Ten episodes of the improv TV series hosted by Drew Carey.

CRITIQUE

Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Season One, Volume 2) is made up of ten 22-minute episodes from the American TV series’ opening season (which originally aired early 1999), though oddly the episodes are presented here in somewhat random order:  Disk One includes episodes 113, 199, 120, 114 and 118, while Disk Two includes 121, 116, 115, 110 and 109.  Still, the result is hilarious throughout; this is one of the most-consistently laugh-out-loud TV shows ever, and the cast members are in fine form throughout the disk.

The format of the series (based on a British TV series of the same name) is that four comedians work together to improvise scenes, based on whatever host Drew Carey tells them to do.  There are probably about 20 different games (each lasting 2-4 minutes) that are reused throughout, from “Weird Newscasters” (in which the actors perform a newscast with characters given odd quirks) to “Let’s Made a Date” (basically a riff on the Dating Game, again with the actors assigned odd character traits) to bits that have them making up songs, doing impersonations, or coming up with alternate dialogue to a film running without sound.

Ryan Stiles (who also appeared in The Drew Carey Show) is in all the episodes here, as is Colin Mochrie, and both do some very funny, inventive work throughout.  But the strongest performer is Wayne Brady, who appears in 7 or 8 of the episodes and shows a very wide range of talent here, singing (often while improvising and imitating a famous singer), dancing, and otherwise proving a very appealing performer. 

Also appearing, in a handful of episodes each, are Greg Proops, Brad Sherwood, Denny Siegel, Ian Gomez and Stephen Colbert, and they all do well next to the more seasoned performers; no one ever seems to be over their heads.  The loose feel of it all helps the entertainment value, as does the sheer spectacle of these actors coming up with so many off-the-cuff funny bits.  By the end, this is a solid DVD for fans of the show, and worth checking out if you have never seen it before.

THE VIDEO

Whose Line Is It Anyway? is presented in a format preserving the aspect ratio of its original television exhibition.  Though the disks are dual-layer, the images are crisp enough.

THE AUDIO

Whose Line Is It Anyway? is presented in English Dolby Digital.  The dialogue and the music come through clear.  The only subtitles are in English.

THE EXTRAS

Disk One has 14 minutes of Unaired Games, while Disk Two has another 15 minutes.  The games were just obviously cut for length; they are generally as funny as anything that made the show.

Each disk also contains a 12-minute Gag Reel (for a total of 24 minutes), which are very solid of their type.  The actors flub bits (showing that their performances aren’t always as dead-on as they appear), or throw in something dirty that couldn’t be aired.  This and some foul language is what accounts for the “Uncensored” claim on the DVD.

FINAL THOUGHT

Funny stuff, and a DVD that is very rewatchable.