Thank God You're Here

Thank God You're Here is a great concept for a show and it's obvious that a lot of work goes into its preparation. It's good to see such a broad range of Australian talent having a go at this kind of improvisational comedy. The episodes with Shaun Micallef are exceptionally funny.

One of the things that I don't like about the show is the lack of creativity when it comes to involving the guest into the pre-written script that the ensemble cast are following. There is a little too much of the fill-in-the-blanks kind of thing happening in which the ensemble cast member starts a sentence, and then stops before the end so that the guest can complete it.

Here's a few examples of what I mean, from the segment Dailan Evans did as co-host on a "The Movie Show"-style film review program:

Ensemble Cast Member: "We're also looking at a great new Australian Classic, The Story of..." (turns to guest star to fill in the blank) Ensemble Cast Member: "At Canne this year it didn't win the Palme d'Or but it did win the..." (turns to guest star to fill in the blank) Ensemble Cast Member: "Which goes to the film for..." (turns to guest star to fill in the blank)

Very unimaginative. To make the show more believable (and more funny) they could perhaps leave it more open for the guest to do a little more improvising by means of starting and finishing their own sentences instead of just adding the punchline to something that's already been scripted.

Great show otherwise and I'm sure we'll see it improve immensely as it evolves.