Kwik Witz

I remember seeing this show on TV late at night in the mid 90s, but I remember there being more episodes that just the two that IMDB lists.

It was a bit of a poor-man's "Who's Line Is It Anyway?" clone, with the difference that they plainly stated that the participants knew their challenges in advance. And there was even some cross-over with the more famous British (At the time. They hadn't moved it to the States yet) show.

I remember it wasn't as funny as "Who's Line Is It Anyway?", but it was still entertaining, with quite a few familiar faces appearing. It apparently wasn't enough to carry it through, though, as it was soon canceled and the American version of "Who's Line" came to our screens.

Originally produced in Chicago, this short-lived series basically had pairs of comedians battling each other. The audience voted as to who was the funniest. The hostess, Jillian (sorry, I can't remember her last name) was a good choice for the hostess. Many comedians that toured with stand-up acts in Chicago came on the show. You can see some now-famous people before they became famous, such as Wayne Brady. You can see comedians sing funny songs, do various sketches, and even replace the dialog on a clip with their own funny comments. One of the funniest parts was the opening, where they informed us that "the kwik witz had a chance to prepare their challenges in advance." If it is still in syndication, it's worth a look.