Tony Slattery and Mike McShane had proven to be masters of improvisational comedy on the Channel 4 show Whose Line is it Anyway?, so it was no surprise when producer Dan Patterson and Hat Trick Productions gave them their own series for more of the same.
Each sketch was introduced by a slide containing a particular premise or scenario – ‘The Apprentice Pirate’, ‘Two Peas In A Pod’, ‘Tony and Mike sinking in quicksand’, ‘A pyschopath applying for a job at the Zoo’ etc – which Slattery (charming, exuberant and classically British) and McShane (a larger-than-life, highly animated chap from Kansas) then had to craft a sketch around using minimal, if any, props.
Each performer also took turns to address the camera with quick gags on specific themes (such as rejected advertising campaigns) – a construct also “borrowed” from Whose Line is it Anyway?
The seven episodes aired on Wednesday evenings at 10.30 pm in 1991 and were not repeated.
Tony Slattery died following a heart attack in January 2025 at the age of 65.
Tony Slattery
Mike McShane
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Each sketch was introduced by a slide containing a particular premise or scenario – ‘The Apprentice Pirate’, ‘Two Peas In A Pod’, ‘Tony and Mike sinking in quicksand’, ‘A pyschopath applying for a job at the Zoo’ etc – which Slattery (charming, exuberant and classically British) 
and McShane (a larger-than-life, highly animated chap from Kansas) then had to craft a sketch around using minimal, if any, props.
