Signs that there's a recession on (1)

The return of improvisational shows to the airwaves; by which I mean Showstopper, which is doing unpredictable jazz hands things on Radio 4 right now, and also Fast and Loose on BBC 2. Presumably because they're cheap, presumably because the writer's invoice is one less to pay. Further evidence? Whose Line Is It Anyway? was popular in the early 1990s, or as we also know it, the 'that wasn't very bad was it?' recession.