Almost Heroes was a very shortlived show - lasted about a season or so - and it starred mostly people I have never heard of.
But mixed up in those people I have never heard of was a name that I get hopeful just hearing.
Colin Mochrie.
He played a pretty minor character - probably had something along the lines of three scenes he was in per show - but he was in it, and therefore I had to watch the show. That's what obsessions are all about.
I'll explain what I gather from the show.
Two brothers - one a nerdy loser, the other a smart but unsuccessful guy - have a family comic book store. After their father dies, the smarter one - Terry - comes from wherever he was before to help out the family - the family apparently being his geeky younger brother, Peter. The comic book store is in some kind of strip mall type place, next to a clothing store called Sassitude, where their female, socially awkward, loser-ish friend works, for a woman who employs her mostly to get the chance to insult her. Peter and Terry are nearby some kind of sports store, that is run by a complete jerk bag. They've got their land lady Rayna who is clearly the love interest, but she is clearly not interested at all. And wandering through the story is some kind of mall cop type guy, who goes around helping the characters, helping them pull off some sort of scheme, offering them advice and hammers. This man is played by a certain Colin I-think-you-know-who.
Like I said, not a particularly big part in the show, but he is in every episode, so I now need to watch this show all the way through. Which is not too long. I've seen about five episodes already, by the way. Maybe just four. Don't remember.
Anyways, I'm mostly explaining this to come to this - my screenshots so far of Colin in this show.
You may as well call this blog the Colin fansite. That's pretty much what it is.
Screen shots!
Peace out, Whosebuddies,
MeganH
P.S My neck's a summer, but my chin's a winter........
Brad: "Well, I can't stop staring at your breasts!"
Ryan: "I smell like condiments........ Relish! Mustard! Ketchup and cheese!"
Ryan: "If we do another hoedown, I'll slit my f*cking wrists!"
Ryan: "This is what I have to do to please the f*cking brit!"
Ryan: "Everytime I do they seem to f*ck me up the ass!"
Plenty of swearing on Ryan's part.
Ryan: "That's a weird f*cking looking thing, isn't it?"
Ryan: "That spider's f*cked up, man!"
.....lots of swearing on Ryan's part.
Ryan: "Well, f*ck you then, I will, you know......"
OKAY WE GET THE POINT, RYAN SWEARS A LOT.
Favourite blooper...... favourite blooper......... Colin in Dead Bodies comes to mind....... everytime Ryan and Colin almost kiss, that comes to mind....... hmmm..........
My favourite...... this is strange because this isn't a blooper that sticks out in people's minds generally, but it never fails to make me laugh.
They were attempting a hoedown.
Brad: I was feeling frisky, I went for a drive, I took all my handguns and I shot myself alive, I..... *lays down on the ground from his epic fail*
Wayne: I consider myself quite a fugal frella, and - *Brad bursts out laughing at Wayne's fail* Shut up!
I think it was supposed to be a hoedown about banks or something of the like.
But Brad...... I just love him to pieces. Man. Another great Brad blooper hoedown would be:
Brad: I went to an awful restaurant, they had to use these towels, And all the food was awful, tasted like something from your bowels, I had to leave so right away, cause it didn't really matter, What was I thinking, ordering the poopoo platter?
And everyone except Brad knew that that would be unairable.
Anyways..... the bank hoedown messups are my favourite. Video:
.......My favourite scene? Out of the whole show? REALLY? How... is that..... even...... POSSIBLE to say?!
I'll do my best.
So many to choose from, I'm not sure I can do this one........
Film, TV and Theatre Styles where Colin and Ryan are arguing over Ryan's pit bull?
Whose Line where Colin is the lone ranger and Ryan is Tonto?
Whose Line where Colin is Sampson and Ryan is Delilah?
........ pretty much every game of Whose Line was one of my favourite scenes.
And every game of Narrate, too.
Wow this is hard.
Well, I know what USED to be my favourite scene. The Narrate where they're at a lingerie store, and Colin was searching for The Golden Bra. That used to be my ultimate favourite Whose Line scene ever.
But now, just because of how much more Whose Line I've seen since then, it's just not anymore.
The car repair shop Narrate comes to mind.
So does the Number of Words with Jeff, where he was some kind of explorer or archaeologist or something, and Colin was his feisty female companion.
Ultimate favourite scene....... I need to think hard about that one.
You know, there's just too many favourites to just pick one. It's impossible. But I'll go with a classic, and it definitely is something that never fails to make me laugh.
The Cat.
Any Whoser out there knows exactly what I'm talking about.
A conversation on the episode of Corner Gas entitled Comedy Night:
Lacey: I don't know, Hank, you know stand up can be pretty tough. I used to work at a comedy club. Hank: That's great! Maybe you could show me how to get laughs! Lacey: ....No no no no, I worked at a comedy club, I wasn't the one getting the laughs. Hank: Oh......... improv act. That's okay Lacey, there's no shame in being an improv act. I mean, one of my favourite shows is that Whose Line is it Anyhow. Brent: Yeah, I like that show too. But man, does that bald guy have to do a cameo in everything?
And since what happens next is just too awesome for words, I will show you my screenshots.
Wow. So many to pick from. Which one sticks out in my mind the most? Hmmmm.......
[Things that would cause a Drew Carey spit take]
[Come!]
[A glimpse into the dreams of Colin Mochrie]
[If people recieving awards were completely honest in their acceptance speeches]
["I'm Colin Mochrie!" ....."I'm Brad Sherwood!"]
[Things you can say about (insert something here) but not your girlfriend]
So many just swimming around in there.
But the one that sticks out in my mind the most is probably........ Eh.............
[Hey, I didn't mean to cook your dog!]
[With the wig, you remind me of Julia]
[I like to stick my head in! Go brbrbrbrbrbrbbrbr!]
[You are dead to me. Nothing but scum......]
[Unusual jump rope chants to hear]
[Things bald people are tired of hearing]
......anyone where Colin had to be dragged off.
Ah, but one of my favourites, and the one I'll use for this particular post, is
"The worst soap opera cliff hanger lines leading into commercial."
Colin: What's for dinner?
Brad: Here, kitty kitty kitty.
Colin: Wait a minute.... this says you shouldn't operate heavy machinery.
Brad: Honey, we're out of toilet paper!
Colin: Ninety nine...... here I come.
What makes it so great is Colin's soap opera faces (shown above) and his soap opera voice. Like, I would totally watch a soap opera with Colin in it, and not just because I watch anything with Colin in it.
Full video here.
..... and you can tell it's the right one from the thumbnail!
So I'm finally back from Alberta/Ontario/Quebec/Ontario and I am utterly exhausted.
And since I really don't feel like thinking right now, I'll keep going with the thirty day meme starting tomorrow. What day am I on? Day 11. Alright. Sounds good. Look forward to that. I'll probably be.... more or less back to normal by then.
Peace out Whosebuddies
MeganH
P.S I'm too tired to think of an actual relevant P.S.
Um............. *laughs* None? I mean, maybe the weight thing, just to have those headphones that play neverending Hoedowns, but, I mean, really...........?
I mean, come on. Look at what they do.
Does any of that look particularly great to YOU? This whole idea of actually buying one of these things is really making me laugh.
So I'll just go with the hoedown headphones, because really, who in their right mind would buy ANY of this stuff?
........ I will be away for a few weeks, meaning I will not be able to blog and the thirty day meme will probably be put on hold. If I can blog, then great, but don't count on it.
Man, so many to choose from! Mostly looking back at times Colin has made Ryan crack up, cause when Ryan breaks up, you KNOW it's funny.
But my favourite is definitely a classic: TAPIOOOOOOOCA!
That, of course, would be Ryan's break in character. Colin stays as composed as ever.
Now, first of all, this is the first clip I ever saw where someone actually totally broke up during a game. So that right there makes it special for me.
But what I think makes it really priceless is the fact that Ryan pulls it off as cheesy infomercial laughter at first.
"Hahaha....... noooo, Colin......" *informercial laughter* "I'm talking about Cu - " and before he can even finish the word he just loses it. Like he has to turn away from the camera in order to get ahold of himself. And Colin sits there, completely composed, giving him one of those classic Colin "What are you laughing at?" looks. He shrugs at the camera. And Ryan comes back and tries again. "I'm talking about Cuba, Col - " And he loses it again.
Colin tries to help him out. "Cuba. It's a small island."
Ryan tries to go on. "It is." *cracks up again* I love the look Colin is giving him here at this moment, like "Did I just break you up this much?" Ryan comes back just enough to say this, his voice strained with restrained laughter: "Why don't you tell the people about it?" And he cracks up again.
And the best part is that Wayne used the tapioca thing in his songs whenever he could after that, and when Ryan made the ska joke, Colin just brings the tapioca up again, just to rub his nose in it. It's hilarious.
Now that I think about it, besides "THE CAT!" I've never seen Ryan break up that much. He laughs at some things a little bit, but never THAT much. That's probably why it's my favourite.
Yeah, I wrote down all the points from season 1, and we'll see who the winner is. I haven't got all the points for the entire series yet - season by season I'm working on it! - but this is what I've got for season 1.
(By the way, I didn't write down all the points that were ever given out. A lot of them went to guests and "the guy who burns the props" and stuff like that, so I stuck with whoever actually stays relatively constant or actually contributes to the show if that makes sense).
Audience: One million points. (1 000 000)
Camera man: One thousand points. (1 000)
Laura Hall: One thousand points. (1 000)
Greg Proops: Four thousand and seven hundred points. (4 700)
Wayne Brady: Three million, seven thousand, five hundred and seventy five point five points. (3 007 575.5)
Colin Mochrie: One million, five hundred and thirteen thousand, seven hundred and fifty point five points. (1 513 750.5)
Ryan Stiles: Five hundred and fourteen thousand, one hundred and fifty point five points. (514 150.5)
Brad Sherwood: Five thousand, three hundred and twenty five point five points. (5 325.5)
Karen Maruyama: One thousand points. (1 000)
Kathy Kinney: Fifty points. (50)
Denny Siegel: Four thousand points. (4 000)
Ian Gomez: One thousand points. (1 000)
Stephen Colbert: One thousand points. (1 000)
Also, in the Stephen Colbert episode, there was a Canadian score, so the Canadian scores are:
Colin Mochrie: One million, five hundred and twenty two thousand, seven hundred and fifty point five points. (1 522 750.5)
Ryan Stiles: Five hundred and twenty three thousand, one hundred and fifty point five points. (523 150.5)
Wayne Brady: Three million, sixteen thousand, five hundred and seventy five point five points. (3 016 575.5)
Stephen Colbert: Ten thousand points. (10 000)
And the rest of them stay the same.
In a season of twenty episodes, Greg won three times, Wayne won four times, Colin won nine times, Ryan won twelve times, Denny won one time and Stephen Colbert won one time.
Interesting how Colin and Ryan went from winning all the time to not winning at all, eh? It's because winning meant playing the game in season one, not sitting at the desk. They would never have Colin or Ryan sit at the desk.
Anyways, the season one winner is............. WAYNE BRADY!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, these pictures aren't from season one, but that's okay.
Congratulations, Wayne!!!!!! Even though no one actually cares, since the points don't matter.
Peace out, Whosebuddies.
MeganH
P.S Drew: If you're keeping track of the score at home, I pity you.
P.S.S Drew: If you're keeping track of the score at home, medical help is on the way. Don't argue with them, just go where they take you.
As a person who loves talk shows and as a person who loves improv (well, watching improv), I must say it was a success. It's great to see Colin back in business on TV, great to see Wayne back to improv, and people like Jonathan Mangum in action..... it was just awesome to see some new TV improv again, especially after Improv-a-Ganza crashed.
I love the fact that they mixed it up - you know, a few games from Whose Line, a few games from Improv-a-Ganza, adding a few factors from a different game to a new game here and there, like changing the styles of it now and then.... a lot of it was like Hollywood Director, except without the actual director part, just the host changing the styles of the scene.
I heard someone saying they didn't much enjoy the premise of the show, about celebrities telling stories, and then our beautiful improvers acting out the story we just heard. And it is a weird sort of set-up, I suppose, but I honestly think it worked, and here's a few reasons why:
It just about proves that they are, in fact, making it up as they go along. No script. Because who has ever heard of a script for a talk show? (I, of course, never doubted that for a second, but I know there are lots of people who have. And I believe it was Colin Mochrie who said "Who, when watching Whose Line, thought that we knew beforehand what was going to happen?" A few people clap. "Yeah? You people are bastards.")
It was still funny. That's the point of the show, and it gets across, and that's really the main thing, isn't it? To make you laugh.
It stays compelling. At least for people who like talk shows, anyways. And really, who doesn't like talk shows? The stories are still interesting and, you know..... amusing. And the scenes based off of them make them downright hilarious.
I really enjoyed the little touches they had, too, like cutting to the celebrity in question whenever something particularly outrageous happened. I love watching reactions, and the reactions of the celebrity are usually priceless.
That being said, there were one or two things I think they could have done better, and hopefully that'll be improved upon as the series goes on (fingers crossed that it'll go to series!).
First of all, the stories. That was one thing that took away from the talk show part of the show. The host always asks for a particular story that he already knows about them. And that bugged me, it made it seem to me like the show was already set up with what stories he wanted them to act out. Looking at Conan as an example, he doesn't right out ask for the story. He'll say something along the lines of "I heard something about........ [insert story subject here]. Is that true? What was going on?" And I know Trust Us With Your Life isn't a talk show, it's not trying to be a talk show, and I know the interview part or whatever it is shouldn't take TOO much time....... we wouldn't want to take time away from our wonderful improv heroes. But make it more casual for god's sake. Don't force them into telling a story you haven't interested them in telling.
If it were up to me, I would have the performers themselves talking to the guests, taking turns talking to the guests. Sort of like they did on Improv-a-Ganza, where they took turns introducing the scenes and everything. That, for me, would be ideal, but I suppose on a show in this format you do sort of need a host, so I guess there's that.
All in all...... it was good. I liked it and it has definitely become my new Tuesday show. It was pretty great in fact, it made me laugh pretty hard.
But let's not fool ourselves. It was no Whose Line. Whose Line had just the right collection of everything, it was a masterpiece, and nothing can live up to it.
But Trust Us With Your Life was in fact, great. I rate it 8.5/10 stars, and to any lingering Whoser wondering, I recommend you watch it, just to see our boys back in action. 8) It's good, it's funny, it's interesting.... it's very well put together. Watch it.
Okay, I know I'm saying like every single one is hard for me now, but this one really is because I don't watch a whole lot of Wayne singing, and most of my favourites aren't just Wayne, they're Wayne and Brad, usually.
The YMCA one comes to mind, though, where the thing accidentally gets sped up. That one was good.
OH! Or the...... Coffee Grinder I think it was? He had to do it like the Rocky Horror Picture Show. That's a classic.
I'm trying to think of some Greatest Hits, but all the good Greatest Hits were with two people. But the Blink 182 one for Songs of the Hitman (I believe that one was with Chip) or the famous Harley of Seville for Songs of the Motorcycle (that one was with Jeff)...... those are kind of fantastic.
OH! The Blues Brothers one with Brad - that's one of my favourites. (Video on this post)
OH OH! The one where Wayne had to do it as Prince - that was awesome.
Or anytime where Wayne has to be Michael Jackson.... good gracious. It's brilliant.
But right now, the Coffee Grinder is probably one of my favourites to hear/watch. I mean, I've never even seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show and am probably missing a million references, but it's just fun to watch and hear.
Well that's very difficult for me to answer, since I don't actually know what the actual people they're impressioning sounds like.........
Alright, after a little bit of research, listening to some of the more common impressions they do (John Wayne (Ryan), Peter Graves (Colin), Bill Cosby (Wayne)), I've gotta say that the best one is definitely Ryan's Carol Channing. It's uncanny how much he sounds like her. I looked at a video where Carol Channing was talking and my first thought: Holy crap. My god, he's just spot on, man. It's unbelievable.
Of course that's closely followed by Greg's Daffy Duck. That one is pretty amazing too.
But Ryan's Carol Channing is frackin' unbelievable.
This video's kinda long, but it shows all his Carol Channing - and the infamous Carol Channing Incident, I might add. Even if you don't know what that is..... believe me, you'll know it when you see it.
And compare that to just this video of the ACTUAL Carol Channing talking............ (you don't have to watch the whole thing)
It really is uncanny, isn't it?
But, here's the thing; the BEST impression is not the same as my FAVOURITE impression.
And that is probably between Jeff's Christopher Walken, Chip's Snagglepuss, Wayne's Bill Cosby, Colin's Humphrey Bogart, or Colin's Craig T. Nelson.
And after thinking long and hard about that, I must say that my favourite out of those is probably:
Colin's Humphrey Bogart.
If you wanna see it, just look up Questionable Impressions. He does it in almost every one. You won't be able to tell, of course, until he says something about a "hill o' beans". It's awful. And awesome.
Aw man that's really hard. The first one that comes to mind is the Carol Channing incident, but that's really not my favourite. Just the most memorable.
Some others that come to mind are Chip mixing up the words wrestler and professor.
Or Chip leaping onto Colin's foot.
Or Chip leaping onto Ryan's back (wow, Chip really screws up a lot).
Or the time Ryan couldn't get his words out in a game of Narrate.
Ryan: But what he didn't was - know was - or was no........... was that I was dyslexic.
And later:
Drew: Each a thousand you points for.
Ryan: That made sense to me!
Or Brad saying "Nothing like a two hundred pound snatch if you know what I mean," in a game of If You Know What I Mean.
Or Colin's Nice Pants.
Or Colin's "Really? That sucks."
Or Wayne in Questions Only going up and saying "Ecuador."
Or Kathy actually ripping out some of Colin's chest hair.
Or Wayne in Greatest Hits, Songs of Marriage singing as the Backstreet Boys "I'm going to find myself a guy!"
Or the Animal Porn incident.
Or Ryan (who actually has a wide enough range of half decent impressions) going up in Questionable Impressions and sort of faking one.
Drew: Who was that, by the way?
Ryan: I don't know.....
Or, you know, every single one of Colin's impressions.
Or Colin in Multiple Personalities getting all the props and attempting to do a mixture of Braveheart, Jimmy Stewart and Carol Channing (which apparently equals some kind of duck monkey).
Or Colin's "Joe had a nice bone."
Or the Wrong Name in Bed Irish Drinking Song:
Wayne: One night I was getting freaky.
Drew: *garbles his words* With my largarlelane.
Colin: Boy we had some fun!
Ryan: Lalahrouaroua.
Wayne: *cracks up laughing*
Drew: *cracks up laughing*
Colin: Meow!
Or the Three Headed Broadway Star where Drew's in it and messes up bigtime.
Drew: And take me on a.......! Oh wait, one word.
Ryan: Trip so beautiful!
Wayne: I love you!
Or David Hasselhoff's Three Headed Broadway Star. Gawd, that was painful.
Or Ryan always calling Colin Charlie when he was supposed to be Bosley.
Ryan: What do we do, Charlie?
Colin: I'M BOSLEY!!!!!!!!!
Oh, good memories.
Now, my FAVOURITE slip-up from the US Whose Line is definitely Colin spilling coffee on himself.
They were playing Helping Hands (Colin stands behind Ryan, Ryan has his hands behind his back and Colin is his hands) and the producers had decided it was a good idea to put hot coffee in a scene where one of them can't see what they're doing.
So as Colin's pouring the coffee, he spills it on his hand.
So he drops the coffee cup and coffee spills all over the floor.
No one knew at the time that it was actually hot, but Colin certainly knew the minute it hit his hand.
If you pay close attention, you see Colin's eyes close in pain and you can hear a tiny squeaking sound - which, in the conversation after the game, Colin says is him screaming into Ryan's back.
So Kathy, being at the side and probably able to see Colin, realizes that Colin is in pain and goes to pour cold orange juice on his hand to help.
But Ryan is acting like he is the one in pain, because Colin's hands are supposed to be his, and he's yelling, and Colin, heroically playing along (or not playing at all) is spasming his hands around to demonstrate it. Unable to see Kathy with the orange juice, his spasming knocks it out of her hand, and the glass pitcher full of orange juice falls to the ground and shatters.
It was chaos.
Beautiful, Whose Line-ic chaos.
But my ultimate favourite Whose Line slip-up is actually from the UK version.
They were doing a hoedown about their worst nightmare. It was Ryan's turn. And as I can't accurately describe it without hearing his voice, I'll just give you the video.
That's gotta be one of my favourite Hoedowns, right beside the Colin Mochrie Hoedown - both of which, now that I think of it, are from the UK version.
So I have made it my mission to find out who the real winner of Whose Line is it Anyway was. I'm counting the points starting from the first season to the eighth, and by my math, there's over two hundred episodes. I'm on the eighth episode of the first season. So that's all well and good.
Anyways, I was watching this episode and Drew said
"If you're keeping track of the score, I pity you."
Well........................ this is awkward....................
This one is pretty hard too, because most everyone on Whose Line are good in their own right, but my least favourite member is probably Denny Siegel.
Denny Siegel
Which is strange, really, because everyone says that Denny was the only funny female on Whose Line and that Kathy Greenwood was just terrible, but I've laughed a lot more at Kathy than I have at Denny.
The thing with Denny, I find, is that she's very good at one-shot jokes. But she doesn't seem to know where to go from there in a scene that requires her to actually keep going. And, while I can't expect her to have telepathy the way Ryan and Colin do, she just can't seem to pick up on whatever the others are doing. It's kinda funny, but mostly frustrating to watch. I don't want to say she's annoying and terrible, because that would be mean spirited, and it's simply not true. But she's definitely not the best fourth-seater. Besides, it may just be my sense of humour. I've been told my sense of humour is a little different. I don't find her particularly funny, but I don't think she's annoying or anything like that. She's just not....... in tune with the rest of the cast. Yes, that makes sense. She's not in tune with them.
Now, referring to the second part of the question, my least favourite guest star is definitely, without a doubt, Jerry Springer. Because he's not an improviser, he barely knows how. At times he seemed downright contemptuous with the cast - in short, he sorta treated the cast like the freakshows that show up on his show. And he has the NERVE to say "I don't do trash." IF YOU DON'T DO TRASH THEN TAKE YOUR NAME OFF OF YOUR STUPID FREAKING TALK SHOW.
But mostly because he doesn't know how to improvise. If you watch the Daytime Talk Show with Jerry Springer, he blocks them all so so much. Come on, the rules of improv are simple even if doing it isn't. YES. AND. Agree with the previous statement. Add onto it. IT'S JUST THAT SIMPLE. He nearly killed the scene in that Daytime Talk Show. And talk about NO ENERGY. Ryan was the one who really saved the scene that time. Cause at least HE knows what he's doing.
OH MY GOD I AM SO PUMPED UP LIKE YOU JUST HAVE NO IDEA.
Know why?
Because the producer of Whose Line, Dan Patterson, is coming out with a new improv show called Trust Us With Your Life. Starring Jonathan Mangum (whatever), Wayne Brady (getting pumped) and COLIN MOCHRIE!!!
Basically the concept of the show is that they get celebrities to tell them a few life stories, and then they do a bunch of improv skits based off of them/making fun of them.
WAYNE BRADY AND COLIN MOCHRIE!
It premieres this Tuesday at nine on ABC, and I literally reserved the TV a week in advance in order to watch this. IT'S THAT IMPORTANT.
Hopefully this show does better than Improv-a-Ganza did. I sincerely hope so.
P.S Colin said on Twitter, and I quote: "Trust Us With Your Life, July 10 on ABC. If you watch it, thanks for the career. If you don't, I hope your face falls off."
I think I'll be watching it.
SO FRACKIN' PUMPED UP I CAN'T EVEN WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now this one's harder because I don't know exactly what they mean - guest star as in like Kathy Griffin was or Whoopi Goldberg was, or guest star as in what Richard Simmons was or Florence Henderson was.
So I'll just say both types.
My favourite guest star who actively participated in most of the games is definitely Whoopi Goldberg. Robin Williams is up there too - I love what he did in Hollywood Director and he was so hyper and energetic - but Whoopi Goldberg was consistently funny in every game, had good chemistry with the rest of the cast and obviously had a lot of fun, so she gets her spot as the favourite.
Plus she got to kiss Colin.
Now my favourite OTHER type of guest star - the kind that was just there to look pretty and didn't actually do a whole lot of stuff - is tied up, but for COMPLETELY different reasons.
The first one that comes to mind is Richard Simmons, because he was so pumped up for everything and hyper and energetic and got everyone excited for the games. Also because he just made everything so incredibly AWKWARD with..... well, everything he did. Honestly, the Richard Simmons episode is widely regarded as one of the funniest episodes ever made, mostly because of the Living Scenery. That Living Scenery is widely known as the funniest skit they ever did. Oh my god....... what a creepy man that Richard Simmons is.
The second one that comes to my mind is Florence Henderson, but for a COMPLETELY different reason. I think of her because she actually knew how to play along with the rest of them, because she knew how to actively participate even if she didn't necessarily have to. Normally the regulars like Ryan and Colin are running the scene, but Florence Henderson knew how to play along with them and actually work well with them. And that made the scenes she was in very enjoyable and funny and..... yeah.
This one is especially hard because it changes all the time, and a lot of them are tied up here. But I'll see what some of the constants are.
Some games that leap immediately to mind are If You Know What I Mean, Questions Only (and any spinoffs from that like Questionable Impressions and Questions with Wigs), Song Titles, Narrate, Whose Line (yeah, that was the name of the game), Scenes From a Hat, Irish Drinking Song, and Film, TV and Theatre Styles. That's the list of favourite games, and now, looking at all the games, I'm going to put it in order, a countdown from least favourite (out of the favourites) to favourite.
8. Irish Drinking Song
This game was at one time, the only thing I went out looking for. I loved it that much. Let me explain the rules, for non-Whosers. The cast stands in a line and sing an Irish Drinking Song, making it up one line at a time. After every verse they sing the chorus, which is always the same: Idy idy idy idy idy idy i! The topic for the Irish Drinking Song is usually taken from the audience.
But it was one of my favourites because first of all, the song would start with a topic taken from the audience and become a story, and by the end of the song the story has morphed so much that you would have no idea what the song was originally about, usually. And that's pretty funny, but the reason Irish Drinking Song is as famous as it is, is because Colin always goes last. And as Colin struggles to find something that rhymes while thinking quickly and trying to make sense..... the best way to explain it is that Colin pwns with his failure.
"There's blood in my stool!"
"Joe.... had a nice.... bone."
And my favourites:
"He put my stone back in my end!"
"MEEEOOOWWW!"
7. Scenes From a Hat
Always a fan favourite. Scenes From a Hat is where the audience has written down suggestions for scenes for the cast to act out. The producers pick out the good ones and mix them up in the hat. Drew picks them out and reads them and the cast acts out the scenes. It can be pretty funny - that's probably the game where the cast cracks up the most. It's also one of those games that are ideal for making fun of people, for making people laugh by saying nothing at all, or for making people laugh by saying too much. This is the game where running jokes are started and/or continue. The chance to get everyone laughing too hard to go on. Wars have been waged during Scenes From a Hat. It's always fun to watch. While it's never been my ultimate favourite, it's definitely up there.
6. If You Know What I Mean
I'm sure I've talked about this enough already in the Brad Rant, but I'll just explain it to be clear. The whole game is a double entendre. The players of this game (which has always been Brad, Ryan and Colin) must speak in obscure euphemisms and cliches related to the setting. Which is a fancy way of saying that it's a That's What She Said while thinly disguising it as talking about whatever they happen to be doing at the time.
That's a funny enough concept on it's own, but here's the clincher. Brad and Ryan are good at it; all of Brad's things usually work and Ryan can hold his own in the game, usually, even if one or two of his things don't make sense. But Colin is just awful, in the best possible way. If he could, he wouldn't say anything in the scene, but he has to. And everytime he says.... well anything, really, it's so bad that he has to take imaginary shots. Like, it's absolutely terrible. And it's hilarious. Like the only reason they put him in the game at all is because he's so awful at it and it's fun to watch him struggle. Sometimes Colin will just give up and say whatever, whether it's an If You Know What I Mean or just a random statement. The point is, it's one of those games that are funny mostly because no one knows what anyone means.
Colin taking some of his invisible shots, after saying "Hey...." and then walking away awkwardly because he didn't know what to say.
5. Song Titles
The concept is simple, even if playing it is not; you must speak only in song titles. Not LYRICS from the song; the song TITLES. It's harder than it sounds.
Seeing as that explanation was really short, it looks like a lame game. But it's usually pretty funny. First of all, they're using the titles in a way that people don't generally think of, and finding loopholes in order to use the song title in that way, if that makes sense.
*Song Titles in a hospital*
Colin: *walks in holding his side in pain* Ohhhhhh....... Canada.
Or
Ryan: I'm Henry the Eight I am.
Brad: Who are you?
Ryan: Disco - DUCK! *they both duck down*
Brad: Love is a battlefield!
I should mention that there are always a few that they - well, Ryan - always pulls out. I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts. I Am the Walrus. To name a couple. And Chip always pulls out songs like "Theme from Jaws" or "Theme from Titanic" or whatever. Which apparently are song titles.
And even besides finding the loopholes and whatnot...... it's so easy to mess up in. And as a lover of bloopers and improv, I think messing up during a scene is one of the funniest things ever. I will share with you one of my ultimate favourite Song Titles conversations ever, just to show you.
*In a psychiatrists office*
Colin: *as the psychologist, in his listening voice* What's new, pussycat?
Ryan: I've got a feeling.
Colin: Feelings!
Ryan: One.
Colin: What's the buzz, tell me what's - a - happenin'?
Ryan: Nowhere, man.
Colin: .............................. Really? That sucks.
Or what about:
Ryan: *pointing to Colin's feet* Blue suede shoes.
Colin: .....................Nice pants.
Or even:
Chip: Theme from Jaws.
Colin: I'll get a harpoon!-lala lala?
It always seems to be Colin that messes up the most, eh?
4. Whose Line
This is a game where the audience writes down suggestions for lines to be said in a scene. The producers pick the ones they like, and Ryan and Colin put the lines in their pocket (without looking at them!) and insert the lines in while acting out the scene.
I'm not sure why this is one of my favourites, but it is. It's just funny to watch them pull out lines that are so ridiculous, like I can't even think of a good example of how ridiculous they are, and try to work with them. Try to make it look like that's what they meant to say the whole time.
Plus it's the game where Ryan and Colin always have a romance going on, Colin being the girl all the time. Whose Line is probably the game that Ryan and Colin have kissed the most in.
So really, what's not to love?
3. Film, TV and Theatre Styles
This is a game where Drew gets different styles of TV, theatre or film (like Crocodile Hunter, Shakespeare and horror, but usually more than three) and while whoever is doing the scene - usually Ryan and Colin and sometimes Wayne, or Wayne and Ryan and Greg.... the lineup isn't as consistent with this game, there's no "usual" for it - whoever's doing the scene starts out normal (or as normal as you can be on WLiiA, am I right?), and then Drew buzzes in with the different styles and they have to now do the scene in that style. Make sense?
Here's one of my favourites to give you the gist of it:
Now this game is funny just because it goes so off-course with everything. You'll probably notice by the end of the one I've put above, it's sorta like "Is this still about the dog?". Plus they totally use all the cliches and jokes and everything from all the styles, or at least what they think that particular style is like...... it's not always correct. And really, what's not to love about them attempting Shakespeare?
*Wayne is a mob hitman who finds Colin and Ryan, who are disguised as women*
Drew: Shakespeare!
Wayne: I'm looking for the two who have escaped from the times which whence they have not been captured.
Colin: (aside) A plan has formulated upon my head, tickling my cerebrum like - the little pricks that do. If this plan does come to forth, I shall be free, free as a bi - ! I go short of breath.
Ryan: If my clothes were so tight that I could not speak, it would be a thong.
Colin: I do take off my guise! I am but the man you are searching for!
...... and it goes on.
2. Questions Only (and Questionable Impressions, and Questions with Wigs)
Questions Only is a game where - you guessed it! - you must speak only in questions. Again, it's harder than it sounds. Questionable Impressions is the same game, only they have to do a different impression everytime they come on as well. And seeing as most of them can only do one or two good impressions (unless you're Colin, in which case you can't do a good impression to save your life) it can be pretty funny. And Questions with Wigs is Questions Only, but they have to wear a different wig every time they go on. Which is good.... but not that good.
This game is funny just because it's so easy to mess up in too. Plus they can be pretty clever. I just like that game. Always gonna be one of my favourites. No particular in depth reason. It's just funny.
This one is a Questions Only.
This one is Questionable Impressions.
And the ultimate favourite..... DRUM ROLL PLEASE.
1. Narrate
This is a classic game. Ryan and Colin do a scene as if it's a Film Noir scene, and stop to narrate it - again, as if it's a Film Noir scene. It doesn't make a lot of sense when I explain it, so let me show you a video to let you know what I'm talking about.
This game is just so fun because it's Colin and Ryan making fun of each other without giving the other a chance to argue. It's the game where they can trip each other up and the other just has to go with it. I mean, what better game for Colin and Ryan to play than one where they get to deliberately humiliate each other's characters without giving the other a chance to defend themselves. There is no such thing as a Narrate that is not funny. It's the best. Just a game where you can see Ryan and Colin bounce off each other for a while. It's just amazing.
So, uh, yeah.
Peace out Whosebuddies.
MeganH
P.S 1000 points to you for reading the whole damn thing.
It was at one time a tie, between Brad Sherwood and Chip Esten.
Brad Sherwood
Chip Esten
Brad because he was childish (meaning immature) and in a way endearing, and Chip because he was the one who would make fun of others just because he could. He was also the white man who could sing and dance and was pretty attractive. :)
How can you not find him attractive? He's no Zac Efron, but..... hell, in my mind he and Zac Efron are pretty damn close. Plus, when it comes to Whose Line he played a mean Chippendale. (Haha. Chippendale. I just got that.)
Yes I am a hormonal teenager.
But there is a winner, and I don't know what the final push was, but there is a winner.
Drum roll please.
My favourite returning cast member would have to be..... Brad.
Cue the Brad rant.
What can I say about Brad? I'll start with well-known stuff, and see how/if that progresses into petty observations.
Brad's signature on the show is most likely that he has the crudest, most immature sense of humour. I mean, let's face it. It's not a coincidence that they only play If You Know What I Mean whenever he's on. They do that because If You Know What I Mean is one. Huge. Double entendre. Basically, a big That's What She Said. It takes someone with a well-tuned sick mind, and whenever they play it Brad leads the thing. Sure Ryan follows closely behind, but Brad starts the thing and the scene flops on the ground dead without him. And then they stick Colin in the middle of the scene just to make Brad work harder (Colin freaking SUCKS at If You Know What I Mean. He spends most of the scene taking imaginary shots. He is the creator of such famous (or infamous) Whose Line-isms as "I'll fluff your Garfield, if you know what I mean," "Let's not turn this into a Fox special," "Don't get your nosehairs in a burning trajectory over Moscow," and my favourites, "Look what I can do with the donuts!" and "I like mine with icing!" But enough about Colin. This rant is about BRAD.)
But it doesn't only show in the If You Know What I Means. Pretty much anything he can he shows his immature sense of humour, and it can be pretty freaking funny.
During Hollywood Director:
Drew: Wayne falls into an ice-hole. Yes, that's right, an ice-hole.
LATER
Brad: Agh, you threw my dogs into a big hairy ice-hole!
Or what about:
Drew: Pick up lines of drill sergeants.
Brad: I just wanna stand here and stare at my privates.
^That one had me laughing for a long time.
But besides the immaturity, which I assure you he has plenty of, he's also the one that is not afraid to say things that the others might have thought of but don't wanna be censored all the time. I think that's because a lot of the time he doesn't think it through, but that's what's funny. And it's very funny.
Such as:
Brad: You guys wanna see my fingers turn blurry? (flips them the bird, which the censor has covered with, instead of the classic CENSORED sign, blurriness.)
Or
During If You Know What I Mean
Colin: I've been having trouble..... uh.... *snickers* I've been disqualified for an early start, if you know what I mean.
Ryan: Well why don't you just clean and jerk, if you know what I mean?
Brad: Nothing better than a two hundred pound snatch, if you know what I mean.
Everyone: *utter shock* *thinking: DID HE JUST SAY THAT ON TELEVISION?!*
LATER
Brad: IT'S A WEIGHT LIFTING TERM!
Let's just say that Brad is kind of the censor's nemesis.
And sometimes the immaturity and whatever just comes from NOWHERE. Like, it had nothing to do with his character and it just kind of spews out of his brain. I just have no idea. I'm talking about times like these:
During Let's Make A Date:
Wayne: Bachelor Number One, I wanna know, if you were a lipstick colour, what would you be?
Brad: *playing an Amish guy* Well, I'd be lemon flavoured ass kiss.
^Honestly, where did that come from?!
Oh, I probably shouldn't forget to mention that a few times on Whose Line, water has been spilled. Tables have been knocked over, tables with jugs of water on them. Water has been thrown across the room, dousing chairs and floors and people. And whenever that happens, Brad is usually involved. Perhaps it's a fluke, a coincidence. But as a person who watches a whole frackin lot of Whose Line, I really don't think it is. :)
Anyways, back to Brad's actual persona. Besides the immaturity and all that, he also has the ability to laugh at himself and the sometimes outrageous choices he makes while in the state of "Oh god what do I say?" that improv constantly has you in (his words, not mine). Choices like naming himself Chesterfield Snapdragon Mcfisticuffs, and then struggling to remember it later on in the game. Or like bringing a children's song that was supposed to be on the album about constructions workers into about how the child was "dizzy from three bottles of wine", and then smirking as he watches Wayne attempt to work with that.
Brad: On top of a mountain/I'm feeling fine/ I'm a little dizzy from three bottles of wine. *stops abruptly at the realization of what he just said*
Wayne: I'm..... on top of a mountain/Where do I begin?/ My mom's an unfit mother and she's always drunk on gin/I can see my house from here.
Brad: I can see it too.
I love Brad's smirk.
I think that video is worthy of putting the whole video on here. It was unaired, so I loved it before I saw it. :)
Basically, he's okay with laughing at himself. And we can see that, for instance, in the bloopers. In the middle of Drew talking, Brad starts to fall asleep. So the producer Dan Patterson says the infamous "Hold please", so that he could tell Brad to not do that. "Yeah, Brad! Stop f*cking around!" Ryan says loudly. And Brad sits there with his innocent little smirk on his face and takes a sip of water.
But besides all of that, Brad has pretty good chemistry with the rest of the cast, which is not something you can learn or teach, right? It actually comes from past experiences. If I recall correctly, Brad had already met Colin because Colin's wife had been doing a gig with him and they met and befriended each other, and Brad and Wayne had worked together in theatresports. And of course he knew Ryan from the old UK version of WLiiA, so they at least knew each other if they weren't really friends. But I think they were friends because they seem to feel perfectly fine laughing with one another and all that.
The show wouldn't be the same without the friendships. That is a fact I discovered a long time ago.
Also, Brad can be a bit of an icehole, if you know what I mean. (HAHA TWO BRADISMS IN ONE!) In a funny way of course. For instance, in games of Newsflash, often instead of giving hints like Ryan does, like he's SUPPOSED to, he asks Colin to specifically describe in great detail what is going on behind him - and without the hints that Brad is holding from him, Colin doesn't have a clue. Sometimes Ryan will do that by accident, and Colin usually deters that by explaining how it started (my favourite is still "It all started with a badly timed bald joke!" but "canadians with an attitude" is up there too) but Brad does it ON PURPOSE and refuses to be deterred. After Colin explains how it started Brad starts asking him for details about what's going on as if he couldn't see it himself. It's those moments that you're thinking "Wow.... what an icehole."
OH! Can I say something more that kind of fits in with Brad's childishness, but in a different way? Who the hell am I asking for permission? This is my blog.
The first story has to do with Brad serenading a girl called Niroshi, who was majoring in political sciences and economics. Yeah. Try coming up with some good rhymes to that.
Well, Brad didn't manage to come up with any good rhymes, but he came up with some stuff along the lines of "I'll put on some suntan loshi" and "I'd cross the Pacific Oshi" and so on. It's so bad, but it's so funny.
The second story has to do with Wayne and Brad serenading a girl (don't remember her name) who interpreted for deaf people. Not having known any real sign language themselves.... they totally and completely butchered it. And it was hilarious.
"This means bunny!"
To his credit, he asked what "I'm sorry" was in sign language and sincerely apologized after.
Brad's and Wayne's sincere apology.
Come to think of it, that video is worthy of this blog too.
Anyways, mostly because I've just discovered how to post Youtube videos like this, I'm totally exploiting it. So, here are two videos that show the essence of Brad:
This is a famous If You Know What I Mean. It's awesome.
These bloopers are one of the many reasons I love Brad, and really, Whose Line in general. Yes, get this straight: these are BLOOPERS. How can improv have bloopers? When Drew messes up the card, or someone says something so not right that they can't just censor it, and so on and so on.
Anyways, I've talked enough.
Peace out, homebuddies.
P.S Nothing like a two hundred pound snatch if you know what I mean. (Still gets me everytime).
