from: http://www.improvreview.com/April/snl.htm

In an exclusive interview with Improv Review, Drew Carey revealed today that he will be hosting the season finale of Saturday Night Live, in an all-improvised show. The show, to broadcast on May 19 on NBC, will be entirely improvised, and the cast will get suggestions for their scenes from the audience, much like Mr. Carey's popular "Who's Line Is It Anyway" on ABC.

"I love improvisation, I love live television, and I think it's gutsy of NBC and Lorne (Michaels, producer of SNL) to take this risk. Well, not that gutsy -- NBC will put the show on a 7 second delay, so that they may bleep out any expletives that get uttered.

Since most of the cast comes from an improvisation background, it should be easy. Many cast members, past and present, performed at Second City in Chicago, or with the Groundlings in Los Angeles.

The format is not going to be different from a usual Saturday Night Live show, the cast will not be playing improv "games" like one sees on Who's Line Is It Anyway, but will work with existing sets and costumes and get suggestions about the relationships of the characters, or a current event the audience would like to see. "It's TV on the edge," said Carey, "I just hope it's the cutting edge and not the bleeding edge."

The musical guest for the show has yet to be announced.

Whoa. It's too bad that Drew Carey couldn't improvise himself out of a paper bag though.

Sounds great! What a way to end Finals Week! :D

Thanks for the news!

Drew Carey is the greatest! :)

I like Carey's improv show, although I liked the original British version better, but I just think he is horrible at improv. Whenever he comes out to play a game with the rest of the comedians, he just seems rigid and out of place. I think the SNL improv show could be a really, really painful experience. I mean, SNL is pretty hit and miss when it is scripted, how's it going to be when it's all improvised?

First off, Carey has admitted numerous times that he sucks at improv, which is why he hosts the show and only participates in 1 short game per show. Second, SNL is hit and miss because the current writers aren't as good as the writers of years past. But most, if not all, of the cast members have pre-SNL backgrounds as improv-ers, and that is what they excel at, so I think it can easily be the best episode of the season, if not the best episode from the past couple seasons. We'll find out soon enough.

[Edited by scott27 on 04-02-01 at 12:44 PM]

See, but that's my problem. I am not doubting the cast members on SNL, in fact, I watch it faithfully every week and unlike most people, I understand that good, live sketch comedy will be hit and miss (although like you said SNL often misses more than it hits because of its writers for one reason). But if Drew Carey admits he sucks at improv, and I will agree with him there, and he's the host of the show, much of it will have him doing his really rigid style of improv and will be horrible because of it. He's a stand-up comedian and I get the feeling he's not really that comfortable when he's improvising sketchs.

Steve Zahn, who graduated from my high school, comes back every once in a while and talks to the students and usually does some improv stuff with some of the drama students while he's there. These are high school drama students and the improv they do with Zahn has always been more hilarious than anything I see on Whose Line Is It Anyway? That's my main complaint with the show. I much more enjoy catching a local night of ComedySportz improv than watch Carey's show.

I must agree that improv isn't Carey's game, this show may suck badly.

Drew is great.

I know that people hate him but he really is good at what he does.

Just rumors I've heard about the way SNL works is that the bigger stars often have their sketches picked for the show (regardless of actual quality) because of their position. This should at least give some of the more talented but underused players a chance to shine....and hopefully cut down on the really bad, overly long and unfunny sketches that dominate the majority of a typical SNL.

MadTV kicks SNL's Ass anyway......

Have you ever seen the Depressed Persian Tow Truck Driver!

rotfl

Drew Carey and SNL doing all-improv? Alert the Guinness Book, this will shape up to be the unfunniest 90 minutes in the history of mankind.

Yeah, which is stand-up and starring in a so-so sitcom. Not improv.

Nah, I don't think it does.

Thanks for proving my point...

Well, I guess if you're into NOSTALGIA then yes, SNL is better. If you're into FUNNY bits...MadTV is a better show and is FRESH.

I, being one of the very few, like both. MadTV gets slow towards the time SNL starts to air, and thankfully, my FOX affiliate and my NBC affiliate are next to each other in the channel line-up, so when 6 is boring, just flip to 7, and vice versa.

Personally, I like Drew Carey. I thought his live episode was really funny, and he isn't the best improv comedian out there, but I will still be watching.

I love both versions of Whose Line, and can't wait to see this SNL episode! The Drew Carey episodes they've done improvised were pretty good.

Nobody in this thread said he was great at improv. He has never said that either.

But I'm sure he's better at it than you are.

Yeah, I'm sure he is. But then again, I'm not announcing I am about to host an improv version of SNL after already admitting improv is not my strong point.

Hey, I used to be a big fan of his sitcom and I love his stand up, I just think he's incredibly painful to watch when he tries his hand at improv at the end of Who's Line.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by scott27

Quote:

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But I'm sure he's better at it than you are.

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Exactly what was the point of that comment? :confused:

Where's Norm McDonald when you need him?

this was a hoax

http://tv.zap2it.com/news/tvnewsdaily.html?16908

Only took 5 days for you to notice it was a hoax...damn