British version versus American version: Whose Line

It isn't unusual for television and movie buffs to hear the following remarks:

The book version is better.

Regular programming is so trite.

The British version is better . . .

I'll refute the first two at a later time, but I want to deal with the last right now. It isn't atypical for us Americans to feel rather ashamed of our supposedly crass culture, to assume that other countries only produce worthwhile and artistically sensitive programming.

This is completely silly--there's as much good and bad programming in Japan and France and Great Britain as anywhere else. In fact, in general, American programming produces more decent shows simply due to volume (we produce more crappy shows too; we just produce more shows in general).

I'm a fan of many BBC shows from The Vicar of Dibley to Doctor Who to Poirot. And I wish BBC quiz shows were more easily obtainable.

However, I recently tracked down the BBC Whose Line Is It Anyway? which preceded the American version (of the same title) by about a decade. And I have to say: although I'd been told that the BBC version was wittier, etc. (everything British is better!), I consider the American seasons I've seen of far higher quality than the initial BBC seasons.

1. The stand-up comics in the BBC version don't always follow the rules. 

Astounding Ryan Stiles and adorable Colin Mochrie

What makes the Drew Carey-hosted version so funny is how vigorously the comics try to stick to the "game"--guests at a party, actors in a Western, people on a dating show, salesmen for a music compilation.

In the BBC version, on the other hand, the comics start doing whatever they want, even if it doesn't fit the "rules."

Granted, the rules in both shows don't mean much. But most satire arises from how deliberately rules are broken--which means using the rules in the first place.

In the first season of the American version, Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie (who both appear in the British version) perform a routine about vampires. At one point, Colin, who is being manipulated by an audience member, mutters to Ryan's chest, "I forgot my stake, so I'm going to have to chew through your chest." 

The best example of how the British version doesn't do this is the British "game" in which the comics mimic authors' styles while telling different parts of a story. One of the British comics always, always, always mimics a pretentious writer. It's funny once but after awhile . . . And he never tries to line up his spoof with the assigned topic. He simply goes off on a tangent.

This is so common in the first season that at one point, the host--Clive Anderson--remarks rather testily that no one is getting any points because no one actually kept on-target.

2. The American version is more versatile.

Now at this point, I will acknowledge that the American version built off the British version. The American version started with the amazing Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie (Ryan joined the British version in its second season; Colin two seasons later). The American version started with many of the rough parts smoothed out.

It also started with a leg up on physical comedy.

Now, I'm not a huge fan of slapstick. However, this type of show requires pure physical comedy. Ryan Stiles, when he acts like a hunted deer, and Colin Mochrie, when he acts like a bad trapeze artist, or both of them ("It's a disaster! What should we do? Run from side to side!") are hilarious.

Stiles and Mochrie are also the kind of comics who think alike and are therefore able to produce very funny routines where one guy picks up where the other guy left off.

The first seasons of the British version don't have much if any physical comedy (I will allow that it may have changed later on). It is terribly talky--and I'm the kind of person who usually loves witty dialog! But still, for a show of this type, you need physical comedians.

3. The American version has Wayne Brady as a regular. 

It is difficult to praise Wayne Brady enough. He is impressively talented as a singer and physical performer.

In addition, a show like Whose Line Is It Anyway? relies on irony and spoofs. That is, to make the joke, the comic has to fully comprehend what is being satirized. Wayne Brady is unbelievably gifted in this area from mimicking Ray Charles to Tim Curry (yup, Brady spoofed the Rocky Horror Picture Show) to . . . shoot, you name it. He's the kind of guy who would clean up all the pink pie pieces in Trivial Pursuit.

And don't forget Laura Hall!

The kindly Clive Anderson

4. The actors are far more relaxed in the American version. 

Again, this may be because the American version got the show after it had already been tested. But Greg Proops, who is a seriously funny comic worthy of Phil Hartman (rest in peace), seems far more ill-at-ease--and somewhat under-appreciated--in the British version than in the American version.

I don't think this is the host. Clive Anderson has a friendly Drew Carey quality (what is about game show hosts?). Rather, it seems to be the other comics. In the British version, they all seem focused on their own shtick, being funny in their own right. In the American version, they often play off each other.

So, while I will grant that the American show likely benefited from the British show going first and working out the kinks, I want to go on record: the British version of something is NOT automatically the best version.