U.S. version of Would I Lie to You?

[David Bruggeman]

Previous thread (since I don't have the Gmail, nor do I have the old messages in my email) - https://groups.google.com/g/tvornottv/c/wXWA0iM0od4/m/S9EZ2fGiBgAJ

I've watched the first two episodes of the U.S. edition of "Would I Lie to You?" via the CW's online streaming - which will still mess up a browser on occasion.

The TL;DR of it is if you like the British version, this could make a fair substitute whenever you've caught up on all the British episodes.  If you're not familiar with the British version and like to watch people try to BS each other with low-stakes stories, this is a good way to spend 30 minutes (with commercials).

Again, only two episodes have aired, so things could easily change.  My basic thoughts:

I think both Adam and Carlton's observations about the UK version (and the Australian one in Carlton's case) made earlier bear out.  There was only one non-comedian in the two episodes so far (a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of NY - Preet Bharara) and he ended up not participating as much as I'd have liked.  The shorter time (20 minutes without commercials) can make the stories seem rushed.  They do four an episode.

I wouldn't be surprised to see an episode cobbled together from the stories that were cut from episodes (bits of which are shown over the credits).

The one guest who seemed to grasp the concept and run with it the best was Richard Kind.  If the show decides to have some regulars, I wouldn't be surprised to see him come back.

David

[Carlton Doerner]

Australia runtime is 50 minutes

UK runtime is around 29 minutes

US runtime is 20 minutes

UK gets it right. Things can breathe a little bit. US is just too tight on time. 

I will agree that Richard Kind “gets it”. He is great. I wish he was one of the captains. I know he’s not on the next few episodes, but I’d love to see him back on a semi regular basis. He also seems like a Bob Mortimer type that has lived the kind of life that you have no idea what is true or not with him. 

It’s hard to beat UK’s Rob Brydon as host, but Aasif Mandvi is doing fine, especially for only a couple of episodes. It feels like he can grow into this role easily. 

Since my last post talking about the Australian version I have continued to watch and my enjoyment has grown. I still don’t like one of the captains, but I am starting to love Frank Woodley as the other captain. He “gets it” as well. That version is still too long by 10 minutes. I will concede, my knowledge of Australian references made is significantly less than references made on the UK show. So maybe that adds to the feeling of being too long. There’s more being talked about that I just don’t understand than the other versions. 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/2078525881.492892.1650301901339%40mail.yahoo.com.