20 Questions with Dean

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 Dean, with his whose line site known for it's detailed information & stats on episodes. The site is popular enough to have won several awards & to have made fans out of people from many of the online communities. Though usually he's on this side of the pen & paper (or keyboard), we've persuaded him to step to the other side and let us interview him ...

Whose Line

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

Bemusement at first I think is the best way to put it... it was the first John Sessions season and so one immediately noticed the very "theatrical" side the show had in its first incarnation... then amazement at the ability of the performers. Yes I was hooked right away.

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?

I would have to say Josie Lawrence as the first person. Long-term is harder... Mike McShane is probably the most impressive when you consider his range (as opposed to a personal favourite).

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?

My answer to this changes so often, but currently I would probably say a panel of Mike McShane, Sandi Toksvig, Paul Merton and Tony Slattery... but Greg Proops, Wayne Brady, Colin Mochrie and Josie Lawrence would be very close.

Clive as host.

Musicians: none of the current ones seem to have as much empathy with the performers as Richard Vranch has.

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.

Tony in love with the bartender, especially the end when Mike says "you see through me, so do me, right here: and jumps on the bar... season 93.

Online

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

I had read a mag article about someone exploring the Net and they specifically mentioned searching for WL sites.

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

It was one of the pre-Longmuir sites, essentially a list of shows up to about 93 with performers and first scenes. I also found mark's site that first day though as I recall. Reaction? Well the first site was very dully presented but still informative.

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 guess this will be a statement of the obvious but I still miss the original atmosphere and community feel of "Alison's board" when we were all young and virginal... I don't really visit any site regularly now... most regularly would be the Old Guard Whosers board I suppose, but even there visits are infrequent.

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

The future of WL online... well, I guess as the show peters out, online interest will evaporate. I imagine most sites will remain online but perhaps with less interaction.

My own site: I am still hoping to find time to do all the refreshing and I will eventually find that time. But I don't expect there will be much expansion of the site. I have plenty of ideas for other things that could be done, but I just don't have the enthusiasm I once had.

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 suppose the strangest thing would be a stranger offering to pay to fly me across the world to the first WL convention.

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?

I haven't made many real "friends" among the WL community... more a lot of acquaintances. But those I have made we are now more focused on non-WL matters. I get an awful lot of email about the show and I am fairly punctilious in responding... in general this is people seeking information about/copies of the show. This would be my main interaction on the show.

So the friends thing would be greater.

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

I guess an understanding of how the Net works.

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?

Well, I've never liked the term, I feel that it implies an "exclusive" group and a higher form of fandom than a term like "whose line fan"... it leads to arguments like whether someone is a true whoser. Am I a whoser? I am probably a bit detached from the whoser community so maybe not, though if your definition is simply "a committed fan of the show" or something like that, it would be hard to argue I wasn't.

Impact (getting personal)

1) Given the fact that you are hampered by the differences in timezones, airing dates etc. in your quest for episode information, do you find that this severely limits your ability on your website at times? How helpful have other whosers been in making sure your site is up to date?

I suppose it is a limiting factor, I would certainly prefer to be watching the show "live" or recording it and keeping the site up to date in that way. But in the end the site is up to date so I couldn't say it is a severe limitation.

Plenty of people have been very helpful and enthusiastic about the site... actually if it wasn't for how much others seem to care, I would certainly have closed it down by now.

2) Have you ever considered quitting/cancelling your site and/or messageboard? Tell us why if you feel comfortable doing so. What changed your mind?

Yes... why? It's a lot of work, and given that at the moment it is mostly copying the work of others, it is also very dull work. What changed my mind? Well as mentioned above, there are a lot of people who seem to care about it and I don't want to feel I have let them down. Also there is a lot of my time and effort invested in it now, about five years worth, and there are bits I am very proud of.

3) You have more of a background in journalistic endeavours. Do you find that knowledge and background has made an impact on how your site has developed over the years?

I think it is clearly a writer's site. I have almost no interest in web design or "copying" pictures that can be found elsewhere and I think that is very very clear from the site! It is very plain! It's format is very much a journalist's format I think too. I think this is what makes the site different to all the others really. It is first and foremost a site intended for people who want a long read. I get a lot of people saying "it's ugly" and "why don't you have pics up"... but I really have little interest in that.

4) What is the one thing that you'd love to have for your site (content, etc) that you haven't been able to get your hands on yet or haven't been able to tackle as an addition yet?

First airing dates for all shows.

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 do often watch. It's comparable but I think that Whose Line has moved a long way from improv in the form you can see it performed in most places... it's more a game show than a performance these days. In general the WL performers these days perform as solo acts rather than interact, and interaction is the heart of good improv.

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?

I take an interest in most of the WL performers and watch their efforts in other areas. New types of comedy...? I think you mean more "different"... yes I like seeing people like Greg and Paul say do
stand-up... I hope that is what is meant.

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?

I have written about similarities between WL and Just A Minute, my main other online interest.
(editors note: you can read a commentary by Dean on Just a Minute as a whoser interest here!)

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?

It would be hard to write a list of what other things I have seen people in, there are so many. Some favourites though (JAM apart):
Sticky Moments with Julian Clary
Have I Got News For you... (Paul Merton a regular and most of the other British folk have been guests)
Clive Anderson's various chat shows
The Outside Edge (Josie L as a regular)

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.

Funnily enough the one in the past couple of days has been a WL song... Mike and Josie on cat litter trays... the "shit and cat litter" line in particular but before anyone reading this thinks I am totally WL obsessed, it's
unusual for it to be a WL song. There is a bit of music ABC (the Australian One) plays before its newscasts which is the music just before that one.

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.

The Kumars at Number 42... the best sitcom on families and the love-hate relationship that is typical of them that I have seen, and some screamingly funny guest spots with celebrities

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.

New Zealand is great for the outdoorsy tourist, a place of great beauty.

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 had a bath just before. I am now going to work on the website in between making dinner and watching "Hogan's Heroes" on TV.

Posted 24/04/2003

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And that's just a glimpse into the mind of Dean! What do you think about him? You want to rave about his talents, or the work he's put into that site of his? You want to agree with something he said? You want to disagree with something he said? Write a letter to the editor & respond to this interview!

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