High quality sketch comedy was dormant for about 15 years after the last episodes of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" aired before another rivaled it. By the 1990's, the UK improv television show, "Whose Line Is It Anyway?", was the first sketch comedy show to equal the originality of Monty Python, even when you take into consideration Saturday Night Live which has always been rather mixed in the effectiveness and funny department. The later US version of "Whose Line" was decent but was never quite as entertaining as the original British offering which had a subtle spontaneity lacking from most other comedy shows on both sides of the pond.Unlike "Flying Circus" and "Saturday Night Live" which were scripted, "Whose Line Is It Anyway" was entirely improvised. The host, Clive Anderson, would moderate four comedian/contestants and contrive interesting and often wacky scenarios upon which the contestants would then improvise. These could be scenes, songs, or just dialog. Aside from Anderson's often quirky settings, inspiration could come from the audience members whom Anderson would ask to come up with characters and/or places which the contestants would then act on. At the end of each show, Anderson would decide the winner who would read the credits in a style of Anderson's choosing.One of the reasons the show worked so well was the endless plethora of material since the performers could act out any situation, which could be a bank, a prison, a hardware store, or any number of settings, either mundane or sophisticated. They enacted scenes in the style of genre movies, like westerns and horror movies, film noir and romance. They could act out historical figures, movie/television actors, or characters completely made up. One favorite was having three of the performers each play a character with some strange quirk (like one person believing he's Superman) and arrive at a party in which the host has to figure out who they are. Another was a scene in which two performers have a dialog in which they can only ask questions. They even improvised the lyrics of songs which always stunned me.Many great stand-up and comedic talent were put through Anderson's ringers, and I don't believe there was ever a weak link. However, two talents stood out beyond most of the rest (in more ways than one), which were the American Ryan Stiles and the Scotsman Colin Mochrie. Whenever either of them were among the performers, and particularly if both were at Anderson's disposal, you were guaranteed an half hour of incredible comedic entertainment. I honestly don't know how these guys did what they did. Their improvised lines were as good and often better than scripted TV shows being shown on other stations. In one scene, Mochire and Stiles are at a bank vault. Whiles Stiles is pretending to be sealing the vault, Mochrie says "Why are you putting my wife in there?" Without a moment's hesitation, Stiles replies, "Collateral."Despite much of the mediocre shows offered by the networks in the 1990's, particularly in the United States (barring Seinfeld) "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" demonstrated how much mileage could be gotten without a huge budget or elaborate productions. There were no sets, no costumes, no writers, and no scripts. Only four performers, a stage, an occasional chair or two, and a moderator. And ten years of some of the funniest television I have ever seen. Saturday Night Live, eat your heart out.

The best thing about this show was Tony Slattery. He was the best improviser on the show, ever since he did he first show. He brought unpredictability to the show. He even did crazy impersonations, funny dances, and was not afraid to do anything. He even comes up with the best hoedowns.Yes, Ryan and Colin are classic performers, but Tony was the real deal. He made me laugh the most. He defined Whose Line. Some word of advice to ABC: BRING TONY BACK.

As many people have pointed out before, this is one of the very few IMDb entries with absolutely no completely negative reviews. This honor is well deserved. IMHO, "Whose Line" is the funniest show on TV, and it's great that we are once again seeing the British version in America. I missed it the first time around, so it was a new experience to me when I sat in front of the TV on New Year's Day watching the marathon which heralded its return to Comedy Central. I had been hooked on the American version ever since it started, so I was curious as to how good the British ones were. I was not disappointed in the least. The British version is just as funny as the American, at times, even funnier. I just wish I understood more of the British references, like those to Jeremy Beatle or the movie "El Dorado" which I have yet to figure out. It's kind of funny to see how the performers who we still see on the American version have changed and aged since the British ones. Josie Lawrence is the biggest example. When she made an appearance on the American "Whose Line", she had whacked off a lot of that long, beautiful hair of hers. Also, she looked a lot paler and her voice was deeper. Seeing these changes just testifies to the lasting power of the show, which barely missed a beat coming to America from England. May it be on as long in America as it was in England (even though its timeslot across from "Friends" won't help much)!

Many of my friends simply don't understand British comedy. Greats such as "Monty Python's Flying Circus", "Black Adder", and "Are You Being Served?" are mis-understood by many North Americans, although they are some of the funniest shows on television.With the introduction of the original "Who's Line Is It Anyway?", improv was brought into the home by the people who could do it the best... and the result is spectacular. The only regular appearance throughout the life of this show was the host, Clive Anderson. He does an excellent job at pulling the show together, introducing the skits, and bantering back and forth with the contestants. In particular, his on-screen disagreements and arguments with Greg Proops in the latter years of this show provide raw and unrehearsed comedic entertainment, often at the expense of Clive's balding head.Overall, the performers on this show know their comedy. Skits are done at the drop of a hat, with no advance knowledge by the contestants of what sort of antics will be required to pull them off. Games such as 'Scenes From A Hat', 'Film Dub', 'Questions Only', and the infamous 'Hoe Down', only serve to display the comedic talents of the contestants, allowing them to amaze and surprise the viewer with their seemingly endless quips, jabs, and one-liners.From the witty John Sessions in the early years, to the comedic improv super-duo of Colin Mochrie and Ryan Stiles in the later years, and who can forget the hyper-but-fantastic Tony Slattery, this show has entertained me for many years, and will continue to do so for a long time to come, as I just can't seem to stop watching the re-runs on cable.My Rating: 10/10