It's inescapable. It never fails to be brought up, whether in a conversation, in the media, or some other way. I'm talking about the supposed "scripting" of many shows that claim to be genuinely performed without the need of cue cards or writers. Game shows, for instance, are always under high scrutiny of this aspect. After the incident with the old "21" from the 50's, and the later "$64,000 Question" fiasco, who can blame critics and spectators to be a little skeptical when something seems too good to be unrehearsed. Which brings me to the topic of this essay, the British improvisational show "Whose Line is it Anyway?" and it's American successor currently running on ABC. The purpose of this essay is to debunk the myth that "Whose Line is it Anyway" is actually a rehearsed show, by counter-debating many of the arguments presented by those who believe "Whose Line" is scripted, and presenting some facts of my own.

Many people believe "Whose Line" is scripted simply because it looks too good. The performances, for the most part, seem to go off without a hitch. On the first try, these guys are singing wonderful hoe-downs (people who think this have obviously never seen Colin Mochrie's, Steve Frost's, Paul Merton's, or Stephen Fry's hoe-down attempts) or love ballads to an audience member, playing out film noir scenes with spectacular ease, and pulling off believable impersonations. Sure, to the average television viewer, this looks almost too good to be true. This is because all the viewer sees is a half-hour of improvisation. "Whose Line" tapings usually go on for at least 3-4 hours, hours that are filled with mistakes, bad jokes, and other clips that will never see the light of day. The producers pull out a half-hour from the tedious taping, in which games are replayed with different suggestions, or because someone goofed just a little too much. The clips that make it to air are the best of the night, and that is what the viewer sees, leading them to believe the performers must be the most gifted comedians in the business. Which leads to the next discussion point.

Another common reason people dismiss "Whose Line" to be fraudulent is best illustrated in this quote from the comments page on a site called "Jump the Shark" (http://www.jumptheshark.com):

"Really, if the actors featured on the show really created those marvelous, fully realized songs and sketches without the benefits of some scripting or rehearsal, they would be the most sought after performers in all of show business. Why? Imagine being able to hire and actor that could perfectly improv his own lines, on the spot, while the camera is rolling. They would be able to put screen writers out of business..."

While it's true that these performers seem to come up with such great improv on the spot, it is only so because of production editing, as explained in the above paragraph. However, just because an actor can make up his own lines and do a little singing hardly means erradication of screen writers. Anyone who has watched "Whose Line is it Anyway" knows that the longer the game goes on, the more innuendo and sophomoric humor seems to surface (in the case of Tony Slattery, however, you needn't wait long for the bawdy jokes to prevail). Directors and screen writers are trying to tell a story through their film/television show, and having their actors spouting sexual innuendo and singing hoe-downs all the way through usually won't accomplish this goal. While these kinds of things make for the entertaining half-hour of improv we all love, they just don't cut it in films and television dramas.

Another factor in debunking the "scripted" myth is time. After a while, don't you think the secret would leak out into the respectable media, leading to the eventual admission of fraud by the creators and performers? Remember those game shows I mentioned, they were found out to be a scam... and quite early on if you think in terms of how long "Whose Line" has actually been airing. Another example is Ron West's Canadian improv stint, "Quick Wits" (also known as "Kwik Witz"). This show claimed to be genuinely unrehearsed, and was eventually found out to, indeed, be scripted. All of these shows' dirty little secrets were discovered, and made public right away. "Whose Line" has been running since 1988, first as a radio show, and then as the television form we are accustomed to. For more than 13 years this show has had no rumors confirmed about it's supposed scripting. If it isn't authentic, wouldn't an actor, or at least a disgruntled employee, somewhere along the line leak the truth? And having made that public, wouldn't there be some sort of investigation, if the studio didn't come right out and confirm it? The answer is probably yes, but has that happened? No. Why? Because "Whose Line is it Anyway" is not a scripted show, and that's the bottom line.

In the past there have been many incidents which have soured an audience's appreciation for unscripted television. And for all of these incidents, there are two genuinely unscripted shows to regain the trust of the public. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people are fickle, and once they have been betrayed, they find it hard to believe in something again. I hope this essay has restored your faith in "Whose Line" if ever was it failing, and if not, consider this ammunition the next time someone doubts the credibility of this wonderful show, and the improv style in general.