Tommy Nelson
Frank Caliendo of Madtv finally gets recognized by getting his own TV show. But what is he being recognized for? His comedy bits aren't funny, and neither are his sketches. The only reason I'm giving this a 4 is because some of his impressions are dead on. His George W. Bush, Michael Richards, John Madden (that's been done so much it's beaten into the ground), Robert Deniro, Al Pacino and many others all sound just like the people....but so what? Because a guy can do voices does that make him funny? No. Frank Caliendo is obviously very good at what he does, but he needs some good writers and material to back up his great voices.My rating: * 1/2 out of ****. TV14. 30 mins.
lemonsrsour2003
During the baseball playoffs, I saw the "Frank TV" commercials and I couldn't wait for the show. I even entered a note in my PDA to remind me that the show would start 20 November. I couldn't wait. I can't recall EVER making a note to myself for a show that would start in over a month. I was ready for the show the day it was to be on. We sat down, full of anticipation...and couldn't believe how unfunny the show was. It reminded me of a bad High School talent show. I could try to break down his show, analyze it's content and try to be constructive, but geeeeez...it was bad. I've decided to give it one more shot tonight, and I don't know why. I rated it with a "4" instead of the "2" I think it really deserves simply because...I don't know. I guess there's a part of me that hopes the next show is funny. Maybe I'm remembering how funny the commercials were. Maybe I just have a big heart. That's it...big heart.
dublinmovieman
Frank Caliendo's stand up comedy act has some funny moments, but he just can't transition to a half-hour sketch show. He's trying to appeal to a very broad audience which means all the jokes have been done many times before and have become tired and stale. It's about as funny as Jay Leno's monologue.He's a very talented mimic and all of the impersonations are spot on, but he needs to hire some new writers. The gags come off like they were written for a Disney Channel comedy show, like Sister Sister or Saved By The Bell. No doubt, the next episode will feature Screech as a guest star.Frank needs to get off TV and back into stand-up. 10-year old jokes just don't cut it anymore.
Travis M. Nelson
I've heard Frank Caliendo's impressions on ESPN radio and the man is very funny. Not a big MADtv fan, but I can imagine that he was a riot there too. But Frank TV? It isn't working there. I saw the first episode last night, and I'll be very surprised to see them air a 2nd. His impersonation skills and humor work well when playing off another character or two, or in a stand-up show, when playing off an audience's background knowledge of the characters he does makes it funny, but when playing off himself playing multiple roles, it's just not that funny. Some of the ideas are amusing, but the sketches either don't work or they drag on too long.Case in point: Dick Cheney stepping in to give the "father/daughter talk" to Jenna Bush on her wedding night. The idea is moderately amusing, but a good impression of Cheney isn't particularly funny, and the skit just took too long.Maybe the writers have something else up their sleeves for next week, but if not, I don't see how they can make it work. A funny and/or attractive co-host, instead of some dead fish from the audience, might help, too but more of what we saw in the premiere episode will not cut it. The show will be canceled before we see 5 episodes.