- Post a comment
- Skip to the latest comment
- Back to the blog
Few things in life are more uncomfortable than watching a comedian bomb in front of a live crowd. When the crash happens in front of journalists, it's downright ugly.
TBS ended their stint on the TV Critics Tour Friday with a pitch for FrankTV, a sketch-comedy series showcasing former Madtv cast member Frank Caliendo. The stocky comic's niche is performing supposedly spot-on impersonations of famous people – or at least celebrities he vaguely resembles. In the clip shown, Caliendo plays former U.S. president Bill Clinton, NFL commentator John Madden and James Gandolfini of The Sopranos.
The problem: Caliendo isn't very funny without the makeup and face prosthetics. He bounded out and tried far too hard to ingratiate himself with the critics with improvised impressions of Robin Williams and Charles Barkley. Dead silence. Caliendo struggled on and eventually was nearly pleading with critics. “The laughs are supposed to go in here,” he said weakly, and “I'm killing with you guys ... you just don't realize it.” You could almost hear the crickets in the room.
By the time Caliendo got to his interpretation of George W. Bush singing with the kiddie-group The Wiggles, a TBS spokesperson mercifully pulled the plug on his act. If it's any consolation, FrankTV will run after midnight when it debuts in October.
-
robert quinn from Japan writes: If only you knew how popular your blog is in China.
- Posted 13/07/08 at 11:53 AM EDT | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment
Join the Conversation, Leave a Comment
This conversation is semi-moderated What is moderation? | How do I report a comment?
You must be logged-in to submit a comment — login now!
Not registered with globeandmail.com? Register now. It is quick and free.
Alert us about this comment
Please let us know if this reader’s comment breaks the editor's rules and is obscene, abusive, threatening, unlawful, harassing, defamatory, profane or racially offensive by selecting the appropriate option to describe the problem.
Do not use this to complain about comments that don’t break the rules, for example those comments that you disagree with or contain spelling errors or multiple postings.
