Thank God You're Here Sorta

so who watched the 2 episode premier of nbc's much hyped improv comedy show Thank God You're Here last monday? i did, i did!

if you will remember one of my earlier posts from a few weeks ago, i said that i was very much looking forward to this show, being that i am a big fan of improv comedy and the commercials made it look really funny.

so what did i think you ask? well i'll tell ya. i thought it was okay. there were some funny moments for sure, but it wasn't as great as i had hoped it would be. then again we have been spoiled by the master of all improv shows, Whose Line Is It Anyways? which was very funny 80-90% of the time and TGYH just isn't going to live up to that.

i was trying to figure out why i didn't like the show more and this is what i came up with (feel free to comment with your own ideas and/or if you really love the show)

1) it moves a little slow: first there is the little chat with david allen grier before they go through the door. then after the scene there is the judging by ex Kids In The Hall member dave foley (he is great, but here is job is just trying to come up with something funny yet nice about the actors performance). it just doesn't move as fast as WLIIA, which means that there is more time between the skits and more time between funny moments.

2) the performers aren't all improv actors. on 'Whose Line' those guys were talented improv performers. whereas on 'Thank God' they are mostly funny actors but not necessarily skilled in the art of improv comedy (and there is a big difference).

3) the other actors in the scene are good, but they are often times obviously playing the straight man, by delivering set-ups that give the 'star' a chance to improv something. often times the 'star' will say something or take the scene somewhere that it isn't supposed to go and the other actors will deliver a line or statement that corrects them and brings them back to where the scene is supposed to go. this felt forced and awkward sometimes and not really in tune with pure improv.

having said all that, it wasn't a bad show, it was good for some laughs and i will watch it again. Whose Line Is It Anyways is still the king.