Harland Williams was the only funny thing about Monday night's episode of Thank God You're Here. And he was so damn funny that my abs got a workout as I laughed my way through his entire improved scene. Unlike the other players, who waited to see what the stage actors had planned for them, Harland walked into the scene and took control.Harland got a little dirty near the end (improv ain't funny 'less it's dirty, folks) and NBC censored him several times. In fact, the very end of his scene had a joke completely edited out because the censors apparently couldn't make it fly by just bleeping him. Did anyone else find it interesting that the censors left in references to drugs, but edited out the sexual references?
The edited portion of his scene is in this video. And the uncensored version of another part of his scene is here. Both videos are also after the jump.
Six Mad Men characters who are in limbo after the finale
Fact or Fiction: Big Bang, Brothers & Sisters and CSI
The TV Squad Podcast: Linda Purl talks about The Office, we talk spoilers, and more
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-18-2007 @ 1:02PM
emor8t said...
Can't watch the skits atm. But on a slight side note,
Is this going to take another episode to get canned? Who didn't see it coming? The premise was dead before the show aired. It's just a bad idea. Building a show around a stupid catch phrase is the dumbest concept I can think of. On top of that the idea of the show is that they don't know the scene they are going into.
Now, comedians aren't Rhodes scholars by a long shot, but I think that they can figure out if they are in PJ's or a 20th century African Safari outfit the type of scene they are walking into. It's just bad, bad television that has tried to compensate but having decent names on there. Jason Alexander has not been funny at all, his previous attempts at shows after Seinfeld were more funny. I mean, the Jewish pirate skit was just painful, ripping off a kindergarten joke about the pirate with a new hook?
This show will not, and should not make it to season 2.
Reply
4-18-2007 @ 1:30PM
jkmkay said...
This was my first look at this show.Harland Williams was the only funny thing on the show.He was great.The Judge proved himself to be a shill.Dave should be embarrassed by his but-kissing of the other "comedians"
Reply
4-18-2007 @ 1:41PM
JoePez said...
Agreed about Dave Foley. I believe he used the word "hilarious" for each performer. At least Clive Anderson and Drew Carey were snarky when the improv bombed or took a weird turn.
As for the performers, the two winners so far (Bryan Kranston from last week and Harland Williams from this week) completely dominated their peers, although Wayne Knight did a pretty decent job. I was disappointed at how badly Brian Poseihn bombed.
The show has potential, but they need to cut it down to half an hour, or else change the format up a bit. Maybe get some performers more known for their improv skillz (Robin Williams? Ryan Stiles? Harry Shearer?)
Reply
4-20-2007 @ 12:43AM
steve said...
i think this show needs to get more improv actors like whos line, just because someone is funny with a script doesn't mean they are funny without one. it has promise, but will get canceled unless they bring funnier people in
Reply
4-18-2007 @ 5:38PM
Paul Little said...
I love improv, and I like a lot of the comedians/actors involved in this (plus the 2 Daves hosting/judging), but they really have to be less contrived. I know they're thinking that "contrived" is the only way the masses will watch, but they won't.
You can do silly, and even clean (but not if you're Harland "Craziest Man Alive" Williams :P) comedy, and it can be damn good. But you can't do EASY comedy. And the way they've got each scene set up, that can "end at any time" but clearly ends when the other actors are done throwing out all the plot devices, is too EASY.
I just hate how the other actors aren't allowed to improvise. They've turned it into a giant, live-action version of Mad Libs, basically, where the celebrity just fills in the blanks.
Reply