History YMMV / WhoseLineIsItAnyway

** The last two seasons in the first U.S. version were made entirely of unused footage from the same tapings as previous episodes. While season 7 managed to mask this well and had plenty of funny episodes from the leftover material, season 8 wasn't quite as lucky for the most part. It didn't help that season 8 used unused footage from ''season 1'' for many of its episodes, which was quite jarring this late in the series.

*** Heather Anne Campbell already proved herself on ''Series/DrewCareysImprovAGanza,'' so her being on the revival series was highly anticipated. Many fans remain extremely fond of her, even when an episode's editing [[AdvertisedExtra isn't too kind to her.]]

* SoBadItsGood: The audience members Drew brings up for Sound Effects always suck at making sound effects, which make the sketches that much funnier. Most of the time one person tries to sound as realistic as possible, while the other just makes random noises based on what the actors are doing. It always makes it worse in the best ways possible.
** Ryan's John Wayne impression is so beloved by the fans because of this trope. It's a godawful impression, but it's *so* terrible that it's hilarious.

** An episode in UK series 2 featuring comedian Arthur Smith, who brought iconoclastic, fourth-wall-breaking (one could even say contrarian) humor to his performances. One side of the fandom found Arthur's chaotic energy refreshing and hilarious and thought he deserved another appearance; the other side were turned off by Arthur breaking improv rules and messing with the rest of the cast for fun.

* MisaimedFandom: In-show example during Scenes from a Hat, when the topic was, "Things that Make the Audience Boo"
--> '''Ryan''': "You simply wait for traffic, then you '''''push''''' the old lady! '''''Push''''' the old lady!" ''(Cue strange mixture of boos and applause)'' "...I wasn't looking for ''applause'' on that one, I was looking for..."

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: One editor of the now defunct "Dean's Line" episode guide wasn't as big a fan of the "Sound Effects" where two audience members provide the sound effects. When speaking of the first instance of this (the game where Ryan and Colin played cops who used a quacking elephant to distract robbers), he noted that
[[TheHyena "Interestingly, Drew sits and cries after the game."]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: One editor of the now defunct "Dean's Line" episode guide wasn't as big a fan of the "Sound Effects" where two audience members provide the sound effects. When speaking of the first instance of this (the game where Ryan and Colin played cops who used a quacking elephant to distract robbers), he noted that [[TheHyena "Interestingly, Drew sits and cries after the game."]]

** For the U.K. version itself, it's generally agreed that the show really started to find itself as John Sessions disappeared from the show. John, originally a regular, favored a more cerebral and well-read style of humor, and combined with his often self-indulgent performances, he seemed to amuse himself more than the audience (there's a reason he's often considered TheScrappy - see below). Gradually (and perhaps not coincidentally), as more and more performers showed up from across the pond, like Greg, Ryan and Colin, the show's humor became more universal and hit better with audiences. Eventually, Colin and Ryan became regulars, and the rest is history.

** There's one episode (not counting a compilation episode) in UK series 2 featuring comedian Arthur Smith, who brought iconoclastic, fourth-wall-breaking humor to his performances. One side of the fandom found Arthur's chaotic energy refreshing and hilarious and thought he deserved another appearance; the other side were turned off by Arthur breaking improv rules and messing with the rest of the cast for fun.

* CreatorsPet: The Hoedown seemed like the skit version of this. Drew loved it (and so did the studio audience), to that point that he often called it his "favorite game in the whole wide world" and whenever Drew participated in a game at the end of the show, most of the time it would be a Hoedown. The others... not so much ('''''especially''''' Ryan). And they would joke about how much they hated it regularly.

** Jeff Davis, a guest star in only a few episodes and the youngest comedian in the show, turned out to be extremely popular and later played a bigger part in ''Series/DrewCareysGreenScreenShow'' - which unfortunately did not last. Eventually, this led to him being the first fourth-seater in the 2013 revival. And he keeps showing up in the fourth seat in all three seasons of the new version so far.

** Among the new faces in the 2013 revival, Gary Anthony Williams.

* ParodyDisplacement: Some of the impressions done in games can be the first introduction to those being imitated - like Creator/PeterLorre, Creator/JimmyStewart, and ''especially'' Carol Channing.

** [[MemeticMutation Memetic Animutation]]: Colin appears in almost all such animations created; he played the sun in the very first one.

** "OH, NO! THEY'VE GOT... CONFUSION GAS!"
** "[[ItMakesSenseInContext The Cat!]]"

** "What noise does an [[AluminumChristmasTrees arctic tern]] make?" "BACKSTREET BOYS!"

** Mike [=McShane=] was one of the most talented of the UK show, but vanished following the show's move to the United States (and, reportedly, a violent back-stage argument with one of the producers). [=McShane=] appeared in a cameo on ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' and after having gastric bypass surgery and losing fifty pounds, became unrecognizable. However, he seems to have gained some back in his appearance in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode ''The Angels Take Manhattan''.

* BrokenBase: US or UK version? And if you like the US version, which one? Certain sites, like Website/YouTube, are rife with comments like "X version is ''so'' much better." '''''God help you''''' if you enjoy both versions. The debate is so headache-inducing – [[FlameWar and can become so personal at times]] – that it's better to stay away from it all. Now that Creator/TheCW has brought the show back with Aisha Tyler as the new host, the US fanbase has split between fans who miss Drew Carey and can't accept her as the host, and those who think Aisha is a breath of fresh air. Basically the same thing that happened when Drew Carey took over as host of the US version from Clive Anderson. And may God have mercy on your soul should you be a fan of any of the shows' [[TheScrappy Scrappies]].

*** Ryan sings about spraying the woman with mace and using her to scare children.
*** Wayne's lines about hitting her while running away and her looking like Jamie Farr.
*** Colin wrapping the song with "It looked like someone had beat her."

* AcceptableEthnicTargets: {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in the episode where "[[Creator/BillCosby Cosby]] and [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Hitler]]" is rejected as a "TitleSequence" name. During "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocX_zDFxvPM Scenes From a Hat]]", Franchise/{{T|heLoneRanger}}onto was imitated by Brad. Drew then said about the DoubleStandard:
--> '''Drew''': I love that, let's make fun of Native Americans all we want, who gives a shit about them?
* AcceptablePoliticalTargets:
** The British version liked to mock the Conservative government of UsefulNotes/JohnMajor, while the American version liked to poke fun at both UsefulNotes/BillClinton and UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush. One US episode features the "Voted for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Perot Ross Perot]]" Irish Drinking Song (the prompt being "something you regret").
** The 2013 revival has had several jabs at the Republicans and failed 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney. There's even a rare case of [[NiceGuy Colin]] doing it, choosing to add "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Ford the mayor of Toronto]]" to his horror movie characters act.
** After the election of UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump as President of the United States, just like so many other shows, the cast started making wisecracks about the most unexpected POTUS in modern history.
** In Drew Carey's run, the cast mocked George W. Bush's intelligence and the Scenes From A Hat segments occasionally included a few suggestion cards from the audience to encourage ways to mock the president.
* AcceptableTargets: The US version had a trend of hillbilly jokes. In the UK version though... it was Americans...
** At least during the first few UK seasons, which had a maximum of 1 American player on occasion (Archie Hahn and Ron West in particular). As time passed and more Americans were added (reaching a 3:1 ratio eventually), any jokes were either SelfDeprecation or followed by snarking at something British.
** Bald people and Canadians (especially the exchange rate with the Canadian dollar). So in other words, Colin.
** Ryan's height, big nose, and big feet. Therefore, also, his ridiculous shoes.
*** In a few episodes of the U.S. version, Ryan also wore a Western-style shirt: Numerous cowboy jokes were lobbed at him. "...And a special yippy-yi-yo! to Ryan Stiles!"
** Ryan took jabs at UsefulNotes/BillClinton (as did Wayne, Colin, and Drew). Colin at one time [[RippedFromTheHeadlines referenced the Firestone exploding tire debacle]].
** Ryan loved to insult the British director on the Carey-era run and mock him at every turn. There are a lot of scenes on the gag reel where Ryan gleefully taunts the man, and one where Ryan even ''pies'' him!
** Several performers have cracked Music/JustinBieber jokes.

** [[Series/TheWalkingDead Lauren Cohan]], just for starting a RunningGag of her own.

** The [=90s=] US version didn't completely age well either. There are a lot of jokes about people with mental disabilities, as ''Film/{{Rainman}}'' was a film that came out around the same time the show debuted in the US.

* ValuesDissonance: The UK version, even in later seasons, had a lot of jokes in which someone turning out to be LGBT was the punchline, which would not be the case today.

** Much like the UK version above, a lot of fans of the first US show don't care for the 2013 revival. Aisha is considered a [[ReplacementScrappy poor replacement]] for Drew, largely due to an almost complete lack of [[VitriolicBestBuds friendly ribbing]] that made the interactions of the cast so entertaining, as the cast would often joke about Drew or pull pranks on him, while with Aisha, the group rarely makes a joke about her as if she was [[SacredCow not someone they could joke at]]. (To be fair, this only applied to the first CW season; the next season saw the welcome return of the host ribbing.) Furthermore, the fact that the show has a larger budget means that props are used much more frequently, taking away from the original show's charm of the guys making due with what little they had. And the few games that did use props, which tended to be well-received due to their scarcity, are now done so often as to lose what made them special in the first place (Helping Hands comes to mind). An overuse of Guest Stars doesn't help either, as during the Drew period, guests were used very sparsely, which resulted in episodes with them becoming some of the funniest moments in the shows history. The new guests are usually not at all related to comedy, and often are dull and stand around looking confused. Or worse, the show turns into a shameless WolverinePublicity plug for the CW to promote an actor on the network's current lineup of aspiring series who otherwise has no reason to appear.

** Much like the UK version above, a lot of fans of the first US show don't care for the 2013 revival. Aisha is considered a [[ReplacementScrappy poor replacement]] for Drew, largely due to an almost complete lack of [[VitriolicBestBuds friendly ribbing]] that made the interactions of the cast so entertaining, as the cast would often joke about Drew or pull pranks on him, while with Aisha, the group rarely makes a joke about her as if she was [[SacredCow not someone they could joke at]]. Furthermore, the fact that the show has a larger budget means that props are used much more frequently, taking away from the original show's charm of the guys making due with what little they had. And the few games that did use props, which tended to be well-received due to their scarcity, are now done so often as to lose what made them special in the first place (Helping Hands comes to mind). An overuse of Guest Stars doesn't help either, as during the Drew period, guests were used very sparsely, which resulted in episodes with them becoming some of the funniest moments in the shows history. The new guests are usually not at all related to comedy, and often are dull and stand around looking confused. Or worse, the show turns into a shameless WolverinePublicity plug for the CW to promote an actor on the network's current lineup of aspiring series who otherwise has no reason to appear.

* WereStillRelevantDammit: The U.S.A. version's season 9 (2013 revival) insisted on promoting Website/{{Twitter}} hashtags on screen during nearly every game. From season 10 onward, this was just reduced to #WLIIA throughout each episode. Not helping is jokes aimed at controversial figures in the media that felt very outdated by the time the jokes were made. Season 11 manages to bump up the jokes to current matters as the actors finally stop making up for lost time.

* FirstInstallmentWins: ''The show itself'' - specifically, its American version. Every attempt at a SpiritualSuccessor (''Series/DrewCareysGreenScreenShow'', ''Series/DrewCareysImprovaganza'' and ''Series/TrustUsWithYourLife'') never got a second season.