Running Gag/Live-Action TV/Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Examples of Running Gags in Whose Line Is It Anyway? include:

UK Version

  • During the later UK series, Clive Anderson introduced the players in an amusing way with a Take That twist at the fourth player, who tended to be Ryan. Occasionally he would change it to something meaningless just to confuse Ryan when he'd been ready to get comedically riled up:

Clive: "...and someone whose name is synonymous with something that means exactly the same thing, Ryan Stiles!"

  • Props often led one pair to mimic the other pair's act deliberately, even with completely different props on hand.

Ryan: (looking through tubelike prop as a telescope) "I believe it looks like a German U-Boat..."
Mike: (holding up a huge bent-shape) "No, THIS looks like a German U-Boat!"

  • Scenes from a Hat suffered a lot from awkward writing at this stage in time, but got quite a bit of mileage from the recurring "a gathering/convention/family reunion of (certain types of people)" suggestion.
  • Any game of Animals that involved the players acting as primates would eventually lead to the Monkey Morality Pose.
  • UK season 2 saw Mike McShane getting quite a bit of mileage from the phrase "a love that dare not squeak its name" (coined when he had to do "soap opera" for Film & Theater Styles).
  • Tony, back in the mid-90s, was a self-proclaimed "media slut." More than once the show would begin after a commercial break with Clive awarding points based off of how many commercials during it starred him. (These jokes have lost their effectiveness over time. Especially in America.) And we can't forget the Party Quirks where Rory impersonated him...

Rory: (as Tony) Well, hello! I'm sorry to gate-crash, but I heard they were filming a television programme here! Yes, where's the camera?
Tony: (realizing the joke) Oh, ha ha. (jokingly, to the camera, while miming holding a cigarette in his hand) Can I just say--I'm not playing anymore.

  • Clive's lack of a neck and hair were both frequently made fun of by various members of the cast, particularly Greg. Unfortunately for Greg, Clive often got where he was going before he could get the jokes going, though that often make the joke funnier.
  • Clive would frequently ask the American players if they have (insert mundane item) in America. Greg would often return the favor by mocking England.

US Version

  • Any show that runs long enough is bound to accumulate tons of running gags. Often the result of some unplanned accident, or repeats of some bizarre thing that Colin said like "How does food become poo!?" in song. But most consistent is Ryan's choice in gaudy shoes. And Colin's baldness and Canadian-ness. To a lesser extent, Drew's role in the TV-movie Gepetto would often be referenced.
  • Sound Effects (Ryan making sounds for Colin) has several, including:
    • A pigeon harassing Colin's character, who deals with it by breaking its neck or biting its head off Ozzy Osbourne style.
    • Ryan making the same "squeaky" sound effect when Colin opens a door. And I mean SAYING "Squeaky!".
    • Colin trying and failing to start a vehicle, then getting out to troubleshoot it only for said vehicle to zoom off without him, typically forcing him to chase it down on foot. (When the scene was a Wild West setting, the gag was done with a horse instead.)
    • Scenarios described as "a day in the life of" someone often begin with Colin asleep, then awakened by some random sound made by Ryan to represent an alarm clock. Ring Ring CRUNCH indeed. Also, before Colin waking up, Ryan would murmur in a way suggesting it's a sex dream (once, when the scene was "Batman Gets A Call", it was about Robin...)
    • When Ryan makes a particularly unusual noise, Colin mimes grabbing a gun and shooting into the distance to make it stop.
  • Sound Effects mk II (two audience members make sounds for both Ryan and Colin) often winds up with irrelevant sounds Handwaved as sick animals or bowel movements, while lack of sounds usually draws an "I left the silencer on" from Colin. One rare case involved mishearing a sound as police sirens, and the game spun out of control.
  • Some Props remotely resembling known shapes and symbols would be interpreted as rejected versions of said symbols. (NSFW at 2:20)

"I told you, we need that Olympic Rings ready by Thurday..."

    • And Wayne's known to use the same gossipy Sassy Black Woman impression that always begins with saying "So I was telling (made-up name)" while using some props as hairdressing implements.
    • Several playings of Props, especially those with Brad, reference a character called the Giant. A racket-shaped prop becomes the Giant's bottle opener. A large, stringy prop came from cleaning out the Giant's shower drain. Etc.
  • Scenes From A Hat has several:
    • Performers sometimes redo their previous scene if the next suggestion is even slightly relevant to it. This one notably dates back to the first ever Scenes From A Hat attempt, where "people who can't stop moving" was pretty much the same as "a Morris dancers' convention".
    • And then there's all the times where Colin apparently forgets to end his scene and has to be dragged off by Ryan. This clip has a rare case of Brad doing it.
    • Whenever the suggestion is something like "People you wouldn't want to see as _____" Colin and Ryan would walk out on stage, simply stand there for a moment, then walk back off.
  • Ryan's Carol Channing impression, which he can apparently maintain even while suffering a concussion.
  • Foreign Film Dub would sometimes have a lengthy dialogue translated as one or two words and vice versa.
  • Upon the big switch to the US series, Greg's outfit would always include a jacket - which was ALWAYS utilised whenever Wayne did his James Brown impression.
  • From Greatest Hits, One Word: Sleep.
    • Colin and Ryan always mention the absurdly large number of songs collected about the audience-chosen obscure subject - "this five hundred-CD set!"
    • Less frequently, they would mention hundreds of songs on one CD due to the brevity of all the songs.
    • They also do a gag about the piece being an advert - "We'll be right back to your movie..." which almost always sounds suspiciously like Parallel Porn Titles (e.g. Men In Back).
      • On one occasion, famously neither of them could think of a joke porn movie title and Colin just blurted out "We're watching animal porn!"
    • See Executive Meddling above. Jokes about how Colin looks older still remain:

Ryan: "I wasn't alive during the swing period, but Colin here told me all about it!"

    • Both Colin and Ryan refer to having grown up 'in the backwoods of Saskatchewan in (decade in which the current song is set)'.
    • Colin also sometimes claims to be 'a child of the streets', which not even Ryan seems to believe.
  • Impossible Mission has several running gags maintained for several years and both UK and US versions:
    • Greg, as the voice of the self-destructing tape, usually does a The Tape Knew You Would Say That joke. Wayne would go with a Sophisticated As Hell Jive Turkey approach.
    • The mission is usually for a visiting diplomat or ruler from a fictional "stan" country (Groovesnackerstan, Kastookastan, Groovefunkerstan)
    • Colin and Ryan have Inspector Gadget-style spy equipment installed inside their bodies - usually their belly buttons, though Ryan's rappelling-rope hair and Colin's fax machine butt have also appeared.
    • Colin and Ryan come up with bizarre Mr. Bean-type improvised solutions for the simplest of problems.
    • The cat.
  • Hollywood Director has spawned two as well - Colin's tendency to yell 'crap' of course, and Ryan or Wayne being the token Professional Butt-Kisser in the 'cast'.
  • Newsflash has also spawned two - it begins with a Is This Thing Still On? gag, and there's always a blatant attempt to mess with the 'field reporter' by making him describe what scene he is in, or explain its cause, before dropping the hints. To his credit, Colin would always have a ready answer.
  • Home Shopping resulted in the only known outright copout by Colin and Ryan (spun into a Running Gag because the audience loved it anyway):

(picks up unknown item) "What's that doing in there?" "I dunno." (discards)

  • Weird Newscasters would sometimes have the lead anchor invoke some sort of Theme Naming for themselves and their "colleagues"; Greg, Brad and Colin in particular are masters of the Punny Name ("Chester Buttocks", "Harry Hindquarters", "Woodrow But Idon'thaveapaddle"...)
    • And Wayne, who always gets the sport role and a position on the extreme left (his right) of the stage, would abuse said position by involving Drew and/or the desk in his bit, since he was right next to them.
    • In one memorable example of the Punny Name running gag, Chip (as an energetic game show host) pre-empts Colin's usual punny intro and uses Colin's real name, which Colin then turns into a pun.

Chip: "INTRODUCING COLIIIIIIIIIIIN!"
Colin: (after a long pause to let the laughter die down) "Welcome to the six o'clock news. I'm your anchor, Colin Themarines."

    • Whereas previous straight man hosts had just begun the sketch with a straightforwardly amusing news story, Colin started a The Two Ronnies style routine where he would lead up a complicated pun. Brad also did this a few times.
  • Coming back from commercials, Drew would sometimes admit to doing something odd in an inappropriately cheerful way.

Drew: "Hey you guys ever see a big stretch limo drive by and the window rolls down and you see a big white butt sticking out of it? That's me!"

  • The US version of Weird Superheroes often began with Drew going "There's a (crisis to be averted), (first superhero name)! What are you gonna do?!"
  • Drew's habit of picking the more attractive audience members to join in for Song Styles, Duets or other such games would lead to any players not actually involved in the game (usually Ryan) to welcome her as well.
    • Wayne realized at some point that some of Drew's choices for who accompanied him in Song Styles might actually threaten his marriage. Like this one.
  • Xylophone music!
    • You can hear it too?
      • Zounds!
    • When stuck for a word starting with the letter X, Ryan would most commonly use the phrase "Xaviera Hollander once told me... ", usually completely out of context. Drew did this once as well.
  • Ryan's attempt to strongarm Questions Only in a direction of his choosing by going "Haven't we met before?" or something similar.
  • Ryan really doesn't like Michael Bolton. He's not crazy about Fresno either.
  • Whenever Colin had a joke based on a setting that was hilarious only because of how bad it was, he would mime taking a drink. This happened most often in If You Know What I Mean.
  • An occasional recurring gag in the U.S. version is Drew doing a Take That on a celebrity and adding after the joke, "Just kidding around if I ever run into you in real life", or alternatively, pretending to be the celebrity in question: "I think I'll cheer myself up by watching some Whose Line... OH NO!"
  • During hoedowns, Ryan frequently concluded the song with a joke at Drew Carey's expense. If his penultimate line ends in "hairy" or "scary," you can bet on what's about to come up.
    • In the British version, Greg and Ryan both did this for Clive.
  • Any time one of the characters has to play a drill sergeant, we get a Full Metal Jacket parody:

Greg: Only two things come from Texas: Steers, and other steers that like them!
Wayne: Only two things come from Texas: Steers, and... other... forms of livestock!
Ryan: Only two things come from Texas: Steers, and YOU!

  • In Backwards Scene, Ryan has more than once thrown off the other player by suddenly laughing and saying "A penguin?!"
  • Colin fainting.
  • Brad collapsing. It has been noted by many viewers that he happens to be the best at falling down in the series.
  • Episode-specific example: In the "Sound Effects" of Charlie's Angels, Ryan (as one of the angels) keeps accidentally calling Colin (who's playing Bosley) Charlie instead.
  • Another episode-specific example: In one game, Ryan was unable to whistle when he attempted to. After another game, he whistled and Drew told him, "Too late." Towards the end of the episode, "Three-Headed Broadway Star" was played, and the name of the song was "Whistle on Cue". Numerous times in the song, Ryan used his verse to whistle three notes.
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