Thank God You're Here
Title: "Pilot"
Premieres: Monday, April 9, on NBC
The easiest way to describe NBC’s new improv skit show, Thank God You’re Here, is to say that it’s very much like Whose Line Is It Anyway? -- only without the elements that most encouraged creativity and spontaneity on that program. You can imagine the boardroom full of executives that determined that what was lacking from Whose Line were costumes, sets, and scripts. It would perhaps be too unkind to say that the most impressive thing about Thank God You’re Here is that it managed to jump three sharks in its first episode. It might be unkind, but it wouldn’t be far from the truth.
To their credit, the actors who show their improv skills here are quite good, and make fine use of what they’re given, but they aren’t given anywhere enough room to maneuver. Clearly, the best part of true improv is when the participants are forced to describe invisible settings and situations not only with their words, but also their bodies and interactions with one another. But in full costume, surrounded by sets and three or four other actors using scripts, the funniest bits come when the improvisers are stumped, not when they’re succeeding. And those bits aren’t terribly funny, because they impart the show a distinct feeling of amateur hour.
MC David Alan Grier is himself hamstrung by a goofy script, reminiscent of Bob Saget in old America’s Funniest Home Videos episodes. Semi-celebrity judge Dave Foley, most notably of Celebrity Poker Showdown fame, isn’t given the luxury and latitude of his best tool: self-effacing humor. Instead, his job seems to be to congratulate the improvisers on not failing any worse than they did. Everyone seems more than a bit awkward, but not in a way that’s funny.
The show has its laugh-out-loud moments, but they’re few and far between -- not nearly enough to sustain an hour-long program. In short, Thank God You’re Here is, much like primetime airings of Funniest Pets and People or Sunday afternoon reruns of American Gladiators on ESPN Classic, the type of show that you flip to when the program you really like is on commercial. If you’re lucky, you’ll tune in at one of the high points, and you can pretend that the parts you’re missing are as fresh. It is, after all, what’s not there that makes good improv so enjoyable. In this case, less really is more. It’s a shame that NBC seems to have lost faith in the power of imagination.
Title: "Pilot"
Premieres: Monday, April 9, on NBC
The easiest way to describe NBC’s new improv skit show, Thank God You’re Here, is to say that it’s very much like Whose Line Is It Anyway? -- only without the elements that most encouraged creativity and spontaneity on that program. You can imagine the boardroom full of executives that determined that what was lacking from Whose Line were costumes, sets, and scripts. It would perhaps be too unkind to say that the most impressive thing about Thank God You’re Here is that it managed to jump three sharks in its first episode. It might be unkind, but it wouldn’t be far from the truth.
To their credit, the actors who show their improv skills here are quite good, and make fine use of what they’re given, but they aren’t given anywhere enough room to maneuver. Clearly, the best part of true improv is when the participants are forced to describe invisible settings and situations not only with their words, but also their bodies and interactions with one another. But in full costume, surrounded by sets and three or four other actors using scripts, the funniest bits come when the improvisers are stumped, not when they’re succeeding. And those bits aren’t terribly funny, because they impart the show a distinct feeling of amateur hour.
MC David Alan Grier is himself hamstrung by a goofy script, reminiscent of Bob Saget in old America’s Funniest Home Videos episodes. Semi-celebrity judge Dave Foley, most notably of Celebrity Poker Showdown fame, isn’t given the luxury and latitude of his best tool: self-effacing humor. Instead, his job seems to be to congratulate the improvisers on not failing any worse than they did. Everyone seems more than a bit awkward, but not in a way that’s funny.
The show has its laugh-out-loud moments, but they’re few and far between -- not nearly enough to sustain an hour-long program. In short, Thank God You’re Here is, much like primetime airings of Funniest Pets and People or Sunday afternoon reruns of American Gladiators on ESPN Classic, the type of show that you flip to when the program you really like is on commercial. If you’re lucky, you’ll tune in at one of the high points, and you can pretend that the parts you’re missing are as fresh. It is, after all, what’s not there that makes good improv so enjoyable. In this case, less really is more. It’s a shame that NBC seems to have lost faith in the power of imagination.
Labels: Thank God You're Here: How Long Do You Plan on Staying?
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