Aisha Tyler is the host?!? But Wayne, Ryan and Colin are all there. Absolutely found it at random two minute before the premiere (The CW).
Bald joke already (wait, Wayne has a shaved head now).
Damn. It’s not on Hulu. I loved that show. Not enough to ever seek it out. But if it was on, and I was switching channels, it was always fun to watch.
Does Ryan even age? WTF?
Also - catching the popcorn in the mouth… classic moment. I fell off the couch laughing.
Didn’t get a chance to watch this last night but I saw links to episodes online (totally legit, linked to from the Facebook page), so I guess I know what I’m doing at lunch.
Lots of funny bits - try not to have a full mouth during lunch as you watch.
Duly noted.
Also, was that hate for Aisha Tyler? I haven’t seen the episode yet so I can’t judge her as a host but she’s amazing in Archer, so I don’t see anything wrong with the choice!
She was passable, but then again, Drew wasn’t on-the-ball with the funnies a good chunk of the time, either. The joy with him was seeing his (at the time) impressive form shake uncontrollably with laughter while his eyes glistened behind those trademark glasses. He only really tried to play the straight man during the games, and seeing him fail utterly only made what was going on on-stage all the funnier.
Aisha seems to be opting for a more whole-hearted, bent-double-and-guffawing method of reacting (that’s not to say it’s artificial–the boys are hilarious and that’s just how some people laugh), so the camera seems to enjoy cutting to her rather than the crowd.
Other minor quibbles with her hosting (one episode in) is that she shouts in a very harsh tone to be heard over the crowd when it’s time to cut to commercial–a better mic setup would help her avoid doing that. Finally, she basically did the “welcome back, points don’t matter” speech identically each and everytime, and there seemed to be more breaks than I remember in the older eps–then again, it’s been ages since I watched them live. Anyway, it’s a little quibble, but it got old hearing her say the same thing so many times. However, that’s a writing and network thing, largely; Carey could definitely also wear thin with that schtick in marathon sessions.
The problem here is that you are comparing her with Drew Carey. I would love it if Clive Anderson were brought back.
But it appears that you can watch the full episodes on the network’s website… cwtv.com.
They’re not organized in a particularly intuitive manner, but I was able to find two full episodes there. I presume they’ll expire after a time, and that each week’s episodes will appear for viewing the following day?
I’d much rather look at Aisha than Drew. I was just kind of shocked that it wasn’t him (remember I was typing that as the show started up). Never particularly liked the Drew Carey show, but I thought he worked very well as the host of Whose Line (not quite so much as participant in the games, but a lot better than the drudge host from the BBC version - whoops, I see strummer disagrees with that above!). However, I must admit I wanted to see Aisha join in every now and then - a woman built into every show! Alas, it seems not.
Totally agreed. Dunno what else he’s doing now, but he’s still very good on his occasional QI appearances.
Drew Carey took over as host of The Price is Right after Bob Barker retired. I assume he otherwise would have been on board.
EDIT: Ooops, reading comprehension failure… I thought the question was about Drew and not Clive. I agree that Clive was awesome though.
My hatred of improv thanks to years of exposure to community improv troops that were roughly as funny as early onset diabetes makes me unfairly biased against watching this, unfortunately.
They need to drop the special guest thing. It’s painful.
I think, once they get more established again, Aisha might dive into the games. She’s a pretty hilarious lady, I’m sure she could hold her own up there. Though, to be honest, she’d probably be the raunchiest one of the bunch.
Also, have to mention: Wayne’s performance in the Sideways Scene game was absolutely amazing. I nearly choked, even despite your warning about eating and watching. Haha!
It is a bit, isn’t it? At least the kid from Glee actually got in on some of the games. Lauren Cohan was only memorable because she kicked Wayne square in the chest. Hopefully, once the show gets a dedicated audience back, they can tone it down with those guests.
On a similar note, while I love Wayne, Ryan and Colin, and they are definitely the heavyweights on set, it’s a bit disappointing that the fourth member of the troupe is usually a seat-filler. They could have just as easily had a show with just the three of them and it would have been negligibly different. I remember the days when Greg Proops and Brad Sherwood would be there, pitching in with as much funny as the rest of them. Good times.
Don’t forget Chip Esten!
The Special Guest: I suspect they are using that in place of the audience participation bits, or at least a lot of them.
Chip, Brad, Greg and Singing: I believe all are otherwise engaged with other projects. They will be missed. I especially loved Sherwood’s ability to sing counter-point and harmonize with Wayne - the best moments in the singing were when the two of them merged into what seemed a pre-planned whole. Which brings up the whole singing thing - my bet is that as executive producers, Ryan and Colin will excise the full cast singing bits. It’s gonna be Wayne, and maybe the rotating cast slot or maybe the guest. The rotating member seems to be made up of: Heather Anne Campbell, Gary Anthony Williams, Jeff Bryan Davis, Nyima Funk, Keegan Michael Key, and Jonathon Mangum (I’m a complete blank on all of those).
If this is true, then I’m VERY excited to watch his episodes. Key is one half of Key & Peele, a comedy duo that has a sketch show on Comedy Central that does a great job using race as the main focal point of its humor (both comedians are bi-racial). Key’s style of performing - looooooooads of energy - should fit in very well with the other three. I hope he does great!
I would be surprised if Aisha Tyler participated in the games. She doesn’t have much (any?) improv background and has always struck me as a TV personality more than a comedian. A quick google search shows me she has done stand up, though, so maybe she’ll give it a try. Those two disciplines don’t always intertwine though, so she might stick to hosting.
One thing I’ve always wondered is if they ever bomb or blow a scene. Every now and then a joke sneaks by that doesn’t get much of a reaction, and if something REALLY isn’t good they can just never air it. Has anyone ever been to a live taping?
In the olden days, the live tapings were apparently very long–sometimes 2-4 hours per half-hour episode that airs in the end. It could be kind of a slog to get through–particularly the hoedown at the end, which Styles famously loathed.
Heather, Jeff, and Jonathon were all on the Drew Carey Improvaganza show that aired a couple of years ago. Jeff was the standout, extremely good (I think he’s been on Whose Line before as well). Heather was pretty good, usually. Jonathon was hit-or-miss, mostly miss.