Tubegazing: 'Thank God You're Here'

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

By Gloria Goodale

from the April 6, 2007 edition

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