TVSquad

The first season of Frank Caliendo' s Frank TV debuted with some of the strongest numbers TBS had seen with over three million viewers for its first episode. That was bolstered by a constant barrage of spots during the MLB playoffs, and although that first run was cut to five episodes by the writers' strike, the show's future seemed bright.

Now season two is in the books, and that will do it for Frank TV. Broadcasting & Cable reported yesterday that Caliendo's series has been canceled.

Caliendo entered the second season in an optimistic mood. He had made some changes with the bigger budget TBS gave him, adding people to the cast to address the major criticism from Season One that Caliendo was playing every part. When doing impressions is your main strength, you're probably going to need an ensemble cast. Caliendo is one of the most talented mimics in comedy - watch his face during his signature George W. Bush or John Madden impressions. He gets the physical tics, as well as the voice, perfect.

On this Tuesday morning, we've got an Apple iPod Nano and a Frank TV-branded talking bottle opener for one lucky, random commenter. The prize package comes courtesy of Frank TV, which airs Tuesdays at 11 PM ET on TBS.

To enter, leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Friday, November 21 simply telling us why you'd like to own this prize package. As always, we'll randomly choose one winner amongst the eligible entries. Some other details:
Click here for complete Official Rules.

Two-and-a-half years ago, I asked the (admittedly) dumb question, "Could Frank Caliendo take John Madden's place?" At the time, my contention was that Caliendo's loopy Madden impression was no longer that far off reality, and that Madden had become such a caricature of himself that Frank could have stepped in and no one would have known the difference.

If NBC Sports president Dick Ebersol had a sense of daring, he could have tried that experiment this Sunday night, as Madden is going to sit out NBC's broadcast of the Buccaneers-Seahawks game in Tampa. The week off was Ebersol's idea; last night's game was in San Diego, making a cross-country trek for Madden and his famous Cruiser (he doesn't fly) right before a week off, as NBC defers to the World Series.

David Letterman has been talking a lot lately about doing an "Impressionist Week" on the show. Some viewers thought it was just one of his jokes, but he already did a "Ventriloquist Week" a few weeks ago, and he's going through with the plan. The shows start this Monday. Here's the lineup:

• Monday: Rich Little
• Tuesday: Fred Travalena
• Wednesday: Gordie Brown
• Thursday: Frank Caliendo
• Friday: Kevin Pollak

Being an impressionist is one of the toughest careers to maintain in the world of comedy. Instead of being able to do new material, audiences want you to do certain voices all the time. And at a certain point, your impressions become so outdated no one wants to hear them anymore (I'm sure Fred Travalena isn't getting requests for his Jimmy Carter impression, for instance).

Which is why I'm proposing this request to MadTV's Frank Caliendo: get a job as an analyst in an NFL booth. Now.

For those who've never seen Caliendo, he does some pretty good impressions: Al Pacino, Terry Bradshaw, Robin Williams, even President Bush; all of them are pitch-perfect (he does one of the most true-to-life Dubya impressions out there). But his signature impression is of soon-to-be-NBC football analyst John Madden. It's amazing how good it is; close your eyes and you'll swear that you're hearing the man himself. What Caliendo adds to the impression, though, is a sense that the cheese has slipped off Madden's cracker a bit, as he repeats himself, talks in circles, and states the obvious.