Underplayed Gems

Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1988)

Whose Line Is It Anyway? poster
Directed by
Chris Bould
Genre
panel game, humor
Country
United Kingdom
Length
10 seasons, 136 episodes
Rated
TV-PG
Rating
7.7 of 10 from 73 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More series like this

How it feels

A host leads a panel of four comedians through a series of improv games. The performers act out made-up scenes based on random suggestions from the host or the audience.

playfulfast-pacedspontaneousimprovisedcomiclightheartedinteractivewitty

What happens

Whose Line Is It Anyway? (shortened to Whose Line? or WLIIA) is a short-form improvisational comedy television panel show created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson, presented by Clive Anderson, and produced for Channel 4 between 23 September 1988 and 4 February 1999. The programme features a panel of four performers (six in the Christmas special) conducting a series of short-form improvisation games, creating comedic scenes per predetermined situations made by Anderson or from suggestions by the audience. Such games include creating sound effects, performing a scene to different television and film styles, using props, and making up a song on the spot. The programme originally began as a short-lived BBC radio programme, before the concept was adapted for television. During its history, the programme featured a variety of noted comedians from Britain, America and Canada. Notable performers during the show's run included John Sessions, Stephen Fry, Josie Lawrence, Paul Merton, Tony Slattery, Rory Bremner, Archie Hahn, Mike McShane, Sandi Toksvig, Greg Proops, Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, Jim Sweeney, Steve Steen, Stephen Frost, Chip Esten, Brad Sherwood, Caroline Quentin and Wayne Brady. The programme was mainly recorded in Britain, though several episodes of series 3 and 4 were made in New York, while the tenth and final series was shot entirely in California on the same set as the American version. The success of Whose Line? spawned several domestic and international adaptations. The American version, featuring several of the same performers as the British version, aired on ABC between 1998 and 2007, and was revived on The CW from 2013 to 2024. A short-lived Australian version ran on The Comedy Channel during 2016. Two similarly themed British comedy programmes, Mock the Week (2005–2022, 2026-present) and Fast and Loose (2011), were created by Patterson. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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