TBS' Frank TV is back after a short hiatus due to the 2007 Writers' Strike. And while Frank Caliendo, dubbed "the man of a thousand voices," is quickly moving towards becoming one of America's favorite comedians, Frank TV is lukewarm and relatively mediocre.
One of TBS' most popular shows, Frank TV warrants a few chuckles but quickly grows stale, the novelty act of Caliendo's impersonations falling short.
The comedian's imitations of actors and various cultural icons are the heart of the show. Caliendo brilliantly blends a parody of personalities into his impersonations; his best work ranges from the disturbed, football-obsessed glutton John Madden to the ill-tempered James Gandolfini who portrays his alter ego, mafia gangster Tony Soprano.
Though most of his impersonations are done very well, they grow very tiresome as the show progresses. After all, most of these gags are far from new and have been seen many times over on other sketch shows like Mad TV, where Caliendo once starred, and Saturday Night Live.
The inept George W. Bush, the evil and malicious Dick Cheney, the odd-talking William Shatner and the greedy Donald Trump are just some of the examples of repetitious jokes that have been seen many times before and have left audiences desirous of new material, which Frank TV fails to deliver.
After the novelty value of the various sketches dies down, the problems of the show are evident. It's surprising to find that the actual sketches and jokes are the weakest parts of the show, saturating his inspired characters. With very few sketches actually raising a slight chuckle, the others leave the viewer gritting their teeth or yawning in boredom.
The best sketch of the series is seen in the episode entitled "The 3 Brokaws," in which Tom Brokaw becomes disgusted with the media and decides to clone himself in order to salvage the broadcasts. What follows is an Adam West-Batman inspired fight sequence complete with psychedelic colors and the familiar "BOW," "BLAM," and "POW" comic text.
After that flash of greatness, the show withers away with more jokes about President Bush choking on various objects and a gag about Cheney shooting someone in the face.
Besides that, the rest of the episodes and sketches are forgettable and uninspired. In light of Oliver Stone's biopic about Bush, Caliendo delivered a sketch called "Clinton," Stone's movie about the scandal and the cover up behind it.
This sketch is the show in a nutshell: Caliendo tries to add a spin by portraying Gore as the one that had an affair, but the jokes are stale and unfunny, even though the impersonations are spot on.
Between each section, Frank Caliendo introduces the sketch and talks with the audience. When he isn't doing an impersonation, the comedian continues to be uninspired and boring.
Frank TV is a forgettable show. The best parts are derived from Caliendo's impersonations, and even those soon become tiresome.
Despite it being a brand-new season, it's still the same jokes everyone has been given for the past ten years.
