TV is the New Reading

‘Thank God You’re Here’ is a scream

Comedy-wise, my reaction is the same as the people in the scenes: Thank God you’re here!

NBC’s “Thank God You’re Here” is one of the funniest new things I’ve seen on television since ABC let its madcap improv funhouse “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” go gently into that good night.

The situation in Australian import “Thank God You’re Here” is somewhat different. The scenes are fully set and costumed. The actors on the set are ready with a barrage of scene-building comic setups.

The challenge is for the actors entering the scene to bring the funny.

There are four comedians who take on four different scenes suggested by their costuming and what they encounter on the set. Guided by the actors and props in the scene, they develop characters and situations that – in the case of the pilot episode, at least – build to some perfectly insane comedy. After their individual scenes, they then come together at the end for a final scene featuring all of them in new wacky costumes and situations.

Providing an element of continuity, host David Alan Grier guides the actors to their fate while judge David Foley buzzes the ends of the scenes and provides commentary. Foley also awards the coveted “Thank God You’re Here” award, described satirically as costing $18 and made from shatterproof Lucite.

In the pilot installment, the actors were just screamingly funny. One presented an incredibly vague and narcissistic rock star straight out of “This is Spinal Tap.” And the comedienne who presented a bizarre Miss Universe-style contestant made me laugh so hard I hurt myself.

Judge: “What would you like to put an end to?”
Contestant: (following a perfectly flummoxed pause) “Well, I’ve never liked dry ice.”

... which was easily one of the silliest and most random things I’ve heard anyone say in a good long time.

The energy level was a little low, but that’s not a serious problem. I’ve never seen the Australian version of this show, but I did see the original British pilot for “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” And as I recall, it was a lower-energy version of the wackadoo production it quickly became.

So if the energy level of “Thank God You’re Here” achieves a similar bump, this show could become a fantastic comic explosion and appointment comedy gold.

Features Editor Terry J. Aman compiles the Best Bets for The Minot Daily News.

Back Back to Shows Back to Main Page Next