Welcome to "Whose line is it anyway: UK edition a.k.a The original edition!"
Narrated Sketch:
This is a game that almost always killed. Basically, the characters explain their thoughts directly to the audience as they act out the scene.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTXWtUkYJkk
Foreign Film dub:
Another game that usually worked really well. Two cast members improvise a scene in a foreign language, and the other 2 cast members dub it after each bit of dialogue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTuSP0G7YVs
Sports commentators:
I'd never actually seen this game. Too bad they seem to have ended it in the American version. Two cast members do sports commentary on a scene being enacted by the other two members.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC_WDiesAR4
Barroom scene:
Haven't seen this one either. One cast member is a bartender. The other members come in and sing about their problems to the bartender, and the bartender sings back.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zopq3Zq29VQ
Pretty good hoedowns:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ7Ch17-_WY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF3YxXdIvKw
Clive comes to the US! It's mislabled as UK, but apparently Clive came over to guest host one of the eps. Great rap song again, as usual. And Colin unleases somethign that I would have thought would surely have been bleeped.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A650wAjfWVA
Here are two full episodes, both of which are quite good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En8Qr7-Sv5k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og7iS79pzOo
And it needs to be said:
Colin Mockrie for President! And Ryan Stiles for Vice-prez. Afterall, if we're gonna elect leaders who fuck up the country, might as well have people who can make us laugh when they do it.
And now, if I might, I'll take this thread in a slightly more serious direction.
So, while I had seen a little bit of the British version of whose line, when I earlier claimed that the US version was better, I'd seen so much of the US version but not too much of the UK version.
So, after watching all the above, as well as some truly ancient clips going back to the 1989 or so, I've drawn the following (hopefully factual) conclusions and my personal thoughts on them.
1) The claim that the UK version was far less uncensored is completely true. The UK version seemed to have almost complete free reign on what they said, so there were a lot more jokes about sex.
I didn't really see this as an advantage for the UK show. To compare to something, I saw it as the difference between Jerry Seinfeld standup and Chris Rock standup. While Seinfeld's is generally much cleaner, Chris rock is far more open in using foul language and delving into explicit sexual topics. And guess what, I love them both. I don't think Seinfeld is any less funny because he limits himself by censoring himself on a personal level.
2) Clive is a more able host than Drew.
I defintely think Clive is a better presenter. The banter exists on both shows, and while Clive might be a little bit more wittier than Drew (purely subjective view on my part), I like the fact that Drew throws himself into the ending game. Also, Clive is a total point Nazi! "No points for you!" Ok, that's not really a serious thought, but still. He gives no points on like 90% of the games. Drew on the other hand, constantly makes up rediculous point totals and it just felt nicer. (Yes, I know the points don't matter, I know I'm being silly, I don't care)
3) There is more banter between Colin and Ryan in the US version.
This is clearly because they've been together longer as the show moved from the UK to the US version. Still, as unfortunate that is for the UK version that the US version came after it, its still an amazing plus for the US version only. Without that banter, many of its top moments would be moments at all.
So overall, I still love the US version. Though, I've gained some respect for the UK version as well.