Cast: Greg Proops, Wayne Brady, Colin Mochrie, Ryan Stiles, and Drew Carey

Weird Newscasters: Greg = anchor; Colin = (co-anchor) frat boy cruising in a car with his buddies; Wayne = (sports) in a Miss Fitness USA pageant; Ryan = (weather) Inca high priest who must sacrifice a virgin
Drew got the game off to an amusing start with his quirk reading to Ryan. "In a effort to keep you strange" followed up with "Come near my desk and I'll kill you." All the other players seemed to like that even if Ryan didn't. I thought that Colin might end up being Ryan's virgin especially when I noticed that Ryan (in character) was eyeing Colin's moon. Having a frat boy as the virgin would be a good idea. But when Ryan shook his head, I figured Colin had just been eliminated. I'm glad that Ryan ended up not picking anyone from the audience. That could have been extremely awkward I thought. So I loved how Ryan ended his quirk. I guess I kinda jumped to the end there. I loved Greg and Colin, but I thought Wayne went on a little too long. I'm not sure why Wayne went and picked up Colin at the end of the game. I'm not sure that Colin was sure why Wayne went and picked him up either. I'm so glad that Drew commented on it afterwards. Leading into some great post-game banter. Kojak Tae Bo class, indeed. A name to remember. Question: did you notice that Wayne initially sat in Greg's chair when he went back upstage?

Sound Effects: Ryan and Colin as two sleeping firefighters when an alarm sounds in the station house
Another audience participation Sound Effects. I think I've figured out where Dan Patterson and company are coming from in this version. It's like a live action version of the other Sound Effects variant. Remember the one where pre-recorded sounds are played in unexpected and the players have to react to them? This is similar to that with the added confusion of the sounds not being done well. Although, I'd rather have the sounds created by someone who knows how to make credible sounds, I have to admit there is something fascinating about watching Ryan and Colin deal with the unexpected. They accomplish what medieval alchemists could never achieve. They manage to take dross and turn it into gold. They may even enjoy the challenge. I'm certain that Wayne enjoys watching it. Or at least enjoyed watching this game anyway. He was out of his seat with excitement. And after the game, you can hear him off camera saying, "That was good." So it's not just Drew who likes this new version.

Song Styles: Wayne sings about a coffee grinder in the style of a Rocky Horror song and dance backed by the others
Okay, time for a confession. I've seen Rocky Horror Picture Show once. Yes, once. And that was so long ago that I don't want to count the years. But I am enough of a Tim Curry fan to recognize that Wayne was channeling Curry here. Which puzzles me. I don't remember Curry singing Time Warp. Did he sing on that number? Based on my vague memories of the movie, I'd guess that Colin knows about as much of the movie as I do. I think Ryan was doing something related to the film. Not quite sure what Greg was doing. Seemed to be impersonating Igor from the original Frankenstein. The whole thing was somewhat disjointed. But, given that we are talking about the Rocky Horror Picture Show, that's probably appropriate.

Newsflash: Ryan and Greg anchor; Colin = field reporter in front of bathing beauties
Talk about eye candy. I wonder how many viewers had to take some insulin shots after this one. I think Colin caught on fairly quickly to what he was in front of. I seriously doubt that his "It's my job to get in the way" rant was an accident. I think he knew by then exactly kind of audience response his "I'm going to stick my nose in" was going to generate. And so did I. What I didn't expect was the players' response. Wayne was on his feet and about to collapse with laughter. Greg was close to losing it. And Ryan was having a hard time maintaining a straight face too. Watching the players' crack up. Now, that's MY version of eye candy. Oh! Let's not forget the small running Kojak Tae Bo class reference. And then Ryan's "two thongs don't make a right". Hmm. That sounded familiar. Well, Ryan. If you're going to steal someone else's material, at least you're stealing from one of the best.

Irish Drinking Song: All four sing about voting for Ross Perot
I like this game. And the guys seemed to like it too. It's a bit odd. When I heard Greg burst out laughing off camera, and then the camera widened, and I could see that Wayne had been talking to Greg, I knew instantly that Wayne had actually voted for Perot. Don't ask how I knew. I just did. And to have Wayne confirm it in the song. Well, let's just chalk it up to the upcoming Halloween holiday. I agree with the other posters that Ryan's censored word was "hash". I think in the rush of the moment, Ryan just went for a rhyme word because he's too experienced not to know that drug references are going to be censored. I loved how Colin ended the song. "Ha ha ha, hee hee." Yes, Colin is infamous for his cop out phrases. And technically this should have been one of them. But it worked so perfectly here to me. Greg had just finished saying "Because there's no one else." So Colin's phrase was perfect. I had this cartoony image of a dwarf size Perot with pointy elf ears and a word balloon over his head with Colin's words in it. I suspect the guys had similar images in their heads because they could barely finish the refrain. Especially Ryan who didn't quite make it through.

World's Worst: Things to say on a romantic date; Greg, Drew, Colin, and Ryan
World's Worst is a game that has always favored players with strong stand up skills. With next to no stand up credits, Colin has always had to work very hard at this game. And his performance was on par with his past. Oddly enough, Ryan was quiet compared to previous World's Worst games. As a working stand up comedian, Greg does well in this game. And he did do well this time; probably the best of the four. Drew — another working stand up — was second best. His entries were quite good. The game ending entry, "the wife and I just had a fight" was definitely the top entry of the game. And Ryan rightly praised him for it. This was one of the best Drew games I've seen Drew do.

Credits: All four = men desperate for money at a horse race
Pretty standard fare. Good to see Ryan hang himself again. (Does that sound weird to you? Hmm. Maybe I should see someone about that.) I liked how Colin picked his pocket. Wayne and Greg were just kinda off the side and didn't draw my attention. So I really didn't see what they were doing.

Best Game:
Another hard choice. I'm going to pick Irish Drinking Song. There is something quite joyful about that game. The guys seem to enjoy themselves immensely. And the music and lyrics are just plain fun. Every time I think about it, I chuckle. So Irish Drinking Song it is.

Overall Comments:
Well, there wasn't enough Greg in the games. Although he certainly ruled the interludes. Even with that caveat, I liked this episode. I'll replay it. I may not wear out the tape. But I'll certainly rewatch it several times.

© LKK 10/22/00