Nike Free The Wombles, Whose Line Is It Anyway and

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Hosted by the balding but brilliant Clive Anderson, Whose Line Is It Anyway? was a mix of crazy and random games and scenes that were built on the strength of improv, something that has been lost in the modern age of panel shows. Originally a radio series, it went on to highlight the talents of John Sessions, Stephen Fry, Ryan Stiles Nike Free, Colin Mochrie jordan 7, Tony Slattery Nike Free 5.0, Paul Merton and Josie Lawrence, among others.
Somehow it’s still going on ITV1, in a slightly altered format, despite being incredibly boring and full of Tarrant’s irritating catchphrases. If anything it deserves a place on this list thing for being the inspiration for book that paved the way to Danny Boyle’s excellent film Slumdog Millionaire.
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Who Wants to be a Millionaire? (ITV1: 1998-)
It’s your Ws this time with The Wombles making Wimbledon Common just slightly less polluted, Chris Tarrant annoying everyone on Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Whose Line Is It Anyway? from the days when improv meant something, Wallace and Gromit demonstrating the artistic value of clay and an era when ITV spent time and money on something as great as The World at War.
It comes to this, the penultimate edition of the A-Z of British TV which will be a very tiny disappointment to the five readers who have managed to make it this far.
Wallace and Gromit (BBC Two, BBC One: 1989-)
It’s astounding that Who Wants to be a Millionaire? has managed to become the big global phenomenon it is because once the flash gimmicks have been removed it’s just a dull quiz show fronted by former children’s TV presenter and professional cutlery lobber Chris Tarrant, suffers from over-use of dramatic pauses and offers a huge prize for quessing one-out-of-four.
A guaranteed Christmas ratings winner, Wallace and Gromit became immensely popular after a few 30 minute shorts directed by acclaimed stop-motion animator Nick Park. Wallace (Peter Sallis) is an eccentric inventor who although creates extravagant machines has a weakness to over-optimism and cheese while Gromit, Wallace’s silent but intelligent dog, embodies the spirit of all the great silent comedy actors where a subtle raised eyebrow says more than reams dialogue.
An American version of Whose Line? continued until 2007 and was largely not as good due to unfunny funnyman Drew Carey playing presneter. The creators of Whose Line? went on to make Mock The Week that serves only to highlight how pre-planned and routine “improvisational comedy” can be.
The Wombles, perhaps the most famous eco-warriors in the world, were created in 1968 by author Elisabeth Beresford before Great Uncle Bulgaria and co. moved to television five years later. For a TV show it had everything: a positive message of recycling, cute creature characters that children enjoy, brilliant stop-motion animation and Bernard Cribbins providing all the voices. What more could you want?
The Wombles (BBC One: 1973-1975, ITV: 1996-1997)
Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Channel 4: 1988-1998)
Not only were they TV stars but The Wombles also invaded the music charts with a collection of albums and singles written by Mike Batt, thus boosting their popularity more. Maybe children were easier to please back then. The Wombles was revived in 1996 with a new cast of voices and characters, before disappearing again after a couple of series.