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 The American cast. Spiraling in from top left: Chip, Greg, Brad, Linda, Colin, Ryan, Laura, Wayne, and Drew. "Welcome to Whose Line is it Anyway, the show where everything's made up and the points don't matter; that's right, the points are like notability on TV Tropes." A successful Improv slash Sketch Comedy slash Panel Show that originated on British radio before moving to Channel 4 for a ten-year run. Clive Anderson hosted the show, in which four improvisational comics took suggestions from the audience to act out hilarious unscripted scenes. The performers could change radically with each episode, and because of the nature of the show, they could cobble together upwards of four episodes worth of material from one filming session.An American version was created for ABC with Drew Carey as host that ran five seasons (though they filmed so much material that three more seasons were created after filming stopped). Because of the wider broadcasting of American television this show is better known than the British original. Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie were regular performers on the British version (who between them gave us much Ho Yay) and on this version they appeared in every episode. Ryan and Drew (who worked together on The Drew Carey Show) also provided the show with an ample supply of Foe Yay. From the second season onwards, Wayne Brady was added to the regular line-up, which essentially launched his career. The fourth player varied, the most common performers being Brad Sherwood, Greg Proops, Kathy Greenwood or Chip Esten.The shift from mostly rotating players to mostly regulars with an occasional guest - which began in the later British series and became the standard for the American version - made the show's format less 'experimental' and more formulaic, yet at the same time led to the players being more familiar with each others' foibles and led to richer humour. One example of how this changed the show is that in early series the quirks in Party Quirks, the personas in Let's Make a Date and so on were very simple and one-dimensional (e.g. "a sperm"), while in later British series and especially the American version they became comically complex and specific (e.g. "horse whisperer calming and mounting the others who he thinks are wild stallions"), as the players knew each other well enough to discern more details in their performances.Very much subject to a Broken Base, although the most you'll see these days are a few remarks about how they like or dislike which version or which host.Despite this, many people on both sides find the two shows hilarious.Another improv show, Drew Careys Green Screen Show, ran for a season on the old WB channel. A second show featuring the cast and crew of Whose Line Is It Anyway (minus Wayne Brady, but with Brady's Let's Make a Deal sidekick Jonathan Mangum), Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza, premiered in Spring 2011 on Game Show Network . And some of the guys (aided by host Fred Willard) got back together in 2012 on ABC with Trust Us With Your Life, a celebrity-based version of the improv game "Day In The Life", where the celebrity tells stories from their life, and the improvisers take it from there. (It is currently on hiatus, rumored cancelled, and currently sits in limbo.)As to the show itself, if you don't feel like hunting through cable channels, basically every episode can be found at a fan-run repository, Whose Line Online.org. Alternatively, if you're in Britain you can watch the UK run legally on 4OD (albeit with ad breaks)Colin Mochrie confirms that Whose Line will be returning. Of the few details known: it'll be hosted by Aisha Tyler, it will feature Colin, Ryan, Wayne, Laura & Linda, and it's set to return July 16, 2013 on The CW. Here's a sneak preview. (The fourth improv slot will be filled by a guest, which may include one of the previous players like Greg Proops or Chip Esten.)Tropes Used By Both Shows IncludeAs I tally up the points, it appears that Ryan and Colin are this week's winners... the prize for winning is to read the credits in a style of my choosing. Ryan and Colin, I'd like you to read the credits In The Style Of Solid Snake and Michael Bay at a BBQ party. It remains to me now to thank our regular contributors, you the Internet for reading this, and Richard Vranch on the piano, this is TV Tropes saying goodnight, goodnight.
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3 reviews alternative title(s): Whose Line; Whose Line Is It Anyway
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