Whose Line Is It Anyway?

ABC (ended 2006)
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Show Summary

  • Ended
Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1998-2006) is based on the British show of the same name, which aired from 1988 to 1998. It features some of the nation's finest improvisational comedians, including Florida's Wayne Brady, Canada's Colin Mochrie, and Ryan Stiles and Drew Carey from The Drew Carey Show. Each week, the preceding four and a rotating group of actors and actresses spontaneously played games with outrageous scenes, weird quirks, or (sometimes off-) key songs

Show History:''The show was brought to ABC as a summer series following The Drew Carey Show, and was a modest success, both in new viewers, existing ABC viewers, and Whosers, fans of the British version of the show which aired on the British Channel 4 and, for a time in America, on Comedy Central. The show came back in midseason 1998-99, then was given an hour time slot on Thursday nights for the 1999-2000 season. In this timeslot, while never becoming a resounding success, it did about as well as could be expected against NBC's Must-See TV lineup. Its highest ratings were in November 2000, in "Show No. 313," which featured Oscar winner Robin Williams.

In 2002, the show's ratings began to slip drastically (in large part to facing both Survivor and Friends on Thursday nights). In September of 2002, the show was moved to Monday nights along with The Drew Carey Show, then to Fridays, then off the air, then back on Fridays during the summer of 2003, before being left for dead after that summer. With no word as to what the fate of the show was, fans were left in the dark until summer 2004, when ABC fulfilled its contract with the show by burning off several remaining episodes as part of a sixth "season."

That's was not the end of the "Whose Line" franchise (because no one can kill it). After ABC saw how well the repeats were performing on ABC Family, they asked the producers to cut new "episodes" out of unused footage from the tapings. These will be aired on ABC Family as part of the show's seventh "season."

All spellings of audience members' names are taken from the show's closed captioning, provided by the National Captioning Center in season 1, and Vitac for two and beyond.

Broadcast History''ABC''August 1998-March 1999 -- Wednesday 9:30''Summer 1999 -- Thursday 8:00''September 1999-September 2000 -- Thursday 8:00 (new) and 8:30 (rerun)''September 2000-May 2002 -- Thursday 8:00 (rerun) and 8:30 (new)''April 2001-May 2001 -- Friday 8:00 and 8:30''October 2001-December 2001 -- Wednesday 9:30 (Too Hot)''June 2002-August 2002-- Friday 9:00 and 9:30 (reruns)''September 2002-November 2002 -- Monday 8:30''November 2002-December 2002 -- Friday 9:30''December 2002-January 2003 -- Friday 9:00''March 2003-April 2003 -- Thursday 8:00 and 8:30''June 2003-September 2003 -- Friday 9:00 and 9:30''June 2004-July 2004 -- Thursday 8:00 and 8:30''July 2004-September 2004 -- Saturday 10:00 and 10:30''ABC Family''January 2002-present -- Monday through Thursday, occasionally Friday, usually 10:00 and 10:30 (Repeats)''January 2005-present -- Monday through Friday, 10:00 (new episodes from unseen footage)

Warning: Though most quotes are presented in their censored forms, some areas may contain the uncensored versions of censored lines of the show, and other language not censored on ABC or ABC Family could be deemed objectionable to some viewers of this guide. Surfer discretion is advised.moreless
8.9
out of 10
Average Rating: Great
3,336 votes
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  • Typical Americanised version of something that was truly ground breaking and original. Ruined...

    5.0
    "Mediocre"
    One day as browsing through the channels for something to watch I saw listed "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" I decided; this must be interesting I do so long WLiiA? Unfortunately once it came on I realised it was presented by the ghastly Drew Carey (one of the most unfunny Americans ever!). I found the fact they took something brilliant and genuinely funny from the UK and decided to Americanise it. Upon watching it I was glad to see original geniuses; Ryan, Greg and Colin but that was the only mildly redeeming quality about this show.

    It was exactly the same as the UK one, same games, same premise and plenty of reused jokes only with name changes to suit the time. There are a few moments that make you smile but the vast majority of it is cringe worthy and the audience. God, the American television audience are highly irritating - I know it's a comedy but we don't need the audience screaming, whooping and making a general hullabaloo so we miss the punchline. I was deeply disappointed by this and even though the originals are extremely funny; the uncharismatic host, the lack of originality and just recycling something good for the sake of a screaming audience just didn't float it for me.moreless

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    2 16
  • Bring it back!!! i cannot compare any comedy of any kind to this perfect comedy show.

    10
    "Perfect"
    This show is beyond funny, there is nothing but absolutly nothing on tv (and probably won't be untill they bring it back) that makes me tear up from laughter EVERY SHOW and i mean literally tears go down my face as i laugh.
    They are the funniest people this world has seen... here ill make a list of which ones are the best 1 is the best 4 worse:
    1.Colin
    2. Ryan
    3.Wayne
    4. Drew

    I swear that if there is perfection to pure comdey this is it.
    God knows why they canceled it... ratings? it hardly makes sense because anyone i knew was dying from laughter with this.
    They should give it another go in ABC and if not in another network but with the same actors.. because honestly i don't you can find anyone any more funny then colin and ryan they basiclly ran the show and wayne whose multi talent guy (freaking amazing)moreless

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    1 0
  • Improv

    10
    "Perfect"
    God I love this show. I love it so much, it is really one of the funniest show I have ever watched. It is such a shame it is never on anymore. I mean new episodes, re-runs of course are. Colin and Ryan are the funniest ones on the show. Wayne is also funny, but he is the best at singing and dancing on the show. And the 4th person, it all depends who they got, some are good some are bad.

    So, overall, one of the all-time funniest shows I have ever seen. I really miss new episodes a lotmoreless

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    3 0
  • Man, who wouldn't love this show?

    10
    "Perfect"
    Whose Line is an improv show with four participants, some props, some hats, a couple of people who can play instruments, and, of course, one chubby host.
    Whose Line has always made me laugh, no matter how many times I watch it. Hosted by Drew Carey and always having Ryan Stile, Colin Mochorie, and Wayne Brady, this show always had something ridiculously funny. I would have loved to see this show last even longer. My favorite was always Colin. Colin is just outrageous, always having his jokes be so creative it seems like a person COULDN'T think of it in a span of ten seconds. This show is great. It shouldn't have ever been canceled, let alone only have the re-runs be shown on one channel close to midnight. It is just pure hilarity.moreless

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    4 0
  • Two words: love it.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    Really, who doesn't love "Whose Line is it Anyway?" It's a show about performers thinking off the top of their heads for everyone's amusement. How can you go wrong?

    First of all, there's Drew. He makes for a great host. He interacts with the performers and the audience, pokes fun at both of them, and is not afraid to completely lose it when something funny happens (his laugh is the greatest).

    Then, there's Wayne Brady. Quite possibly one of the most underrated entertainers in Hollywood. The man has unmatched enthusiasm and amazing musical skills. Plus, he always has a smile on his face, and he literally doubles over when he starts cracking up. I love him.

    And, of course, there's the dynamic duo: Colin Mochrie and Ryan Stiles. The way these two play off of each other is amazing; even better, Colin is the only one who can make Ryan lose it, and vice-versa (not an easy task to catch the unshakable Colin off-guard).

    As for the other performers...I prefer the men over the women. Greg Proops, Chip Esten, and Brad Sherwood are more than capable of holding their own against the others. The women, on the other hand...unfortunately, more often than not, their jokes seem to fall flat. If it weren't for them, I would have given a 10 rating.

    So...there you have it. There will never be another show on that can even compare to the greatness that is "Whose Line is it Anyway." It makes me mad that it's no longer shown, at least at a reasonable time.

    Oh well...thank goodness for YouTube, right?moreless

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    4 0

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