matter, Chip Esten or Brad Sherwood. If we had a compendium of her WLiiA? songs put together and counted the number of "I love you, I love you" fillers, you'd change your tune.
I couldn't bear her and still can't. I couldn't stand John Sessions early on either, but have since learned to like him again.
Greg Proops on autopilot is actually a compliment to him, as he is and was a very funny guy, but improv didn't seem to suit him a lot of the time. It restricted him too much. Actors with wit were far better suited to improv than out and out comics.
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I couldn't bear her and still can't. I couldn't stand John Sessions early on either, but have since learned to like him again.
Greg Proops on autopilot is actually a compliment to him, as he is and was a very funny guy, but improv didn't seem to suit him a lot of the time. It restricted him too much. Actors with wit were far better suited to improv than out and out comics.
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