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

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(Mary Knox Merrill/Staff)
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