Whose Watchdown is it Anyway: S10E24, or Remember the Moose.

Season 10 ends at 24 episodes, a current high-total for the CW version. Usually they get to either 20 or 15 and just shrug their shoulders.

Still, this episode caps off a strong, more confident season for the CW version. It took a lull after the first wave of 1st Half shows hit, but the second half was filled with better guest star shows, better guestless shows, and better moments for all four, cementing some classic moments for the new version. We go back to the same taping as E18 and E22, and finally get a guestless show with Heather Anne Campbell. Hopefully she’ll get to do actual improv here.

Scenes from a Hat:

“Bad things to say or do while your partner is giving birth.”
Ryan, with another topical Super Bowl 48 reference: “OMAHA, 24…”
Colin: [takes selfie with the crowned…yeah]
Ryan, who is shaking his head before he does this, does a ‘finger around the rim sound’ one.
Immediately the place goes wild. Colin’s facepalming, Ryan’s immediately ashamed, Wayne goes “YES!”

“Unlikely things for your dentist to say or do”

Ryan: “Mr. Phillips, just relax, I’m gonna give you a bit of suction now”

Heather does a good one where she’s hungover and vomits into Wayne’s mouth

“What people are really thinking when making love”
Heather: “I should really get back to flying the plane.”
YES

Colin mistimes a step-off, and sort of gets…stuck in limbo

It’s amusing as hell

Colin, eventually timing it correctly: “…she’s naked she’s naked she’s naked she’s naked…”

Wayne: “HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE….STOP, COLIN.”
Colin:

“Unlikely things to hear in a sci-fi movie”
Wayne: “as the first black captain of the enterprise…”
[Captain Sisko would like a word…]
Also, I love Wayne turning a vulcan salute into a black power salute.

Ryan does a similar, Trek-themed one with Colin: “so it’s 25 years, we haven’t found any life…what the fuck are we out here for?”

An okay SFAH. Not a lot of standout moments, just sort of went by.

Whose Line: On a doomed planet, Ryan is preparing to send his son Colin to safety on Earth

I’m so excited to see this game return that I’ll let it slide that they’re reusing a scene description from UK S8 [“BECAUSE OUR PLANET IS DOOMED. DOOMED.”]

Ryan: “I couldn’t fit in the pod…I tried to go before you, but I’m too big…”
Colin: “….wow, that’s so noble, dad…”

Colin: “Whenever someone asks about you, I’ll just say…’hubba hubba, those are enormous!”

Ryan, with a bizarre line that doesn’t get enough response: “I BUILT THAT POD OUT OF SAND…”

Colin: “I’ll be glad to leave this atmosphere where the kids look older than their fathers…”
HA

Ryan: “your mother, god bless her soul, before-”
Colin: “SHE’S DEAD?”

Ryan, as this threw him a little, smiles: “…yes”
Colin: “you could have told me”
Ryan: “I needed some of her parts for the pod.”
Colin has a weird reaction to this, as does the audience

Ryan reads the last thing his wife wanted to tell Colin: “come on baby, let’s tweak-TWERK.”
OOOOH. That’s a nice snafu from Ryan.

And then we have a moment where Ryan and Colin attempt to twerk.
Ryan: “I CAN’T TWERK…MY BUTTOCKS ARE TOO FIRM…”
Colin: “….yeah whatever.”

Ryan: “Love’s not everything you think it is. To me, it means…’who brought the pig?'”
Colin: “WHAT??? THAT’S MY MOTHER YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT!”
Ryan, cracking again: “No, it was before your mother, I don’t wanna talk about it…”

Colin: “Well, I’m hoping I find someone I love down there.”
Ryan: “Hopefully not a pig.”
PFFFFF
Colin: “I’m guessing that won’t be an option…but thanks, dad.”
I love how Colin is just powering this game just with his sarcastic contrast from Ryan, and just how reality based he seems to be.

Colin talks of making passionate love, “and right in the middle, she’ll probably scream out “I think I’m gonna be sick.”
HA

A pretty good WL round. I’ll admit it took a bit for Ryan and Colin to recalibrate to this game, but after a bit the improv logic and back and forths felt classic, and Colin continued to throw Ryan even without meaning to. This isn’t a wall-to-wall classic, but it’s still a good one.

Forward/Rewind: Coach Colin is teaching pro-wrestler Wayne some new moves, Ryan enters as Wayne’s pumped-up rival who challenges him, and Heather is Wayne’s passionate girlfriend who rushes in

Colin, after hearing the commands: “okay wait……..got it.”

Wayne gives his character a silly Russian accent, which works

Colin: “YOU CAN’T BE OVERCONFIDENT, REMEMBER THE MOOSE [does moose impression]
Also, I love Ryan slowly waddling in as Colin says this

And then at the first rewind, Ryan’s smirk as he has to waddle backwards offstage before even making an entrance

Then, after doing his two ‘YOU CAN’T BE OVERCONFIDENT’s again, Colin hears the FORWARD cue, and has this little shrug before going back into them

Ryan, finally making his entrance: “I HEAR THAT SOMEONE’S BEEN TALKING CRAP ABOUT ME.”

At Colin’s “be careful, don’t pull anything”, Wayne does a ‘BOINK’ from down in his crotch area, because…sure.

Heather enters and plants a VERY LONG KISS on Wayne. Of course, we rewind….and we replay that a few times.

Rewinding to the top is a good, solid round because Ryan gets to redo his big, lip-heavy lines again, which is funny, and do some more waddling backwards.

We even go further than the beginning and start with Colin having a smoke outside.

An okay Forward/Rewind. Didn’t do much that impressed me, especially considering the rounds we’ve seen before.

Ryan makes a reference that I was sort of making as his character was on but didn’t think he’d make: “I think I MIGHT HAVE BEEN the bug guy from Men in Black.”
Because yeah…he did sound a lot like Vincent D’Onofrio as Edgar in that movie. Also, WOW, RYAN’S SEEN A POPULAR MOVIE!

Newsflash: Heather and Ryan in the studio, Colin in the field in front of worms, grubs and maggots

Ryan: “well explain to us what’s going on back there, Colin.”
Colin, bringing back the sarcasm from WL: “…yeah, alright.”

Heather: “have you been in a position like this before?”
Colin: “uh, once before, my first marriage…”
HA

Ryan: “How many of them would you say there are?”
Colin: “OVER A MILLION.”
Ryan: ‘really?”
Colin: “uh…five?”

Once a guy starts pulling worms out of his mouth, this turns into another ‘let’s gross out the audience and Ryan and Heather’ playing.

poor Ryan

Once it keeps getting more and more disgusting, Colin starts getting more and more animated. “I will stay here and keep reporting this story no matter how often people vomit.”

An okay Newsflash. Man, this show is just seeming really underwhelming so far.

Greatest Hits: Songs of the Roommate

Colin: “Hi, we’ll be back to our documentary about a convent of sisters who keep seeing UFOs in…Nun-Identified Objects’ in just a second.”
Another great one

Ryan, upwards: “QUIET UP THERE, YOU’RE DRIVING ME CRAZY”
Colin: “Hey, Ryan, why so upset?”
Ryan: “i was just acting, Colin…”
Colin: “Not really.”

I love this look from Ryan. Genuine scorn. And Colin being Colin

Ryan mentions the next song is a belly-dancing song. We cut to Wayne, and he’s shaking his head about having to do that

Hell, right before he goes into the song, Wayne just shakes his head one more time. Then, like with the Hawaiian number last year, goes right into it

Wayne has a very fun ‘Evicted’ number in this style, meaning he can get a lot of mean-spirited lyrics in pretty quickly

Ryan: “I just got a craving for some hugh-mmus.”
PFFFF
A slow-burn audience reaction to this, and a very blank Colin look
Colin: “I just got a craving for some hu-MOR.”

Wayne, doing some pretty strong Adele vocals, does this awesome line:
“It was a sunday afternoon, and I thought we’d have brunch
but then when I walked inside the door he was having something else for lunch.”
He cracks right when he realizes what the rhyme is going towards

Wayne, at the chorus: “OHHHHH I’m leaving”
[turns to Ryan and Colin] “I don’t remember what I was supposed to say”
Ryan and Colin:

Wayne does eventually nail the title of the song [maybe they went back for pickups], and he’s absolutely killing this number, btw

Also, great ending line: “It was weird to see him with a woman, cause we’re both gay.”
HA

A good GH, with great banter and some good stuff from Wayne, but it only felt slightly better than the standard for the CW.

Overall: We end this strong season on a very, very okay note. Only Whose Line impressed me, and even there it took a little. The majority of games tonight just sort of went by without being too memorable or anything higher than ‘alright’. Not anyone’s fault, especially Heather, who killed it whenever this show decided to use her for things [which wasn’t often]. Greatest Hits was at least amusing and impressive, but nowhere near a lot of recent GH playings. Nothing in this show except for WL felt like ‘oh yeah, that’s one of the best playings of this I’ve seen recently’. And that’s too bad.

Show Winner: Colin
Best Performer: Colin was doing some great sarcasm acting that was throwing people throughout. Great night for him.
Worst Performer: Heather was barely in the show.
Best Game: Whose Line had some great improv moments and back and forth.
Worst Game: Newsflash had the least to it.

SEASON 10 SUPERLATIVES!

Best Episode: E6, the Byamba show, with so much insane energy flowing through not only the guest games, featuring a sumo wrestler having the time of his life, but the guestless games, featuring a top-tier SFX and a really damned funny SFAH [“BOING”].
2nd Best Episode: E23, the Wendi McLendon Covey show, responsible for some great, energetic guest games, the best Film Dub of the season, a surprisingly good SFAH ender, some of the best consistent show energy possible, and that damned round of Secret where the producers throw Colin right off the bat.
3rd Best Episode: E19, the one with the waxing lady. As soon as you think this Jeff taping can’t give you anything else, it strikes with one of the most complete, runner-based shows since the tape recorder show. The bookends are insane, but there’s still time for a breezy show with great rounds of Newsflash and Award Show to make up the middle.
Worst Episode: E7, the Nolan Gould show. This is where we’re at, folks- no show was truly bad to me in Season 10. The worst show of the season is just the most okay one. And every game in this show felt more and more okay, as if there was a conscious effort to make this Ryanless taping look as boring as possible. The Nolan game was alright, but…odd. And all the guestless games just lacked the slightest bit of energy or liveness.
Episode Most Worthy of Another Look: E21, Gary guestless, because there is a lot of good stuff in here that I may have overlooked. That Film Dub is goofy enough to make me think I missed some stuff.
Best Taping: The 2nd-Half Jeff taping, simply because every show we got from it was excellent. E12 had the immortal ‘count to five’ runner, E14 had KELP and a great GH, E17 had some more outstanding Jeff energy in PQ and WN, and E19 had that insane waxing runner and the SFAH finish. All memorable shows, all funny as hell. That taping was drained properly is what I’m saying.
Taping I’d Love to See More From: The Nyima taping. I’ll come back to this one after the CW finally airs a third episode from it.
Best Regular: Ryan Stiles. A lot of shows where Ryan did the brunt of the improv work, and had the funnier moments, which I’m certainly not complaining about after how Colin mopped the floor with everybody during the ABC version.
Best Fourth Seater: Jeff Davis was in the most shows, won the most shows for me, and came off like a wave of good energy on this season. How could I give it to anyone else?
Fourth Seater I Wish Wasn’t Done After This Season: Nyima Funk. If Dan Patterson didn’t hate women standing up for themselves, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
Best Guest Star: Rob Gronkowski, E11. Because my god, that man brought so much fun energy to the table in his.
Worst Guest Star: Michael Weatherly, E5. He was a brick wall to Ryan, and when he did speak, he said very skeevy things. Not a fan.
Guest Star I Wish I’d Seen More of: Darren Criss, E4. If you’re gonna have Darren Criss on your show, put him in more than one game.
Episodes Ranked: See my Twitter, @WLIIAWatchdown

COMING UP NEXT: I’m probably gonna go on another brief hiatus, but after that, Season 11 begins, the actual season distinction begins to get a bit more complicated, our relatively-famous guest star attempts to improvise, and Gary Anthony Williams punches his ticket into the fourth-seaters hall of fame with one single word…or lack thereof.

Whose Watchdown is it Anyway: S10E23, or The New Adventures of Jimmy Stewart

Not sure why such a large gap between Jonathan’s first and second episodes this season. IDK, i blame Gronk for setting the bar so high.

This show has a guest star gig from Wendi McClendon-Covey, one of those comedy lifer types that is always cool to see on WL. McClendon-Covey started off as a cast-member on Reno 911, had gigs on Rules of Engagement and in Bridesmaids, and eventually found fame as the mom on The Goldbergs, an ABC sitcom I have absolutely nothing bad to say about, in fact it’s positively great.

She’s here because she knows Ryan IRL, I think they shared a lot of the same circles, so…that’s a nice gig. Still doesn’t explain why Amber Nash hasn’t come on, but…you know, I’ll let it slide for a good….second or so.

Hollywood Director: Two intrepid arctic explorers on husky-drawn sleds stop to explore an ice cave, Wayne is a prehistoric man who bursts from the ice block that he was previously frozen in

…nothing about an icehole?

Ryan is in a goofy mood already, laughing at a Colin joke as he comes up, and then going “AAAHHHH” as Aisha mentions an ice cave.

Jonathan has a great gag in casting Ryan as a ‘dog’ pulling the sled
Ryan: “I’m not doing this anymore, we have to get DOGS…my paws are fro-MY HANDS are frozen, I’m saying ‘paws’…”

I love how Jonathan enters the cave and runs right into Wayne. Great physical gag.
Jonathan: “I didn’t see him, it’s dark in here.”
OHHHHHHH

Jonathan just glares at the audience, Wayne glares at JONATHAN…and then in an instant both Jonathan and Wayne snap back to where they were. Wayne, back in character, still just shakes his head.

Wayne says some unintelligible nonsense, then points to Jonathan and says, very clearly, “BASTARD.” I love this
Ryan: “I think he’s speakin’ Italian…”
Colin: “CUT CUT”
Ryan: “…he was, kinda…”

Colin, glaring at Jonathan: “…’IT’S DARK IN HERE’…”
Jonathan just shrugs

Colin has a split-second smirk when he casts them as ‘all girls on spring break’

Jonathan: “We found a HOLE OF ICE.”
Ryan: “It’s an ICE HOLE. YOU’RE AN ICEHOLE.”
ANNNNND THERE IT IS!

Wayne does a frozen, sagging boobs gag as Colin cuts.
Ryan: “what the hell is that?”
Colin: “I have no idea what that is, but I don’t wanna see it again…”

Colin decides to cast everyone as big stars.
Colin, to Ryan: “you. Jimmy Stewart.”
Ryan just deflates.
Colin, to Jonathan: “You, all the Muppets”
Jonathan also deflates. Remember, he doesn’t even know what Big Bird sounds like
Colin, to Wayne: “You, Chris Rock…”

Jonathan, however, does ONE OF THE BEST BEAKER IMPRESSIONS I HAVE EVER SEEN. WAY TO GO. So now him not knowing what Big Bird sounds like is even more disappointing.

Wayne, springing in:

HE ALREADY HAS THE MIC. Ryan loves this.

Wayne…surprisingly doesn’t start with ‘HAVE YOU FOLKS EVER NOTICED?’, but it’s still his really good Chris Rock.

A fun Director. A bit light, and a bit shorter than I’d like, but that Jonathan moment early set the feel immediately, and it was just a funny one from there.

Back at the seats, everyone’s making fun of how nobody watching knows who Jimmy Stewart is
Wayen: “RIGHT AFTER ARROW, THE NEW ADVENTURES OF JIMMY STEWART- ‘WA-WA-WA-WA…’ DANANDANDUN! CW!”
PFFFFFF

Aisha even says here that she watches CW programming, probably so she can know who the fuck’s coming on every other week.
Aisha: “I love seeing teenagers take off their clothes.”
COLIN, IN AN ACT OF FORESHADOWING:

Dubbing: Ryan is the boyfriend of sexy sorority girl Wendi, voice by Colin, when she suddenly becomes possessed and then Wayne enters as the priest who comes to perform an exorcism

Ryan and Wendi have a BIG HUG. Ryan even goes ‘we lived together for three years!’

Wendi, obviously, is a natural, and is really damn good at reacting naturally to Colin’s sudden changes to possession [“I WANT TO EAT YOUR BONES AND MAKE YOUR HAIR INTO A SHIRT.”]

Ryan: “BACK, WITCH, BACK.”
Colin: “I’M NOT A WITCH, I’M THE DEVIL YA MORON.”
Even in scenes where Colin’s not directly interacting with Ryan, he and Ryan still have great back-and-forth

Wayne: [rings doorbell]
Colin: “I’LL GET IT.”
That worked. And Wendi got it immediately and goes to the door like nothing’s wrong. This is what happens when you get an actual comedian in this game- it goes off swimmingly.
Still, the way Wendi quickly turns to Ryan before getting the door cracks Ryan up, and he just slowly slumps towards the ground

Wayne: “Hello, I’m Frather-”
Ryan: “RUN, FATHER, RUN IF YOU CAN, SAVE YOUR LIFE.”
Colin: “HE COULDN’T EVEN SAY THE WORD FATHER.”
Usually I’m against cutting to Colin in this game, but I think we needed to see him yelling that line

Wayne, with an impeccable save: “Because I am not just a Father, I’m a Friar, so that makes me a Frather.”
Jonathan in the back loves this move

Colin, now essentially responding to Wendi [that’s how good she is]: “OHHHH I’M ON MY KNEES-BUT I’M BACK UP!”

Ryan: “Father, father, kill her-”
Colin: “HEY, COME ON, WE HAD A COUPLE OF GOOD YEARS.”
I love that Colin’s shouting everything but still being funny. The detail of the mic quality beginning to peter out works in his favor.

Colin: “A LITTLE DEVIL GETS IN A GIRL AND ALL OF A SUDDEN…YOU’RE A PUSSY.”
DEAR LORD COLIN

Colin, in the aftermath: “I just have a horrible headache and some rugburns on my elbows.”
Ryan, being Ryan: “oh, no, those are from last night…”
10/10. Even Wendi appreciates this one

So…yeah, I loved that playing. Having an accomplished comedy actress being dubbed takes out any chance of lag or folly from them, so they just did a really fun and goofy scene with Wendi bringing it, Colin saying all the best goddamned lines, and it all colliding for that great ending. Man that was great.

Aisha points out that Ryan had NO IDEA Wendi was coming, so they’re genuinely in the dark about guest stars.
Aisha: “You never get that excited for me.”
Ryan: “…we see you all the time, though…”
Wayne does say he’s always excited to see Aisha, “even if you don’t know I’m watching you”

A semi-sequel to Wayne’s ‘creepy hug’ from last season.

Aisha: “…1000 points to the restraining order…”
Wayne:

Film Dub: Returning from a party

To reiterate, this one is from a different movie than the other 3 film dubs this season

Ryan: “well, what are you doing here, Sylvia?”
Jonathan, as his girl: “oh, if she’s a real blonde, I’m a teenager…”

Colin: “I brought my lawyer here for a divorce…not to divorce him, but to divorce you.”
Colin’s having a hell of a night so far.

There’s a moment where the camera’s on Wayne and Jonathan’s characters, and neither are saying anything…so they both just hum.
Wayne, finally: “II…WOULD LIKE TO SAY-”
Ryan: “I think you should leave.”
[theme from ‘I Think You Should Leave’ plays distantly]

Ryan says he wants them to leave and he’s ordered a pizza.
Colin: “I LIVE HERE…and I love pizza, you’ve never bought me pizza in 20 years. [his character walks out of frame sullenly] “…I love pizza…”
Only Colin can nail that.

Then, as Colin does this long monologue about how much he loves pizza, we just cut to other characters. Ryan’s takes a drink. Jonathan’s starts frustratedly humming again.
Colin, rounding the last corner: “I JUST LOVE….”
Cut to Ryan putting down his glass
Colin: “…..PIZZA.”
This shouldn’t be as funny as it is

Ryan: “alright, when the pizza comes, you can have some [turns to Jonathan’s character] BUT YOU CAN’T, CAUSE YOU HAVEN’T SAID A WORD SINCE YOU CAME IN HERE.”
Jonathan: [hums even more passive aggressively]
Ryan: “what is wrong with you, you were speaking fine earlier…”
Jonathan, finally: “…done hummin.”

Then, Ryan and Jonathan’s characters begin to leave
Colin: “oh, so I have to pay for the pizza? I WILL-”
Ryan: “IF IT’S 30 MINUTES OR LESS, IT’S FREE…”
PFFF

And the ending kills me as well. There’s been redemption for Jonathan, but not for Wayne:
Wayne: “As someone who’s only spoken 3 words, I’d like to-”
Colin, knowingly: “it’s my turn, shut up.”
HA

Then, as Wayne leaves the shot, and we stay on Colin’s character crying.
Colin: “Has it been 30 minutes?”
As he says the next line, the clip stops, so he pivots as soon as he can: “HAS IT BEEEEEN….?”
PFFFFF
Ryan loses it as they walk back to the seats

Probably one of my favorite Film Dubs of the CW version. It may not get mentioned as much as ‘Exfoliation Man’, or ‘GOOOOO FUCK YOURSELF’, or even the one with Brad as a Nazi, but it’s a classic to me, in that so much of the scene feels well-timed and almost scripted, and plays on some of the best timing and back-and-forth of any film dub they’ve done. Once again it’s a Colin masterclass, but I love how they subvert the trope of Jonathan and Wayne never getting lines in Film Dub, especially in the ending.

Secret: Colin is Peter Pan and Ryan is Wendy

Oh…you know, the thing about the CW version is that I haven’t watched it as many times as the ABC version, so I don’t know when a classic game is coming until it, you know, happens…

Anyway, here’s this one.

The crate the prop is in is taller than usual, and thinner. So…they had to SPECIALLY MAKE A CRATE TO CONCEAL THIS PROP. There was so much riding on this prop that it needed its own crate.

Also, let’s not bury the lede here, COLIN DOESN’T PLAY THE WOMAN. FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE DIRECTOR, COLIN PLAYS A MAN.

There’s a really good conflict set up initially- Ryan wants to know why Colin’s not coming home til late at night. Colin says he’s helping “the lost boys find homes”
Ryan: “The lost boys all have homes now, where are you going at night?”
There’s some really good back and forth, and it’s usually lost in what happens next, but this is already a well-improvised scene

So we move to the crate. Which is Ryan’s, and Colin wants to bring it with you, meaning this is Ryan’s secret. Which I always thought was funny.

So here’s what happens. I’m gonna do a full play-by-play. The crate tips over, and the lid falls off. So Colin has to pick it back up.

And he just…lifts it and tries to see what’s inside.

Now…right here, below…he sees what is inside:
And something miraculous happens that only happens once in a blue moon- Colin Mochrie is completely thrown. I can only point to a few other moments in this show’s history, like Colin back at the seats during Ryan’s neon light incident, or ‘up his ass’ in 9×03 [usually it’s something he initiated]. But…this is his exact reaction:
Note in the above shot- Wayne’s enjoying it, but he also wants to know what the fuck’s going on.
Ryan is enjoying this. Note right here- Ryan can’t see what’s in there yet. He’s only guessing, and I think his guess is right, but he’s just amused by Colin.
And I honestly don’t blame him.
So Ryan takes a look:
And now HE’S GONE. You’ve got two giggling performers onstage, and nobody knows why. It’s several seconds. This is funny alone, but we don’t know why yet. It’s a lot funnier to me, cause I know what’s in there. But most of the audience right now is like Wayne. Peeking around, trying to figure out what’s in there.
Colin: “…I…CAN’T EVEN BEGIN…”
This is proof that he’s found his character again, and knows how to feel about this prop in the realm of the scene, and is ready to show the audience what exactly is in there:

Yep. And the place goes wild. Now Colin here does something that I’ve often thought is something he wouldn’t have done on an earlier version of the show:
He lets Jonathan and Wayne see the prop. Right before this shot cuts, you see Jonathan move completely to the side, in the midst of a laugh attack that we don’t entirely see.
I don’t think Colin would have done this in the UK version, or even the Drew version. It’s less about the guys in the back and more about the integrity of the scene. But because this prop already broke the integrity of the scene wide open, and because Wayne and Jonathan were visibly peering over to see what it was, this makes sense.

I love this show. Colin’s letting the audience breathe, but also coming to turns with this

Ryan: “I got it for you, Peter”
Colin: [still shaking his head]
Ryan: “I had your head superimposed on…Neil Patrick Harris’ body…”
PFFF

Ryan is trying to get the explanation out: “YOU LET YOURSELF GO…THIS IS HOW YOU U….SED TO LOOK.”
But Colin turns and Ryan sees the prop again and loses it.
Colin: “NO, LOOK AT THIS AND TELL ME”

There’s a pause here that cracks up Ryan again.
Colin: “TELL ME EXA…CTLY…WHY YOU…[cracks] YOU DID THIS!”
Ryan, taking it: “I think YOU should look at it for a little while…”
Colin: “I LOOK AT IT EVERY DAY.”

Ryan: “what happened to your six-pack?”

Colin: “HEY, MAYBE IF YOU PULLED UP YOUR BREASTS FROM YOUR KNEES.”
The audience OHHHHs again. And Ryan just throws them over his shoulders. Aisha buzzes here, but I feel like there was one more line in this game.

Phenomenal. Perfect for those moments of realization, how on-edge Ryan and Colin were, where they took the scene, and so many little moves. I second the love this game has gotten. It’s so damn funny

Ryan, back at the seats, to Colin: “you look good.”
Colin: “that’s gonna disappear fast…”

Living Scenery: Ryan and Colin are a couple who’ve won big in the lottery are enjoying their new mansion and their luxury lifestyle; Wendi and Wayne are props

Colin: “Look, the toilets are made of gold.”
Wendi and Wayne stand in
Colin: “well, one of them’s gold, one of them’s…dark ivory.”
Wayne:

IT CONTINUES.
Ryan: “IT’S A BIDET.”
Colin: “oh, I’m sorry…”

As Ryan suggests Colin try the bidet out, Wayne runs back and gets a mouthful of water. Ryan knows exactly what’s coming. Inevitably, once Colin sits down, Wayne spits out at him

Colin pimps Wendi out to be a vibrating bed for Ryan. Perhaps that’s the reason why Wendi moved out after 3 years…

Wayne’s spitting continues as he acts as a shower for Colin. Meanwhile, Ryan’s chuckling, not believing he just did the vibrating bed bit with Wendi

I love Colin adding the detail of ‘Batpoles’ to this super mansion. Of course

Ryan: [slides down Wayne slowly] “OHHHHHH”
Wayne: [audibly giggles]
Ryan: “I GOT THE LAUGHING POLE.”

There’s a VERY ABRUPT cut here, as I don’t think the ending beat was the best one. This was a pretty fun Living Scenery, but I think it could have gone on for another minute. Whatever, I guess the producers really wanted to get SFAH in to fulfill the quota of every show having either SFAH, Greatest Hits or Helping Hands.

Scenes from a Hat:

“weird things for a driving instructor to say”
Ryan: “NONONO, PULL UP, PULL UP, DON’T LET THIS ASSHOLE IN!”

I also love Wayne’s giving Jonathan instructions to stay outside as he goes and robs a bank. That’s fun

“Excerpts from self-help DVDs that wouldn’t sell”
Ryan: “why pay for a costly prostate exam..” [waits for audience to get it]
That is the kind of ballsy that Ryan can do whenever he wants

Wayne does an ‘identity theft made easy’ one that’s fine, but it only works after the buzz, where he goes “I’m Aisha Tyler…OR AM I?”

Colin: ‘do you have low self-esteem? …How’s this gonna help?”
10/10

Wayne: “alright, there are four steps to a drive-by…”

“Things a dentist says that you can’t say to your partner.”
Ryan, with the obvious one: “annnnd rinse and spit?”
Jonathan: “ah, it’s gonna take more than me to fill that cavity.”
AMAZING
Colin with another obvious one: “you’re just gonna feel a little prick”
Ryan: “I’d like to see you again in six months!”
That’s a really good one, cause it makes you think.

“Restaurants you would never go to.”
Colin: “welcome to Canni-BAR.”
[….]
Colin: “…it’s like ‘cannibal’, but we say it differently so people don’t realize THEY’RE EATING HUMAN FLESH.”
Man, this audience has been rough.
Then, as Colin goes on, Wayne saves him by shooting him, then tying back to earlier by going “THAT’S STEP THREE!”

I was ready to hate this one for halting the momentum of LS, but this was actually a pretty damn good round. I would have loved to hear more from Jonathan, and some of Wayne’s took a bit more time than he’d have wanted to get laughs, but this was a fun round.

And yes, the credit reading…


Colin: “My Laura Hall is expanding with desire…”
Ryan: “HUHUH…”

And then, as we fade out, Aisha walks off with it.

Overall: I was worried this one would be good solely because of Secret. This was not the case. Every game was really damn good, with my only gripes being game length in the cases of Director and Living Scenery. But this show had a killer Dubbing with great work from Wendi, one of the best Film Dubs, a really good SFAH, Wayne getting screwed with in Director and Living Scenery, and, yes, that immortal round of Secret that was all based upon the reactions and on-edge improv work of Ryan and Colin. Short of masterpiece status, and not enough to knock the Byamba out of the top spot, but a hysterical episode, and another fantastic one from S10.

Show Winner: Colin
Best Performer: Colin Mochrie. This was his show, top to bottom.
Worst Performer: Wayne had the most moments of backup, as well as the most jokes that didn’t work. Dubbing and Film Dub went by without him doing much at all [though in Film Dub it was the point].
Best Game: Can’t not give it to Secret.
Worst Game: Compared to everything else in this show, Director is a bit lighter. Still good, but lighter.
Guest Star Rating: 9/10. I wish she would have been used in ways that let her speak and interact with them a bit less broadly, but as a comic guest she did really well, especially in Dubbing.

COMING UP NEXT: Season 10 ends with a guestless show from the Heather taping

Whose Watchdown is it Anyway: S10E22, or Try the Knocker

On the heels of the wild Heather episode we got for 10×18, we have another Heather guest star show. This is one of the last real ‘gimmick person’ bookings Dan&Mark do. But…Brian Shaw, multiple-time winner of the World’s Strongest Man competition, shows up for a guest star spot. Which is at least interesting

I love Ryan and Colin’s chattering to each other during the intro.

Weird Newscasters: Colin anchors, Heather, Melodramatic soap actress filming her big love scene with Colin, co-anchors, Wayne, College student who brings all of his drunk friends to a party at Aisha’s, does sports while Ryan, An entire horror movie in 30 seconds, does weather

Aisha, after reading Wayne’s: “…I got white carpet, man…”

Colin: “I’m your anchor, “Booth, I’m a Ghotht”
I laughed harder than I should have at that

Colin: “A man covered entirely in brown wrapping paper was arrested today for rustling.”
Wayne has a delayed chuckle reaction to this one, kinda similar to his laughing Frankenstein from last show

Heather: “I just wanna have your babies here on the news…all the briefest babies you can give me…”

Not only does the entire row of audience members behind Aisha’s desk get into this, but Aisha is immediately yes-anding, going “don’t spill anything”
The entire group of audience members is egging him on to chug, and Aisha is frantically trying to stop him. That is how you make group participation work.

Then, as Wayne’s about to vomit on the desk
Aisha: “Don’t you…this is kashmir!”

I love how as Wayne sends all the audience members back, Aisha is just…disgustingly holding the vomit.

Ryan: “We’ve got some unusual fog rolling in…if you’d feel safer, feel free to split up and go their own separate ways…”
Then Ryan just comes in and slices Colin’s throat.
Wayne, inevitably: “THE BROTHER’S GOTTA LIIIIIIVE!”
And Wayne just darts offstage

The way Ryan pulls the sneak attack to get Wayne from the stairs as he returns is just clever enough.

Ryan ends the quirk by hanging himself, which gets a reaction out of Heather.

A pretty good WN. A bit simpler than the last few, but still good.

Song Styles: Wayne sings a song from Lion King to Brian, the other 3 do backup

I kinda love the way Aisha says: “and the other three, you will be THE ANIMALS IN THE BACKGROUND.”
Not just background dancers. THE ANIMALS IN THE BACKGROUND. Just specific enough.
Ryan: “I really don’t wanna get too close to him…”

Wayne, as a probing question, goes “is there anything that you’re afraid of?”
Brian: “I don’t think there’s anything that YOU CAN DO that I’m afraid of…”
BAM.
Colin: “SNAP!”
Wayne: “ah…when I get home, I’m gonna talk some shit about yooou…”

Nothing’s even happened yet, and already:

wait a minute….are we getting a round of African Chant? I just realized. The backing is very similar to AC, although this has LINDA TAYLOR BACKING VOCALS. More Linda Taylor awesomeness for S10.

Wayne’s opening chant peters off into “WHAT THE HELL, THAT’S A BIG BOY…”

I do like Wayne’s lyrics about Brian, “casting shadows round the world
And he can scare the hell out of every boy and girl”

Meanwhile, in the background:

…so goofy

Wayne, pointing to Colin: “Can you life the mighty gorilla…please don’t break the gorilla…”

Wayne, turning back around: “CAN YOU LIFT….?”
Ryan: [flees towards the seats]
That cracked me up
Heather does an animal mime
Wayne, not at all getting it: “the, uh…the mandrill…”

Brian has to get down and grab Heather’s legs to lift her, and Heather starts shrieking the second she’s lifted.

Heather has to let the fight-or-flight subside, get her other arm up and keep miming, while also horrified in mid-air.

Wayne: “I know one creature you cannot lift and that is the mighty emu…”
Ryan: [runs offstage]
Wayne: “Emu, run away…run away to his car, to avoid spinal injury…”

Wayne builds on the ‘nothing I can do to scare you’ bit:
“I bet I could scare you if I started to dance
I bet I could scare you if I…[cracks] took off my pants…”
This entire time, Ryan’s still in character running past the cameras, which means we had to get a wider shot that wasn’t ran past.

Then, as Aisha runs onstage:
Wayne: “Can you lift the elephant in a way that will not show off her…good bits.”
PFFF
Sure enough:

Then, as Wayne does the last note, we hear buzzing. It’s Ryan, who does it repeatedly for the next 20 seconds as they wrap up.
Wayne: “…proudest moment of my life”
Then, as Wayne realizes who’s buzzing: “ladies and gentlemen, our brand new host…”

SUCH A FUN SONG STYLES. It had a very live energy to it, with the other 3 goofing around in the back and then getting picked up by Brian, and with enough funny things happening late, like poor Ryan not wanting any part of this.

Ryan: “I was afraid of getting lifted and just my bowels releasing…”
Colin: “If you did that they would reference you differently on the internet.”
Ryan: “…you know, the guy who shit his pants when he got lifted?”

Film Dub: Tensions arise in a hotel room

Heather, whose character is in a bathtub: “WOWWW. I wonder if I’m part octopus…”

Wayne, entering eating something: “Hey, do we have to buy everything inside the minibar?”
Colin: “…no, not the minibar, I said ‘GET THE CAR.'”

Ryan, entering: “IIIII, uh….I heard there’s a girl taking a bath in here…”
Never change

And that’s what the scene becomes…Ryan’s character becomes adamant about seeing ‘the girl who’s taking a bath around here’.
Heather, who hasn’t been onscreen in a bit: “HELP, I’M DROWNING!”
I cracked up at that.

Heather finally enters in a towel: “why didn’t you come save me, I was drowning!”
Ryan, of course: “You, uh, must be the girl who was taking a bath earlier…”
Colin: “She’s also my wife.”
Ryan: “…and you let her walk around with a towel all the time?…that’s great, do I owe you anything?”
BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ. Yeah, first time in a while where it feels like Aisha is mercy-killing a scene.

The best Film Dub so far, even if it had a very simple game. This did feel like a throwback to UK Film Dubs, as this is a Ryan character that would have frequented one of those, with a sort of smutty game to it. I’m glad it aired, though, and Heather brought just enough to it.

Also, something I’ve noticed. Ryan’s character in this looked like his character in 10×09’s Film Dub. Colin’s character looked like Ryan’s character in last episode’s [hell, I think Wayne’s might have been Colin’s wallpaper-obsessed character in that one]. Is it possible that all three Film Dubs so far are from the same movie? And checking my sources, this has been CONFIRMED. All three are from Beast from Haunted Cave. There is one more Film Dub this season, and sadly it is from a different movie. But it’s odd that three in a row came from the same source.

Ryan: “…there was a lot of men in there for her taking a bath…it’s like VEGAS…”
Aisha: ‘what’s the DEAL with white people…”
Ryan: “…what’s the deal? We know how to have fun, that’s the deal…”

Scenes from a Hat:

“Bad things to say when meeting your partner’s parents for the first time”
Wayne, taking a picture: “she came from THERE…”
Heather, similarly, pointing to Wayne’s crotch: “did he get THAT from YOU???”

“Things you can say about a drink, but not about your partner.”
Wayne, taking the obvious one off the board: “Goes down smooth.”
Colin, who cracks and has to literally calm himself by putting a finger to his nose: “…can I have a little more salt around the rim?”
Heather: “I’m sorry, that’s not stiff enough.”
Aisha has a big reaction to this.
Wayne: “well…looks like I’m double-fisting tonight.”
WAYNE.

“Inappropriate ways to fire someone.”
Wayne has a good one, giving Heather chocolates, then saying “good, now get the fuck out.”

A light round of this. Not much to it.

Living Scenery: Ryan and Colin are two convicts on a railroad chain gang in Louisiana who escape and hide out in the dangerous bayou; Heather and Brian are props

….this is the plot of The Defiant Ones. Okay then.

I…I love Heather…
Aisha: “let me revise that, BRIAN IS GOING TO BE ALL THE PROPS IN THIS SCENE…and Heather, don’t get trampled.”

Ryan: “I dug a hole.”
Brian and Heather do a hole at like…the height of Ryan’s head.
Ryan: “…I dug a big one, I’ve been working on it for years…”

Then, Heather, in front, and Brian become the ‘9:15 train’
Ryan: “…how does that little engine pull that big train?”
The jokes are just making themselves in this one

Colin gets on top of the train to see if anyone’s coming:

Ryan: “…I’m gonna keep shoveling coal into the engine”

Colin nearly trips over Ryan in coming down: “Funny, I was fine with the train, but YOU hurt me…”

Now the part of this game where these guys do a decent mime and Ryan and Colin don’t give them the satisfaction:

Ryan: “Oh look…two…people stuck in quicksand…”
Heather loses it
Colin: ‘they must have been here for a while, they’re fossilized…”

Colin spots a ‘log carved into a boat’. Heather is initially acting as the boat, and then Brian gets down and joins her.
Ryan, as this happens: “oh, that’s a tiny…OH, NO IT’S NOT!”

Ryan: “oh god, this is gonna tip over, look how much more buoyant my side is…”

Ryan, cracking as he sits down on Brian: “i’ll get in…ooh boy, we are gonna tip over on that side…”
Colin, taking the other perspective: “I told you not to have the burritos!”
Ryan: “SHUT UP!”
This is fantastic

Colin, with Heather’s chest near him: “Hey look, there’s a couple of apples.” And he takes them away.
This either aged horribly or really well.

Ryan casts Brian as ‘Old Bert’, the legendary killer alligator. Ryan motions to Heather, and goes “get a spear and kill old Bert.”
And as Heather moves, so does Brian, so Ryan has to go “STAY DOWN, OLD BERT, YOU’RE STILL OLD BERT!”
PFFFFFF

Colin, as he is carrying Heather and not doing so very easily: “HEY, WHY DON’T YOU JUST STAND THERE AND GIVE ORDERS?!?”

Heather and Brian play a ‘cabin’ next
Ryan: “ring the doorbell, see if anybody’s home”
Colin: [rings Heather’s…tit area]
of course
Ryan: “try the knocker.”
OH MY GOD
Colin, somehow making that even funnier, uses Brian’s crotch area as a knocker

Such a funny Living Scenery. Ryan and Colin were having so much fun working off the size difference between these two, and the struggles both were having in this game. So many funny moments, and Brian did a great job.

Doo-Wop: Wayne, Ryan and Colin sing about Sarah, who died tragically in a fishing accident

Wayne: “That could actually happen…”
Colin: “But not in the funny way that WE’RE gonna sing about..”
That exchange just sums up this game perfectly

Wayne: “as a swimmer you had no practice
you went ‘ah yeah, I’m gonna jump down and go all the way to Atlantis’, STUPID.”

Ryan’s verse, I assume, happens after a pickup.
His punchline is “she was quite the fisherman, quite the little hooker..”

Colin: “Oh, Sarah, I wish your death had been cleaner
I’m also sorry you died before you touched my wiener”
PFFFFFF. AND THAT’S THE MID-PUNCHLINE. Wayne loses it.
“You were in the boat, it was really odd
Killed by a fish, I guess it was an act of cod…”
[“oldest trick in book, kimosabe”]

The ending got me. They’re about to end on a really sweet unison note, and…all of the sudden Colin decides to do a low ‘AAAHHHHHH’, like a throatier one to combat the higher tones. Just to get Wayne. This is something he’ll do either if it’s not gonna go in, or if he’s just in the right mood.

He gets Wayne AND Ryan. Well done

A really damn good Doo Wop, one of the first great ones of the CW version perhaps, and the beginning of Colin’s trend of breaking the game wide open just to screw with Wayne.

Overall: Well that was a fun show. Who could dislike this one, it’s just quaint as hell. I don’t think it was stronger at its core than the Padma show Heather did, but this was just a relaxing, joyous little show, with a lot of really fun games like WN, Duet, Film Dub and Doo-Wop. It also has one of the best Living Scenery games of the season, some fun material from Heather all around, and Colin screwing with Wayne at the end of Doo-Wop giving us a killer final beat. Yes, a lot of this show skews lighter than some of the titans of S10, but to me this is one of the breezier shows of the season, and just a good one to throw on anytime.

Show Winners: All four
Best Performer: Wayne made a lot of momentum early and secured the show-win despite sitting out a lot of the second half. SFAH and Doo-Wop certainly helped.
Worst Performer: Colin continued his S10 habit of doing backup. Doo-Wop was a nice point in his favor, but between him and Heather, Heather had a lot more dominant moments tonight, especially in SFAH and Film Dub.
Best Game: Living Scenery broke more mold than a lot of similar games of it this season, and there were a ton of great reacting moments.
Worst Game: Scenes from a Hat was the lightest
Guest Star Rating: 8/10. Nothing too jaw-dropping, but he seemed to have a good time.

COMING UP NEXT: We finally get a second show from the Jonathan taping, and now it’s Ryan’s turn to bring a friend of his on. Not to be outdone, Colin has a friend to show all of us.

Whose Watchdown is it Anyway: S10E21, or And No Mention of the Handcuffs?

I am glad that the CW branched off from just leaving Keegan guestless shows, and giving them to the other fourth seaters as well in this era. And I’m also happy they gave some to Gary, because, as we’ve learned, Gary is an adept fourth-seater who has great rapport with all three regulars, and has the improv chops to keep every game funny.

So, here we have a Gary guestless show. I’m totally down for this.

Let’s Make a Date: Gary must choose from Wayne, Frankenstein’s monster getting other monsters together for a party, Colin, mad lady who thinks people’s body parts are her pets, Ryan, obnoxious giant talking tick looking for the perfect body to live on

Wayne, in the middle of his Frankenstein noises, just does a ‘get back’ motion towards Colin. In response, Colin is ALL OVER HIM in the first round, looking at his head and going “OH, MY LITTLE TURTLE…”

Colin’s seems to be cut off midway through

Ryan goes over to Wayne and Gary, and has nothing to burrow into. By the time he gets around to Colin, Colin already knows what’s coming.

Another episode of Colin torture porn, I see…

There’s a great moment where Colin just laughs maniacally, and then Wayne just starts clapping and laughing. This dynamic is pretty fun

Gary: “Bachelor #1, if I swallowed a button it might hurt going down, but what hurts coming up?”
…damn, Gary…

I love this horrified audience member as Wayne orders her, onstage, to make food. Just..not comfortable whatsoever.
Wayne: “MAKE FOOD NOW. USE YOUR IMAGINATION.”
That got me. And her.

Wayne, cracking: “been dead long time, take thrills where can get…”

Gary: “Bachelor #2, I’ve used my fingernails to dig out of a 20 foot tunnel before..”
Wayne, who’s supposed to be asleep, cracks at this. So he just wakes up and does his clapping laughing again. Lots of little details are working in this game

Colin eventually goes towards Ryan: “OH, MY LITTLE AMOEBA!”

That is what he gets. Colin legitimately pinches it. This is how good their combo is.
Then Colin rushes over to Wayne: “MY LITTLE SNAIL!”
Wayne, still at rest, immediately bats him away, trying not to laugh

I also love Colin looking at Wayne’s audience member…and not doing anything because he’s respectful of audience members

Ryan, however, sees the audience member, with long hair, and goes “FINALLY!”, and runs over. He’s literally throwing her hair over his face as Aisha buzzes.

Gary guesses Wayne is “a Frankenstein who likes…hot girls in leather pants.”
Wayne is confused for a moment, then goes back into his clapping Frankenstein laugh

A very strong LMAD, feeling like a Drew-era one just in the little interactions and moments between all four, and just how all three stories did go unedited through two rounds. You don’t get that often on the CW.

Film Dub: One evening in a bar

Aisha: “and now we’re going to go onto a game calllllleeeed….[she can’t find the right card] aaaahh yes…hey…”
Colin: “Hard job, really hard job…”

Aisha, and Colin, chuckle at the specificity of ‘one evening in a bar’

Ryan: “aaagh, the service here is horrible.”
Gary, doing a great girl’s voice: “THE SERVICE IS HORRIBLE, BUT YOUR HAIR’S GREAT.”

Then, as Ryan’s character gets up
Gary: “DON’T LEAVE ME, ALL THE GUYS LEAVE ME…”

Ryan, grabbing Colin’s character: “I just wanna say this is the worst Hooters I’ve ever been to in my life…”

Ryan: “…the hell are you looking at?”
Colin: “I’m just fascinated by the wallpaper, I love wallpaper…ever since I was young.”
Ryan, realizing what he’s got wrong: “…YOU’RE STANDING IN THE DARK PART OF THE ROOM, I’M STANDING IN THE LIGHT PART OF THE ROOM…”
Colin: “OH…” [he’s thrown into the wall] “OH LOOK AT THIS WALLPAPER…”

Not perfect [Colin got confused], and it was a bit short, but still very funny, and an improvement over the last playing of this.

What’s in the Bag: Batman and Robin, Ryan and Colin, have come to rescue Catwoman, Wayne, who’s been kidnapped and tied up in the Joker’s booby-trapped lair

This is the last aired playing of this game…which I’m fine with. Solid in S9, fulfilled its purpose.

As Ryan and Colin get the bags, someone [I can’t tell who, it’s overdubbed from a pickup] does a sing-songy “what’s in the bags? WHAT’S IN THE BAGS?” It’s so goofy.

Aisha: “and Colin is Robin…because you’re the compact, muscular one…”
Colin:

The rapport between the cast and Aisha is definitely there

Wayne’s Eartha Kitt impression is still great, but he does too many rolls and ends up coughing in the middle of a line. It’s…kinda funny to watch.

Colin puts a mask on, but it’s a scarf so it’s more like a blindfold
Wayne: “…MARCO…”
Colin: “Polo.”

Ryan uses a little brushy-thing on Wayne’s head. “I don’t know what I’m doing, I just like that thing.”

Wayne has a great move in using the ‘tied up’ bit as a trap for Ryan and Colin. And he just gives Aisha a look.

Colin: “But I know your one weakness [checks label] SEA SALT!”
PFFFFF

Ryan: “I was gonna put him out with my perfume-”
Colin: “HIM???”
Ryan, adamant: “CALLED ‘SIMPLY SEXY’.”

Ryan pulls out a pair of handcuffs and makes Wayne get back in the chair, which is a great moment.
Wayne, looking towards the audience members: “Looks like SOMEBODY’S  a freak!”

Then, as Ryan’s cuffed Wayne: “wow, I really should have checked for a key first…”
And then, as Ryan checks the purse: “…this girl’s got nothing but keys in here.”
This is a very silly turn of events

Aisha is giving points for the Eartha Kitt impression and the salt
Colin: “AND YET NO MENTION OF THE HANDCUFFS??”

A pretty good round of this, with enough funny things led by the performers and improv rather than the props. And the handcuffs bit was very funny.

World’s Worst: Presidential Candidate

IF ONLY THEY KNEW IN 2014 WHAT WE KNOW NOW.

Wayne: “What can I do for you? Nothin.”
Colin: “I can see Russia from ma’house.”
Remember in 2014 how we thought Sarah Palin as President was as bad as it could get???

Ryan: “let’s get this out of the way right now, she’s not my First Lady.”
PFF
Gary: “And I promise EVERY BLACK MAN…A WHITE WOMAN.”
Wayne comes in and does a ‘check yes’. Perfect

Ryan: “Hello, I’m Mitt Romney.”
Again, remember in 2014 how we thought Romney was as bad as it could get??

Gary kissing a baby WITH TONGUE is one of those little things he can throw in when no one’s looking. I also love Wayne rushing in as the horrified parent

A decent world’s worst. Not a lot of ones that truly wowed me, but still solid stuff.

Aisha just shrugs and gives 2 points to everyone
Colin: “you’ve totally given up, haven’t you?”

Greatest Hits: Songs of the Spa

Colin: “Due to the shortened length of our previous special…Denver Broncos Super Bowl Highlights…”
HA. Yes, that’s a gift to all the Seahawks fans in the room. This was taped not too long after Super Bowl 48, the one where the Seahawks killed the Broncos in New York.

Ryan: “Spa, of course, a word meaning…Soft, Pliable Ass…or WILL BE once you go to the spa…”
[I kinda love whenever Ryan and Colin attempt to do an acronym and fail. We’re a long way from ‘Stupid Knife Attack’, but this is still funny]

Colin and Ryan intro a duet between Lou Rawls and the cast of South Park. As Colin describes it, “fascinating if fascinating had another meaning..”

Gary’s Lou Rawls is really damn good, and he’s capable of delivering a verse funny verse or so about mudbaths.

Wayne’s impressions of Cartman and Kenny are still great. Then, he shifts into his Isaac Hayes: “Now now,  children… [to Gary] I sound an awful lot like you…” And it’s a good opportunity to turn this into an Isaac Hayes/Lou Rawls duet, which is pretty awesome. Even if Wayne goes right back into Cartman as Gary does a good note.

Hell, Wayne even takes a cool ending unison note to throw a ‘Kyle’s mom is a bitch’ in there.

A really damn good opening number from Wayne and Gary, adding to the strong night Gary’s been having.

Colin: “Man, they don’t write songs like that anymore…not since that law was passed.”
Gary loves this one

Ryan uses an anecdote about he and his wife visiting Colin and his as a segue into ‘swing’. I love Colin’s very faint head-shaking in response.

The swing number isn’t as good, but Wayne and Gary’s unison and harmonies are really damn good

Gary: “Do not scream and do not moan
Get yourself two handfuls of my stones.”
BRILLIANT

A pretty damn good GH, even if the first number was stronger than the second. Great Wayne-Gary showcases, and great Ryan-Colin banter.

Overall: A lighter show, which is good considering the amount of overstuffed guest star shows lately, but despite some strong energy, a bit too meh in places. World’s Worst and Film Dub were, while good, not good enough. Greatest Hits wasn’t as strong as some of the ones we’ve seen lately. Yes, we still have highlights like LMAD and What’s in the Bag, but considering the quality we’ve had so far this season, this felt like a step down.

I know some people have called this one of the first great shows of this era, but on this watch I am not seeing it. It’s a fine show, has some good moments, and some looseness in LMAD, but…a bit too hollow in some important areas.

Show Winner: Colin
Best Performer: Ryan gets the win over Gary, probably because of more full episode saturation, but let it be known that if Gary was more prevalent in something like Film Dub or another game, he’d have won.
Worst Performer: Wayne had the least standout moments for me.
Best Game: Let’s Make a Date felt classic.
Worst Game: Film Dub is the most take-it-or-leave-it.

COMING UP NEXT: One more guest star show for Heather this season, and I’d say this is a [heh] strong one to go out with.

Whose Watchdown is it Anyway: S10E20, or This Shan’t Be On the Air

For this second episode from the Gary taping we first witnessed back in E15, we throw in a sports star from…another one of the sports I don’t follow too closely [really, NO BASEBALL PLAYERS? I’LL EVEN TAKE AN ANAHEIM ANGEL!].

Ironically, we do get the second best basketball team in LA giving a rep. Not Blake Griffin, that’d be too good. Matt Barnes, a veteran small forward who’d played with Golden State, Portland, Orlando, the Lakers, and, in 2014, the Clippers, made it to Whose Line. This is a few years before Barnes would finally win a championship by returning to San Francisco for half a year, but he was still…relevant enough to come on? Idk, man.

Look, I’m mostly happy that I’m posting this as the election results are coming in, and Gary is from a state that might decide the election. So that’s cool.

Weird Newscasters: Colin anchors, Gary, Colin’s high school bully tormenting him, co-anchors, Wayne, Preacher from the Church of Wayne whipping the entire audience into a frenzy, does sports while Ryan, Performing highlights from the Broadway show Colin Mochrie: The Musical

Fun fact: Ryan performed a very similar WN quirk in a round that never made it to air from S5.

Colin: “Our top story-”
Gary: [twists Colin’s nipple]
Colin: “AIIIIGHHAHH…OUR TOP STORY…researchers conclude today that one out of every seven dwarves is Dopey…”
Goofy, but it works

Gary’s is very quick but he gets SO MUCH MILEAGE OUT OF IT, just getting Colin into a headlock and bouncing happily before throwing it back. Colin is great here at looking completely beaten.

Wayne’s plays right into his seamless ability to work a crowd, and he has the audience in the palm of his hand for his entire quirk.

Wayne goes to a ‘non-believer’ in the audience, asks him to stand up, and goes “I MADE HIM STAND UP”. There’s the slightest bit of goofiness in this quirk, but Wayne is making it work

Wayne, to another audience member: “what’s your name?”
“my name’s Grant”
Wayne: “HE COULDN’T SPEAK BEFORE but I just made him TALK!”

I love how we get a brief cut to Gary and Colin watching, and Gary just cracks a smile. Impressed.

Gary, before Colin turns over to Ryan, gives Colin a wedgie. Wayne quickly enters going “THAT IS NOT THE WAY”…and gives Colin an even bigger one

Ryan goes into his first number all about Canada: “LET’S GO TO CANADA AND GET REAL LOOSE! LET’S GO TO CANADA AND MARRY A MOOSE!”

Ryan, then: “…I WISH…I were Ryan Stiles…”

Ryan: “MEEEEEMORIEEEES…WHERE DID MY HAIR GOOOOO?”
Poor Colin…

Even funnier, Ryan eventually gets Colin to do a harmony on a final note.

That was a nice round of…Colin torture porn. That’s what it was. Really funny stuff from everybody, but Colin just got put through the wringer. That being the point of the game was eventually evident, but…I just felt bad for him.

Duet: Gary and Wayne sing a heavy metal song to Matt, who would like to be invisible

Gary, on Matt: “he really makes me feel short AND fat…”
Ryan: [goes up and eyes Matt to see who’s taller, shrugs cause they’re kinda the same size and returns to his seat]

Aisha stumbles on reading the style to Wayne
Wayne: “ONE JOB…”
Aisha and Wayne have a brief physical flail-fest in disagreement before Aisha just heads back to her seat like nothing happened. Their dynamic is really great

Wayne has a really good metal voice. He gets the point that metal is less screaming and more odder voices.

Gary’s voice is more of a british metal, like a Rob Halford or Lemmy kinda thing, talking about going to Burger King drive thru invisible. “I’d wave my hand and flip them off with my invisible hand in the air”

Wayne ties this to Matt, saying he’d be invisible on the court, “you would be like ‘hey, that’s a basketball dribbling by itself, OH SHIT THAT’S AMAZING”
This is a very fun and goofy number, and while Matt isn’t doing much, he seems to be enjoying it
Gary: “BUT THEN THE OWNERS OF THE CLIPPERS WOULD SAY WE WON’T PLAY YOU BECAUSE WE DIDN’T SEE YOU.”
[lol, the Donald Sterling controversy happened after this taped, meaning this line didn’t age especially well. I don’t think Donald Sterling would have minded not seeing a black person.]

As they wave Matt off, Wayne even goes ‘WHERE’D HE GO? IS HE HERE?”

A pretty fun number, certainly better than the Kunal metal number. Gary AND Wayne had good moments, despite doing slightly different styles of metal, but they united for some good ending moments.

Secret: Ryan and Colin are the scarecrow and Dorothy

Ryan begins the scene smoking, which is a fun ridiculous detail

Colin has a smirk once he sees what’s in the box. Ryan removes what’s in there, and Colin, for the audience who can’t see it, goes “yes, that’s a pregnancy test…”

This is very similar to his ‘Tonto discovering the blow up doll’ face

Colin: “…the lion got some courage.”
YES. The place goes wild
Colin, once they’ve recovered: “…and the tin man had his heart-on.”
PFFF
There’s a moment here where Colin looks at Ryan, and Ryan is VERY CLOSE to cracking but keeps it in.

Ryan, after Colin confirms he’s pregnant: “we’ve already got too many little people around here, they’re everywhere..”

Ryan: “all you had to do was just…tap your shoes…”
Colin: “I tried, it just made my feet moist…”
[that is a great line]
Ryan, even better: “…apparently more than your feet…”

Ryan: “I mean, how did you decide who ya wanted?”
Colin, thrown slightly, buckles: “well…”
Ryan, using himself: “ya coulda picked straws…”
HA
Colin: “Sorry, I just fell asleep in a poppy field and…woke up-”
Ryan: “AW, GOD, IT COULDA BEEN A FLYING MONKEY, IT COULDA BEEN ANYTHING OUT THERE…”

Aisha calls it there, and while I would have appreciated one more beat, I still loved this scene. Again, the humor came less from the props and more from the improv between Ryan and Colin, which was strong. They both knew the comedic possibilities of this idea and they kept hammering through, making a really funny scene.

Aisha: “You two are real thespians.”
Colin: “Sure, I like women…”
Aisha, again adding to the pile of subtle hints: “DON’T WE ALL?”

Scenes from a Hat:

“Catchphrases that never caught on”
Ryan, kinda Fred Willard-esque: “hey…that’s MY scrotum, fella!”
Gary: “Now that’s the FUN WAY to lick a donkey…”

“If doctors spoke in rhyme”
Colin: “put your clothes back on, I’ve seen all that I can see/i’m not really a doctor, but I play one on TV.”

Gary, with Wayne: “I need to do an operation but I cannot find the hand lube
So I’m afraid I’ll have to oil my hands up [breaks] with the milk from my…man boobs.”
And he just stares at the audience until they react.
Gary, heading back to the steps: “THIS SHAN’T BE ON THE AIR.”

Colin: “I just hired a new anesthesiologist…and I believe in free verse.”
10/10

“Things You’d Never See or Hear on a Charity Telethon”
Wayne, to Gary: “…you said MAN-BOOBS?”
Ryan: “Good news! We found a cure!”
HA

Colin does one where he’s answering phones
Wayne, from offstage: “I WANT A TOTE BAG!”
Colin: “…FUCK OFF!”
[Colin is like Hugh Dennis from Mock the Week in that he curses so rarely that when he does, it always works]

“Bad people to share a liferaft with”
Wayne, with Gary again: “…you said man-boobs…”
Gary, shrugging, unzips his shirt:
Second show in a row to involve an unfortunate milking incident

“Ill-advised things to do with your package”
Wayne does a ‘sparring with Colin’s testicles’ one that Colin takes an extra second to mind-meld with
Wayne just keeps going with, getting one in a headlock, and doing pullups on his dick. He REALLY DRAWS OUT THIS GAG. Eventually, Colin’s dick snaps off.
Colin: “I GOT ANOTHER ONE.”

A pretty good, and well-fleshed out SFAH. Very reminiscent of a Drew playing. Lots of scenes, some work and some don’t, there’s a running gag.

Helping Hands: Ryan, hands by Colin, is a tough bar owner who’s just opened a seedy dive bar and he’s showing new barman Matt the ropes

Aisha: “Ryan is a tough…HAH…bar owner.”
Aisha is great.
[Ryan, in response, plays this character very effeminately]

Ryan: “d’you know anything about the bar business?”
Matt: “I know how to drink, that’s about it.”
FUNNY LINE FROM MATT.

Like a lot of guests this season, Matt attempts the ‘intertwined drink’ gag, but this time it actually works.

Colin trying to complete a high-five without seeing where Matt is made me laugh. Ryan just going ‘HIGH…FIVE JIMMY’ repeatedly also makes it work.

Even funnier, Ryan directing Colin to grab the cheese whiz while, instead, he grabs other bottles of alcohol and knocks other ones over.

Matt is a relatively active participant in this game. As Colin squirts too much cheese whiz into the glass, Matt adds some hot sauce. He knows where the funny is.
Ryan, noticeably impressed [and also horrified at the prospect of having this]: “BLESS YOUR HEART, JIMMY!”
And Matt just keeps periodically adding more beer to the glass.
Ryan: “wait, keep pouring that as I drink”
At the moment of A) Ryan tasting it and B) the beer overflowing the glass, Ryan draws back. It’s a great moment

Ryan: “…I have no idea why there’s a shotgun on this table.”
Matt: “I’ll take that…”
And as Ryan grabs the sliders, Matt just casually pockets the GIANT SHOTGUN PROP. Very funny

I love Ryan’s little “…god” as he realizes Colin’s about to put cheese whiz on the slider as well.
Matt: “How about a little hot sauce, too…”
It’s like a musical motif

Ryan, responding to Colin: “…form it in the shape of a ball apparently…”

Once Ryan gets the burger down…ish…Matt just hands him the glass again. He’s not a SHOWY support, but he’s working with Colin to torture Ryan in the nicest way possible, which makes this a pretty lawful scene.
Ryan, instead, takes some tequila right from the bottle.

A very funny Helping Hands. Not perfect, but the eventual ‘game’ of the scene, with hot sauce and cheese whiz going on everything thanks to a willfully demented Matt, made this very funny. Ryan just got tortured, which makes this a perfect finish for the episode considering Colin got tortured in WN.

Ryan: “…usually cheese out of a can is so good, but that…”

Colin: “I love the way you talk to my arms, like I can see anything. NO, NO NOT THAT, THE CHEESE, THE CHEESE. No, not the tequila, the other one, THE SHOT GLASS. THE SHOT GLASS.”

Overall: Another in a long line of solid shows from this stretch. WN, Secret and SFAH were solid, normal-seeming improv games with good performances, and Duet and HH were decent guest games with a guest star who was decent despite being lower-energy. I put this around the same grade as the Mel B show from this taping, because these all are pretty basic, workable CW Guest Star shows that don’t do too much out of the ordinary but still work. This had some fun charm, especially in Secret and SFAH, and I enjoyed it.

Show Winner: All four
Best Performer: Wayne had the most game-wins, and was excelling all night.
Worst Performer: Ryan had more subservient moments. I would have given it to Colin, but Helping Hands and SFAH worked because of him.
Best Game: Secret was some much-needed strong Ryan-Colin improv
Worst Game: Duet was the lightest.
Guest Star Rating: 8/10. No real issues with him, but he wasn’t exactly over-the-moon excited to be on.

COMING UP NEXT: Just for that, a second consecutive Gary show. Though, because you’ve been good, no guests in this one.

Whose Watchdown is it Anyway: S10E19, or 18 Inches of Confusion

I know we’ve already had a guestless show from this Jeff taping, which we’ve seen in episodes 12, 14 and 17 of this season, but…I hope you won’t mind one more. I guarantee it’s worth it.

Let’s Make a Date: Jeff must choose from Wayne, aggressive Thai beauty therapist trying to give everyone a thorough waxing, Colin, deranged hunter trying to kill, skin and wear everything he sees, and Ryan, penguin gathering other penguins to look for food and shelter

Ah yes. It’s coming back to me now. Oh good.

Colin’s chuckling at his. Also, I’m convinced they gave Colin and Ryan’s on the same night on purpose.

Just the initial reveal of Wayne’s quirk, and him going “what is love?”, is enough to get the audience, and me, laughing.
For a moment, he even looks over at Aisha, breaking slightly because he has to do this

Wayne: “Love should be SMOOTH…”

Wayne: “love should feel like…WELL LIKE THIS-”

AND WE’RE OFF
Wayne: ‘there should be…little bit of love on sides, but [breaks] SMOOTH ALL THE WAY DOWN…”
Colin just looks at him, confusedly

I love the goofy noise Colin’s knife makes when he takes it out. “ch…kingngngng…”

and this shot is amazing:

Without context, that’s funny

Then Colin just murders and audience member and brings her up and wears her for the rest of the round. Then, as he brings her around to the stool, COLIN’S STOOL FALLS OVER. What the hell is with everyone’s stools falling over this taping, and why does it always crack me up?

The funniest bit is…Wayne actually picks up the stool, but it’s not under Colin, so Colin just does this confused sitting motion where there is no chair, while keeping this intense character on:

Then Ryan has to carefully put the chair under Colin while also working AROUND Colin, and not letting anyone fall over, including the chair. It is insanely funny in itself.

Colin staying in character while nearly falling and endangering an audience member’s life is why he’s so great

Ryan just wanders around behind the chairs for a bit, which is funny. He sort of uses the ‘behind area’ to jump into the water, which is fun

And now, an exchange that feels so iconic that it feels scripted:
Jeff: “Bachelor #1, what’s the quickest way to a woman’s heart?”
Wayne: “start at the bottom…[breaks]…and work your way up.”
10/10
Colin just turns to Aisha, knowing full well what Wayne is, and just…sees if she’s enjoying this.

[she is]

Jeff asks Colin what would be the middle of their sandwich
Colin: “PORK….sometimes, though, you just need a pair of pants…”

Then, as Colin moves about, the funniest thing starts happening behind the chairs:

It’s the most wholesome, instantly funny background gag, cause I just imagine Ryan going to a whole row of the audience, ‘hey, come act like penguins with me’.

Meanwhile, Colin’s killing another member of the audience.

I love this cut to the wide stage angle:

Funny as hell on its own

Wayne, as Colin’s dragging now TWO audience members over to the stool, decides to just…walk over to Aisha’s desk.

Meanwhile, Colin:

“IT COMES WITH A CODPIECE!”

So Aisha buzzes. Ryan eventually makes his way back to the stools, but Wayne is gone. And Jeff sort of looks around for him as he guesses
Wayne, suddenly:

“Sorry, I was busy.”
OF COURSE.
The place goes absolutely wild.
Wayne just wrings out his wrists. Aisha just sort of shrugs.
Wayne: “That was ALL DAY JOB, i had a crew of ten…”
Aisha: [breaks again]

Aisha, confirming Jeff’s guess: “You did a beautiful job on that one…and Wayne also did a beautiful job…”
Jeff: “…let’s see.”
THINGS THAT WOULDN’T GO OUT TODAY…

Jeff: “Ryan is in March of the Penguins, if I’m not mistaken.”
I love that guess

Aisha gives all the penguins a point and…somehow doesn’t ream Wayne out for what he did. Odd.

Oh yeah, that’s an all-timer LMAD. Absolute insanity from moment one, amazing work from all three, and some iconic moments, mostly from Wayne. An incredible start.

Newsflash: Ryan and Jeff in the studio, Colin in the field in front of showering and grooming

Colin: “well, it all started with an unfortunate milking…”
This is a rare running gag that references a FUTURE EVENT.

Colin motioning to a guy’s crotch area when he says ‘or whether it’s just gonna gush everywhere’ didn’t get enough response

Jeff: “Has anyone been hurt so far?”
Colin: No, although there has been a very close call…like that”
And as he points, it cuts to a guy lathering shaving cream on his face. Irony.

Btw, as things keep getting more disgusting, we cut to the Jeff-Ryan shot, and another reason why I love that we have widescreen, HD cameras now:

Wayne just…not liking one bit of this.

By the end, we get to popping zits. Jeff literally does a full physical reaction.

Poor Jeff. And Wayne.

Jeff, back at the seats, as Aisha discusses the video footage: “and the thing is, I never got paid for any of that…”

A solid Newsflash. There was more emphasis on the clip than on Colin making jokes, but it was still funny just for the reactions.

Award Show: Jeff and Wayne present the award for Jerry Springer guests to Ryan and Colin

YES. AWARD SHOW IS HERE. It only has been played twice on the CW, so be thankful it’s here at all.

Jeff casts himself as Keanu Reeves, one of his standbys. Wayne casts himself as Mike Tyson, one of HIS standbys. It’s interesting to see both these impressions in 2014, where the people they’re impersonating have changed their images a bit

Jeff: “You know, they say that being a member of Jerry Springer’s audience is like being in space………..THE NOMINEES FOR BEST..”
Not aged a day

Jeff: “…Kippy and Nippy…world’s oldest conjoined twins…”
That is some pimping-out, man. Ryan gives Colin a look for a moment.

Colin and Ryan coming downstage without coming from each other’s side is some skillfull stuff you only see with people who’ve worked together for 30 years

Then, the second Ryan comes downstage with Colin, he starts reprising his pole-dancing from the Keegan taping.

Ryan, adding a wrinkle: “This is so exciting for me, being 7 months pregnant as I am…”
Colin, of course: “I’M THE FATHER.”
Ryan, as the audience reacts appalled: “FIGURE THAT ONE OUT!”

Ryan: “you know, when heard that- NYYAGGHHH” [puts baby on table]
This is so damn funny. AND THEN ANOTHER ONE POPS OUT.

Colin: “…AND I ONLY HAVE ONE BUTTOCK.”
PFFF
Ryan: “But I have one buttock too…and in the middle of those buttocks…..is nothing but love.”
Ryan barely makes it through that one. Aisha loses it immediately

The end of the scene is great. Ryan…separates from Colin, the ENTIRE AUDIENCE ‘OOOOHS’, so Ryan, holding himself in, tries to reattach.
Colin, falling: “YOU’VE GOT MY HEART.”

Such a funny Award Show. Ryan and Colin’s character work here impressed the hell out of me, and the amount of funny character details that kept coming up were great.

Hoedown: Your eighteenth birthday

Wayne’s Hoedown about his balls dropping is one that Greg did in an unaired US hoedown about Puberty

Colin’s is fun, he talks about how he’s got no fears or cares in the world, “best of all, I’m Canadian, so at 18 I can drink!”

Ryan’s is…a classic Ryan verse, where he priorities are “go[ing] straight to Vegas, and get myself a hooker”

Jeff’s is awesome, as he sings about being 18
“Now when I say 18, please don’t get me wrong
I don’t mean my age I mean I’m 18 inches long…”
10/10

And as an added bonus, Jeff ends the game by throwing it over his shoulder…and reprising the hunchback joke from E14.

A pretty good Hoedown. Not perfect, but good.

Aisha refers to Jeff as “18 inches of confusion”
Wayne, channeling Noel Fielding: ‘that’s my band name”

Scenes from a Hat:

Normally, I’m not crazy about ending with SFAH. However…this is one of the more perfect endings we could have had for this show.

“Things That Shouldn’t Have Alarms”

Ryan, cracking now: “CHING-A-LING-A-LING-A-LING…”

“Unlikely Things to see on a Nature Show” [ooh, another Mock the Week style suggestion]
Jeff brings back his Steve Irwin impression for “the mating of the wild Kardashian”

And then, the centerpiece: “Jobs that shouldn’t be done in a sexy way.”

Ryan: “why don’t you rinse and spit?”

Jeff’s ball-grabbing ‘hike’ cracks him up as he does it

Wayne and Colin do a funny one in a confession, where Wayne’s playing a priest trying to get off, and Colin, as the real priest, opens HIS window going “who the hell are you?”

Jeff: “Alright, scouts, we’re all out alone here in the woods.”
The audience does the work for him and groans. Jeff, in a very smart move, calms them down, going ‘HEY, HEY, HEY”, making them think it’s not gonna be as dirty as it seems, and then going, anyway, “I only brought one sleeping bag.”

Jeff:

“…don’t fight me.”
Ryan: “JEFF. THAT’S A BULL.”
Wayne:

The way Wayne does this, he takes off a bull mask, then does that reaction and leaves. Jeff reacts to this perfectly, then puts on the bull mask himself, trying that as well. This is the first time I’ve ever gotten this joke.
Also, this is the ‘unfortunate milking incident’ Colin referred to in Newsflash

Wayne, in a chair, Hawking impression: “THE…UNIVERSE…IS…BILLIONS OF YEARS…OLD.”
Aisha: [throws a paper at him]
Wayne: [ducks it]
Wayne then just realizes he can stand up, which is SUCH A FUNNY end to that

So then, as Wayne puts the chair back, Jeff heads to the cameras, and Ryan heads across the stage to Aisha’s desk, so things about to happen.

Jeff:

It’s already funny enough, but…this is what we cut to next:

[repeated buzzing]
And my favorite part of this is Jeff’s reaction:

AND HE KEEPS GOING
This is insanely funny. Like…completely sexualized buzzing, and this still gets on air.

And then Aisha takes the desk back and continues erotically buzzing, even buzzing with her boobs, which is hysterical.
Colin’s reaction to that:

And then, of course:

Wayne: ‘…YOU FINISHED NOW?”
YES! Excellent full-episode continuity. And a great capper on a wild game
Aisha buzzes and Wayne shrugs and goes back under

Fantastic SFAH. Took a slight bit to really take off, but once it did…oh my god.

I’m even putting the credit reading’s ending in here, because FINALLY, AT THE END OF THE SHOW, WAYNE FINISHES THE JOB:
PERFECT.

Overall: A few notches away from perfect. If Hoedown were a little more well rounded, and if Newsflash were slightly funnier, I’d give it the full 10/10. As is, we have three outstanding games, including the best Award Show in years and a SFAH that even outdoes E12’s.  The entire runner of Wayne as the waxing lady was so well-formed, even coming back at the end. This one even had runners from other shows, like the hunchback, and runners out of order, like the milking. But it just completely moved on the most wild, insane energy, like the whole taping did. One of the strongest shows of the season, undoubtedly, and a highlight of the CW run thus far.

Show Winners: Jeff and Colin
Best Performer: It was between Jeff and Ryan all show, but I’m giving the slightest edge to Ryan for a bit more lifting, and for some of the funniest moments of the show.
Worst Performer: Another background show for Colin.
Best Game: Let’s Make a Date was unstoppable, even though SFAH tried.
Worst Game: Hoedown was lightest.

COMING UP NEXT: We’ve already had a football player on this season, so how about a basketball player? Him and Gary are up next.

Whose Watchdown is it Anyway: S10E18, or Someone Shot the Poop Fairy

Rest assured…Heather Anne Campbell did some tapings in S10. She comes back the next few, and has to stop starting in S13 due to health reasons, but also mainly due to sexism reasons from Dan.

She comes to this taping, which tonight features a guest-star appearance from Padma Lakshmi. She’s…a big deal, as she was the host of Top Chef, one of the biggest reality competition shows of the 2010s. So…that’s pretty cool.

Hollywood Director: Flirty housewife Heather pulls up at a gas station where the hunky attendant, Ryan, starts working on her high-tech sports car when suddenly Heather’s jealous and elderly husband Wayne speeds in on his mobility scooter

The contrast between Aisha going ‘oooh’ at Heather’s ‘flirty housewife’ description, and Aisha’s ‘HEHEH’ at Ryan’s ‘hunky attendant’ one is great

Aisha: “Heather’s…jealous and elderly husband Wayne…which would explain the hair…”

Ryan, in the middle of assessing Heather’s car, throws in a ‘my god you’re beautiful’.
Ryan: “Sorry, that came out of my  mouth before I wanted it to…”
Heather: “It’s okay…I can’t wait to see what else comes out of your mouth…”
SEE, PRODUCERS?? SEEE???

As Ryan talks to Heather, he does this…torso brushing off motion that’s supposed to be seductive and ends up being the focal point of a runner this show.

Wayne has a very funny, and long, entrance, before taking off his little goggles and going, in a strained old man voice, “GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY WIFE.”

Ryan: “does this help?” [claps twice]
Wayne: [yells and falls to the ground]
BAHAHAHA.
And of course Colin enters there

Colin: “ALRIGHT WE NEED SOME MORE MEHHHAYEEFAAHHNGEGIYYEHH- OH.”
I kind of love that random gibberish sound. Like a primitive version of ‘Kazoochas’

In the ‘demonically possessed’ style, Heather’s first ‘EXCUSE ME’ is kinda reminiscent of Vincent D’Onofrio in Men in Black.
Heather is really damn good at this frantic, over the top acting [as we’ll see in, uh, Props]

Wayne has a clever idea for his entrance:

Wayne threatens to take Ryan to “the pits of the deepest, darkest hell known as…[without a better idea]…late night TV…”

Colin: “All I know is that that was some of the most subtlest faces you’ve used yet.”
Wayne: “SUCKLEST?”
Colin: “SUBTLEST. THE MOST SUBTLE OF. SUBTLEST……..ALRIGHT.”
Wayne cracks at this, and I don’t blame him

Colin: “Do it like you panic too easily…TRUST ME, I’M A DIRECTOR…’

Heather’s frantic screaming here as Ryan drops a bolt is also really damn good.
Ryan slapping Heather as she freaks out is a fun move though

Then Wayne enters, panics and immediately has a heart attack and dies. That is a funny subversion

A pretty fun Director. This one was a bit more broad than some other recent playings, but all four made it work, and Heather and Ryan’s work together was fantastic.

As they head back to the seats, Ryan and Wayne are laughing about a ‘hands up’ backing up signal, possibly from an unaired scene in this game. Ryan’s going ‘NO NO…NOOOO…’ as Wayne cracks up.

Aisha: “points to Ryan for thinking [brushing torso] is a sexy move”

Song Styles: Wayne sings a Prince song to Padma

Aisha starts out, obviously referring to how beautiful Padma is
Wayne: “I only notice the mind…AND I DON’T MIND TELLIN YOU YOU FINE!”
Smooth. Wayne gets a round of high-fives from the cast for that

No prompting question for Padma this time. Alrighty then.

Quite obviously, Wayne’s Prince impression hasn’t aged a day since the ABC version.

I love the move where, once Padma gets up from the stool to start dancing with Wayne, Wayne just swats the stool out of the shot, slamming it over. A very worried Ryan comes up and just puts the stool over by the keyboards.

This is a basic song lyrically, but I do love the moment where Padma starts twerking right up against Wayne, and Wayne has a very puzzled, slightly aroused expression for a moment

Wayne finally has a good line: “I’ll take you back to my house and I’ll show you chocolate puddin…”

A fun number. Empty, yes, but it worked as a sort of sentimental, non-ironic sort of number with some good little moves by Wayne and some fun dancing by Padma. Not insanely memorable, but perfect junk food.

Wayne asks if he can follow Padma offstage, and Aisha just…initiates a standoff:

Wayne fakes her out, turns around like he’s going back to his seat then SPRINTS BACKSTAGE. Aisha loves this. I kinda love how close the cast is with Aisha, and how she’s kind of on the same playing field as they are.

Ryan: “I was gonna wear that exact same jumpsuit.”
Colin: [mimes ‘torso seduction’ move from Director]

Secret: Colin is Snow White and Ryan is one of the Seven Dwarves

As Colin brings over the crate, Ryan asks “heavy?”. For this, they’d start later playings with the crate already in place.

Aisha: “and Ryan is one of the seven dwarves, I’m guessing-”
Ryan: “freaky?”

There’s a pretty good opening conflict between Ryan and Colin, and Ryan ends up playing Grumpy, who’s beginning to get fed up with living with Snow White.

The crate that Colin opens is ENTIRELY FILLED WITH BOTTLES OF BOOZE. Perhaps leftover stuff from Helping Hands this season.

Colin: “well well well, DRUNKY…”
Ryan: “do you think I’m this grumpy for a reason?”

Colin, with the genius joke of the night: “None of you dwarves should be drinking, you’re MINERS!”

Ryan, with his raspiest read yet: “NNNGWHAT ABOUT HAVIN A LIL DRINK WITH GRUMPY?”
Colin: “…boy, that’s inviting!”
Ryan:

I believe this is what we call a running gag.

Ryan: “I’LL MAKE YOU A SNOW WHITE RUSSIANNN…”
Colin: “…well now I don’t even understand what you’re saying…”
Ryan’s chuckling through this last half. He’s trying to throw Colin but keeps getting thrown himself

Colin suggests Ryan get help
Ryan: “ah, Doc tried to help me out with some medical marijuana, but it’s not the same…”
Colin, again with the genius joke: “…was it Dopey’s?”
Ryan: “YEEEES..”

A really well fleshed out Secret. The prop didn’t have that much play into the game, and it was more of a thematic secret, so it was a lot closer to original playings in that the humor was in the improv and not the prop. So I was really impressed, especially by the sort of little ways Colin and Ryan threw each other.

Aisha: “420 points to each of you…”

Props: Ryan and Heather vs. Colin and Wayne

Oh my god this one. Oh…oh boy.

This is how Ryan starts the game:

And the audience immediately groans.
Ryan: “WHAT BRINGS YOU TO OUR TOWN, LITTLE WOMAN? They’re…they’re chaps, not testicles.”
AND WE’RE OFF

Wayne, foreshadowing next episode, and a Jeff taping that’s either already happened or about to:

Wayne: “this waxing gonna take long time…”

Heather: “I’M THE POOP FAIRY.”
Ryan: [cracks up] “tha…nk god you’re here poop fairy…”

Wayne, holding the props: “I’ll just use the practice gloves for right now.”
Colin: “alright.”
Wayne: [punches]
Colin: “AW, fuuuuck…”
It’s always jarring when Colin curses, but hearing him curse so relatably is extra odd.

Ryan does one and just cracks at it halfway through due to the audience again: “BE VEWWY VEWWY QUIET…I’m hunting the wa[…]scawwy wabbit…THEY’RE NOT TESTICLES, THEY’RE WABBIT EARS.”

Then, finally:

Ryan: “TAKE IT OFF, BABY- NOW THEY ARE TESTICLES..”

At the same time, Colin and Wayne are struggling. Wayne does a ‘hanging dice from the mirror’ one, and Colin just goes “…it’s…smaller…”

Ryan, keeping his Props suggestions’ continuity:

“…somebody shot the poop fairy.”
Heather: [cracks]

Wayne:

Colin: “….MY PENIS!”
[which is funny enoough]
Wayne:
The whole place needs a bit to recover. I’ve always loved Wayne’s “NOO….NO..” Like it’s that simple.

As if that’s not funny enough:

Ryan: “be very quiet…we’re stalking the rare twin-tailed beaver.”
I just wanna point out…before Ryan turns around, Heather is doing some grade-A face work in the back:

And then, of course, Ryan turns around:

The moment in time of ‘well, neither of us have a joke here, somebody do something.”
Heather:

Heather emits…what I can only describe as a sub-human noise that lasts a couple of seconds. It is something nobody in the room, especially Ryan, is expecting, and it takes him down faster than I’ve seen anyone do so in a while.

Ryan, as Aisha buzzes, just mutters “that’s TERRIFYING…”

Heather, after mostly playing defense in this game, has this one:

Heather: “DAD…oh, mom, please stop…”
The audience figures it out and groans. Ryan, figuring it out:

Damn, she’s having a great night

And, as a great button to the whole round, where Ryan and Heather had no trouble but Colin and Wayne struggled:

Colin: “welcome back to ‘What the Fuck Are These?’

So…quite obviously, that might be one of my all-time favorite props rounds. The progression of Heather and Ryan’s, going from dissuading the audience to confirming their horror, and the eventual ‘twin-tailed beaver’ moment that lives in the nightmares of WL fans, was masterful, and one of the first real moments of Heather being a standout force on this show. Wayne and Colin’s were funny because you can tell they were struggling, and Colin used being on that edge to just throw Wayne and set-dress some of his ideas to bigger laughs.

Helping Hands: Food expert Padma is in Paris visiting famous French chef Ryan, hands by Colin, who’ll show her how to prepare some of his favorite desserts

Ryan and Padma begin the scene in perfect french, and then Ryan goes into his usual French babbling.

Ryan has a good gag in saying ‘strawberries and pudding’ is “a great singing group from the 70s. They used to open for Peaches and Herb.”
An early candidate for Obscure Reference of the Episode

Colin crushes the strawberries
Padma, smartly knowing when to chime in: “Aren’t you going to take the stems off of them?”
Ryan: “Oh, nono…the stems are the best part!”
Colin just shoves one in Ryan’s mouth, and I love Ryan’s disappointed noise once he realizes what Colin just threw in there.
Padma joyfully starts feeding him some strawberries.
Ryan: “you’ve never heard the term ‘the sweeter the stem the better the berry’…”
Already, Ryan’s on edge

Then, as Ryan tries to get the strawberries down, Colin does a wonderfully contrasting double-arms up motion.

Ryan: “You know what custard means? ‘fancy pudding’.”
Padma is surprisingly doing really well in this game, and being a great sounding board for Ryan while also knowing when to jump in

I just realized. That’s yellow pudding. You know there’s a name for that type of yellow pudding? Shame I’ve forgotten it. I hope it’s not relevant to Whose Line history or anything…[smirk]

I also love Heather and Wayne in the back leaning over to watch what Colin’s putting in the tart. HH has become a fantastic Heather watching game.

Ryan and Padma correctly name the ‘pastry bag’
Ryan: “I’m going to need one when I get older, I’m sure”
Padma loves this. Yeah, she’s enjoying the hell out of this game. I can’t imagine Loyd Grossman approving of the food carnage, but at least Padma’s up for it

Ryan, again as the bag sort of keeps spilling out: “I have the same problem, the prostate”
[Ryan, from one season over: “I WOULDN’T CALL THAT A PROBLEM.”]

Padma does end up taking a bite of this tart concoction, against her better judgment I suppose.

Then, as Ryan takes a bite, Padma takes some of the pudding that’s falling off and smears it on his face. And that’s why I’m enjoying Padma so much this show. She’s not passive, she’s not standing by and letting the madness happen, she’s partaking in the madness as well. That’s the kind of dedication the producers ask for.

So…good Helping Hands! The Ryan-Padma combo worked, and while it did come down to gross food, enough funny stuff happened before and during that it felt more fresh, and more inspired, especially with Padma Lakshmi saying it was okay. I’m pleasantly surprised.

Ryan:

He looks at the producers, like nothing’s different, and goes “we’re good, let’s go on…”

Aisha: “That is a foxy look, Stiles.”
Ryan: [brings back the torso rubbing from earlier]

Overall: Another really strong show. I was worried that the insanity of Props and Secret would be limited by the guest games, but Helping Hands actually shored up the quality in the end. Really only Duet didn’t impress me. Director and Helping Hands are solid fun playings, Secret’s a great bit of Ryan-Colin improv squaring off, and Props is the most insane playing of Props we’ve seen in years. This was also a great Heather show, as she was outwardly firing in her games. It was also a good showcase for Padma, as she was really into things.

Show Winner: All four
Best Performer: Ryan was strong all night, and had the best character moves.
Worst Performer: Colin was mostly backing up other performers tonight.
Best Game: Props. I shouldn’t have to explain.
Worst Game: Duet was wafer-light. Not bad, just light.
Guest Star Rating: 9/10. I was bracing myself for a sleepwalked booking, but Padma brought it and impressed me in HH.

COMING UP NEXT: One last guestless show from Jeff Davis’ latest taping. This one, if I can recall correctly, has one hell of a climax.

Whose Watchdown is it Anyway: S10E17, or I Didn’t Even Wanna Come

From here, the guestless shows in S10 start to trickle outward. Which is nice.

This Jeff show comes from the same taping as E12 and E14, both shows I have enjoyed for different reasons, and the continuity kinda stays through here, if you can believe it.

Weird Newscasters: Colin anchors, Jeff, Soap opera doctor desperate to save Colin’s life, co-anchors, Wayne, Hard-bitten cop rounding up the notorious Bad Haircut Gang, does sports while Ryan, A passionate football fan going through the day of a big game, does weather

[I recall the Let’s Make a Date playing where both Wayne and Ryan had quirks directly involving Colin, and Colin just reading them afterwards and confusedly going ‘WHY ME?’]

Colin: “I’m your anchor, Francis….full of French People.”
and we’re off

Colin: “Our top story, a monkey was arrested today when he started throwing lit feces at zoo employees. Three of the employees were rushed to the hospital with…turd debris burns.”
Jeff, immediately:

Jeff, turning to Colin: “dear god, you look like crap. I’m not only your doctor, but I’m your father and lover.”
Colin:

Jeff suddenly springs into action:
Like I said in IAG: Jeff Davis is capable of throwing Colin AND Ryan without breaking himself. That is true talent.

I also love Jeff trying to sit back down after this only to realize his stool’s been tipped over, and nearly falling over.
Jeff, recovering mightily: “here’s your stool sample.”

Jeff, finally cracking a little: “back to you…”
Colin: “…stay tuned.”

Colin: “Now let’s see what’s happening in the world of SPORKS…….or sports.”
I DIED. Colin’s clearly still shaken over Jeff’s, as he immediately turns to him after he’s done

Wayne does a full flip onto his feet in coming off the stage to find the ‘culprit’. There’s an audience member against the railing who damn near squees when he does it.

This is an inherently funny shot. The guy already goes right into yes-anding mode

Wayne: “ya thought it’d be funny, huh sweetcakes? Ya thought it’d be funny to drag me in that alley and shave my head…”
Audience member: “…it was.”
HA

Wayne: “Now, I don’t have my own handcuffs, budget cuts, I’m gonna TRUST YOU…”
Audience member: [does a little head bob. ‘makes sense’.]

Wayne even asks him to hold the gun, and he takes it with his teeth. He is so good!

I was about to say that it surprised me that Wayne didn’t go near Colin, but as we cut back:

Jeff: “PUSH, COLIN, PUSH!”
Poor Colin in this game. He doesn’t NEED Wayne…

Ryan ends up making Jeff and Colin into a goalpost, grabbing a water bottle, then getting an audience member to hold the bottle as Ryan, yes, attempts to make a kick. It is a MAJOR MISS, as he can’t curve it and hits right towards the newsflash screen. Aisha even pulls a ‘no-goal’ sign

Then, as Colin signs off:

As Colin heads back to the seats, he goes to Ryan “I was pullin’ for ya.”

Another really good Weird Newscasters. Ryan’s slightly-lighter quirk pulls it below last show’s, but Colin and Jeff’s back-and-forth was hysterical, and Wayne’s entire quirk impressed me, as did the audience member.

Irish Drinking Song: taking your date to get pancakes

Already this is a cute one, and Ryan ends the first verse with “I wear a buttered crown”

Ryan: “I spread on the butter.”
Wayne, motioning to himself: “Because this is where it belongs!”

Colin: “I met my wife through pancakes”
Ryan: “She came for my flapjacks”
Wayne: “she stayed because of me griddle”
Jeff: “she’s terrific in the sacks.”
of course

Ryan: “I think I’ll marry her”
Wayne: “And put butter on top of a ring”
Jeff: “to cover up her fur.”
JEFF. Jeez, he’s gotten so good at this game

Ryan: “I’m so full of pancakes”
Wayne, intentionally making it difficult for Colin: “so full to burstin'”
Jeff: “If I had one more”
Colin: “that would be THE WORST THING.”
HA

I am 90% sure there’s a cut between the last two verses, right before Ryan’s.
Ryan: “the syrup is so sticky”
Wayne: “MMMM, SO GOOD.”
Jeff: “and when I put it on at night”
Colin: “ooh, I get some wood, OHHHH”

Wayne and Ryan laugh at this, but it’s not a full ‘break down’ IDS ending.

A pretty good IDS. That edit concerns me, but this was a good game.

Aisha: “I’m gonna give all the points to Colin”
Colin: “I’M NOT A SINGER!”
Aisha: “…nor are you a dancer, my friend…”
THE AUDIENCE AWWWS
Wayne: “I have to stick up for him…some other time…”

Party Quirks: Jeff hosts
Wayne – A succession of different video game characters
Colin – The entire Lord of the Rings trilogy in thirty seconds
Ryan – A series of sperm using different modes of transport to get to the egg

Wayne plays a lot of video games, so him starting off with a ‘HADOUKEN’ is very cool. He follows that up with Sonic collecting rings, Dhalsim [WOW], and a general ‘FATALITY’. Man, thank god Wayne is a lot geekier in this run

Then, as Jeff talks to him, he throws in an ‘IT’S-A-ME!’.

Not sure how familiar Colin is with the LOTR movies, but he gets down the important beats [“OH THERE’S A WHOLE LOT OF FIGHTING!”]

Ryan’s ‘determined sperm’ face seems like a cousin of his ‘frightened gazelle’ face:

I also love him operating a jetpack and still remembering to do the little tail motion
Then, as he takes a bite of a deviled egg, he just looks at Jeff and goes ‘GOOD LUCK!’. Knowing it’s a tough one

I love the little music Ryan adds as he goes across the stage in…a mine-cart? a space-hopper? I’m not sure

As expected, Jeff is struggling with the other part of Ryan’s. He has to stop, guess Colin’s, and keep at it.
Jeff: “The show’s gonna start”
Ryan: “I know, I didn’t even wanna come…”
RYAN, GODDAMMIT…
Jeff, with that line, just sighs, looks around at Ryan’s tail, and begins to get it
Wayne stands and applauds. Aisha bows. It’s a great joke.

Jeff, after FINALLY getting Ryan’s:
Yeah, that sounds about right

Jeff is still confused at the seats, about the tail and everything.
Then, the moment of realization: “…Oh…’I didn’t wanna come…'”
A sibling of Colin’s Newsflash realization, I think.
The place goes wild, as Jeff took an extra minute to get the thing that was so funny before.

So that was a pretty good PQ. Not because of the full game arc, but because of the difficulty Jeff had with Ryan’s, and how the entire game slowly became about that. Cause that was insanely funny, and kept hitting.

World’s Worst: Talent show act

Wayne: “welcome to Whose Line is it Anyway.” [buzzes]
Aisha: [buzzes]
Wayne: “NO HANDS!”
HA

Colin does some finger-tricks, which gives Jeff…too many bad ideas.

[buzz]

“…AAAAAAHHH”

Ryan, calling back to E14’s Director, throws his dick over his shoulder to make a hunchback. Perfect

Ryan then does a ‘pulling string out his ass’ gag with Colin helping it out. Wayne takes it to the next level by feeding it back out Ryan’s mouth, which Ryan has to stop, look disgusted, and take a drink of water at. I laughed so hard.

Jeff starts twisting his fingers AGAIN
Aisha: “Jeff…Bryan…Davis…I hate you…”
Jeff:

and then:
“GAAAAAHHHHH”

Colin, however, goes to call back to E12: “…ONE….TWO….THREE-FOUR………FIVE!”
I love how the audience is cheering him on, as if this is an arduous task, and how his fingers are with him

Colin, as he heads back to the seats, says to a laughing Wayne, “WE ARE TOO CLOSE”. Not sure what that means

A very strong WW round. Most of these got by without dialogue, and were awesome. I loved Jeff’s run of stupid human tricks. I loved the callbacks. And I kinda love how WW’s energy has grown in the CW version to a lot more laid back and chaotic than it was in ABC.

Aisha gives 1000 points to Jeff, “but only if you spend it on some psychological assistance…and whoever’s having sex with you…”
Jeff: [is confused]
Ryan: “You can’t even finish that…”
Jeff: “what kind of show is this?”

Greatest Hits: Songs of the Beach v2

Ryan: [does some dick-dale-esque surf music]
Colin: “…should I get your stroke medicine?”

Ryan: “Colin, I love my Opera”
Colin: “Yeah, I know, cause when I look at you, I think of a CLASS GUY.”

Jeff takes the lead on the opera number, and he does a fantastic job. Once he does, there’s a measure open, as Wayne’s waiting one more to start, so Jeff just fills it with one more of the refrain [“IN MY CRAAAAAACK”], as Wayne comes in.

It’s not a very lyrically impressive number, but the gusto that both performers give it makes it stand out.

Colin, after the applause dies down: “…it’s just noise to me…”

Colin calls the next number ‘one of the most unusual pairings since chardonnay and….platypus.”
THAT GOT ME
Ryan: “…wwwhat the hell are you-”
Colin: “The musical stylings of Amy Winehouse and Christopher Walken.”
AND I’M GONE AGAIN

Wayne does a really good Amy Winehouse sort of jazzy take on this.
Jeff, meanwhile: “I…TRIED TO FLIRT WITH THE LIFEGUARD…AND HE WAS LIKE…NO…NO…NO.”
[Was this entire GH taping session Jeff’s finest moment? Cause DAMN]

Jeff: “I SAID…LIFEGUARD…HI…i’m a GIRL…I wear a BIKINI…he was like…GET OUT OF MY LIFEGUARD STAND, I’m trying to SAVE PEOPLE, he’s like………YOU ASS. I’ll KILL YOU.”
It’s not an accurate impression, but it’s a very funny impression
Wayne, backing him up: “HE’LL KILL YOU”
Jeff: “I SWEAR TO GOD, I’LL COME TO YOUR HOUSE AND MURDER YOU AND YOUR WHOLE FAMILY…”
Wayne: “HE’S A WOMAN WITH A VOICE LIKE A MAN.”
Jeff: “i don’t care if you’re a LIFEGUARD, I’ll still murder you…”
Wayne: ‘INDISCRIMINATE VIOLENCE…”
Jeff: [dances like nothing’s happened]
[this is why we love Jeff]

So while this playing wasn’t as good as E14’s [KEEEEEELP], it’s still a really good one. The Ryan-Colin banter wasn’t quite as good, but Jeff and Wayne were still in good form, especially that second number. Lots more Jeff dominance in this playing.

Overall: Another solid show. The insane energy of this Jeff taping kept flowing through this one, for me, as relatively tame games like Party Quirks and World’s Worst soared because of the energy coming off of other games, and off of all 4 performers. This was another great Jeff Davis showcase, as he had great moments in WN, Party Quirks, World’s Worst and Greatest Hits, as well as just being loose in between scenes and not including any bad games. It may not have the most to show for itself, but I really enjoyed this one, and I hope people hold this one in high regard.

Show Winner: Colin
Best Performer: Jeff Davis, again impressing the hell out of me.
Worst Performer: Ryan goes here for only really having PQ to really lift with. I can’t give it to Wayne, because of WN and PQ.
Best Game: Greatest Hits, by default, though WN could have gone here.
Worst Game: Party Quirks didn’t become hysterical until Ryan entered.

COMING UP NEXT: After a bit too long of a wait, Heather Anne Campbell finally arrives in S10. Yes, a pretty high-profile reality guest is on, but look what they’re doing to those props!!

Whose Watchdown is it Anyway: S10E16, or Slap His Ass on the Way By

A moment to talk about the evolution of the guest star distinction on Whose Line.

Back in Season 5, the phrase ‘guest star’ had a big exclamation point on the end. People like HUGH HEFNER or DAVID HASSELHOFF or RICHARD SIMMONS came on. Guys who were known more by their personality than their actual profession or abilities.

Once we get to the CW, the guest star bookings become ‘you know them from their other show on our network’ bookings, and a lot of these CW-era guests are just…actors. TV actors. But mainly…actors.

On one hand, that’s a big drop-off from ‘IMPROVISE AROUND THIS BIG NAME AND PERSONALITY’ to ‘here’s another actor, play with them’. But on the other…at times, if it’s just an actor or actress, even from a CW show or something, it can feel like a fifth performer who knows enough about acting, or even improv, to contend with the other four. It felt like that in Wilson Bethel’s show, and it felt like that in Darren Criss’s…sole game.

But it works when the actor knows who they are, and can submit themselves to the unknown without going ‘hey, I am clearly this person who is known for this sole thing’. And Kevin McHale tried that and…only got so far with it.

So…here we have Kunal Nayyar. He is best known for playing the lovable, female-averse Rajesh Koothrappali on CBS’ long-running hit sitcom, The Big Bang Theory…which I watched for around 7 of its 10 seasons. A lot of the actors on that show, especially guys like Simon Helberg, Melissa Rauch, Nayyar, Kevin Sussman, Brian Posehn, hell even Mayim Bialak, gave the sense of ‘hey, they’re fantastic, versatile actors that happen to be on this show right now’.

So, Kunal Nayyar doing WL made sense to me. Yes, he’s known for playing Raj, but he’s also just another Temple-grad actor hopping from gig to gig like everyone else. So I was behind this booking 100%

This booking came from the same taping as Brad Sherwood’s previous S10 show, 10×13. This is Brad’s second and last show of S10 because Dan is cruel.

Weird Newscasters: Colin anchors, Brad, Colin’s excited mail-order bride, co-anchors, Wayne, Masochist visiting different people for punishment sessions, does sports while Ryan, Trying to gather a mob of villagers to storm the castle of the evil vampire, Colin, does weather

Wayne, on his: “damn, that’s SPECIFIC.”

Ryan has a big ‘WHAT?’ reaction to his. Crumbling.

Colin: “Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced he’ll be starring in a new movie about a 17th-century composer. Said Mr. Schwarzenegger, “I’ll be Bach.”
It’s a simple joke, but it works so well

Brad starts kissing Colin’s face. The second Brad sticks his tongue out while doing so, Colin squirms away. Brad just…keeps licking his nose regardless.

Brad: “Oh, your face is all wet, let me dry it”

Colin, completely defeated: “…let’s see what’s happening in sports…”

Wayne gets a girl from the audience to give his ass “a good whack.” Of course, she is very hesitant. Eventually she does, and Aisha is just doing motions and giving her pointers, which is great

Ryan, suddenly:

“COME ON, HIT ‘EM.”

Colin, mid-massage: “This just in, news station looks at hiring practices”
[he made a similar joke in Drew seasons, but it’s even funnier when he’s in the middle of absolute madness]

Ryan, heading towards the audience: “I need a few brave men…A FEW BR[…]AVE MEN…I DON’T SEE ONE RIGHT NOW.”

Ryan leads a few audience members AROUND THE STAGE. They tunnel behind the seats [all while Brad continues to massage Colin]

Ryan: “…he doesn’t suspect, he’s with his man-boy”
Colin: [shakes his head]
Brad, looking at Aisha: “I AM A WOMAN.”

Wayne, bringing everything together, tries to warn Colin while tied up
Ryan, to an audience member: “SLAP HIS ASS ON THE WAY BY.”
Audience member: […]
Ryan: “YOU HEARD ME”
Wayne: [twerks right up to the guy]
The fella has no choice and slaps it.

Eventually:
And Colin just signs off as everyone’s carrying him offstage. To me, it has the same energy as Jimmy Carr having Bill Bailey guess letters as Sean Lock repeatedly blows a ram horn. Like ‘okay, on with the game…’

As they head back, Ryan and Colin are making fun of how Colin mispronounced ‘news’ in the signoff [“NAUOOOZE?”]

A truly fantastic WN. Every element came back into play, and there was more of a storyline to it than usual, with Wayne and Brad factoring into Ryan’s quirk. So much of this was fluid and well-structured, that by the time we hit Ryan’s, it felt like a bigger, deeper improv setup than just…the news. A lot like the ‘Ryan has to kill everyone’ playing, though the way Colin shrugs and signs off as EVERYONE CARRIES HIM OFF is fantastic.

Props: Brad and Ryan vs. Wayne and Colin

Colin and Wayne’s props seem like cousins of the 10×06 props

I love the goofiness of Colin’s ‘Mississippi River Boat’ accent

Ryan: “aw, man…stand clear of the tit-shredder…”
BUZZ
Brad: [loses it]
Ryan: ‘that thing is LETHAL.”

Brad: “I’m suffering from a rare disease they call ‘french fry pits’

Wayne, calling back: ‘did you see the chick who spanked me? AWOOOOOGA”
Of course

Colin’s effete American gladiators jousting cracks up Wayne.

Ryan: “…I’m here for my Brazilian.”

A pretty good Props, though Colin and Wayne seemed to be grasping for a bit of this. Brad and Ryan had the funnier ones.

Aisha: “I enjoyed it…except for the part about shredding boobs, which is just upsetting.”
Ryan: “Don’t think I said boobs….[then, perfectly] Tits are small birds, what did you think I meant?”

Duet: Brad and Wayne sing a hard rock song to Kunal

Wayne, to Kunal: “what makes you rock?”
Kunal: “uh…little things in the night.”
Before he can even understand his answer, the music starts.

The backing track is very reminiscent of Van Halen’s Hot for Teacher. I’m not complaining.

So…Kunal is having an absolute ball in this song, bopping out and doing air guitar and drums right next to Wayne. Dude’s in his element. Even doing some hard-rock shrieks right next to Wayne. At one point, Wayne even has to go ‘oh, y’okay?’

Wayne, as he and Brad are naming some of the little things in the night, lists “agents who want 10%, OH NO”
Kunal:

People joke that guest stars fire their agents after this show, but perhaps this time it’ll be for a different reason

Not a great Duet lyrically [90% sure they had to reshoot the ending in pickups], but Kunal was having a blast. That prompt was not enough to work with.

Scenes from a Hat:

“If famous TV shows had been performed in the nude”
Brad: [thrusts] “I’d like to buy a vowel.”
Colin, thrusting wildly: “DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!”
[that mental image]
Wayne, chuckling halfway through: “And now, I’ll show you what’s behind door #1…ah, you got zonked.”

Brad: “to the baptole.”
Colin, smiling: “…THERE’s the batpole.”
Brad: “OH!”

“Unlikely medical commercials”
Ryan, on the ground: “I’VE FALLEN AND…[gets up]…oh…”
HA

Colin, with a line that’s aged well: “90% of all women can’t get erections.”

Wayne does an interesting one, with a pill that can make men experience menstrual effects.
Brad: “ah, I feel bloated. Let’s watch a Sandra Bullock film…”

Wayne: “SIDE EFFECTS MAY INCLUDE…”
HA

Colin: “…diarrhea can hit you at any…oh” [leaves]
[I am 90% sure I can hear an end-of-round-buzzer faded out before the next scene]

“Inappropriate moments to become too intimate”
Brad does a really good ‘confessional sign of the cross’ one

Ryan: “Scalpel….suction…”
and just the visual of Ryan making an opening is enough.
Aisha: [buzzes]
Ryan: [glares]
Aisha: “oh, sorry-”
Ryan: “I’m in the middle of fucking surgery.”

Wayne does a nice overly-affectionate accountant one.
Colin, leaving: “…I am not gonna sleep tonight.”
Wayne, not even leaving for a moment: “YA GOT THAT RIGHT.”

A solid SFAH. I feel like it was a little longer than usual, and not every scene we saw here was worthy of inclusion imo, but it was good enough to mention, I guess. Had the sort of versatile feel of a Drew version without being too showy.

Helping Hands: Nerdy college freshman Kunal is visiting womanizing senior student Ryan, hands by Colin, for tips on how to be more successful with women

Kunal: “would you please actually show me how to open the bottle…with your mouth…”
Ryan, knowing what’s gonna happen, shakes his head. Colin just points the bottle around.
Ryan: “no, don’t aim that towards you either.”
the cork comes off easily, though

Ryan and Kunal attempt the ‘twisted arms toast’, and uh:

This is a goofy-ass scene. Ryan and Kunal are trying to do this role-play of a date, which I think Kunal is taking pretty seriously.

Colin attempts to land an oyster in Kunal’s mouth, which takes two tries. Kunal legitimately flings it across the table in a spitting move.
Ryan: “Oh, I hope there’s no more of THAT tonight.”
RYAN.

I also love Ryan’s surprise that they actually put real chocolates on the table. “I’M HAVIN ONE.”

I love Ryan’s immediate reaction to the mouthwash:

Then, Kunal sprays the air from a whipped cream bottle into Ryan’s mouth as he just spits out the mouthwash.
Cue the buzzing

Look, man…if they’re gonna play Helping Hands every taping, they’ve gotta work on making it about different beats than just Ryan imbibing ridiculous things. This was at least a funnily chaotic playing, and Kunal was pretty good in support, but…it still has the same ending outcomes as most playings of it. And keep in mind, the producers LOVE this game, but not enough to space it out or change it, or keep it from getting overexposed, which it definitely has become.

This wasn’t the worst recent playing, but it wasn’t good enough to be one of the more memorable ones.

Overall: The second half of S10 finally produces a meh show. Here we have an all-timer Weird Newscasters and a lot of comparative dead weight. It’s not Kunal Nayyar’s fault, as he was having fun with everything, but…everything after WN felt a lot less thought-out to me. Props and SFAH had empty moments, Duet needed a more specific prompt, and Helping Hands went through the usual beats for me. It felt like a very unremarkable show, but without that WN it’s even worse.

Show Winners: All four
Best Performer: Ryan was in charge of lifting a lot of tonight, and did well.
Worst Performer: Colin, more often than not, did support work tonight.
Best Game: Weird Newscasters was so well-structured and deserved a better show.
Worst Game: Duet was just really empty to me.
Guest Star Rating: 8/10. A fun performance despite not giving a great deal to the show.

COMING UP NEXT: At long last, a guestless show. This comes from the Jeff Davis taping we’ve already seen the Robbie Amell and Sheryl Underwood shows from. Gags return as well, if you can believe it.

Whose Watchdown is it Anyway: S10E15, or That Polar Bear Smells Great

Have we unified on what we think of Mel B yet?

I mean, let’s be honest, most of the ex-spice girls have sort of been singled out as detestable or okay. People don’t seem to like Geri Halliwell for being annoying, or Victoria Beckham for being a blank slate personality-wise. I don’t think people have any unified opinions on Mel C or Emma Bunton [I’m not exactly sure about the latter]

And then…Mel B. The only one of the five who really has a career twenty-five years on that involves actually showing up to gigs and doing something without having a husband of note.

Mel B…has been at both poles with people. I always liked her as a judge on America’s Got Talent, and her thick northern accent always brought more character, as did her honesty and rapport with the other judges. I also liked her on Never Mind the Buzzcocks in both her appearances [especially the one where she started shouting at John Otway]. But…apparently her Big Fat Quiz appearance didn’t go too well, and that got a lot of people off her team, in a sense.

Which is to say…I’m not sure which Mel B is gonna show up to this WL gig. I don’t know if I’m gonna love or hate what she’s coming on with, especially considering that she’s in three games. I’m gonna try and treat her appearance fairly. But it may be tricky.

This the first show of the second-half Gary Anthony Williams taping, as well. Hopefully he’s given room to breathe here.

Scenes from a Hat:

Yeah, good sign, we start with SFAH

“Unlikely things to hear in a science documentary” [ooh, Dan slipped in one of his Mock the Week suggestions…]
Ryan: “Now as Jim approaches the alligator…….Jim?”

Wayne’s ‘squirrel mating’ one is an easy joke, but Colin and Gary nuzzling up to each other is at least amusing

“Outtakes from Superhero movies”
Lot of basic ones here, but I love Colin’s hulk one, for the timing of this:

“Things you can say about your local bar but not about your partner”
Ryan: “so you’re telling me you’re open all night?”
Colin, with such a perfect read: “the nuts are complimentary!”
Gary: “surprisingly it is very clean in the crevices.”

Not a great SFAH. Lots of very light, easy jokes.

Duet: Wayne and Gary sing a strip-o-gram to Mel

….okay then

I love Gary refusing to end his hug with Mel.

Wayne: “did someone call for a package? Cause, uh…I’m just like UPS, I’d like to show you what brown can do for you…”
AND HE’S OFF

Wayne does a ‘step 1’ of ‘making sure you like what you see’, and Mel pats Wayne down.
Wayne: “I DIDN’T THINK SHE WOULD BUT SHE WILL I’M SO HAPPY…BE COOL…”

Gary: “Step 2…before you touch Wayne again, touch me three times, make it nice and slow…”
Mel, again, is game. The joke is coming from how excited Gary and Wayne are to have Mel on, in this style

Also, very sly line from Wayne with “if you wanna be MY lover…”

Gary, Wayne and Mel coordinate doing these dance moves and hip-thrusting together, which is a cool moment

Then Gary has Mel face Wayne so he can do the same hip move behind Mel, which both Mel and Aisha crack up at. Of course.

Wayne: “and then ya face to the back- NO???”
I love that. Mel initially is against that, and Wayne’s surprised…but she warms up to the idea

Wayne: “I didn’t think we’d get this far, but I’m in the mood
The thoughts I’m thinking right now, damn, could get me sued..”

The song turns into Gary and Wayne musically fighting over Mel, which is pretty great. Gary in general has been really good this song as well

A pretty fun Duet. Mel was game, and Gary and Wayne were doling out great lyrics and ideas, without getting too cringey.

Of course, as Mel walks off Wayne follows her like it’s normal.

Aisha doesn’t give Wayne or Gary any points
Wayne: “Oh you know why? Cause she jealous…”
Aisha: “I have other skills…I am good at crossword puzzles.”
Such a great line from Aisha. Makes a bit of sense, more funny on its own

Dubbing: Ryan is a crazed hypnotist helping Mel, voice by Colin, to become more confident with men, and then suddenly Ryan’s former angry patient, Wayne, enters

Ryan: “gosh, she smells fantastic, doesn’t she?”
Aisha: “I showered today too!”

I love Mel’s immediate, ‘oh no’ reaction to Colin clucking like a chicken.

Colin: “What happened?”
Ryan: “…well you turned into a chicken, I guess that’ll come in handy if I ever need a chicken…”

Colin: ‘from being a chicken, I learned a lot about men!”
Ryan: “really?”
Colin, stifling a chuckle: “…sure!”

This is actually a really good scene with Ryan and Mel/Colin, just examining their relationship
Ryan: “tell me things about men that I don’t know”
Colin: “well…they’re easy to fool.”

Wayne: [knocks]
Ryan: “someone’s at the garage door.”

Colin: “Doctor? Doctor?”
Mel: [is still facing Wayne]
Colin: ‘…oh, I’ll look over here, HI.”
Mel finally turns, cracking
Colin: “I didn’t know where you were, you moved so fast!”
Ryan: “I KNOW, I’M A HYPNOTIST!”

Colin: “I just realized, now I have all this confidence in men…I’ll start with [Wayne], I’ll start small!”
HA. Colin’s just getting his digs in at everyone

Colin: “Watch how I walk sexily towards him, enticing him with my eyes and my left elbow.”
Mel, perfectly:

Damn, that was a really good Dubbing. Most games of Dubbing on this show inevitably turn into a competition between Ryan and Wayne, or Wayne and the guest, for the guest’s affections, and it just follows the same beats every time. This one had an actual scene attached to it, and didn’t overuse the usually-easy comedy well of hypnotism, instead focusing on Mel’s confidence with men, and using that to sprout dialogue-based funny moments. Mel herself was pretty good here, and took her rookie mistakes in stride. A very high-tier Dubbing [possibly near the S7-era ‘Louiiiiiiiiiiise’ one for me]

Aisha: “I didn’t pay attention to any of that sketch…because I was looking at how pretty Mel was.”
[Aisha’s not even being subtle anymore, lol]

Props: Wayne and Colin vs. Ryan and Gary

Wayne: “so I’m walking down the beach…saw this little guy goin ‘kiss the girl, kiss the girl’…caught him, ate him, done.”
Fantastic Disney reference there.

Gary: “As you can see, the god above has given us mustard…”
Such a bizarrely funny joke

Gary, holding the prop: “can you read the sign? This is for YELLOW children crossing.”
Audience: [groans]
Gary: “…NOT LIKE THAT.”

Wayne: [does bobbing bird motion]
Colin: “just tell me where the Froot Loops are!”

Ryan, inevitably: “look at the size of my big dick!”

Okay props. Lots of stuff we’ve seen before.

I do love the points gag of Aisha running out and Ryan giving her a pocketful of his from last show.
Aisha: “so, Colin…18 points a button…”

Aisha: “and a condom…”
Gary, motioning to Wayne: ‘we’ll share it.”

Living Scenery:  in the frozen North, two trappers, Ryan and Colin, are setting out on their snowmobiles to look for food, clothing and shelter; Wayne and Mel are props

I love how, as Aisha explains the game, Wayne and Ryan are still casually smelling Mel

Colin very quickly casts Mel as his backpack.
Ryan, left with Wayne yet again: “I’ll hook up the dog…”

Ryan, after Wayne attacks Mel, playing a polar bear: “I gotta admit, that polar bear smells great”

Ryan: “I cut a little hole in the ice…[pointing to Wayne’s backside] there’s a little icehole there.”
AND IT’S BACK.
Ryan, pointing to Mel offstage: “GET THE ROD, WE’LL FISH.”
Colin confusingly picks up Mel.
Ryan: “NO, THE FISHING ROD.”
Mel, cracking up as Colin brings her over: “oh, I’m the fishing rod…”
Ryan: “alright, lower the fishing rod near the icehole”
Mel: [dies laughing]

Colin and Ryan hop back on the skidoos
Colin, getting on Mel: “I got this one.”
Ryan: “…I thought you might…”

Colin, being Colin: “Let’s go WAAAAY out to that ridge over there.”
Ryan, continuing the gag: “Have I mentioned how great your skidoo smells?”

Ryan: “here we are”
Colin, still being Colin: ‘wait, I’m not done…”

Ryan points out ‘all the faces on the totem pole’
Wayne:

Colin: “and look…[pointing at Wayne’s crotch] two little squirrels, right there…”
BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ
Ryan: “SQUIRRELS?”
[I feel like that motley crue song they did for the Whose Live shows should go here]

A pretty good Living Scenery. A few of the same beats as usual, but the icehole moment was at least memorable. Mel, again, did well but some moments you kind of have to crack up at.

Doo-Wop: Wayne, Gary and Colin sing to Olivia, who died in a freak shopping accident

First doo-wop of the CW version. This game would become a sentimental favorite musical game as we go on.

Aisha asks for a woman’s name.
Audience member, as it dies down: “LANA!”
Aisha, sighing, and looking right back at him: “NOT. LANA.”
Perfect meta joke.

Gary: “oh, Olivia, you made my blood boil
Even though your name translates to be olive oil.”

Colin: “Oh, Olivia. Life is a hard game.
You are dead, though LIV is in the middle of your name.
I tell you, the beans exploded all over the floor
Now there’s a big cleanup over in Aisle 4”
I love how good Colin is at these

Colin does this little hop during the chorus that cracks up Ryan in the back

Actually a really impressive final note from all 3 [Colin belts a bit]

Good Doo-Wop to start us off, though Wayne and Gary’s verses could have been a bit better.

Overall: A pretty good show. One of the better ‘let’s have a pretty girl guest’ ones of this season, though not as good as the Kat Graham show. The guest games here, Duet, Dubbing and Living Scenery, were the highlights of this show, and lifted the other, lesser more normal WL games. Mel cracked up a few times, but I liked her on here, and she brought great energy out of the performers [Ryan’s recurring gag about how good she smells was great]. Plus, even though, like usual with guest star shows, Gary was a bit sidelined, he was great in his few moments to shine this show, especially Duet and Props.

Like E9, this show seems like another deliberate attempt to shift the fan narrative, though. E9 was a guestless show that, arguably, was underwhelming on purpose. Meanwhile, this episode was a guest star show that was a good show, but the guest games were WAY BETTER than the non-games [even if Doo Wop was still alright]. Is this another case of Dan&Mark trying to subliminally sway people against non-guest games by making them seem underwhelming compared to the guest ones? And how come this is the second example of this sort of swaying I’ve found in Season 10.

I liked this show, and it’s another great guest star show from this strong season. But once again, Dan&Mark’s subtle production meddling is beginning to grate on me.

Show Winners: all four
Best Performer: Wayne was in every game, worked well off the guest star, and gave some fun moments all night.
Worst Performer: Gary, despite a strong showing, was edited too thinly
Best Game: Dubbing was an insanely well-improvised scene that just so happened to have a guest star in it.
Worst Game: Scenes from a Hat had a lot of lulls in it.
Guest Star Rating: 9/10. Mel cracked up a bit, but that didn’t stop her from having a good time in all her games.

COMING UP NEXT: We get the second show from Brad’s taping, featuring a guest star booking that I was down with at the time…and still kinda am.