Thank God: and now the critics.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News
As we all know Thank God You’re Here recently launched in the US. It’s had “respectable but not spectacular” ratings over the two weeks it has been on air (two hour premiere, plus 2 single eps) of around 8.2m. It dropped to 6.9m the second week.
And now we’ve had time to see what the critics have to say.
In a country where Whose Line Is It Anyway ran from 1998 – 2004, it’s fair to say the reviews have been mixed.
The reviews have ranged from “cheerfully cheesy”, “has potential” and “gently entertaining” to “could be vastly improved”, “needs to loosen up” to “an embarrassing portion of an acting class” and “hit-miss in the way improv almost invariably is.”
One reviewer went as far as to criticise TGYH for blocking a fundamental rule of improvisation.
And in a sense they are right.
Anyone who has tired impro (including me) knows the basic rule is to never block. No matter what crazy situation / statement / prop you are handed, you accept it and you add to it. This is known as the “Yes, And” rule. If somebody says, “wow I had no idea you’d won the Nobel Peace Prize” you’d effectively respond with something like “yes, and if only I could get you to clean up your room, son?” In effect it is taking the information and adding to it.
But in TGYH the supporting players have pre-prepared, even scripted, scenarios within which to move. They have a secure though-line path to follow, leaving the celebrity guest as the only rudderless participant.
In a true impro, the scene could lead anywhere based on what the actors collectively contribute.
In TGYH the celebrity cannot take control, and only serves to provide punchlines to the feeds that are supplied.
This isn’t to suggest that TGYH isn’t “cheerfully cheesy.” It’s fun to watch celebrities without a safety net.
But in truth it would be more fun to watch the whole team deal with the same odds. Kick off the scene, then all bets are off.
In Australia where we have limited comedy choices on the box, TGYH is a breath of fresh air. But in the US it may need a bigger point of difference.
One Response
From the clips i’ve seen of the US show on Youtube, the American ensemble cast seem too set in their pre-prepared script to cope with ad-libs but the Aussies, while still guilty of “blocking”, seem to be a bit more flexible.