Tropes D to I / Whose Line

Whose Line Is It Anyway? tropes
Tropes A to C | Tropes D to I | Tropes J to R | Tropes S to Z

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Dance-Off: Frequently the way Ryan and Colin settle the score in "Dubbing". One time, Ryan just shot Colin instead.
Colin: Hey! No fair, I was dancin' there.
Dark Secret:
- The premise of "Secret". Of course, being a comedy show, the secrets are always silly and ridiculous, like one of the characters wanting to make sperm bank ATMs on the British version.
- A "Scenes From A Hat" suggestion was scenes from a Whose Line soap opera. Colin announces he's got a secret to reveal. After a second of thinking, he says:
  Colin: Ever wonder why I get stuck playing a woman in so many scenes? [he pretends to open his shirt and expose female breasts]
Dating Service Disaster: The premise of "Hats/Dating Service Videos".
A Day in the Limelight: Linda Taylor, the guitarist usually backing Laura Hall, gets one game to herself when she plays incidental music in a game of "Dubbing" with Jack Osbourne that became an instant hit with the audience. And they only waited till the second revival season!
"Days of the Week" Song: Wayne's song to Lee the lunch lady was this:
Wayne: On Monday: Meatloaf! On Tuesday: Steak! On Wednesday: Pork! On Thursday: Chicken! And Friday, it's the best day of all! 'Cause you get to have a little spaghetti, and two big meatballs- [laughs]
Dead Guy Puppet:
- An occasional gag, most commonly with Ryan Stiles and/or Scenes From A Hat.
  Drew: Things not to do at a funeral...
- The game "Dead Bodies" is this since all of the actors fake dying except for one guy who props them up to keep the scene going.
Deadline News: Many Newsflashes fall into this, especially if they involve animals or explosions. An example is when footage of a lizard running towards the camera played, and Ryan and Kathy warned Colin to start running from it:
Colin: [stops running in place] Did you see that?
Ryan: I STILL SEE THAT!!! [Colin begins running again]
Deadpan Snarker: Clive Anderson, host of the British version. Colin also tends to be one due to how he never breaks character, thus rarely even smiles at his jokes or others' when he performs, though like everyone else on the show, he's also a Large Ham on other occasions.
Deal with the Devil: During a "Weird Newscasters" where Ryan ventured into Hell, he went up to Drew Carey and said, "THIS is how you got two shows..."
Deader than Dead: Parodied in one "Narrate" by Colin:
Colin: The last time I saw him he tried to murder me, but when you kill someone by chopping off their head, rolling them up in a carpet and burning it you better make sure they're dead.
Death Glare: Colin Mochrie gives one to Ryan when he makes a Nazi Captain Hair joke at his expense.
A Degree in Useless: When the suggestion "strange things to read in school textbooks" came up in "Scenes from a Hat":
Wayne: Trigonometry: will never be used in real life.
Delayed Reaction: One character in "Superheroes" was named Delayed Reaction Man.
Demoted to Extra:
- Variation, semi-regular players from the UK version like Ron West and Jimmy Mulville would later be credited under staff.
- Some fans would argue this occurred to Greg Proops on the US version, as he mostly only did straight-man roles like the bachelorette in Let's Make a Date, or the host for Party Quirks.
Department of Redundancy Department:
- Ryan, during a playing of "Greatest Hits":
  Ryan: I remember a protest song out of the '60s that I had on a record.. in the '60s.
  Colin: Wow! What kind of strange coincidence is that!
- When Drew introduced the episode with Whoopi Goldberg
  Drew: ...and is Whoopi Goldberg: Whoopi Goldberg!
- In a UK Hoedown about nightmares, Colin's first line was:
  Colin: Every night I go to sleep, I go to sleep each night...
- In The UK version of the game "Story", George McGrath narrates the action.
  George:It was her beloved grandfather. He was covered in moss. He'd been out in the village for so long, she hadn't seen him in years, he was covered in moss.
  Jan:Grandfather, you're covered in moss!
  George:...she said, repeating what the narrator had said over and over again already.

[shortly after]

Graeme: You'll have to speak up, I'm covered in moss!

George:... said the Grandfather, repeating it just one more time.

In the Improbable Mission of going to the grocery store, Wayne tells Ryan and Colin on the tape, "you have a dangerous and very perilous mission." Colin makes fun of it a little, saying "Dangerous AND perilous!"
In a "Greatest Hits" about race car drivers:
Colin: Oh, I love race cars and I love race car drivers; I love songs about race cars and race car driving!
A Drew example:
Drew: Let's go on to a game called "Film Dub", shall we, it's a game called... "Film Dub", okay?
[right after the game was announced]
—->Greg: What's this game called?
Drew: "Film Dub".
Normally the writers don't do this mistake, but one "Weird Newscasters" description of Ryan's character starts with "a 15 year old teenager".
The "Millionaire Show" about 1930's gangsters has Ryan say he wants the money in small bills. Colin replies:
Colin: You'll get it the way you get it and you'll get it that way.
In the "Greatest Hits" about "Songs of the Marine Corps":
Colin: Folk music has been a part of my life, and in fact, a part of my blood. It's been a part of my life, my life's blood!
In "Press Conference" When Colin was Yogi Bear admitting he killed Boo Boo Bear. Brad asks "Don't you feel any remorse?", Wayne's not listening and the next question is him saying "Do you feel any remorse whatsoever?".
- That same playing had another instance of this when Brad asked Colin if he was afraid of what the ranger might say. His response was:
  Colin: Absolutely none. You know what? [beat] None.
In the Greatest Hits about songs of horror, one of the songs was called "Devil, There's A Devil, Whoa Devil, Whoa, That's A Devil".
The Greatest Hits of the Hitman had the Duran Duran song "Garrote, Garrote, Garrote".
In the "Greatest Hits" about taxi drivers:
Colin: Y'know, for as long as I can remember, I've had memories...
In "Weird Newscasters":
Colin: An entire cult of dead killer bees were found dead. They are thought to have committed insecticide.
In the "Whose Line" parodying Beauty and the Beast:
Ryan: I'll spend the rest of my days alone, by myself.
Colin: "Alone, by yourself??"
Colin again in one "Hollywood Director" in the second revival season:
'Colin: Do it like you're demonically possessed! [beat] By demons!
In "All In One Voice", Miss Piggy (Wayne and Colin) sings "You tongued me with your tongue" to Kermit The Frog (Ryan and Brad).
Done deliberately in the "Narrate" in a fast food restaurant:
Ryan: You wanted fries?
Colin: Yeah.
Ryan: You want fries with that?
On the UK version of "World's Worst" for a self help video, Colin says "You can improve your memory in only 15 minutes with this book" three times.
In the Foreign Film Dub of the Italian movie "The Endless Day", Denny is translated as telling Drew "All day long I make the pasta and you just stand there, like a big thing that stands there."
In the "Award Show" about obnoxious drunks, Ryan thanked whoever made ice cubes, and Colin agreed:
Colin: Whoever came up with that recipe... came up with that recipe.
The "Millionaire Show" mentioned below with Ryan making up a "sister's cousin's uncle brother." Except your sister's cousin would be your cousin too, and her uncle's brother would be another uncle, and it's a cousin so he's your uncle too... so yeah.

Description Porn:
- As the U.S. version went on, the "Let's Make a Date" and "Party Quirks" descriptions got longer and more elaborate. This was occasionally lampshaded, such as when Ryan looked at his watch partway through Drew reading Jeff the right answer, or when Greg actually looked at Wayne's quirk on the card ^note after the game and said:
  Greg: OH, MY GOD! There's two paragraphs of text on this!
  Drew: They're all awfully detailed.
  Greg: This is the Bhagavad Gita, there's 50,000 chapters! (laughs) I didn't realize we were reading the whole Kabbalah.
- It also got funny when the descriptions were read back to Drew, verbatim:
  Drew: Wayne, you are a Haitian man who's been unfaithful and is now the victim of a voodoo attack...
  Wayne: on Why I gotta be the Haitian man who's been unfaithful and is now the victim of a voodoo attack?
Deserted Island: In a "Weird Newscasters", Ryan played a man stranded on a deserted island. And a game of "Let's Make A Date" has Ryan on a desert island. He thinks Colin's head is "Wilson" the volleyball from the movie "Cast Away".
Deus ex Machina: Most segments of Improbable Mission utilize this trope pretty heavily throughout. For instance, at the end of the infamous "Improbable Mission" with the cat, the burnoose that Ryan and Colin are supposed to be washing is accidentally set on fire and destroyed. There's a brief pause, and Colin says, "It's OK, I have an extra burnoose." and mimes pulling one out of his pocket.
Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: Pay close attention, Josie Lawrence, Tony Slattery, Wayne Brady and even Colin Mochrie tend to have these moments.
- Animal Porn. Colin has an EPIC Did I Just Say That Out Loud? fail during a Greatest Hits skit, saying that they'll get back to the "animal porn" in just a moment, then makes it even worse by naming the porn.^note"Mary Had A Little Lamb" The sketch goes Off the Rails for a long moment as everyone except him falls apart laughing.
  Ryan: He's so happy! "We're watching animal porn!"
- From the new "Dating profiles" game in the 2013 revival:
  Keegan-Michael Key: [lewd and dark face] So, how big are your hips?
  [beat]
  Keegan-Michael Key: [breaking character] Oh, jeez that was- wha- I creep myself out... [excuses himself]
- From the same game, in the same episode:
  Colin: [imitating a ventriloquist dummy] I think you're very attractive! And if you don't mind another guy with another guy... [realizes what he's about to say] up his ass...
  [cue Squick from Wayne, and laughter from everyone else]
  Ryan: Good night everyone!
  Wayne: Check, check, yes!
Didn't See That Coming: On the 8/20/2013 episode, Ryan was playing the game "Helping Hands" with Colin as his hands. At the end of the scene, he took a drink from a prop tequila bottle. Turns out it was a real tequila bottle, with real tequila in it. He did a Spit Take across the table.
Didn't Think This Through: In the "Greatest Hits" about science fiction, Colin decided to do something a little different by saying that the album they're selling contains music videos, and that's he's in one of them. During the first song, Colin did some active dance moves that tired him out, prompting him to tell Ryan, "Why don't you talk for a while?" while he got his heart beat back to normal. When it came time to announce the next song's title, Ryan asked if Colin's in it, and Colin immediately answered "NO." But he was goaded into doing it by Ryan and the studio audience. You can see the reluctance on his face when the second song began and Wayne beckoned him, a face that says "Oh, I didn't think this through."
Ryan: You should really know better than that.
Didn't We Use This Joke Already?:
- Depending on the game, repeated suggestions may be rejected. Even so, there are four Blind Date hoedowns.
- The joke, "Two thongs don't make a right" comes up a few times in the series. Drew even took points away from Ryan for using it in one game.
- During the second Family Reunion Hoedown (quite possibly from the same taping as the first), Drew recycles his "Am I adopted?" joke, but complains that his family is Chinese rather than black.
- In the 2013 revival, the first session of "Let's Make a Date" had Colin as "a robot that recharges by kissing people", the exact same role given to Wayne in an old "Party Quirks".
  - Similarly, an old "Let's Make a Date" suggestion ("gets an electric shock every time he has an impure thought") is reused in "Hollywood Director" instead.
- The fourth episode with Gary Anthony Williams has Ryan again as the Drill Sergeant Nasty pulling people from the audience. At least this time he made sure to rub some R. Lee Ermey on it.
- The first new "Secret" game even reused the Lone Ranger scenario, leading to Ryan reusing his old line from way back in the UK version!
  Ryan: Oldest joke in book!
  Colin: Yeah, I know...
- Both in the original U.S. version and the new CW version there's been a game of Sound Effects with the noises made by audience members with the sketch plot being about two astronauts blasting off in a rocket off Earth, and finding aliens in the space station.
- Two Sound Effects games (the version with Ryan making sounds and Colin acting them out) has them both reusing a lot of the same gags. On a UK show, they do the scene with Colin as a cowboy entering a saloon. Later on the US series, they do a scene with "Sheriff Colin" entering a saloon and confronting an outlaw. They reuse the routine about sliding drinks down the bar. Another time, Colin acts out a scene as a newlywed husband on his honeymoon. Later on they do a scene with Colin as a a newlywed husband on his honeymoon- on the Titanic right before the ship strikes the iceberg. They reuse the bits where Colin prepares to get romantic with his wife. Given the difficulty of this game, it's hard to blame the guys for reusing successful material in a similar scene.
- In the UK version, Clive was unsure if they had used "Pants are too small" as a superheroes crisis. Greg sarcastically replied, "If we did, I'm sure it was fraught with hilarity."
- Before a Superheroes in the first U.S. version:
  Drew: Somebody give me the name of an unlikely superhero.
  Audience member: Captain Flatulence!
  Drew: Did it already.
- "Scenes from a Hat" in the revival series used "times when a touchdown celebration is inappropriate," leading to Wayne rehashing one of Jeff's numbers from the old show. With Jeff present.
Digging to China: In a game of "Sound Effects", Colin is supposed to be in the movie "The Great Escape". He ends up pretending to dig for a while, and Ryan ends up saying Chinese-like noises to indicate he dug too far.
Dirty Old Woman: Whatever they were thinking of when getting Kathie Lee Gifford on the third revival season most likely didn't involve Song Styles mutating into a threesome.
Brad: You can have your points back because I'm done!
Ryan: Can we take a break for Brad to have a smoke?
Discriminate and Switch: Before a playing of "African Chant", Drew said that Wayne would be singing it, and the following exchange occurs:
Wayne: Why I gotta do the African Chant?!
Drew: Because Colin would just mess it up.
Disorganized Outline Speech:
- During a playing of the Millionaire Show game, Greg Proops accidentally messes up when giving out the multiple choice answers:
  Greg: When you eat pig, it is called A: Pork, B: That farshtunken neighbor of mine, 3:... [pause] Sometimes I change from C to 3.
- Another playing of the same game has Colin listing the choices under A, C, C and D. Ryan does not let this go without comment, including asking Wayne on the phone-a-friend, is the answer A, C, C, or D?
- In yet another playing, Colin asks:
  Colin: A compact disc is also known as: A) AA, B) CD, D)...er...C) BC, D)......ddddddD
Disproportionate Retribution:
- In "Good Cop, Bad Cop", Colin (playing the bad cop) puts Wayne in a dishwasher for a very trivial reason.
- In one "Weird Newscasters" bit, Jeff-as-Christopher Walken threatened to "put [his] foot in [an audience member's] throat" because they kept laughing during his standup routine.
Distracted by the Sexy: When Wayne sung to Jayne Trcka:
Wayne: [singing] That's not the end of the song / I don't mean to be rude. / But you'd lose your composure too, / if this big chick was semi-nude!
The Ditz: The questioner in "Let's Make a Date" is often portrayed as a high-pitched voice ditz.
Does This Remind You of Anything?:
- In the infamous "Living Scenery" with special guest Richard Simmons, Colin uses Richard as a jetski, which ends up looking a LOT like oral sex. Colin completes the gag by miming the lighting of a cigarette afterwards. To say the audience loses it is an understatement.
- This trope is invoked too many times to count during the course of this show, particularly during "Living Scenery" and "Props".
Don't Explain the Joke:
- During a game of "Hats":
  Wayne: [wearing a hat with a rooster on it] My loving's so good it'll make your chicken run!
  [Collective Groan from the audience]
  Wayne: [dejectedly from the response] See, it's a movie!
- There's a "Weird Newscasters" where Colin is a bad stand-up comic:
  Colin: Well, it seems that all the fish are dying. Could this be an act of Cod? [laughs] We've been having bad weather lately; it's raining... cats and dogs! I stepped in a poodle! [laughs and slaps knees] It's like puddle, but spelled differently! I've got 28 more minutes!
  Brad: Ha, ha. Sure is quiet in the newsroom, isn't it?
- After a game of Questions Only, Drew says:
  Drew: How many points should I give? Would 1,000 be enough?
  [silence]
  Drew: See, because it was "Questions Only"...
- After Wayne does "Song Styles" to a girl named Chanel, Drew says:
  Drew: I'll give 5 points to Chanel.
  [silence]
  Drew: See, Chanel No. 5...
- The Closed Captioning for the initial order of American episodes ruined all of the punchlines.
- This sometimes occurred in "Props":
  Wayne: [with a red two-pronged thing held over his head] Hahahaha, I'm the dark one!
  [Colin just nods, and Wayne points at his horns]
  Colin: Oh! Devil!
- In a playing of "Questionable Impressions", Jeff stuttered while he talked, and said, "I'm Jeff Goldblum, of course..." before continuing with his sentence.
- The Doctor Hoedown had Drew say how he goes to the doctor a lot because the nurse has a nice butt. Then tries to say it some more because the audience didn't laugh much.
- For the "World's Worst" neighbors:
  Drew: Oh, me? I'm a jackhammer tester.
  Audience: [tepid response]
  Drew: That'd be a bad guy to live next door to, huh? A jackhammer tester! 'Cuz then he'd be playing a jackhammer—he's gonna be with his jackhammer all *beep* day!
- A game of "Props" in the revival season had Ryan going "they're not testicles!" over and over.
- One "Themed Restaurant" with the theme of Steven Spielberg movies made this a Running Gag: Because Colin and Ryan's reenactments of certain films weren't registering with the audience at first, Drew had to explain what they were parodying. Soon after, Colin started name-dropping the titles himself.
Colin: (running across the stage) BIG MEATBALL!... Raiders.
(later...)
Colin: (mimes pulling a truck cord and making a honking noise) Duel.
Donut Mess with a Cop:
- Colin and Ryan mime eating donuts during the "Sound Effects" where they play cops. The audience members who provided their sound effects didn't make the appropriate chewing noises at first, which Colin and Ryan naturally called attention to.
- One session of Hollywood Director even has Greg entering while yelling "DON'T MOVE! I have a sugar donut!"
- They take a long-awaited leap during the Revival when a game of "Helping Hands" about the police has a real box of donuts on the table. And bananas, and beers, prop guns, and a live megaphone that Ryan sadly chose to sing into before the beers rather than after...
Double Entendre:
- This was pretty much the entire point of the game "Hats"/"Dating Service Video", as well as "If You Know What I Mean". Example: A "Scenes From a Hat" suggestion was "Things that your waitress says to you that can be misconstrued as sexual".
  Wayne: So who's got the big meat?
  Colin: The breasts are on special.
- Any "Scenes from a Hat" suggestion that follows the syntax "Things you can say about _____ but not about your girlfriend." Here's a classic for "things you can say to your dog, but not your girlfriend":
  Colin: Come!
Double Standard:
- Both played straight and for laughs at the same time; during an "Infomercial" about face lifts, Ryan made a couple bald and "big head" jokes about Colin, to which the audience laughed. Colin then proceeded to make a joke about the size of Ryan's nose, to which the audience reacted more with sympathy. After the game, Colin lampshaded this:
  Colin: You notice all the melon jokes, the bald jokes, I make one nose joke, it's "OHHHH!"
- In the episode with "Cosby and Hitler" rejected as a "Title Sequence" song, during "Scenes From a Hat", there were jokes made about inflatable breasts and Native Americans; Drew lampshaded how much of a double standard it was to be able to make fun of certain targets but not others.
  Drew: I love that; let's make fun of the Native Americans, who gives a (shit) about them?
Drill Sergeant Nasty:
- Ryan, in the US version, twice on Weird Newscasters. Particularly memorable when he grabs three audience members to do pull-ups on the green-screen - the top of which got wrinkled and torn. The running gag for the show promptly became Ryan messing up the green screen.
- A game of "Superheroes" also had Ryan as "Drill Sergeant Boy".
- A game of "Weird Newscasters" also has Wayne as a "sadistic Marine drill sergeant" who pulls a man out of the audience to yell at him.
- The "Scenes from a Hat" suggestion "Drill Sergeant Pickup Lines"
  Brad: I JUST WANT TO STAND HERE AND STARE AT MY PRIVATES!
- In a game called Reunion, Greg, Ryan and Colin are drill sergeants at a reunion, and Greg acts most like this trope.
  Greg: ONLY TWO THINGS COME FROM OKLAHOMA! STEERS AND OTHER STEERS THAT LIKE THEM!!!
- Two "Hats" suggestions had Wayne and Ryan trying on a drill sergeant helmet and acting appropriately.
Driven to Suicide: That was pretty much a running gag for Ryan. Example: Ryan's character of Prince Charming in a "Weird Newscasters" skit hangs himself when he realizes that the glass slipper fits on Drew's foot.
- Also happens in another "Weird Newscasters" where Wayne's character finds his girlfriend in the audience with another man. Distraught over her infidelity, he "jumps" to his death. Colin then makes the crack "This just in: Cheating girlfriends live longer than their boyfriends."
- In one Hoedown, Ryan sings something along the lines of "It's hard to think of something with a little twist/ If we do another Hoedown, I'll slit my (fucking) wrists!"
- In another "Hoedown" about plastic surgery, Ryan sang that he thought of shooting himself because he looked like Drew.
invoked Dude, Not Funny!:
- The Scenes from a Hat suggestion "Things that make the audience boo."
  Jeff Davis: Okay, so we have our potatoes simmering. Now, after we've filleted the baby seal...
- For the same suggestion as above, Ryan accidentally invoked crossing the line twice by giving instructions on how to push old women into traffic, which got applause.
- Party Quirks: Brad is the host, Colin is a performing seal:
  Colin: [flopping around on the floor] Arf! Arf! Arf!
  Brad: [to other guests] I'd like you to meet Stephen Hawking!
  Audience: [total shock]
- A playing of Scenes from a Hat in Aisha's run, where the scene is "Jobs that shouldn't be done in a sexy way", has Wayne attempting his impersonation of Hawking. Not only does the audience still groan, but Aisha throws her card at Wayne and makes him stop before he even gets to attempt a sexy punchline!
- Also from the above session, Jeff immediately gets this reaction the moment he mentions scouts.
  Jeff: We've only got one sleeping bag...
- The playing of "Duet" where Drew brings an old lady up from the audience, and can't resist saying this:
  Drew: Phyllis, you're in for a treat, 'cuz these guys are gonna sing to you as the Bee Gees.
  Phyllis: [not quite hearing] As the what?
  Drew: The Bee Gees were a hit rock group when you were seventy–in the seventies!
  [cue loud boos from audience]
- In a game of "Props", Wayne took a pipe-like thing and pretended it was a well. He yelled "Baby Jessica!" as if she's in the bottom of it. That got lots of groans from the audience.
- Colin's last line in the "Slept with an Ugly Woman" Irish Drinking Song: "It looked like someone had beat her". Some audience members behind a laughing Drew noticeably glower and force themselves to applaud as the song wraps up.
- If you watch Colin, you can see he realized he was saying something awful as he was saying it- but it was already partway out, so he finished it. It was likely a combination of him making up something to do with her being ugly and searching for a rhyme. In improv, you are trained to run with pretty much everything...
- The "Ryan's Wife" Hoedown had the audience groaning when Wayne said Ryan has a mail-order bride from China.
- A game of "Props" has Ryan using wheel-shaped things and pretending to be Franklin D. Roosevelt in a wheelchair. The audience groans, causing Ryan's teammate Jeff to sarcastically ask, "Too soon?".
Dung Fu: The only time the game "Animals" was played in the American version, had Colin (the wife), cheating on husband Brad with Ryan, and they are all supposed to be chimpanzees. Brad ends up pretending to throw poo at both of them.
- In the game of "Hollywood Director" set at a gas station, when they change the style to a jungle film, Wayne as Cheetah the Chimp, throws imaginary poo in Ryan as Tarzan's face.

Eagleland: The UK version played around with Flavor 2 for several games like "American Musical", "Rap", and, of course, "Hoedown".
Early-Bird Cameo:
- Before Tony Slattery's actual debut episode, he appeared as an audience member in the first episode after the pilot.
- Likewise with Jonathan Mangum. Years before appearing in the CW revival, he appears as an audience member in a US season 2 episode. Specifically, the one where they do "Songs of Golf" for Greatest Hits.
Early-Installment Weirdness:
- On the U.K. side, the first season didn't feature Ryan Stiles, and Colin Mochrie didn't debut until season 3. "Authors" was a heavily-played game in the first few seasons, but was barely featured at all after season 3.
- When it comes to the U.S. version's first season: Wayne absent in some episodes? Check. One-shot performers like Ian Gomez, Kathy Kinney, Patrick Bristow (in an unaired pilot which later aired as part of season 8), and Stephen Colbert? Check. Ryan still wearing short sleeve shirts and Greg still wearing vests? Check. No Linda Taylor or other back-up musicians? Check and mate.
- In the first few episodes, Drew would introduce the show by saying, "Welcome to Whose Line Is It Anyway?, the show where everything's made up and the points don't matter." He'd pause, and then the audience would laugh. And he wouldn't say "That's right, the points are just like...", either.
- Also, the first few episodes had a more hard-rock-inspired theme song.
- As well as many of the first season episodes had no credit-reading skit; the credits would just roll over the performers standing and talking on stage, while the theme song would play over their conversations.
- The first U.S. season's backstage lighting was slightly darker than the rest of the series.
- Game-specific: The first few playings of "Irish Drinking Song" had a slightly slower tempo and were sung in a different key.
- The first-ever Hoedown, from the UK version, was played in a different key and had no set melody.
- In the original radio shows from 1988 the performers occasionally made jokes regarding dark subject matter, such as rape, suicide, and terrorist activity.
Eek, a Mouse!!: A game of "Action Replay" has Wayne Brady and Kathy Greenwood pretend to freak out about finding a mouse in their honeymoon suite.
Effortless Amazonian Lift:
- Jayne Trcka does it to Wayne. He embraces it.
- Averted in the 2013 revival with Laila Ali - she may well have been capable too, but nobody expected Wayne to goad Colin, COLIN of all people, into giving her the Bridal Carry - and pulling it off!
"El Niño" Is Spanish for "The Niño":
- In the game of "Hollywood Director" based on "Treasure of the Sierra Madre", Ryan says, "Bandito is Mexican for... Bandito!" (He really said Mexican instead of Spanish).
- In 2016's "Greatest Hits Of Horror", Ryan says "Les Miserables" is French for "The Miserables" (pronouncing it the same way).
- From a round of "Greatest Hits":
Colin: This is a song that was cut from Le Mis...
Ryan: Which in English is 'The Mis'.
El Spanish "-o": A game of "Film, TV, and Theater Styles" with Wayne as a police officer has the style change to Spanish Soap Opera. Wayne pretends to point a gun at Ryan and says "freeze-o".
Embarrassing Middle Name:
- "Scenes From a Hat": "Little-known facts about our host, Drew Carey".
  Ryan: What kind of a middle name is Allison?
- Which turned out to be an unintended Mythology Gag to the UK version:
  Clive: [taking suggestions for "Singing Bartender"] ...all right, Tony, you're angry about your middle name...
  Tony: I am, actually. It's Declan.
Embarrassing Nickname:
- Colin got nicknamed "Mr. Moo" and "Colin Moochrie" after an "Improbable Mission" where he was milked.
  Drew: He said he was sick of the bald jokes. Fine, Colin Moochrie, no more bald jokes.
- And speaking of bald jokes, Colin was given the identity "Captain Hair" in "Superheroes" to save a world in crisis: NO MORE ROGAINE!
  Ryan: [after the game] Of course, you know what that is in German, right? Herr Hair!
- In one episode, Drew accidentally announced that the next game would be the game they just played. Greg gave him an unflattering nickname:
  Greg: Excuse me, Captain Alzheimer's? Go to the third card, Drew. Go to the third card.
- In a "Greatest Hits", Colin starts talking about Limp Bizkit, and says, "In fact, I remember that nickname... well anyway..."
Enforced Plug:
- A lot of the revival's guest stars are actors from other shows on The CW. Frankly, the network is less stable than most of its rivals, and it needs the boost. ^note
- In one episode, Aisha actually slips in a testimonial for the CW herself.
  Aisha: We watch every show on the CW. When I leave here, I'm gonna watch 18 episodes of Vampire Diaries, thank you very much! Because I love watching teenagers take off their clothes...^note
- One game of "Props" had Wayne and Colin get two large lightning bolts, leading to this:
  Wayne: [sees Colin with a bolt on his chest] You're... The Flash! [Aside Glance] On The CW.
Entendre Failure:
- Used in nearly every playing of "If You Know What I Mean", to subvert the formula in the rest of the game: One of the performers will deliver a double entendre followed by the trademark "If you know what I mean", and another performer will reply with, "No, I don't know what you mean."
- Also worth noting: whenever this happens to Colin, he usually pantomimes taking a shot (no matter where the action is located; he once did this in a scene set inside a locker room).
Ephebophile:
- Drew pretends to be one on a couple occasions:
  Drew: Hey, did you know that teenagers, if they're hugged every day, they have better confidence and will do better in school? So parents, if you see me hugging your teenage daughter, I'm only trying to help.
- Another example:
  Drew: During the commercial break, did you hug your daughter? Because I did.
- In another instance:
  Drew: I didn't touch your daughter. Quit calling me.
- Yet another instance:
  Drew: I hope you're enjoying this show with your whole family. Because I think your daughter is hot.
- One Hoedown has Colin say he and his wife adopted 18 year old blonde triplets, followed by him rubbing his hands with evil glee.
- Aisha follows the tradition by mentioning the reason she watches The Vampire Diaries is to see teenagers take their clothes off.
Epic Fail:
- One of the first playings of Three Headed Broadway Singer has Drew momentarily forgetting the one-word-at-a-time rule ("And take me on a...!"), and it went downhill from there, to the extent that it gets brought up in a later ep.
  - In that later episode, David Hasselhoff turned this particular fail up a notch by using multiple words at once several times without realizing his mistake.
  - Whoopi Goldberg made this mistake when she made her appearance. At least she and David had the excuse that it was their first time at the game, if nothing else Drew has seen it done a lot.
- "Wait, that's not Close Encounters..."
- In another playing of "Film, TV & Theater Styles," the style was Three Stooges, but Ryan got mixed up and did an impression of Chico Marx instead.
  Drew: What Stooge was that?
  Ryan: I know, I know!
  Drew: That was Marx Bros.
  Ryan: I KNOW, I KNOW!
- Two words: Wrong Name. Drew fails so hard that it twists the fabric of time and space and becomes a Win.
- A prop in the UK version's Christmas special broke and gradually deteriorated throughout the sketch.
- In a Scenes From A Hat playing, Wayne got Cain and Abel mixed up. Keegan wasted no time in pointing his fail out.
- During a game of "Themed Restaurant", Drew and Chip play customers at a restaurant themed to Steven Spielberg films, with Colin and Ryan as the waiters. When Ryan comes up to their table as E.T., Drew mistakenly refers to him as R2-D2. Of course, he eventually realizes his mistake and corrects himself later in the game.
- Wayne's falling apart during a game of "Scenes From A Hat" when given the suggestion of "If cops spoke like Dr. Seuss" should count.
Erotic Eating:
- Seen a couple times during "Helping Hands" as Ryan has food stuffed into his mouth so often that he needs to do this to keep it fresh..
- "Thank God you've come... Seductive Eating Man!"
- Also unintentionally during "Hats".
  Drew: You know, I can watch you eat that banana aaaaaall night long.
  Ryan: [stops eating]
- Colin's done the same "whole banana at once" act during one Questions Only set in a supermarket, and in Scenes from a Hat as his idea of a "talent segment you'll never see on Miss America".
Even the Girls Want Her: Aisha Tyler admits even she has a crush on guest-star Danish supermodel Nina Agdal.
Even the Guys Want Him: In the Wilson Bethel episode:
Wayne: It's not that I was uncomfortable singing to another guy but... his eyes are so dreamy...
Every Episode Ending: The players reading the credits in the style of the host's choosing. The first season of the U.S. version doesn't feature this, though, nor does the TV-themed episode later in the run; instead, the cast sings happy birthday to Sid Caesar.
Everything is Big in Texas:
- In one playing of "Hats":
  Greg: [wearing a cowboy hat] Darling, everything's big where I come from.
- The revival series has one "Greatest Hits" about Dallas, which led to a song called "Everything's Bigger".
Everything Is Racist:
- After announcing that the next game would be "African Chant" done by Wayne, Wayne begins to protest:
  Wayne: Why I gotta do the African chant?
  Drew: Because Colin would mess it up.
- Another game's set up was that Ryan would be a gas station attendant, another player would be a customer, and Wayne would be a thief come to rob the place, which prompts this comment:
  Wayne: Why I gotta be the thief?
  Drew: Y'know, maybe you should count your blessings; if this was NBC, you wouldn't even be on this show. [audience and Wayne laugh] Am I lyin'? If I'm lyin', call the co- OK, go ahead.
- Also, during the Arctic Tern playing of "Greatest Hits," Colin asks Ryan what sound a blackbird makes, and Wayne walks into the shot and gives them a Death Glare.
- Also, Colin's shout of "Damn rolling blackouts!" after a game prompted Wayne to get out of his chair and start rolling around on the floor...
- One "Weird Newscasters" had Wayne giving an odd look upon the mention of "Black Friday".
Evolutionary Levels: Ryan is descending down the evolutionary scale in a game of "Weird Newscasters". He starts as a human, becomes a neanderthal, then an ape-like ancestor, and ends by sitting down on the floor... and suddenly imitates the sound of the buzzer
Ryan: You each get a thousand points, let's go on to Party Quirks!
Exactly What It Says on the Tin:
- Straightforward game names like "Hats" help them to stick in the fans' minds.
- In a playing of "Film, TV & Theater Styles":
  Colin: This firing range ain't big enough for the three of us!
  Ryan: What are you sayin'?
  Colin: ...It's not big enough for the three of us!
Exact Words:
- In a playing of "Let's Make a Date" where Ryan was a horse whisperer, Ryan involved Drew in the sketch, pretending that Drew was a horse and miming feeding him. After the game, this exchange occurred:
Drew: That's right: Ryan used to have two shows, before he called me a fat horse on national TV.
Ryan: I don't think I used the words "fat horse."
- In a game of "Scenes From a Hat", one of the cards drawn was "Things that will always start a fight."
Ryan: You guys wanna fight?
Expansion Pack Past: Ryan's and Colin's pasts, as described in "Greatest Hits", are quite elaborate and often contradict each other, particularly their ages. Of course, this could be justified if they just happen to be playing new characters each time.
Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Sometimes happens to the hosts when they first read the cards, such as...
Aisha: [During Weird Newscasters] And Wayne is going through an entire relationship with Aisha, Oh God...
Exposition: In the "Hollywood Director" where Ryan played a hunky pool boy opposite Kathy Greenwood:
Ryan: Y'know, I was fired three weeks ago, but I still come and clean your pool.
Eyes Do Not Belong There: "Questions with Wigs" in the revival series once had Colin get a pointy hat-thing with a dozen dangling eyeballs.

Face Palm:
- One of the rare times Colin breaks character. In the "Slept With an Ugly Woman" Irish Drinking Song, Colin gets the last line (as usual) and spits out "It looked like someone had beat her." As soon as he realizes what he just said, he facepalms. He finishes the song with his hand still on his face.
- Ryan sort-of Face Palms in the background in the game "Doo Wop" after Colin claims Janet died doing Tae Bo bending so far back, she literally had her head up her butt.
- Also in this playing of Scenes from a Hat, Greg forces Colin to do a Scooby-Doo impression. He fails. Next shot of Colin, he double-facepalms.
Failed a Spot Check:
- A reading the credits at the end game on the UK version was based on Stephen Frost being the first astronaut on Mars reporting back to Earth that there was nothing of interest on the red planet, being completely unaware the other 3 (Brad, Colin, and Ryan) were sneaking up on him as Martians. He turns around and screams at the end.
- After Colin does this in a game of "Newsflash", Drew tells him to read the credits as a newsman reporting while completely unaware there's dancers with tassels on their breasts standing behind him. At the end, he turns around and says, "Oh my...!"
Fanboy: Ryan absolutely loved when Florence Henderson was a guest star. After he lived his dreams by kissing her in "Dubbing":
Ryan: [proudly] That just leaves Mrs. Cunningham now.
Wayne: Eew.
Ryan: "Eew" for you; that was my favorite moment in Whose Line, ever.
Fan Disservice:
- The Newsflash games that involved a '50s "gentleman's club", and a little-known but official "fat women" beauty contest in Thailand.
- Depending on who you ask, special guest Jayne Trcka was fan disservice, due to those bulging muscles.
Fanservice:
- To whoever seats the hot chicks behind Drew's shoulders just to keep the show interesting when the camera cuts away from the players: we're onto you.
- According to one website, there is a taping where a porn star named Calli Cox is sitting behind Drew.
- Drew also often picks attractive women from the audience to be sung to by Wayne. If the woman is particularly hot, Ryan gets out of his seat to shake the woman's hand, even if he's not playing the game.
- One episode features Hugh Hefner along with two Playboy Playmates as guests.
- The Joanie Laurer (aka Chyna) episode certainly counts as fanservice as well, with Chyna wearing a knock off Wonder Woman outfit in her games. Another episode featured Neena and Veena the snake tamers/bellydancers, whose gyrating hips certainly were hypnotizing.
- Certain playings of "Newsflash", such as one where Colin is in front of footage of bikini babes on the beach ("This is one of those stories where you're just getting in the way, Colin."), or, for the ladies (or gay guys), a stripping cop who strips down to his underwear.
- For the ladies and maybe some fanboys, David Hasselhoff in a full leather outfit straight out of Knight Rider.
- Wayne's outfits tend toward this, looking as snug as they do. His rather large butt also gets plenty of attention.
- Ryan tends to either mime taking his clothes off, or acting like a stripper or porn star.
- In a playing of "Hollywood Director" where Ryan is a hunky pool boy hitting on Kathy Greenwood as an equestrian, Colin, at one point, directs everyone to pretend as if they are in a Baywatch rerun; Kathy then adjusts her bra, pushing her breasts upward and outward, and later starts doing jumping jacks. Not only does Drew give her 5,000 points for that one, but later during that same taping (though not the exact same episode), Drew declares her the winner.
  Drew: I think it was all that jumping up and down that did it.
  - Kathy later confessed in an interview that she believes this is why she kept getting called back to appear on the show, adding, "I was breastfeeding at the time, so my boobs were huge!"
Feghoot: Colin is prone to this during "Weird Newscasters".
Colin: Our top story today: Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer dead at 53... I know it is sad; over Barcelona today, the famed reindeer was hit by a flock of seagulls and a 747 [airliner]. Eyewitnesses report that the reindeer in Spain was hit mainly by the plane.
Find the Cure!: The game of "Improbable Mission" of going to the grocery store has this. Ryan flubs a line, causing Colin to claim confusion gas is being pumped into the building. Luckily, the cure is rubbing against blue shoes which Ryan happened to be wearing at the moment.
Finish Dialogue in Unison: In one "Whose Line", the scene was Samson and Delilah. Ryan, playing against type, played Delilah, which pleased Colin, since he often plays the woman in a scene. But then...
Drew: Samson, played by Colin... not so fast... is furious with Delilah-
Colin/Drew: ...For cutting off his hair.
First-World Problems: In one "Greatest Hits", Ryan said that, unlike the '60s, there's not a lot to protest nowadays.
Ryan: Well sure, if you really want to look for something, the first five questions of Millionaire are way too easy.
555:
- From one of the episodes with Whoopi Goldberg:
  Colin: How am I doing? Phone 555-
- Jeff apparently thinks the telephones in Japan also use this.
Flipping the Bird:
- In the outtakes on the DVD, the performers (and Drew) repeatedly do this to the staff, but mostly to Keith Richmond.
- Ryan gave Drew the finger (a response to Drew's How Many Fingers? remark) after the infamous "Party Quirks" where Ryan accidentally broke the neon light on Drew's desk with his head.
- During the "Foreign Film Dub" of "Meatballs Blow Up" (in Swedish), Ryan dubbed Drew to say "This is the first exercise I've had in three years!" In retaliation, Drew put his left hand in his blazer to give Ryan the finger.
- Brad saying, "Hey guys, wanna see my hands turn blurry?" referenced under Censor Box.
- After a playing of Mixed Messages, when Wayne reveals that one of the conversations he read that the sister of woman whose phone he borrowed then-recently asked her, after the woman said she's arrived at CBS Studios for the recording of the episode, "Is [Whose Line] still a show?", he then starts a FaceTime call to show her that the show is still a thing, and all the other cast members, Colin, Ryan, Jeff, and Aisha, crowd around and join him in flipping the sister off in faux-outrage.
Flowery Elizabethan English: Happens whenever the scene is supposed to be based on Shakespeare.
Force Feeding: Occurs quite often in "Helping Hands". Usually, it's Colin who will insert some disgusting food combination into Ryan's mouth, but occasionally the other player will do so as well, such as in the episode with Florence Henderson: She stuffed a LOT of meatloaf into Ryan's mouth.
Ryan: I had some [meat loaf] in my hair there! It was all the way down my throat!
Forceful Kiss: Joanie Laurer gave a really long kiss to both Colin and Ryan in "Dubbing". Colin's kiss was so long that Ryan looked at his watch during it.
Foregone Conclusion:
- Ryan ends a line with "scary" or "hairy" during Hoedown? He's going to rhyme it with "Drew Carey".
- As the show got into the third and fourth Drew-era seasons, Wayne's Weird Newscasters quirk was increasingly written in a way that would give Wayne a chance to bring an embarrassed Drew into the skit, and unfortunately for Drew, Wayne almost always gave into the temptation. Quirks like "ugly hillbilly desperate to get someone to accept his marriage proposal" are only going to end one way. This doesn't happen as often in the Aisha version, even though she's far more willing to play along.
Foreign Cuss Word:
- On the US Whose Line, the players (well, more like Ryan) can get away with using the two-fingered "up yours" gesture without the censors blurring it. Like in this Two-Line Vocabulary.
- Greg also managed to slip the Weird Newscaster name "Wink Wankley" past the US radar.
Foreign Remake:
- No, not the US version: there was also a recent Russian remake, titled "Ни бе ни ме нехило" (Ni be ni me nekhilo) ^note. The host was pretty bad and the cast choice was just stupid^note, and they did a twofer mistake in remaking a show unknown to Russian viewers and aggravating those who know about it by not even giving credit. Oh and to add insult to injury they immediately started relying on guest stars. The aforementioned ensured that the show died painfully despite heavy hype, after lasting only four episodes.
- Early 2000's there was a Dutch version as well. This one actually did pretty well, became it's channel's big name show, and put some (somewhat) obscure Dutch comedians into the spotlight who then went on to have extensive TV careers to this day. And it was called The Llama's. Why? Why indeed.
Four More Measures: Colin does this almost every time they play Hoedown in order to give himself more time to think.
Fourth Wall Greeting: Parodied during "Scenes From a Hat": One of the suggestions was tapes that don't fly off the shelves at Blockbuster. Wayne comes on stage, mimes that he's taking a shower (or rubbing lotion on; it's rather vague):
Wayne: Oh, hi there. I'm Drew Carey.
Freeze-Frame Bonus: Chip figured out how to cause his stool to sway in his wake; when he did it after his Snagglepuss bit, it was intentional.
Fridge Logic:
- Always invoked and played for laughs, such as Colin somehow reporting from beyond the grave that rabid hamsters killed everyone in the US.
- In a playing of "Sound Effects" with the theme of Star Wars, Colin mentioned that they're out of ammo.
  Ryan: How can you be out of ammo in a laser guided ship?!
From Bad to Worse: The premise of many "Sound Effects" scenes, where one calamity after another befalls the players.
Frothy Mugs of Water:
- Averted in some Helping Hands sketches, where Ryan is exposed to real alcohol, which he will usually point out.
- Bartender is a completely straight example since they either have water or just mime drinking alcohol.
Full-Name Ultimatum: Aisha calls out "Jeff Bryan Davis" the second time he does one of his disturbing finger-twisting tricks in a game of World's Worst.
The "Fun" in "Funeral":
- Some suggestions in "Props" feature a recurring joke when the prop can look like a pair of boobs from underneath. "Today, we bury (insert big-breasted woman's name here)."
- In the Robin Williams episode, there was the "Scenes From A Hat" suggestion "If entertainers worked funerals."
- The UK version had a game of "World's Worst" with the theme of things to do at a funeral.
- The premise of the game "Funeral" where one actor took the role of a director and two others (three in the UK version) played mourners. Both times when Drew announced the name of the game, Greg broke down in laughter.
Funny Afro:
- One "Questions With Wigs" featured Ryan entering the scene wearing a giant yellow afro, asking "What's happenin'?" in a surfer voice.
- Another episode had a Song Styles with Wayne doing a disco song to a girl. Wayne sang, Kathy Greenwood,ryan and Colin backup danced - all wearing big afro wigs for silliness. Ryan after the game put the red afro he was wearing on Drew. Ryan said Drew looked like Sideshow Bob with that afro on. Drew said he looks like a drunk girl on "Cops".
Funny Background Event:
- It's often just as amusing to watch the performers who aren't participating in the games, as they often are seen dying of laughter while watching the games. An example is the "Showstopping Number" where Colin's last two lines are gibberish; Greg can be seen laughing hard in his chair.
- Just watch Wayne whenever he's in the background, period. An extreme example can be found during the infamous "burnoose/the cat!" edition of "Improbable Mission": at one point you can see Wayne actually leap out of his chair for a second because he's laughing so hard.
- Wayne also leaped out of his chair to gawk at Ryan kissing Florence Henderson.
- This can also apply to audience members as well; in the infamous Richard Simmons episode, check out one audience member laughing and clapping so hard that he can't stay seated.
  - And in the "Let's Make a Date" where Drew gave Greg the hint of "Who's the real famous looooove rooster from the '70s" and Greg responds to this in confusion, one audience member behind Drew is laughing so hard that his eyes are shut.
- In the 2nd episode of the reboot, while they're playing Song Styles, Colin is in the background doing a dance that looks like a mashup of a gospel-type dance and jazz hands.
- The preview for the Maggie Q episode has Ryan, Colin and Nyima Funk roped in to dance along behind Wayne for Song Styles - Colin suddenly goes into a Bob Fosse-inspired routine, then realises that Ryan and Nymia are doing something totally different, and hurriedly switches styles.
- An audio example. In one taping, a woman from the audience is clearly heard over everyone else, exclaiming "Aaauuueeeewwwwww!!" during "Newsflash" (people eating bugs) and "Helping Hands" where Drew played an Italian deli owner.
- During the "Party Quirks" game where Ryan and Greg gawk into the camera (a window into the girls' locker room), Colin and Wayne temporarily drop their quirks and mime playing a card game, which can be briefly seen in the background behind Ryan and Greg.
- One reboot episode features Ryan as a penguin during "Let's Make A Date"... eventually getting a whole line of audience members to join him in his march.
- In the revival series, there's been more cases of the guys in the back leaning to the side as far as possible to get a look at whatever Colin's doing to Ryan in "Helping Hands".
- The moment when bodybuilder Jayne Trcka slid her hand past Wayne's crotch is also worth watching to see Colin's shocked pose in the background.
- In a "Helping Hands" game where a champagne bottle explodes on Ryan, Chip can be seen nearly falling out of his chair laughing.
Funny Foreigner:
- In a playing of "Hollywood Director", Colin broke from his usual characterization by acting like an immigrated citizen. His first line in the scene was this:
  Colin: J'know, when I first come to this country with nothing but a hammer and a powerful laxative, I thought, "I wouldn't have to deal with this crup!"
- A few "Let's Make a Date" contestants were played in this fashion, such as Chip pretending to be an Eastern European:
  Chip: Bachelor #2, in my country, we say "ghostrramn ekerlgl nabnil."

Gag Penis:
- From imaginary ones to actual ones thanks to some of the Props. Ryan loves making jokes about these.
  Ryan: [Wearing a drill instructor cap, chanting] Come play on my obstacle course! I am hung just like a horse!
- Colin implies this with the name of one of his news anchors.
  Colin: Hello, I'm Quite Hung.
- Ryan's verse from the 100th episode:
  Colin says he's hung the best, that I just can't see
  I've known him for a long time, and it cannot be
  He says he's got a big penis, but that's not a lock
  'Cause I have to tell you right now: mine's tucked in my sock
- One Scenes from a Hat was "How the naked Fridays policy worked out at your office":
  Wayne: Limbo, anyone? [buzz]
  Greg: [following something along the ground, looks up] Colin?!
  Colin: [waves] Hi. [buzz!]
  Ryan: [pressing imaginary button] My boss will see you now.
  Colin: Well, take your finger off my dick. [Ryan grabs the imaginary penis and wraps it over Colin's shoulder]
- A playing of "Party Quirks" had Ryan as an activities leader of a nudist camp. He used his extra long imaginary penis for everything, from ringing the doorbell to using it as a sundial to using it as a jump rope to using it for the target in horseshoe throwing.
Gassy Gastronomy: On one episode of the show, the cast had to perform the Speeding Ticket Hoedown. When it was Colin's turn, his song was about how he went a hundred and twenty miles an hour while riding his bike and how he got pulled over by a cop named Mike for going that fast. His last line of the song was that he shouldn't have had that extra helping of beans.
Gender Reveal: In a "Weird Newcasters" where Wayne played a sultan girl.
Colin: Here's a tip: really look under the hood.
Genre-Busting:
- The show itself. In fact, it was so unique to the U.S. TV landscape at the time, that there was a controversy on whether the creative consultants, the people who crafted the scenes that the performers would improvise, should've gotten writer credits and thus, higher pay.
- Lampshaded by Drew in one episode:
  Drew: Welcome back to "Whose Line Is It Anyway", the show that the Emmys just don't have a category for.
- In the "Greatest Hits" about Rome, one song was done in the style of Tex-Mex. Chip yodeled during it, leading to this after the song:
  Ryan: You know, when you listen to Tex-Mex you don't often hear yodeling, but you hear it on this CD!
  Chip: I travel a lot!
Genre Savvy: In a playing of "Questions Only", Wayne and Kathy Greenwood stop at Frankenstein's Castle on their honeymoon, though both of them are cautious about entering:
Wayne: You wanna go in?
Kathy: Shouldn't you go first?
Wayne: Why the brotha gotta go first? Don't you watch horror movies? Uh-uh!
George Jetson Job Security:
- During a "Scenes From a Hat" when the performers made fun of Drew a lot.
  Drew: [smiling] I have the power to hire and fire.
- After the "Weird Newscasters" where Ryan played someone descending the evolutionary scale and insinuating that Drew was lower than a primate, Drew is seen on the phone.
  Ryan: [mock nervousness] All right, I'll just leave now...
Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Referenced in-universe by Wayne when singing to David Hasselhoff:
Wayne: (singing) I done sold fifty bajillion records over in Germany, but twenty over here- nah, I'm just kiddin'.
Get A Hold Of Yourself Man:
- One game of "Hollywood Director" has Wayne as a panicking airplane passenger, leading up to Jeff "hitting" him. Similarly, a different session had Ryan doing this to Screaming Woman Heather Anne when they were supposed to be "easily frightened".
- One game of "Sound Effects" based around Jurassic World has Ryan deliberately going hysterical just to draw this from Colin. It's "Sound Effects" though, so it ended up sounding like nothing.
Colin: Next time I'll actually hit ya!
Get a Room!: During one "Scenes From a Hat", one suggestion was "diet books that didn't exactly fly off the shelves". Ryan said: ""Lose Weight", by Drew Carey." Chip retaliated with: ""Eat Yourself Smart", by Ryan Stiles." Chip and Drew gave each other a high-five, leading Ryan to remark:
Ryan: Why don't you two get a hotel?
Get Out!:
- In a playing of "Action Replay" where Wayne and Kathy Greenwood played a couple having an argument:
  Wayne: Y'know, five years of marriage to you... it's too much.
  Kathy: Then GET OUTTA HERE!!!
- During one of the episode intros:
  Drew: And, GET OUT! JUST GET OUT! Ryan Stiles!
- Rarely were the "Party Quirks" guests thrown out, but Chip made an exception with Wayne after his infamous King Kong vs. Godzilla quirk (the one where he accidentally lifted audience member Melissa's skirt while carrying her):
Chip: King Kong movie, get out of my house!
Girl on Girl Is Hot:
- One example of "Inappropriate Things To Say At A Wedding":
  Nyima: Are you gonna kiss the bride, or can I?
  [beat]
  Wayne: [mimes holding a camcorder] Go ahead...
- The "Newsflash" of nothing but kissing, including same-sex and Colin. It's time for Colin to guess, but Ryan tells everyone to wait first when it's two chicks kissing.
Glass-Shattering Sound: In a "Weird Newscasters" where Kathy Greenwood played the wife of a Mafia boss, she put on a shrill, high-pitched, whiny voice that eventually caused Colin to mime his glasses breaking.
Global Ignorance:
- Colin and Ryan are less than thrilled to do a "Greatest Hits" about "Songs of Norway", because they apparently don't know much about the subject (Colin remarks: "We're screwed."). They lampshade this during the banter:
  Ryan: Norway: A country far, far away! A country where many songs have been written about it! And the subjects, oh! They flow like water from the Norweigan... the area where the water flows!
  Colin: We've come up with 15,000 songs all about Norway. I bet you can't even come up with THREE. But we've come up with 15,000!
- In another "Greatest Hits", the subject was Rome. There was this tidbit:
  Ryan: We've assembled forty songs on thirty CDs, all about the city of Rome, "the city of love". Is it?
  Colin: It could be.
  Ryan: It is now!
- "Africa is a big country, right next to India."
Going Postal:
- During the one playing of "Survival Show", Wayne's character threatens to go postal on Ryan and Colin by miming taking out a shotgun after they refuse to sing along with him. Appropriately enough, the scene took place in a post office.
- One "Let's Make a Date" had Colin as a disgruntled postal worker, which slowly descended into madness as he took out a 'gun' and held Wayne hostage.
  Colin: Doesn't matter, rain, sleet or snow, as long as YOU get what YOU WANT!!!
Go Mad from the Isolation: One early "Let's Make a Date" had Colin as a "deranged window dresser who thinks the other two bachelors are mannequins".
Colin: We should do this all the time... OH WAIT, WE DO!! [goes Laughing Mad]
Good News, Bad News:
- A scene in "Scenes From a Hat" had Greg going for the jugular:
  Greg: Merry Christmas! I got you a present! [Wayne pretends to open it] It's Geppetto on DVD!
  - Subverted by Greg after Drew had an annoyed look on his face:
    Greg: The bad news was it was Christmas.
- Also done in Bait-and-Switch style with this example: "The good news is, they're going to name a disease after you." Despite leaving it at that, the audience got it.
- Colin tells Wayne "You're on a very funny show. It's on opposite 'Friends'".
A Good, Old-Fashioned Paint Watching: In one "World's Worst" TV program has Ryan looking into space for a few seconds before telling the camera:
Ryan: Ten more minutes, we can put on a second coat. [goes back to staring]
Gratuitous Foreign Language:
- In a "Foreign Film Dub" with Swedish as the language, Drew slips in English words amidst his fake Swedish (plus an acronym consisting entirely of names):
  Drew: Farda farda Ikea, farda farda... unbelievable prices!
- In the "Changed Letter" where Gs replaced Ps, Colin randomly said, "Asseyez-vous" (roughly meaning "Sit here"), despite not being a French character or speaking any other French in the scene.
- In the "Foreign Film Dub" with Sid Caesar, he's speaking fake Russian and slips something else in.
  Sid Caesar: That's some borscht!
- In the "Greatest Hits" about songs of the international spy:
  Wayne: [singing] How does an old guy like me get such young chicks? I don't know. Aguna hatta poona hey!
Greeting Gesture Confusion: In the "Scenes From A Hat" suggestion "Inappropriate things to do when meeting the Queen (of England)", Wayne pretends to meet the Queen (played by Colin) and gives a overly complicated handshake routine.
Groin Attack:
- One "Weird Newscasters" had Ryan as someone who was hit in the crotch with a football.
- During one "Let's Make A Date," Wayne's quirk involves him being handcuffed to Colin. In all the running around Colin has to do for his persona (a 40's gangster in a failed bank robbery), Wayne accidentally slams his crotch into a stool. This, and the face he makes, sets the audience off.
- And there's a Newsflash where the footage was of skateboarders wiping out and landing on railings crotch-first.
- One "Scenes From a Hat" suggestion was "refreshingly honest statements that could earn you a black eye." Brad told Ryan, "I want you to punch me hard in the eye.", to which Ryan instead mimed punching him in the crotch.
- From the revival, Jeff's idea of America's Funniest Home Videos. There's also been an increase in Colin (sometimes Ryan) going for 'Lil Wayne' in "Living Scenery".
Gross Up Closeup:
- Attempted a few times in the old US show, but the 2013 revival makes sure to get a real good look at Ryan horking down pasta thanks to Colin in "Helping Hands".
- In a "Party Quirks", Ryan as a "series of ugly undersea creatures swimming up to investigate the cameras".

Hair-Trigger Temper:
- Done in a few "Helping Hands". This example, where Ryan played an Italian deli owner, was done primarily so Colin could vigorously shake the soda in his hands:
  Drew: Would you like some wine-
  Ryan: HEY! What's the matter with you? I gotta shake my fist in anger at you! Be quiet, I shake-a my fist in anger at you!
  Drew: No, have some chianti!
  Ryan: You be quiet, I tell ya, you be quiet! [shouts gibberish]
  Drew: Papa, why you gotta argue?? [Ryan opens the soda, and predictably it spurts all over Colin's hands]
- A U.K. "Let's Make a Date" featured Ryan suffering some serious road rage. He began the scene only slightly peeved and quickly escalated to shouting at the top of his lungs for the stalled traffic to get moving.
- In a "Helping Hands" where Ryan and Kathy Greenwood played newlyweds on their honeymoon, the two began the scene lovey-dubby, but then Kathy made a remark and Ryan frustratingly replied with, "Oh, it's startin' already, is it?!", only to be calmed back down by Kathy's next line.
- Another "Helping Hands" had Ryan as an ill-tempered owner of an ice cream shop. Ryan's quirk is lampshaded at the start of the game:
  Drew: Why are you in such a bad mood, man?
  Ryan: I'm ill-tempered!
Half the Man He Used to Be: In a "Film Dub", one of the characters has his upper body peering out of a tank. Ryan takes this in an unexpected direction:
Ryan: That's my friend. He only has an upper body.
Hammerspace:
- Implied in a Scenes From A Hat suggestion "things you want to see as a prize in a box of cereal" inspires Colin to pretend to look into a small box and say, "Pamela Anderson!"
- Also, in the "Party Quirks" game when Ryan pretends to be smuggling animals past airport security in his clothes, he ends up pretending there's a elephant trumpeting while in his clothes.
- Also implied in the Shoplifting Hoedown, when Wayne claims he tried to put a rhino and and a cheetah in his pants at the zoo.
Hands-On Approach: Performed by Ryan on Kathy Griffin during "Hollywood Director" when he played a "hunky golf pro".
Hand Signals: After the first song in the "Greatest Hits" about Paris, Ryan made a kissing motion with his hands:
Ryan: That means "I like it!"
Colin: Also, I think it's a dirty word to a fish. [Ryan chuckles]
Hand Wave:
- Generally, the solutions to the problems in "Superheroes" are either glossed over entirely or given some sort of quick fix.
- Done literally in a session of Sound Effects, with Colin and Ryan as Jedi pilots. Thanks to one lightsaber sound coming up too soon, Ryan mimes his own leg getting chopped off by accident. Guess how Colin rectifies it.
Hangover Sensitivity: The premise of the short-lived game "Really Bad Hangover". Probably due to being extremely similar to "Sound Effects", it was only played once.
#HashtagForLaughs: In the revival, during some games a hashtag for the gag in play appears. For example, one Newsflash depicting dentistry is accompanied with #DentalFears.
Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?:
- Colin, during a "Greatest Hits of Women":
  Ryan: I don't know about you, but I love 'em.
  Colin: I love 'em... more! ...I'm not insecure about my sexual identity! I LOVE WOMEN! [shifty eyes] Sleep. ''[taps Ryan's head]'' You will forget I ever said that. Awake.
- Ryan in one Weird Newscasters is "desperately trying to quell rumors that he's gay."
- In a "Greatest Hits" about songs of the doctor:
  Ryan: You know, I guess you've figured out by now that Colin and I like to take in a lot of theater. And there's nothing we like more than showtunes.
  Colin: Nothin'! [begins to make a hand gesture but stops]
  Ryan: That's... sorry?
  Colin: No... yeah yeah, we love...
  Ryan: No no, you look like you've got something urgent to say!
  Colin: No, no we love showtunes. I'm married.
- After a commercial break:
  Drew: And listen, for the thousands of you that have written in, no, Colin and Ryan are not a couple.
  Wayne: [puzzled] ...Really??
  Drew: A couple of what, that's what I'd like to know!
  - During the following "Greatest Hits":
    Colin: As long as there's been doctors, there's been people singing about them.
    Ryan: By the way, we're not a couple. [audience laughs]
    Colin: [to Ryan, murmuring] ...When did that happen?
    Ryan: [to Colin, murmuring] Shut up...
- After Colin kissed Ryan in "Scenes From a Hat":
  Colin: I have got to get home to my wife.
Headphones Equal Isolation: Done deliberately in "Action Replay" so that the second pair of performers (usually Ryan and Colin) don't know what the first performers did for a scene and have to make up their own. An amusing Running Gag is how Colin or Ryan often wince and say "Ow!" when they bring the headphones close to their ears, due to how loud the music coming out of them is.
Hearing Voices:
- One "World's Worst" about psychiatrists featured this:
  Colin: [looks up] I was just gonna tell him. [pause] I know, I know!
- A "Scenes From a Hat" featured the voices in Colin's head getting into an argument about who the little voice in his head was.
Heavy Mithril: Referred to as "fantasy rock" in one Song Styles in the 2019 season.
Heel Realization: The "Irish Drinking Song" about sleeping with an ugly woman had Colin embarrassed at his final line:
Colin: It looked like someone had beat her!
- Drew felt guilty about repeatedly calling Ryan a freak after Ryan made fun of him in "Weird Newscasters".
Drew: You're not a freak, you're my friend, I shouldn't have called you a freak on national TV.
- After the "Duet" to Florence Henderson where Brad sang "Come on, Mrs. Brady, please give me a treat / I'll be Sam the Butcher and then you can try my meat!":
Wayne: I feel like asking her advice.
Brad: I feel like apologizing for the butcher joke!
Helpless with Laughter: A common occurrence, usually involving in performers corpsing so hard that they can no longer speak, move, or continue the gag. In one memorable case, Colin's "tapioca" joke prompted Ryan to slowly collapse into helpless giggling until he had to end his original gag on the grounds of no longer retaining the power of speech.
Here We Go Again!: Occasionally happens if Drew accidentally says that the next game is the same game they just got done playing. The performers often pretend to start the entire scene again. One time, Colin and Ryan just pointed and laughed.
Heroic BSoD:
- A very, very, very minor version occurred in the "Hoedown" about body odor. Ryan, typically a pro at this game, was stumped and told the audience to go take a break while he thinks of what to sing. He then sat down while thinking and told Drew, "I'm phased out. I can't (bleep)ing think." Drew offered to sing his verses for him, and Ryan told him to stand behind him and sing, so he could mouth Drew's words.
- Happens in the revival series at the end of the second game of "Party Quirks", after Jeff finds himself reduced to Kathy's level after being unable to guess Ryan's act.
- Played for Laughs after the "Song Styles" where Wayne sang to female bodybuilder Jayne Trcka. Wayne went back to his seat with his jacket still off and covered himself with it like a blanket, shaking in mock trauma.
Heterosexual Life-Partners: You can't have Colin Mochrie without Ryan Stiles!
- Ryan appeared without Colin in earlier British episodes, and while a competent enough player alone, there was no hint of the hilarity they would achieve together.
- This is downplayed in shows done previous to the revival series, such as Drew Carey's Green Screen and Drew Carey's Improvaganza. Ryan never did the Green Screen show, but Colin did. Both of them were on Improvaganza and did a few games together, but were much more often paired off with other performers.
- With each new gig that Wayne takes on, he seems increasingly likely to bring Jonathan Mangum along for the ride.
- Until he was sick with the flu for a taping in the revival series, Colin had only ever appeared in one episode without Ryan, which also happened to be his first appearance on the show.
- On the female side, there's Laura Hall and Linda Taylor. Laura was used on every episode of Drew Carey's run, so naturally she and Linda got paired together very often. They also shared a square during a Whose Line-themed week of The Hollywood Squares, and they even did a joint Ask Me Anything on Reddit.
Hilarious Outtakes:
- Since the program tapes in four-hour blocks, they can edit some of the more flavorful ones out, but they will keep many of them (and even have special "Too Hot for Whose Line" episodes with some).
- Surprisingly, one U.K. Hoedown about giving birth left in Greg's aborted first try, despite that his second try was much more successful.
  Greg: You know, failing is one of the major parts of television.
Hint Dropping:
- Games of "Greatest Hits" usually feature Ryan trying to prompt Colin into guessing what the next music style will be. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it... doesn't, leading to instances like the one in which Ryan asked Colin what he likes to put on his chips:
  Colin: Why, a little bit of paper.
  Ryan: Say the paper you're eating is kind of bland, what would you put on the paper to make it more exciting?
  Colin: Salt.
  Ryan: ...sa. Salsa!
- One instance had Colin giving hints to Ryan:
  Colin: What does this remind you of? Mood rings... white suits... pet rocks...
  Ryan: Your wedding.
- Hint dropping is also very common in "Moving People", since the people from the audience often neglect to move the characters' heads. This was particularly prominent in a playing where the style was The Lone Ranger and audience member Joe never moved Ryan's head until the very end. It's possible Joe knew what Ryan wanted, but thought it was funny that he wasn't moving his head. Of course, Ryan (whose head faced towards the ground) poked fun at this the whole time:
  Ryan: [as Tonto] You know I will not look at anything besides this spot on ground!
  Ryan: Me hope it's not too far from spot on ground.
  Ryan: Look! Me block spot on ground with hand!
  Ryan: Me try to move head with own hand but won't help!
  Ryan: Some day, I hope to see world...
  Ryan: [hands moved] I imagine it's so beautiful over there!
- For obvious reasons, heavily used in "Sound Effects" whenever the audience members provided sound effects.
- A rare game of "Lets Make a Date" where Ryan's suggestion is just two words long ends with him being forced to do this anyway.
  Greg: I think he was a series of dinosaurs... or perhaps a -
  Ryan: [honking from offscreen] GOOSE! GOOSE!... ANGRY GOOSE!!
Hired for Their Looks:
- In one episode, Drew addressed how to be a performer on Whose Line: Take a naked polaroid of yourself, and send it to "I Wanna Be on Whose Line".
  Chip: That's how I got on.
- It's been suspected by fans that this is why Kathy Greenwood was on so many times. She has an extensive improv background, but on Whose Line was mainly used in straight man roles such as the bachelorette in Let's Make A Date, or the host in Party Quirks. Kathy basically confirmed this in a later interview where she stated she was breast feeding at the time, so her breasts were much bigger than normal.
Hoist by His Own Petard:
- Meta-example in the 2013 series - from the sneak preview based on 90210, The CW was apparently trying to pitch their other shows with it. What they got was one Take That! after another.
- In "Showstopping Number", Wayne would frequently make long, complicated sentences that would be difficult to set to music (ex: "I travel everywhere putting holes in things and choosing people to be my minions to go along with me and put holes in things!"), the logic being that Drew wouldn't buzz him to sing what he just said if he did that. This backfired on him once when his sentence of "itty bitty panty party partakes of the participations of the partisan committee" was buzzed. True to form, though, Wayne sung it brilliantly anyway.
- In the "Wrong Name in Bed" Irish Drinking Song, Drew partially mumbled his opening line and Ryan rhymed in complete gibberish. As a result, the song went Off the Rails and stopped temporarily when Colin let out a "Meow!" Colin said "Meow!" again to end the song, leaving Ryan, Wayne and Drew unable to keep their composure through the final chorus.
Home Game:
- During a "Scenes From a Hat", Greg and Wayne pretended to be door-to-door salesmen selling the home version of Whose Line is it Anyway?. No such game actually exists, however.
- One game of Party Quirks starts with Chip as the host claiming to have this home game, "it came with an inflatable Drew doll!"
  - Probably because they thought no one would ever pay for something they could pretty much make at home for next-to-nothing. There are plenty of people who still have "Whose Line" parties today.
Hollywood California: The taping site for the last UK season and the American run. The cast takes full advantage by mentioning the LAPD, the traffic in the area, and the then woefully bad Los Angeles Dodgers.
Hollywood Silencer: One session of Sound Effects got this memorable example.
Colin: I am going to cock my gun.
[beat]
Colin: Oh, it's got a silencer.
Homeschooled Kids: Referenced at the end of the "Weird Newscasters" when Wayne played a dancer in steamy rap video. Drew asked Wayne where he learned those dance moves, and Wayne replied, "Home schooling."
Hong Kong Dub:
- Parodied in this Hollywood Director, among other skits.
- Unavoidable in "Film Dub", due to the players not seeing the footage beforehand. A few playings of "Film Dub" even featured Eastern films, such as one in the U.K. version where the scene was a barber shop... despite being set in a karate dojo.
Hostile Show Takeover:
- One of Ryan's more memorable "Weird Newscasters" quirks was that he was a mercenary on a mission to replace everyone on the show.
- This trope was referenced in an "Infomercial" about going sober. Colin put a wind-up lighter in Ryan's mouth and Drew interrupted the sketch to warn them that it was a lighter and could set Ryan's mouth on fire. After Colin removed the lighter, Ryan guilt-tripped Colin: "Someone wants their own show."
How Many Fingers?: Said after the "Party Quirks" where Ryan broke the neon light on Drew's desk with his head. Ryan answered "four", and Drew said it was close enough. Then, Ryan asked the same question while giving Drew the finger.
Hulk Speak:
- One "Scenes from a Hat" suggestion was "If Tarzan had appeared in other shows". Two of Ryan's suggestions involved speaking in this manner:
  Ryan: Mmm, yes that final answer.
  Ryan: Me want Boy go. [audience barely responds] It's a Survivor thing! Me want Boy... [walks off stage with a look of disbelief]
- Averted (briefly) in a "Sound Effects" with Ryan as Tarzan and Colin as Jane:
  Colin: Oh look, those coconuts look nice!
  Ryan: You want Tarzan to go get one for youuu??
  Colin: All right. [does double take; Ryan looks equally surprised] You know what? Those Berlitz tapes are really helping you!
  Ryan: They were. Night school course pay off for Tarzan.
- Wayne does this in a game of "Dubbing" as She-Hulk (even though that's not comic book accurate).
Humans Are Bastards: During "Scenes From a Hat", one of the suggestions was "Things that make the audience boo". Ryan's example was miming pushing an old lady into oncoming traffic. While some boos were heard, there were also a lot of laughs and applause. Ryan seemed genuinely surprised at the mixed reaction.
Human Popsicle:
- A game of "Let's Make A Date" has Ryan as a defrosting caveman who comes to life.
- The new version has a "Hollywood Director" game with Ryan and Jonathan Magnum finding Wayne as a frozen caveman in a Arctic cave who defrosts and comes to life.
Humanshifting: A game of "Let's Make A Date" has Ryan pretend to be a mad scientist who drinks potions that turn him into the other two contestants - Wayne and Colin.
Hurricane of Euphemisms: The "If You Know What I Mean" game.
Hypocritical Humor:
- During a playing of "Questionable Impressions", Wayne did impressions of Walter Brennan, Floyd the Barber, and Ed Wynn. Colin (as Peter Lorre) said, "Can't you do anyone from the last ten years?!" Like Peter Lorre (whose last film appearance was in 1964) is any more obscure than Walter Brennan, who actually acted longer than Lorre?
- A "Scenes From a Hat" game suggestion is "Strange Causes to Raise Money for". Ryan says "Give Drew Carey a third show?". This from the guy who was regularly on "Whose Line" and "The Drew Carey Show" at the time.
- In the "Greatest Hits" about Rome, after Ryan gets confused by Colin's analogy about TV stars who later became recording artists:
  Colin: You watched way too much television as a child.
  Ryan: Told ya.
  Colin: I know, Gilligan.

I Am Spartacus: Parodied in one of Drew's openings introducing the cast.
Drew: On tonight's show - "I'm Spartacus!", Wayne Brady! "I'm Spartacus!", Kathy Greenwood! "I'm Spartacus!", Colin Mocherie! and "It's him! Over there! The tall guy!", Ryan Stiles!
I Am Not Shazam: Invoked; whenever Braveheart is the scene, the main character's name will inevitably be "Braveheart", not "William Wallace".
I Can't Believe It's Not Heroin!: In a "Hollywood Director" where Ryan and Kathy Greenwood are a 1950s teenage couple making out, they see Wayne (playing a police officer) behind them.
Ryan: I've had a Coke; quick, get behind the wheel!
If I Had a Nickel...: A running gag.
Drew: Boy, if I had a nickel for every time someone said that to me...
Ryan: You'd have a dime.
- Mixed with Double Entendre after the "Infomercial" where Colin stuck a lighter in Ryan's mouth:
  Drew: Well, he was putting it right in your mouth and he was about to crank it, and I was like "Whoa!""
  Ryan: If I had a nickel for every time that's happened!
- One time Wayne is confused by how bizarre the idea for him in "Weird Newscasters" is - being sucked into a black hole in the camera. So after he does his part, Colin makes fun of it by saying, "If I had a nickel for every time I saw that happen."
- After the game "Living Scenery" is explained with Richard Simmons guest starring, Richard says "I'll be ALL the props for these men!", which causes Drew to remark, "Man, if I had a nickel..."
- Before a "Two Line Vocabulary" set in a jungle:
  Drew: Jeff, the only lines you're allowed to say are "I resent that!" and "Oh my God, that's enormous." Man, if I had a nickel...!
  Ryan: Here we go.
I Just Shot Marvin in the Face:
- One skit had Ryan (Jim Bowie) accidentally shoot Colin (Davey Crockett) because he thought his gun was empty.
- This happens one time in the revival series, where they all had to act like they were on caffeine in "Hollywood Director". While holding "shotguns".
- A slight variant in a new game of "Sound Effects" involved a hand grenade that went off way too soon.
I'll Be in My Bunk:
- The revival episode with "Secret" and the cardboard cutout of Colin's head on an underwear model's body (very seamlessly 'shopped one might add). It ends with all the guys reading the credits while messing around with the cutout, when suddenly Aisha walks up, wordlessly takes the thing and walks off again.
- The one with Scott Porter, after he was done humping Wayne.
  Aisha: [fanning herself] I might need a minute.
I'll Kill You!: Jeff's idea of Christopher Walken.
Jeff: I swear I'll come to your house and murder your family...
Imagined Innuendo:
- One session of Greatest Hits was about "Songs of Golf", whereupon Ryan cooked up the title "A Squirrel Chewed My Bag". Brad figured out one possible implication of this, but without any time to word it properly, the refrain of the song became "He chewed on my bag, and my balls fell out". And it made it to broadcast.
- One "Let's Make a Date" in the old show had Colin as "having secret affairs with Ryan and Wayne's shoes", and eventually pulling off one of Ryan's shoes. The way Kathy Greenwood worded it, though...
  Kathy: Do you have a shoe fetish... a fetish for large things...?
I'm a Humanitarian:
- One "Scenes From a Hat" suggestion was unlikely lounge songs, and Chip sang: "Cannibalism... cannibalism..."
- In the "Greatest Hits" about pizza, Colin remarked that he used to go to the Alps, where he learned to rescue people trapped in the snow. After the first song, Colin remarked: "Oh, that brings back memories of people being trapped in the snow and having to eat each other."
- In a "Film Dub" with the scene of "waiting for the call to action", the scene ends with one of the characters lifting up a piece of chicken meat, and Ryan dubbing, "We're gonna make his other leg out of this!"
  Drew: Cannibalism. Boy, nothing brings a smile to America's face like cannibalism.
- A "Motown Group" about feeding the dog opened with some rather grisly lyrics:
  Wayne: I can feed Scruffy, and that's no bull. / I go over to my neighbor because I'm a cannibal. / And then I kill him / To feed the dog. / No, no, no. I kill that bro. / He's ten times cheaper than a can of Alpo. / Feed the dog!
Impossible Thief: The end of the first Ryan-less episode of the revival series had Greg and Colin as two chatting cops not noticing that Wayne and Jeff have robbed them clean — Greg goes "where's my gun?" and Colin one-ups him with a cry of "My penis!"
Incredibly Long Note: The last note in the "Greatest Hits" song "It Sucks Up Pennies" (from the traveling salesman playing) was held for a long time, prompting this after the song:
Colin: You know, they held that note for 15 minutes, beating The Beatles' "Hmmm" at the end of "A Day in the Life" by... some time. [beat] Sleep. [puts himself to sleep]
I Need a Freaking Drink:
- Noted actor Peter Cook appeared on an early episode of the UK version. Apparently, someone had taken him out for a drink to "loosen up," before the show began. He is quite clearly drunk throughout the episode. This didn't improve things.
- It happens in a game of "Bartender", where Wayne's quirk is being in love with Chip. Cue him entering the bar and locking the door, looking over his shoulder at Chip in a suggestive manner.
  Chip: I think I need the drink.
- After the "Let's Make a Date" with Ryan's really long quirk: ^note
  Drew: Man, somebody's gotta make these things shorter.
  Ryan: [to off-screen stagehand] Can I get a scotch??
- The first Ryan-less episode of the revival has Jeff and Greg as airline pilots for "Hollywood Director", whereupon Jeff gets the silliness going by mentioning that he's been sipping a margarita. Then the crisis part comes up, and what does he do?
  Jeff: I'm putting her on autopilot. I need a bigger margarita.
Ineffectual Death Threats:
- Drew has remarked more than once to Wayne and Ryan before "Weird Newscasters" that if they come near his desk to include him in a skit, he'll kill them. That didn't stop either from doing so anyway, though, such as in an episode when Ryan was a weatherman who used bodies as weather maps, and pointed to Drew's crotch, indicating to boaters that there was a "small craft warning".
- In the UK version, one "Scenes From a Hat" suggestion had Paul Merton tell Josie at a Weight Watchers party, "No luck, then?" Josie told him over audience laughter: "I'm gonna fucking kill you."
Info Dump:
- More common in the earlier seasons of the show when the games had to be explained to the audience in greater detail because they were new back then. One particular instance of a long-winded explanation was at the start of "Number of Words", where Drew not only had to explain that each performer could only use a certain number of words, but had to explain the scene, and assign the number of words for each performer.
  Drew: Did you get all that? Because I'm not repeating it!
- Lampshaded in a later episode before the "Greatest Hits" about songs of Norway. Drew got the topic that the cast had to make songs about, and went into laborious detail about the concept of the game.
  Drew: You guys are gonna make up names of songs, based on the suggest- the CD, songs of Norway, and then Wayne and Jeff- you're gonna pick a style of music, and Wayne and Jeff have to make up a song about it-
  Ryan: We've all played the game before, Drew.
- In the Greatest Hits about "Songs of the Plumber", Colin apparently thought this about Ryan:
  Ryan: You know, if you've got drains and pipes, you've probably had a plumber over at one time or not in your life [Colin looks confused at this line and begins to mock him by derisively mouthing his words], and we've assembled over six of the greatest songs, that's right, six songs on three CDs, I CAN SEE YOU OUT OF THE CORNER OF MY EYE!
  Colin: I'm sorry, you just explain things too long!
  Ryan: ...Six songs, three CDs.
  Colin: Was that so hard?!
  Ryan: [upset] GO AHEAD!
- The opposite occurred in the "Greatest Hits" about cowboys:
  Colin: From the early days of the old west... well, pretty much only then, we had cowboys. But they were such mythic figures that from countless eons afterwards, we've had music celebrating them doing what they did best: Being boys around cows. And other things!
  Ryan: They're songs about cowboys. [gives an annoyed look to Colin]
Inherently Funny Words:
- Why the non-punny names in Newscasters get laughs from the audience.
- Invoked here.
- The second revival season has Ryan cooking up the unique doorbel sound "schling-dong". Which when crossed with his long-awaited Carol Channing impression turns into "schpling-blong"!
- One game of "Dubbing" has Colin making up the name "Dingalong Dingy" for a Latino boyband member. Yeah, we're not sure either.
  Ryan: I would never take Dingalong Dingy into my boyband!
  Wayne: You don't want the Dingalong?
  Colin: NO-ONE WANTS THE DINGALONG!!
- "We'll be right back to Happy Waldo and the Salty Monkey..."
Innocent Innuendo:
- During a playing of "Hats", Wayne is wearing a taxi hat:
  Wayne: That'll be $12.50.
  [the audience reacts like expected]
  Wayne: For the TAXI CAB RIDE! You guys are horrible!
- While reading the description for a "Two Line Vocabulary", the audience giggled at Drew saying that the characters were seamen.
  Ryan: Come on.
In One Ear, Out The Other:
- In "Sportscasters" set at a pizza parlor, Colin pretends to shove a pepperoni stick in one of Ryan's ears and pulls it out the other end.
- Another game of "Sportscasters" has Colin at a office building pretend to stick a sharpened pencil through Ryan's ears.
- In a "Scenes From A Hat" the suggestion was "What doctors really see when they look in your ears". Ryan pretends to look in Colin's ear and seeing Greg on the other side as if his head is empty.
Insane Proprietor: Drew has more than once given points in the style of a proprietor who's overstocked on points and has to unload them.
Drew: Thousand points for everybody! Usually a thousand, but for you, 999! [Ryan looks surprised] 999! I'm giving the points away, only 999! I'm craaaazy!
Insistent Terminology:
- According to Ryan in Helping Hands, you don't call it custard- it's fancy pudding!
- Before one "Film, TV & Theater Styles": "Colin is a mad scientist. Not angry, mad..."
The Insomniac: In the Greatest Hits about presidents:
Colin: Y'know, as long as there's been presidents, there have been songs celebrating the presidents. One, there was even a dance. Yeah, th-there was a dance, uhhh... f-for John Adams. It was called the John Adams Dance. It didn't go very far-
Ryan: You didn't sleep well last night, did you?
Colin: No, I'm very tired.
Instant Soprano: After the "Newsflash" with skateboarding bloopers, Drew said it was actually people who will never have children. He gave points to everyone in that video, and Wayne pretended to Share the Male Pain.
Wayne: [squeaky voice] Thanks, Drew!
Institutional Apparel: In the "World's Worst" about psychiatrists, Ryan pretended to be wearing a strait jacket.
Instrumental Theme Tune: For both the U.K. and U.S. versions.
Insult Backfire:
- This epic moment from Scenes from a Hat:
  Drew: [reading] The secret double lives of Whose Line cast members.
  [Brad steps up]
  Brad: I'm Colin Mochrie! [starts poledancing and stripping]
  [Colin steps up as a spectator]
  Colin: I'm Brad Sherwood!
  [Brad slinks off the stage in shame and defeat as the audience explodes]
- A variant, during a Greatest Hits about presidents, as Colin thought Ryan was talking about himself:
  Colin: You know, a few years back, there was a new wave of music. And I was first to get my metaphorical surfboard and go on that new wave.
  Ryan: Ooh! That's a big word for a Canadian.
  Colin: Yeah. If you want, I can talk slower.
Interchangeable Asian Cultures:
- Karen Maruyama usually comes up with a Chinese name in her acts.
- The revival series has special guest Byambajav Ulambayar champion sumo wrestler. Gary Anthony Williams naturally assumed he knows some Japanese (which is probably a prerequisite for his sport anyways), but Byamba is actually Mongolian.
Intercourse with You: About half of the songs take this direction. It shold be noted that "Song Styles" and "Duets" didn't become like this until after it switched to picking audience members in UK season 10.
The Internet Is for Porn:
- During the "Greatest Hits" about "Songs of Hockey", Colin remarked: "And on this CD compilation, we have more hits than a porn website!"
- Alluded to in a post-commercial joke by Drew: "I may not be the most downloaded, but I've downloaded the most."
Intoxication Ensues:
- One Scenes from a Hat in the revival series brings up "If Your Favourite TV Shows Were Performed Drunk":
  Colin: [hungover] Scottie, just fix the f**king engines!
  Jeff: [up on the stairs] Hello I'm Aisha Tyler and welcome to Whose Line Is It Anyway! [hobbles down the stairs drunkenly, stopping a couple of times to throw up, before reaching Aisha's desk and spamming the buttons]
- Also in the revival, the "Song of New Orleans" hit "Booze in a 6 Foot Glass".
Involuntary Shapeshifter: A game of "Weird Newscasters" has Wayne play a smooth black guy hosting "Soul Train" who involuntarily turns into a dorky white guy (played by a guy Wayne forced up from the audience) and back to his normal self again.
Ironic Echo: In a later episode of the U.S. version, Drew mentioned after a game that Wayne just ate a whole bucket full of candy (this is in reference to a Party Quirks where Wayne played a member of a fraternity who performed various stunts, including eating a bucket full of candy). The audience remained silent, as it wasn't really a joke, and Greg broke the silence by saying "Screech!" Later on in the episode, during "Hats", Greg wore some insect wings:
Greg: Well I'm out of the caterpillar stage...
[the audience barely reacts]
Drew: SCREECH!
Greg: You put the *bleep* wings on.
Irony:
- In the "salute to American TV" episode:
  Drew: Tonight, Whose Line salutes great American television. Kinda ironic, isn't it?
- At the beginning of World's Worst:
  Wayne: You're going to be giving examples of the world's worst television program
  Drew: The world's worst television program...really?
- From the British version, in which the "Worst television program" also turned up.
  Tony: Look, it's that show where Clive patronizes people from all over the world!
  Clive: Don't bring Clive James into this.
- In one "Party Quirks", Chip pretended to be on the phone.
  Chip: Yeah, I'm just having a party. No no, I haven't met any of them, I just... found 'em all on the internet. I'm sure they'll be perfectly normal.
Island Help Message:
- In a "Weird Newscasters", Ryan played a man stranded on a desert island, and mimed doing this when a plane came overhead. Amusingly, he first wrote "Hep" but then added an "L" in there.
- One game of Props in the UK version involved a V-shaped prop, prompting Ryan to suggest spelling out "Very Much Help Is Needed" instead.
Is This Thing On?:
- During a game of "Hats", Greg had a bunny mask on.
  Greg: I'm not into protection.
  [the audience barely reacts]
  Drew: Do it again. Maybe they didn't hear you.
  Greg: Oh, could no one hear me? Maybe it's because of this (bleep)ing mask I'm wearing.
- One suggestion in Scenes from the Hat is simply "I Didn't Know The Mike Was On."
- "Newsflash" frequently opens with the people who aren't going to be standing in front of the screen (so, usually the ones who aren't Colin) swapping off-color jokes, discussing embarrassing personal problems, or flirting, before "realizing" the camera is rolling.
Is This Thing Still On?: One "Scenes From A Hat" suggestion was "I Didn't Know the mic was on", leading to Ryan pretending to be Drew cutting away to commercial, then insinuating someone is giving him oral sex beneath the desk.
Italians Talk with Hands: The Robin Williams episode kicks off with Robin and Ryan as two Italian pizza chefs. The first thing they do is get into a beautifully chaotic faux-Italian arm-flinging argument.
It Doesn't Mean Anything:
- During a "Hollywood Director" where Ryan and Greg were rival bikers having a drag race, the theme switched to loving the feel of carpet on their skin. Wayne (who was playing Greg's boyfriend) crawled on top of Greg, who was lying down, and Greg wrapped one of his legs around Wayne before being buzzed out. After the game, Drew remarked how homoerotic Greg straddling Wayne was.
  Wayne: It was for the scene, dude.
  Ryan: Hey Drew, what happens on the show stays on the show.
  Greg: Gee whiz, Drew, don't you remember my audition?
- In another instance, after the Party Quirks where Ryan's nipples were hooked to Greg's hands.
  Wayne: Just four guys doin' improv, dude.
  Ryan: That's all it is.
I Taste Delicious:
- Greg Proops in "Superheroes" as Chocolate Bunny Man.
- Greg as "Not Hot but Spicy Man" in a later game of "Superheroes", where he mentions his "delicious avocado".
- And Colin in "Superheroes" plays Cheese Man. He acts as if he slices off a piece of himself, and says, "That's gouda!"
It's All About Me: Frequently how Colin portrays his character in "Press Conference". One example, when he played Santa Claus announcing his retirement:
Brad: Don't you think you're gonna disappoint a lot of people?
Colin: Aw, screw 'em. You know what? I don't care. I am in this for myself. I'm here to make myself happy, and if other people can't accept that, well then, toodleloo.
It's Always Mardi Gras in New Orleans: The revival series has a "Greatest Hits" set in New Orleans, where Ryan made up the song title "Beads for Boobs". A second session was more direct with the song title "I Found My Honey at the Mardi Gras".

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