If there is one thing that fascinates me about improv and that is how it is portrayed in Television, books and Film. This is becoming more and more apparent in recent years because the comedy art form is sort of in fashion. There are some interesting topics that we can gain from these ways they are displayed so every so often we are going to look at different scenes from different shows and films.

I was trying to find something to watch on Prime on day and I came across a show I did not even know existed – Drew Carey’s Improv-A-Ganza. Each episode has a celebrity guest and the top improvisers in America performing improv to a live audience. The show was only around for one season in 2010 and when I saw it I wanted to watch it to see just how different it was to Whose Line Is It Anyway as it is the same line up pretty much.

Even though it is the same short form games that you have in Whose Line it is very different. For starters the opening title sequence is incredibly jazzy and makes it feel like you are in the middle of Vegas. Also the title sequence has gambling in it which feels like a metaphor for you ‘gambling’ your time watching this show.

The one thing that I found hard to adapt to is that the show is edited really quickly – the games are even shorter then the edited Whose Line – yes the games can get shorter then that show and it is something that you don’t expect. It is sort of like a trailer for what improv can be. Only leaving in the short sections that work really well with the audience. I am not sure that I liked this – it may be good for those who are not familiar with the form to get used to it but this show feels like it is very short in comparison to Whose Line and I am not sure if it works – you are just getting into it and then there is an advert break with a ‘coming up tease’ with a ten second clip of what is to come – it felt bizarre.

Saying all of this though, there are some parts of the show I really enjoyed – even though the games are very short the one thing I really enjoy is that the improvisers that you see so much on regular shows such as Whose Line seem really unhinged and off the rails and that is what makes it funny – they seem to be free and some of the craziness is completely heightened. Another fun thing is the fact that Drew Carey actually gets involved in the scenes and that is fun.

Ever so often they have celebrities join them on stage – the first episode with Charlie Sheen does not work. They tell you he doesn’t do improv and when it gets to his part in the storytelling game he started to swear and it is obvious he isn’t sure what is happening. That ruins the experience.

I would say check the show out if you can but beware you will walk away with mixed feelings.