CAREY ON
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
(8:30 pm/ET, ABC)

      Okay, Drew Carey is officially the man.
      His sitcom is the best on ABC's slate (granted, this is a network that thinks Geena Davis is funny), he was a hoot on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire's first celebrity tournament, and since 1998 he's hosted this improv romp. But does anyone take notice? No, we're all too busy hailing Reege and Survivor producer Mark Burnett for putting a new spin on unscripted TV. In reality, Carey has ably served up boatloads of unrehearsed fun that rivals the appeal of his competitors, Friends and Survivor, on the toughest night of the week.
      But his time may soon come.
      If this looming writers' strike is the entertainment apocalypse some magazines are making it, we may face some pretty bleak offerings come summer. Sure, there'll be a new Real World, but also a new Big Brother. And the networks may "repackage" old episodes like Fox's Ally, that half-hour Ally McBeal amalgam from last season. We could soon see The Left Wing, a melange of flubbed lines from The West Wing, or Loving Raymond, a clip show of fawning acceptance speeches from Ray Romano's award-winning co-stars. Or we could see new episodes of the sorely underwatched Whose Line. Free of its "must see" competition, this gem may finally earn the ratings it deserves. Much like many reality shows, this one takes its lead from a foreign import, this time a Brit hit (and Comedy Central staple) of the same name that had comics acting out insane scenarios and improv bits. A bit more raucous than its fish-and-chips counterpart, this one is like a beer-fueled party game in which Carey tosses out ideas for his players to riff on, while he sits on the side and laughs his crew cut off. No wonder he recently told me that Whose Line was a great gig — it's must be as fun to make as it is to watch.
      And since Whose Line doesn't need writers — the ideas come from Carey himself or the studio audience — this big, bad strike won't keep the skilled troupe (including putty-faced Colin Mochrie, Wayne Brady and Drew Carey Show costar Ryan Stiles) from whooping it up while other shows sit silent. And what would you rather have, the off-the-cuff comedy of Brady's song spoofs and Stiles's nutty newscasts, or previously unaired (and still unfunny) episodes of whatever Steven Weber's show is being called these days?
      That choice is made all the easier after watching tonight's original episode, following a repeat that's also worth a second look. There's a great "Superheroes" round with guest Brad Sherwood joining the guys as crime fighters (my favorite: Bitter Drunk Kid) improvising about a fatal milk shortage, and an inspired bit about scary in-laws that tips a hat to a Gore-y moment in Vice Presidential make-out history.
      But the best moments come from the fun the players poke at each other. Stiles's gags in "Graffiti in the Whose Line Bathroom" and "Whose Liner's Birthday Wishes" are naughty swipes at himself, while Carey's innuendo-laced comebacks keep the inside jokes from going too far over our heads.
      I would like to describe more, but we're a family site here, folks. You'll just have to tune in. And that shouldn't be too tough to do tonight. There's no Survivor, and Friends is a repeat. So why not spend the night watching Drew carry on? I bet you'll love what you've been missing.