TVSquad

I've been thinking . . . yes, yes, you smell something burning. Ha, ha. Done laughing? Thank you. After watching a few episodes of Thank God You're Here, I got to thinking about some of the commentators on my review of the premiere episode who said that the Australian version of this program was much funnier. So, using our trusty pal YouTube, I was able to turn up a plethora of clips from the Down Under version of TGYH. And, after viewing a number of them I can truly say that it is funnier. Well, in most cases, that is.

Once again, it comes down to how the unscripted actor reacts to his or her unknown environment. Most of the Aussie TGYH clips I watched had performers who took control of the situation and messed with the scripted actors. Then there were others who just seemed to be thinking for the right answer to the question the scripted actors were giving them. In the American version of the show it seems the improvising actors are not grabbing onto the whole scene. They're still thinking as actors rather than going with the flow of everything. There are exceptions, though, like Kevin Nealon in the second episode, and Harland Williams this past week.

Don't take my word for this, though. View these two clips from the Australian version of TGYH and let me know if you think they are funnier or not. Both scenes were used in the American version of the series, with Edie McClurg and previously mentioned Harland Williams.

(S01E01/S01E02) I'm about to give you fair warning. In addition to being a husband, father, writer at TV Squad, and Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist I have also been in improv for 5 years. So, my review is may be slightly tainted.

That being said, I didn't think Thank God You're Here was an utter disaster. I also didn't think it was a laugh-until-you-pee hit, either. It was interesting to watch and mildly entertaining, even in those scenes where you knew the actors were waaaayyyy out of their element. And there was plenty of that.

If you missed it last year when TBS looked at the funniest commercials from around the world, don't worry, the network is gearing up once again to do the same thing. On December 27 at 9 pm TBS will air Funniest Commercials of the Year: 2006, hosted once again by Kevin Nealon. Over fifty ads will be showcased during the special, and you can also visit the TBS site Very Funny Ads and vote on ten select ads, which should help to alleviate some of the guilt you might have felt for not voting in the midterms. This is the third year for the special, which I believe was inspired by the classic Funniest Daguerreotypes of the Year: 1840. I'll never forget how hard I laughed seeing James Fenimore Cooper reading a copy of The Pathfinder upside down. Such buffoonery had never been seen by the likes of me or my kin, I can tell you that for sure. I laughed so uproariously I almost tripped over the dead bodies of all my family members who had keeled over from consumption the week before. Those were good times.