Entertainment

Rebooted ‘Whose Line?’ scores laughs

QUICK WITS: Wayne Brady (from left), Colin Mochrie, Ryan Stiles and guest Heather Anne Campbell cut loose on “Whose Line?” Below: “Glee” co-star Kevin McHale and Brady. (
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The TV burial ground is littered with the corpses of “revived” shows (see “Charlie’s Angels,” “The Bionic Woman” and “Knight Rider”).

But, thankfully, “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” won’t be joining its rebooted brethren anytime soon — at least not from an artistic standpoint.

I can’t predict how The CW’s new version of the old ABC improv show — premiering July 16 — will perform, numbers-wise, but I can tell you that it’s an energized, fun hour with lots of laughs, terrific cast chemistry and some surprises.

For the uninitiated, the old “Whose Line?” featured Drew Carey, Ryan Stiles, Wayne Brady and Colin Mochrie improvising sketches from ideas they heard for the very first time. They also acted out suggestions from the studio audience.

They’re all back for this version, minus Carey, who’s busy hosting “The Price Is Right” on sister network CBS — although that didn’t stop The CW from replacing him with Aisha Tyler, who also does double-duty as a panelist on CBS’ “The Talk.” And Brady, who’s one of the show’s executive producers, hosts the syndicated version of “Let’s Make a Deal.”

The format here is pretty much the same as it was on the ABC version, with Brady, Mochrie and Stiles — who are joined by celebrity guests (“Glee’s” Kevin McHale, Lauren Kohan from “The Walking Dead”) — improvising ideas suggested by Tyler (and by the studio audience) with lightning speed and very funny, sometimes slightly risque, results.

It’s apparent that the show isn’t edited, or at least what ends up getting onto the air isn’t edited — which makes you marvel all-the-more at the cast’s improv skills and ability to think on their feet. Granted, Brady, Mochrie and Stiles (joined in the opener by actor Gary Anthony Williams) have plenty of experience in this genre, but I’m still amazed at how they can suddenly become prospective beaus on “The Dating Game” or can improvise a scene as cops questioning a guy who’s been robbed — by using the contents of the pocketbooks from two women in the studio audience (including dental floss).

My favorite part of the show is called “Scenes from a Hat,” in which each man is asked to deliver a line in a contrived situation (“Something you’d say about your shoes, but not about your girlfriend or wife”).

Brady, Mochrie and Stiles seem to enjoy working together, and Tyler stays out of their way while getting in a few zingers of her own.

With all the scripted reality fare that’s now on TV, it’s nice to see a show that really does fly by the seat of its pants.

This is good summer fun that won’t tax your brain, but will leave you smiling.