"VS." (1999) TV series

User Rating:

(awaiting 5 votes)

Writers:

Doug Armstrong (writer)
Jonathan Bourne (writer)

Seasons:

1 | unknown

Genre:

Comedy | Game-Show

Plot Keywords:

Versus In Title | Title Ends With Period | Period In Title

Cast

Greg Proops

...

Himself / ... (4 episodes, 1999-2000)

Also Known As:

"Comedy Central's Vs." (USA) (working title)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Company:

Comedy Partners

Neat idea,just couldn't last

Comedy Central's attempt to capitalize on the quiz show sensation they'd cultivated in "Win Ben Stein's Money"(a show I miss quite a bit,actually)was a great concept: gather two teams of three of differing cultures/styles/beliefs/persona/etc.,asking questions of both "general" and "specific" topic material(as in specific to each team,i.e. stories about celeb sightings to a team of Papparazzi,motorcycles to bikers to name but a very few). The winning team kept their point total earnings as money(usually totaling between $2,750 and $3,200)and played for a bonus $1,000 and a prize,usually something like a motor-scooter,an outdoor grill or some living room furniture.

Host Greg Proops,probably the sharpest and most languid of the regulars on either the British or American "Whose Line is it Anyway?" mastered the ceremonies with the same ease and Olympian wit that he employed on the various comedy gigs he's done before and since. As fun as this show was,the whole thing of finding diverse teams of people(Elvis Impersonators vs. Drag Queens,Shop Teachers vs. Home-Ec teachers,Mexicans vs. Texans,Cowboys vs. Indians from India,Bikers vs. Prison Guards,my favorite)to meet over a highly silly,single-entendre quiz program was probably going to run out of steam sooner or later,and sure enough,Comedy Central didn't see the kind of ratings it wanted out of it and had it quietly pushed aside by the end of the calendar year 1999. Maybe somebody will find a way to revive this concept and attempt to make this one work again. Until then,if you can find someone who has copies of the show(because I doubt there are many out there),check'em out,because if GSN doesn't(or hasn't)decided to rerun the three and a half months of episodes,then there's little or no chance of watching this funny blend of gimmick and quiz show.