Tubegazing: 'Thank God You're Here'

The improv successor of sorts to "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" needs to loosen up.

Thank God You're Here

(NBC, Monday, April 9, 9 p.m.): A cross between "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" and "Let's Make a Deal," this partially improvised series – based on a popular Australian show – features celebs being thrown cold into a scene for which they know nothing more than their costume and the opening line, the show's title . As an old stage actor famously said, dying (onstage) is easy, comedy is hard. Improv is even harder. When Jennifer Coolidge, who is an old hand at improv, comes off stiff – mostly due to the overplanning in the skits around her – you know there's something wrong. The show will have to loosen up to succeed. Grade: C

Get Monitor stories by e-mail:
(Your e-mail address will be protected by csmonitor.com's tough privacy policy.)

In Pictures
Born in the USA: Fourth of July-inspired American creations

ELECTION '08 Patchwork Nation
The American voter beyond red and blue

FISHERIES Empty Oceans Series
The sea is no longer so vast.


Daily podcast

Monitor Reports

Discussions with Monitor reporters from around the world


Today

Peter Grier

Honduras has two presidents, but no solution to the country's political crisis.




Making a difference
Making a Difference

What happens when ordinary people decide to pay it forward? Extraordinary change. See how individuals are making a difference, finding solutions, overcoming adversity, and giving back globally.

Jeremy Gilley, founder of the nonprofit Peace One Day, talks with students at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School in Cambridge, Mass.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

People making a difference: Jeremy Gilley

This actor and filmmaker envisions that world peace begins with just one day of peace.