Caliendo's material isn't as good as his impressions, but at least he doesn't steal it.

The sooner Frank TV fails and dies a horrible miserable death, the better humanity will be.

“I say to those people, ‘I’m sorry, but watch the show and maybe TBS wouldn’t have to promote it as much,’ ” said the impressionist

You're not sorry, scumbag. Enjoy roasting in the fiery pits of hell's dark inferno.

Ugh, I like "Family Guy", but I have a feeling Stewie promoing MLB will be a huge embarrassing failure.

Between this blubbery doofus and those endless Viagra jingles, I think I'd rather spend my postseason innings breaks in a padded cell. Never have there been so many repetitious and obnoxious commericials concentrated in such a relatively small time frame.

If I can remember correctly, a while back, while doing an interview with someone, he was actually apologetic at how often those commercials were being shown.

Am I just imagining this, or is it true?

Caliendo's problem is that he's fat, and as a result, it's hard to make him look like the people he's trying to imitate. Obviously, his John Madden is fine, and he does a pretty good Bush, but he doesn't look anything like Al Pacino or Jack Nicholson or Jerry Seinfeld.

TBS should make him lose 40 pounds.

If I can remember correctly, a while back, while doing an interview with someone, he was actually apologetic at how often those commercials were being shown.

Am I just imagining this, or is it true?

“I think I’m on TBS as much as ‘Law & Order’ is on TNT,” Caliendo told the Track yesterday morning as he chowed on scrambled eggs, bacon, wheat and white toast and Diet Coke at a Back Bay hotel.

He tends to joke about the commercials in an apologetic way. He was that way on a local radio show in Boston. Plus, I love the diet coke with the big breakfast.


Caliendo's problem is that he's fat, and as a result, it's hard to make him look like the people he's trying to imitate. Obviously, his John Madden is fine, and he does a pretty good Bush, but he doesn't look anything like Al Pacino or Jack Nicholson or Jerry Seinfeld.

TBS should make him lose 40 pounds.

Not ever impressions is meant to or should look and sound exactly like the celebrity.

Here is a quotation from part of an interview with Seth Myers:

Some people’s impressions are based on how they look and other people can get the sound down. You know, other people just sort of get the essence of somebody. I think, you know, she is approaching it more from the sort of attitude of Hillary Clinton. You know, someone like Darrell Hammond is obviously sort of a magician with his voice.

I heard him interviewed on the Costas radio show (it's not called Coast to Coast anymore, but whatever it's called) about a month ago. The interview was very good, and he came across as funny and likable. For whatever reason, it doesn't not translate at all to his TV work.

It's not his fault the commercials are on constantly, and I haven't watched his actual show, but I think his impressions are funny. Maybe I'm low-brow.

I haven't watched his actual show, but I think his impressions are funny. Maybe I'm low-brow.

I think his impressions are pretty funny, but the show itself is pretty unfunny. If you've seen the commercials you can skip the show.

Frank's spots aren't as invasive as

"His father is the district attorney!"

but they're close. Very close.

I think his impressions are pretty funny, but the show itself is pretty unfunny. If you've seen the commercials you can skip the show.

Have you actually seen the show tribefan? I was wondering if anyone here actually had.

He does seem like a pretty pleasant fellow, and a few of his impressions are pretty good.

But without any knowledge of the show, it would seem to me, however, that it would be really difficult to make that particular skill work over the course of a half-hour (hour?).

His Bush and Madden impressions are pretty good, but why would anybody want to build a 30 minute show around that? What TV executive thinks this is a good idea? And what kind of blackmail photos does Caliendo have of that guy to result in such soul-crushing overexposure? I'm putting my money down on alpacas. Dead ones.

Yep, you nailed it. He doesn't have 30 minutes worth of material.

Is it a late nite show? Outside of sports, I don't really watch much TV. I'd rather read or surf the net.

What TV executive thinks this is a good idea?

Never underestimate the stupidity of TV execs.

Fox currently has a show called "Hole in the Wall", in which contestants try to fit through a hole in a moving wall. Their recent attempts to bump ratings involved a match between a group of women from "Flavor of Love" and another group of women from "Rock of Love". Compared to that, Caliendo's show must seem like Citizen Kane.

I swear, we're only a year away from Fox introducing its new prime-time sensation "Ow, my balls!".

What TV executive thinks this is a good idea?

Do you really want to go here, TGF? Two and A Half Men is still on TV. I turned on FOX the other day and there's an actual show called Hole in the Wall in which three losers stand motionless on a platform while a giant Styrofoam wall comes at them and tries to knock them off the platform. The only saving grace is the unbelieveably contortionist human-sized cutout in the wall - the goal if you're one of these losers is to make your best approximation of that pose while the wall comes at you and try to get through it.

That's a real show. And that's all it is - in later rounds, the wall goes a little bit faster.

Wow. Coke is inadequate.

"Ow, my balls!".

that's the name of my kickball team.

Wow, I thought there had to be something wrong with Ryan's Post 17, and then TVe coked him.

(BTW, Frank fans, he’ll be at the Wilbur Theatre on Feb. 14.)

[Vercotti brothers]Be a real shame if something happened at the Wilbur Theatre. 'Cause things break, don't they?[/Vercotti brothers]

Granted, Hole in the Wall is deeply stupid, but at least it gives you the payoff of watching some jackass getting clobbered by a wall and tumbling into the water. A cheap thrill in the tradition of Japanese game shows, which of course are infinitely superior. Also, Hole in the Wall is barely promoted, if at all.

Meanwhile, Frank TV is more heavily promoted than the last 3 Star Wars films combined, and is about a fat guy doing slightly better than average impressions of some of the easiest targets in America.

It's like we're discussing the World Series of Fail TV.

I don't really mind 2.5 Men, but I'm surprised that staid CBS was the network that greenlighted it. But it's an old style sitcom in many ways; you've seen one episode, you've seen them all. Compared to some of the more innovative shows, it's as dated as the silent movie.

Not ever impressions is meant to or should look and sound exactly like the celebrity.

Remember Chevy Chase as President Gerald Ford?

I've had friends swear to me that Caliendo's stand up act is hilarious. But very rarely, "Seinfeld" nowithstanding, does a stand up act translate well to a sitcom or sketch comedy format.

Meanwhile, Frank TV is more heavily promoted than the last 3 Star Wars films combined, and is about a fat guy doing slightly better than average impressions of some of the easiest targets in America.

It's a false comparison. Despite FOX's efforts to throw away as many prime-time slots as possible, original programming on a broadcast network is a big, big deal. Most cable nets didn't do their own original programming until the last few years. The thing about Frank TV is that TBS has a lot at stake in promoting its own offerings, in order to offset the cost of producing their own series.

Also in play is that TBS only has a few programs to hype, while bigger networks have many more. So there may be the same promotional time in a baseball game, but on TBS virtually all of that time will be about Frank, and on FOX, it'll be split five ways to promote all of their useless crap.

But it's an old style sitcom in many ways; you've seen one episode, you've seen them all.

I'm pleased to say that I haven't seen them all.

I don't really mind 2.5 Men, but I'm surprised that staid CBS was the network that greenlighted it. But it's an old style sitcom in many ways; you've seen one episode, you've seen them all. Compared to some of the more innovative shows, it's as dated as the silent movie.

The show compensates for it's complete and total predictability with it's graphic profanity (for network TV) and by sinking the morality of the characters lower and lower. I watched the new one last night (I miss the Yankees) and they started the show with Sheen being drunk in the morning and finished with the kid (Jake?) getting wasted outside a convenience store using the advice Sheen gave him to figure out how to buy beer and the money his dad bought his secrecy with to buy it. Most of the show was entirely predictable, but the open scumminess of the characters is fresh enough for me to enjoy it.

I think it's on just before How I Met Your Mother, which I watch. So I've seen bits and pieces of it.

Speaking of uninspired TV, isn't According to Jim the longest-tenured sitcom on TV or some such thing?

I think it's Yes, Dear which I keep running into reruns of.

I find the woman who plays the wife of the guy who is not the actor who portrayed "The Rick" on ESPN promos years ago unbearably hot. That having been said, I don't think I've ever watched more than a few minutes of it consecutively.

I think his impressions are pretty funny, but the show itself is pretty unfunny.

This is the right answer. Despite the overload on promos last season -- and the majority of Primates being underwhelmed -- I continued to find them pretty amusing. So I actually watched the premiere of the show, and it was terrible. Maybe it could be better if they changed the format -- it was weighed down by pointless, awkward, unfunny banter between skits -- but I haven't bothered watching again.

I'm less amused by the promos this season. He now plays Pacino (I guess it's Pacino) as a cross between an old queen and a lunatic off his meds. Some of the new impressions, like Trump, don't seem that good.

I quite enjoy 2.5 men. It really is a throwback to a classic 70s and 80s sitcom, rearranging the stock foibles of its characters in endless small variations. As an exemplar of that style, it is done very well, and it is so formally old-fashioned that it feels almost new.

Very good Pacino impression.

Caliendo was hilarious the last time I heard him on Roe Conn.

I find the woman who plays the wife of the guy who is not the actor who portrayed "The Rick" on ESPN promos years ago unbearably hot.

Yes, yes she is.

She was also in Mr. Holland's Opus and, which I did not know until a few minutes ago, was the older sister in Uncle Buck.

I find the woman who plays the wife of the guy who is not the actor who portrayed "The Rick" on ESPN promos years ago unbearably hot.

Jean Louisa Kelly. Good lord, was she ever cute. The rest of the show was incredibly mediocre, but I used to watch it regularly just for her.

Not ever impressions is meant to or should look and sound exactly like the celebrity.

???????

I DVRed Frank TV once last year, and despite my hopes of enjoying it, didn't even manage to watch a full episode. It was pretty bad.

I also watch 2.5 men, even though the old guy within me thinks it shouldn't be on broadcast tv due to its material and delivery.

Wow, I thought there had to be something wrong with Ryan's Post 17, and then TVe coked him.

If it's any consolation, I've watched a couple minutes, and I still don't believe it really exists. I honestly don't think that television could get any worse than that, unless a network just starts running snuff films, but I've thought that before, and I've always been proven wrong.

???????

Go look up some youtube footage of Sinatra, as performed by Phil Hartman. In some cases, it's just a matter of hammering on one or two specific quirks of the individual, rather than the overall persona. Think broad strokes, rather than focusing on the minutia.

Another example of the above might be Will Farrel as Robert Goulet.

televised executions, ryan. I'm sure that's the next thing.

Wow. Coke is inadequate.

It really is. Instead, I'll take your car.

Really, I'd actually be ashamed to take anything in return for a reference to "Hole in the Wall". It's such a disaster of a show that it'd be like profiting off of Katrina, or child labor, or some other horrible thing like that.

"Between this blubbery doofus and those endless Viagra jingles, I think I'd rather spend my postseason innings breaks in a padded cell."

And now I'm thinking of Frank Caliendo naked in an inexplicable bathtub out in the pastoral wilderness. Thanks, man.

He really is much, much better on the radio.

One of the guys I work with actually attended college with Frank Caliendo. That's just strange.

televised executions, ryan. I'm sure that's the next thing.

Didn't Fox try to do that years ago? I seem to remember that they'd come to an agreement with a guy on death row who wanted to use his death as a warning, or possibly a paycheck - I don't remember the exact details. Needless to say, it was shot down before it happened.

Sadly enough, doing a quick search for "Televised Executions" turns up a bunch of studies indicating that two-thirds of Americans support televising them. I fear that you'll be shortly proven correct.

"Fox currently has a show called "Hole in the Wall", in which contestants try to fit through a hole in a moving wall."

Wow. I like Junji Ito as much as the next guy, but I never thought they'd make his work into a game show.

(Read panels right to left, or it won't make sense.)

Sadly enough, doing a quick search for "Televised Executions" turns up a bunch of studies indicating that two-thirds of Americans support televising them. I fear that you'll be shortly proven correct.

I know a bunch of people who would watch them. They'd have to have parental warnings on every square inch of available frame, so that people don't tune it in accidentally.

But I could see a deal - put it on Pay-Per-View so that accidentals don't see them. Don't use the felon's real name so that there's no accusation of "celebrity-making", and make sure that all monies are given directly to the families of victims.

Jean Louisa Kelly. Good lord, was she ever cute. The rest of the show was incredibly mediocre, but I used to watch it regularly just for her.

I concur on her hotness. What happened to her?

I don't consider myself much of a prude, but the promos for Two and Half Men that run during football games make me blush. Maybe having a son recently has made me a prude, but I really wish the FCC would make an agreement with networks - okay, after 9 pm you can show whatever you want - gore, nudity, f-bombs galore. But before 7pm your promos ought to be squeaky clean with no sexual innuendo, violence or language.

I know a bunch of people who would watch them. They'd have to have parental warnings on every square inch of available frame, so that people don't tune it in accidentally.

I wouldn't. I already don't agree with the use of the death penalty, for moral reasons (vengeance, as opposed to punishment), as well as ethical reasons (unfair application across different social and racial groups) and general unreliability (a whole lot of people on death row are convicted largely on witness testimony which is later shown to be incorrect). To televise it would strip whatever little value there might still be from the entire process.

Don't use the felon's real name so that there's no accusation of "celebrity-making", and make sure that all monies are given directly to the families of victims.

If there's no use of the persons name, and there's no money going to him or his family, why would the felon agree to such a thing? Unless, of course, the felon doesn't have a choice, and it's just the next step on the way to introducing show trials.

One of the guys I work with actually attended college with Frank Caliendo. That's just strange.

I don't know if it's strange, but I attend school with the son (and daughter!) of one of the producers of Frank TV. They're actually pretty cool.

I really wish the FCC would make an agreement with networks - okay, after 9 pm you can show whatever you want - gore, nudity, f-bombs galore. But before 7pm your promos ought to be squeaky clean with no sexual innuendo, violence or language.

Canada actually has a somewhat similar policy, in that after a certain hour, almost anything goes. As a result, most of the networks/stations attempt to restrict the content of their promos before that time. Overall, it seems to work out fairly well, although I doubt that any of them feel that the promos for 2.5 men are really that racy.

The worst part about 2.5 men is that it's the #1 rated comedy on TV. WHO ARE THESE MORONS??

It's an awful, awful show. Picture the Bill Engvall show. But worse. And with Charlie Sheen. And Jon Cryer. 2.5 Men is shown 24 hours a day in hell.

So execute Charlie Sheen on TV, then?

They'd have to get the rights to "Wild Thing" for the theme music.

So execute Charlie Sheen on TV, then?

I'd watch that.

Not ever impressions is meant to or should look and sound exactly like the celebrity.


???????

The quote given is a defense of Amy Poehler's Hillary Clinton impression. Which is certainly one of the worst regular impressions that SNL has ever had. Because she does not sound like Hillary at all.

Will Ferrell's impressions are sort of a different topic altogether. They try and get him to look as much like the figure as possible, and he apes the voice, but he usually goes nuts with the characterization. For example, his Neil Diamond as an insane racist drug-addled sexually deviant murderer.

The worst part about 2.5 men is that it's the #1 rated comedy on TV. WHO ARE THESE MORONS??

Meanwhile, Arrested Development can't make it thru 3 seasons.

Will Ferrell's Haray Caray has ruined Haray Caray impersonations forever. Everyone just impersonates Ferrell now instead of Haray.

The quote given is a defense of Amy Poehler's Hillary Clinton impression. Which is certainly one of the worst regular impressions that SNL has ever had.

That would have to be in the non-Tim Meadows category.

Meanwhile, Arrested Development can't make it thru 3 seasons.

Be glad it lasted that long. Most shows that I like get canceled before the mid-point of their first season.

Oh well. At least it makes it cheap for me to buy the entire series on DVD.

Be glad it lasted that long. Most shows that I like get canceled before the mid-point of their first season.

Oh well. At least it makes it cheap for me to buy the entire series on DVD.

And at least they're making a movie.

I'm just praying It's Always Sunny stays on the air. By far the funniest show on TV right now.

It's an awful, awful show. Picture the Bill Engvall show. But worse. And with Charlie Sheen. And Jon Cryer. 2.5 Men is shown 24 hours a day in hell.

Hell, it's shown 24 hours a day on Earth.

"Hell, it's shown 24 hours a day on Earth."

Two thirds of the Earth is covered by water - the rest is covered by Charlie Sheen.

I'm just praying It's Always Sunny stays on the air. By far the funniest show on TV right now.

Agreed, until 30 Rock comes back on.

OK, here's the deal. It's postseason baseball time. People who love baseball watch as much as it as they can. They think it will make them happy.

But it doesn't, because:

1) Over two-thirds of the fans (22 of 30) root for teams that didn't make the playoffs at all, so they're already grumbling;
2) The games are played at screwy times of the day to accomodate television;
3) The games themselves take forever because of the endless interruptions;
4) The interruptions are filled with commercials for products no one wants and TV programs no one wants to see;
5) Because TBS is carrying the games, the main program being advertised is "Frank TV", which TBS apparently sunk a lot of cash into;
6) "Frank TV" is obviously not worth watching, and see the same promo for it over and over and over and over and over again is not terribly entertaining, either.
7) "Frank...Caliendo...must...DIE!!!!!" (Multiply this anger by 10,000 if you're from Chicago.)

So, as a result, Mr Caliendo must endure the barbs of baseball fans. On the other hand, he's well-compensated enough for his trouble and doesn't appear to be missing too many meals.

I'm just praying It's Always Sunny stays on the air.

I've been watching a lot of that on Hulu, which by the way is awesome. I finally saw that WKRP Thanksgiving episode that y'all quote all the time.

I finally saw that WKRP Thanksgiving episode that y'all quote all the time.

I hope it lived up to the hype.

I finally saw that WKRP Thanksgiving episode that y'all quote all the time.

That's on there? Holy crap I can't wait to get home.

Will Ferrell's Haray Caray has ruined Haray Caray impersonations forever. Everyone just impersonates Ferrell now instead of Haray.

The same thing happened with Dana Carvey's George Bush (the first one). It started out sort of like Bush, but it got more and more stylized to the point where it was a very funny character but not actually all that much like Bush. Then he went on a bunch of talk shows and explained how to do it (John Wayne with a bit of Mr. Rogers) and now everyone's George Bush impression is an imitation of Dana Carvey doing it.

Just like everyone's Ed Sullivan impersonation is really a third-hand Will Jordan impersonation.

I am a fan of "Sunny in Philadelphia" as well. Their show on the Israeli/Palestinian situation is probably the best modern satire I've seen in awhile, and the image of Dennis literally sitting on the fence during an abortion/anti-abortion rally was brilliant.

The quote given is a defense of Amy Poehler's Hillary Clinton impression. Which is certainly one of the worst regular impressions that SNL has ever had. Because she does not sound like Hillary at all.

On this subject, why did they switch from Will Forte to Jason Sudeikis for the Bush impression? Neither sound much like Bush, but at least Forte portrayed a kind of clueless wacky persona, whereas Sudeikis is really just a straight man for the comedy around him. As Bush, he is quite flat and boring.

Agreed, until 30 Rock comes back on.

For some reason, I read this as "3rd Rock (from the Sun)" and figured it was either a brilliant pastiche or a smackdown-worthy opinion.

The quote given is a defense of Amy Poehler's Hillary Clinton impression. Which is certainly one of the worst regular impressions that SNL has ever had. Because she does not sound like Hillary at all.

I agree, and yet I'll defend Poehler to this extent: Her lines as Clinton were funnier than Fey's as Palin in the first "Pey-Falin" skit SNL did.

"Pey-Falin"

I think they just thought that Tina in that makeup and with those particular glasses was funny enough to carry the sketch. To their credit, they realized that they had to give her lines as well.

Fey's Palin impression is really masterful. It helps that she is a natural doppleganger of course, but the voice is absolutely perfect, the characterization is great. It isn't cartoonish and it doesn't fly off in any strange direction not suggested by Palin herself. Really perfect.

Fey is more smart than funny, she really never did it for me in terms of laughs.

Fey is more smart than funny, she really never did it for me in terms of laughs.

I was kind of in the same boat until I watched 30 Rock. It's easily the best comedy since Arrested Development.

I'd never heard Ferrell's take on Caray until just a minute ago. Now the spate of awful, two-octaves-too-high Caray impressions from the past couple of years (Ryan Dempster being the worst offender) finally make sense. I had no idea why everyone seemed to believe that Caray was a castrato (Augie Busch's wishes aside).

Dane Cook is a douche bag.

That is all.