Television revivals tend to go one of two ways. Either they honor the legacy of the original and add to it, as is the case with “Doctor Who,” or they end up being campy and crash and burn, like the attempted revival of “Charlie’s Angels.” Thankfully, “Whose Line is it Anyway?” airing now on The CW, is the case of the former.

“Whose Line” began as a radio show in the United Kingdom in 1988 before making the jump to television. It aired for 10 years before Drew Carey decided to attempt to make an American version. The improvisation show aired on ABC from 1998 until 2004, when it was canceled due to low ratings.

Due in part to ABC Family running reruns and clips of the show appearing on the Internet, “Whose Line” gained a large following of people who had not seen the show during its original run. In the spring of 2013, The CW announced it had ordered 12 new episodes for production, which would air during the summer.

Overall, the show looks almost exactly like it did during its original air. Performers Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie have aged a little, but they still maintain their perfectly honed, give-and-take style humor, while Wayne Brady still kills on any singing games. Aisha Tyler replaced Carey as host, since the latter is now committed to hosting “The Price is Right” on CBS.

While the jokes still hit, something still feels slightly “off” about the new version. Tyler makes for a good foil for the testosterone on stage, but there’s something to be missed about all the jokes that the original performers shared with Carey.

Games that involved participation with an audience member have now been changed to include a “celebrity guest,” a gimmick that hopefully runs its course with this season. With exception to “Glee”’s Kevin McHale dueting with Brady, and “Hart of Dixie”’s Wilson Bethel being game for anything in their respective episodes, the celebrity guests don’t really add much to the show, besides staring wide-eyed at the performers, silently pleading for help.

The CW renewed “Whose Line” for another season, increasing the order from 12 episodes to 24. Hopefully the extra time will allow Tyler to become just as integrated into the flow of the show as Carey was and allow producers to realize that just because celebrities are performers, doesn’t mean that they will be good improvers.

Another hope would be that the show continue to bring back some of the regular “fourth-chair” performers. Jeff Davis has already made two appearances this season, so it would be fantastic to see other favorites such as Greg Proops or Brad Sherwood in a few episodes. Getting Chip Esten back would also be great, however he’s a little busy on ABC’s “Nashville,” putting his skills from the singing games of “Whose Line” to work as a country singer.

4.5/5