20 Questions with Michelle

whosers.com goes into interview mode with those who make & maintain the sites that we love - letting them say their own opinions on a few issues. These opinions may or may not reflect the opinions held by whosers.com. Not that that matters, but you know, we have to say it ;)

This time we talk with Michelle, who runs Michelle's Whose Line Site & the Whose Line Discussion Forum. And on top of that is one of the best sources for taping reports out there, having provided many a thorough transcript over the time she's been around. Quite a busy schedule, isn't it? Thankfully we got a few moments of her time to ask her these questions!

Whose Line

1) What is the first sighting/reaction to whose line you had that you can recall? Were you hooked right away?

My brother said, "Hey you have to check this show out." I turned on the TV just in time to see Ryan's foal being born party quirk. I never laughed so hard in my life. I was a Friends fan at the time, so when Whose Line moved to opposite Friends, I used to watch Friends and tape Whose Line. Slowly I went from not watching Friends and only watching Whose Line. I also discovered the English version of the show after I saw the American version. I didn't care for it at first, but it grew on me, and I love it now.

2) Who is the improvisor who had the first/initial largest impact on you? Who is the improvisor who has impressed you the most over the long run?

Ryan had the largest impact on me, and he still amazes me. I've been lucky enough to see him perform live, both short form and long form, and he rarely fails to lend direction and strength to a scene. It's hard to choose who has impressed me the most over the long run. I think Colin has gotten stronger and stronger over the years, and I love how he always manages to say something so out of left field that it cracks everyone up, especially the other people he performs with. Brad is another one that the more I see, the more impressed I am with him. You HAVE to see Brad live to truly appreciate him.

3) If you had to choose your ideal cast of whose line (4 improvisors, one host, & either the american or british musician team), who would you choose?

I'd go with Drew as the host, Ryan, Colin, Chip, Brad and Laura Hall on keyboard.

4) Name one moment on the show that still never fails to crack you up when you think about it. If you remember, tell us what season/who was involved/what version etc.

I can't choose just one. Ryan's foal being born never fails to make me laugh. One of my all time favorite moments during the English version was Styles with Josie visiting Ryan in the hospital. Colin's "Get my brown pants!" during scenes from a hat.

Online

1) Can you remember what made you go online to search out whose line related information?

When I found out Whose Line was taped in Los Angeles, I went online to find out information about getting tickets for a taping.

2) Can you remember what was the first site you encountered, & what you thought when you found it?

That was the ABC site. I remember posting on the board there asking about Whose Line tapings, and people directed me to Audiences Unlimited.

3) Name one site/community/messageboard that you once were quite fond of but now is no longer active/has disappeared. Name one site/community/messageboard that you visit regularly (other than your own sites/communities) and why you do so.

I used to post on the ABC Whose Line board regularly, but it's no longer there. I met some wonderful people there many of which I still talk to. I don't visit the other Whose Line boards as much as I used to. I think chipesten.com is the Whose Line site I visit most often, because it's a well put together, well maintained site, and there's always something new there.

4) What do you think is the future of whose line online? Of your own site?

I think the online Whose Line community will continue to grow and change with the show. It may gets smaller once the show goes off the air, but I think there will always be fans out there that want to talk about the show, especially with reruns on ABC Family and Comedy Central. I'm not sure what the future holds for my site. I took a bunch of sections down last year, and have been thinking about what I want to do with it lately. I would like to get some of the live show reports back up, but it's just a matter of finding the time to do it.

Community

1) What's one of the strangest experiences you've ever had related to whose line communities/whosers (no names if they are involved please - you can use vague generalizations if you're worried as well i.e. just the type of experience)

I've been witness to some very scary fan behavior on more than one occasion. I won't go into detail, and most of the time people are harmless enough, but I will say that some people don't know when they've stepped over the line when it comes to respecting the Whose Line guys' space.

2) Which is more important to you in community - the fanship or the friendship? At the present time how much of your interaction in communities is to talk about the show, and how much is to chat with those who have become friends?

The friendship is by far the most important. I met my closest friend through Whose Line and most of my friends are fellow whosers. I don't talk about the show much anymore. When I first found the show, I could talk about it for hours. Now talking about the show just doesn't interest me as much.

3) What do you think is the best thing you'll take away from the whose line community when all is said and done?

The friends I've met. I've also gained an appreciation of improv in general. I never knew anything about improv before Whose Line. Now I regularly attend live improv shows.

4) What do you think of when you hear the term 'whoser'. Who do you think it encompasses? Do you consider yourself to be one?

When I think of the term "whoser" I think of Whose Line fans. Not necessarily those that casually watch the show, but those fans that actively seek out the show and the online communities. Yes, I do consider myself a whoser.

Impact (getting personal)

1) You tend to have a lot of taping reports available on your site. What do you find is the most difficult part of trying to make an accurate report of a taping?

The most difficult part is remembering all the games that were played and not getting games mixed up, especially when I've attended more than one taping in a weekend. I have a system down now that I use when writing taping reports. First, when I get home from the taping, I write a list of every game I can remember that was played. I separate them into regular games and Drew games. Then I think about each game and try and remember who played in it. Then I think about what quirk or suggestion was used in that game. Once I have all that done, I usually wait until the next day to write down details of the games. I find that as long as I have an outline for each game, I can write about them a day or two later and not have any problem remembering details.

2) The whole issue of people knowing a website, etc., online & considering it a sign of knowing you in person/approaching you about it is something many webmasters have to face. Do you think it gets a
little too over the top, and do you have anything to say to those who may want to approach someone because of similar reasons - suggestions on what is considered appropriate, etc.?

It was a little unnerving to have people I don't know come up and introduce themselves to me at first, but for the most part, I've had really good experiences with meeting people.

3) Being able to go to the actual tapings and then see the shows on air provides two different perspectives. How many changes overall do you find happening between the tapings and the broadcast? Can you tell us about one thing you saw that never made the broadcast but you thought was well worth the long taping process (& the pickups *G*)?

Ugh, I don't know if anything makes it worth sitting through the pickups:) I have seen many instances where editing plays a big part in how a game looks on TV. Most obvious are singing games like Hoe Down and Irish Drinking Song. The thing with Improv, is that often failure leads to success. Sometimes the funniest moments are when things don't work out quite like they're supposed to, and with the editing and tightly structured games on Whose Line, we don't get to see the failures very often. I think most of the stuff that I see that makes the taping worth it but doesn't make it to air is the banter back and forth between the guys between games. In more recent episodes, I've seen more of that left in though.

4) What is your largest pet peeve of types of things that are either posted on your message boards or emailed to you (as the administrator of the messageboard/site) ?

I have no complaints about my message board. Everyone there is pleasant and they respect each other's views even when there's a disagreement. My largest pet peeve are email that I get from people wanting to get in contact with the Whose Line guys. In particular, I get email from people wanting to get in contact with Drew, and I don't really know Drew. We've met a few times, but we're not friends.

Beyond Whose Line

1) Do you participate in or go watch live improv at all? What do you think of it compared to whose line? Do you think it ought to be compared to whose line really (or are they totally different things)?

I see live improv at least once a week and sometimes more often. Living so close to LA, I'm fortunate in that I have many choices when it comes to live improv, so I've seen many different improv troops and styles of improv. I think live improv is very different from Whose Line. Whose Line is improv in the sense that it's made up on the spot, but at the same time, the games are very controlled and have gotten more so over the years. Just look at the paragraph long quirks the guys get for some of the games.

2) Have you found that interest in an improvisor has led you to a new area of interest (new show, new type of comedy, etc) via something else they have been involved in outside of whose line?

When I first started watching Whose Line, interest in Ryan got me watching the Drew Carey Show. It's a show that I never would have given a chance had I not seen Ryan on Whose Line first. I'm not a big stand up fan, but I have been exposed to a lot of stand up comedy in the clubs that I go to for improv.

3) Do you find that whose line has similarities to other non-television things you have an interest in? If so, what connections do you see? If not, why not?

The only similarity would be the live improv that I go see. Other than that, my interests outside of Whose Line don't really have anything to do with it.

4) What other shows that the performers are in (other than whose line episodes or tapings) have you seen? What other ones would you want to see?

I've seen the Drew Carey Show, On the Spot, The Downer Channel, Rendez View...I guess I've seen most of the shows the performers have done outside of Whose Line. There aren't any other shows that I want to see.

Esoterica

1) Name the strangest (i.e. due to it being something you normally wouldn't listen to, or due to the content) song you've had stuck in your head recently.

Puff the Magic Dragon (thanks Laura!).

2) Recommend one other tv show that is not at all related to whose line, and tell us why you'd recommend it to whosers.

I don't watch much TV other than Whose Line and the Drew Carey Show. I have caught a few episodes of 8 Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. Not a great show, but cute. I don't know that I can really recommend it though, because I've only seen in a few times.

3) Tell us about either the city or region or country (your choice) you live in and why you would recommend people consider that as a place to visit someday.

I live in Southern California, about an hour south of Los Angeles. Southern California has so much to offer. We have theme parks like Disneyland, California Adventures and more. In the Los Angeles area, there's things like touring the studios, the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Grumman's Chinese Theater. We have lots of beaches, and San Diego is just over an hour south of me.

4) What were you doing just before you answered these questions? What are you going to do now that you've finally finished them?

I was shopping with a friend. Now that I'm done, I'm going to work on the report from the Improv that I was working on earlier.

Posted 22/05/2003

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So that's the word from Michelle. You want to comment on her amazing reporting techniques? You want to agree with something she said? You want to disagree with something she said? Write a letter to the editor & respond to this interview!

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