Jul 06
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Thank God You're Here

Thank God You're Here is about well known performers doing a scene which they have no idea what's going on. It may be a Roman dungeon, a boardroom or a tonight show. The only thing you can bank on is that everyone else in the scene knows who they are.

 

Thank God You're Here (2006)

Each contestant is dressed in appropriate costume, has some brief banter with the host, and is then invited to "walk through the blue door" onto a hidden set. They are greeted by the ensemble cast, in character, with the line "Thank God you're here!", and must then attempt to improvise their role in the scene. Typically they will be asked in-character questions by the ensemble cast and challenged to provide information about the scene, including the names of characters or objects. The format is a variation on the established improvisational game "Occupation Endowments". In the traditional improv version, one performer enters a scenario she or he knows nothing about and is endowed with an occupation by the other improvisers. The first performer attempts to guess their occupation while playing the scene.

At least twice during each episode (to cover set-up and costuming for the live audience), footage is shown of each of the four participants performing a challenge, often on location, which was filmed earlier in the week. These include a commentary booth where the contestants have to comment on an unfamiliar subject, an office where they are being interviewed or interrogated (by police, customs officials, etc), showing customers things for sale (cars, boats, pianos, houses, etc), or advertisements (e.g. slimming products, housing developments, etc). The other characters in these scenes are generally played by members of the ensemble cast. The third series also introduced an additional segment in which Gleisner highlights a "real life" Thank God You're Here-style situation, such as the infamous Guy Goma BBC interview and frequently, that of politicians forced to improvise answers under pressure.

Finally, when all the contestants have played in a scene by themselves, all four enter a final scene together for the "all-in group challenge". At the end of the show, the judge declares a winner; this choice is entirely at the judge's discretion, and is largely arbitrary. Honourable and dishonourable mentions are also given, usually to contestants who do not win so that the judge can comment on their performances. The winner receives a trophy in the shape of the programme's blue door logo.

There are variations on the standard setup: occasionally the greeting will be slightly changed to better suit the setting (i.e. "Thank the gods you're here!" for a scene featuring Vikings or "Thank God you're alive" in a scene featuring a car accident), and often an alternative entrance will be built into the set. These are often used for comic effect, as in one scenario where the contestant climbed through the back of the set and emerged from the door of a wrecked car embedded in the wall of a second-storey flat.


Alternative Title : [Add An Alternative Title]
Status : Running Edit Status
Running Time : 1 hour
Premiered : April 05, 2006
Number of Episodes : 20
Language : English
TV Station : Network Ten
Country : Australia
Picture Format : SECAM (576i)
Audio Format : Stereophonic Sound
Genre : Comedy, Game Show