# New Season of Penn & Teller’s Fool Us - “3rd Time’s the Charm” **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [June 23, 2020, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169 "2020-06-23T01:24:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169/122 "2020-10-07T03:16:41Z")
I saw the trick P&T did tonight at their live show on Broadway a few years ago. And I have to say the reveal onstage was actually mind blowing. On TV, it’s obvious they are hiding “Kevin’s” identity but the deception was not evident at all when we saw it live. ---
**Author:** ![cluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cluck)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169/124 "2020-10-07T05:52:05Z")
Did he have the trucker’s hat and beard and stuff? I feel like he stuck out like a sore thumb on television. And then having to insert himself into the audience all of a sudden, I’m sure people must have noticed something fishy at the same time Teller disappeared. But the “footage” of him backstage and the hands coming through were all pretty convincing, plus the fact that we’re never expecting him to talk. The only reason I suspected foul play is because Teller played the part of the undercover cameraman on the [Street Magic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3GhdjU1ZRU) bit last season. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169/125 "2020-10-07T15:39:01Z")
Teller wore the same outfit but it, along with his fake voice, was much more convincing from a distance than it was on TV. The camera angles made you realize they were hiding the guy’s identity, but when you saw it live you had no reason to suspect anything fishy was going on. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169/126 "2020-10-07T17:17:28Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > The camera angles made you realize they were hiding the guy’s identity, Yeah, it was kind of clear he was a stooge. If it was a random audience member they’d do more to show that. So it wasn’t hard to put two and two together here. At a live show the audience wouldn’t get that close of look, and as they were pointing out, they controlled what the audience could see on the big screen. ---
**Author:** ![Dingbang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@Dingbang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dingbang)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169/127 "2020-10-07T17:45:19Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > For the usual substitution, Performer A would sneak out the back of a load-bearing trunk that some cape-brandishing Performer B is standing on, right? And would then stand on it when the cape gets handed off, which is when Performer B steps down from the load-bearing trunk to enter it from behind. > > So that bit at the end, where it’s apparently just a flat piece of wood on someone’s back? There’s presumably a load-bearing support hidden behind her legs (which explains how they could easily switch places even without a trunk to stand on, and explains why she awkwardly starts reaching back there before getting up). To add a bit: I watched it closely again and when the box collapses (he has to knock much of it down purposefully) the flat piece that will form the standing platform is on the bottom of the box. He picks it up and hands it to her, and it appears to me that there is something visible on that piece that looks like clear-ish plastic and could be the attachment for a post. (Surprising they don’t turn it around so you can’t see that.) I didn’t get a look at the support post they must have used or how it is configured, but she attaches that wooden piece to the post and he pushes up against it so it appears he is bearing the weight. When they make the switch, she is flexing her left arm as if she is struggling to hold his weight, but I think that was overdone. And as TOWP says, she clearly reaches back to disconnect the post before standing up. A nicely done twist on the usual switcheroo. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169/128 "2020-10-07T17:52:38Z")
> [@Dingbang](#): > > When they make the switch, she is flexing her left arm as if she is struggling to hold his weight, but I think that was overdone. And as TOWP says, she clearly reaches back to disconnect the post before standing up. > A nicely done twist on the usual switcheroo. The camera cuts away right after he jumps off. I’ve wondered if they clean up the video so mistakes aren’t obvious, although there are some cases where they clearly let the slips slip through. This act and Jonio’s were very entertaining even if you knew exactly how they were being performed. I love that kind of act. There are only a few illusions great enough to stand on their own, everything else gets better in wrapped in a wonderful performance. P&T clearly recognize this and fooling them is only an artifice to build this great magical exhibition on. Also want to add how wonderful it is to see acts from all over the world. I’m sure Penn and Teller are so respected world-wide this is a boon both for us the viewers and those magicians from abroad. Another laugh came from the translator dealing with ‘Rumplestiltskin’. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169/129 "2020-10-07T18:00:08Z")
A search for Boris Wild shows a lot of hits for his marked deck. You can buy his marked deck on amazon. If this is his marked deck he would know what card was picked and where it was in the deck. But, that doesn’t explain how he did it. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169/130 "2020-10-07T18:52:49Z")
Yeah, I assume he had no trouble knowing what the card was. I though he might have an index under his coat so he could easily grab a copy of the card, but then I realized he gave the deck to P&T, so if he managed to slip the card in there after Penn picked the number 3, he still had to get the original out of the deck before letting them examine it. I just watched every move he makes after Penn says 3 in slo-mo. I don’t see any way he got that card in there. And Teller has his eyes locked on the guys hands the whole time. I’d really like to know how he did that. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169/131 "2020-10-07T22:43:49Z")
A thought occurred to me about Boris’s trick. He said the decks at the beginning were brand new and “straight from the factory.” So where were the jokers? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169/132 "2020-10-10T01:34:22Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > A thought occurred to me about Boris’s trick. He said the decks at the beginning were brand new and “straight from the factory.” They were stickered shut, but were not wrapped in plastic. They did not look shiny to me and I did not see him remove the wrapping. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169/133 "2020-10-10T01:44:25Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Rosenkranz and Balsamo were a funny act. Obviously when the bullet drops in the gun it rolls all the way down through it and into the stand where the assistant picks it up and loads it in Balsamo’s head when she puts the blindfold on. There was a camera cut right after the bullet is dropped in the gun which makes it less obvious. Alyson was funny starting to examine the blindfold. I like seeing people who have regular jobs and they come on showing the magic they have developed. His act was great even if we could tell how he did it. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169/134 "2020-10-10T01:52:46Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > His act was great even if we could tell how he did it. So many great acts won’t fool P&T or many others but still bring the entertainment value. That’s what makes this such a fantastic show. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169/135 "2020-10-10T03:45:10Z")
Couple things brought up on Reddit: The decks Boris used are Phoenix decks which are made for magicians and don’t have the extra cards. And, there’s a lot of speculation that Boris had Teller’s card in the 3rd spot already, meaning to do some manipulation to get it to come out in the position Penn chose. But to his delight (And Penn’s!) Penn chose 3. Personally I think the man used actual magic. That act was amazing!! ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169/136 "2020-10-10T14:14:53Z")
Man, if the card was in the third position just by luck, you’d think Boris would at least let P&T know that, even if just in private. That seems like a violation of the magician’s code or something. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169/137 "2020-10-10T14:29:23Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > That seems like a violation of the magician’s code or something. No it’s not. It’s just a lucky coincidence. The guys in the back know how he did it, or intended to do it even if he got lucky. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169/138 "2020-10-10T14:49:44Z")
But the entire point of the actual trick would have been trying to get the card into the spot Penn selected without them figuring out how he did it. Blind luck means he didn’t even perform the trick he went on the show to perform. If it were me, I’d take P&T aside and say, “Look, I didn’t really fool you!” By the way, I’m not convinced it WAS pure luck, I’m just speculating here. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169/139 "2020-10-10T14:51:44Z")
Nah, the folks who were talking about it said they’ve seen it mentioned in magic books to be prepared to get lucky. “If the audience member actually picks X, get ready to show them a miracle!” And who’s to say that he didn’t get excited as shit and tell P&T off stage? I’ve read that a lot of the contestants tell their secrets to the guys as soon as they can. Anyway, Getting lucky at the end of a well-executed trick is a lot more genuine than winning a FU trophy because they didn’t happen to pick the right one of the six lame ways you could have done your boring trick. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169/140 "2020-10-10T15:33:28Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > By the way, I’m not convinced it WAS pure luck, I’m just speculating here. I also doubt it was luck. I know Hannigan thinks it was the most impressed/surprised Penn has ever been, but Kostya Kimalat had them equally to more blown away and his trick has been figured out(still amazing!). ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169/141 "2020-10-10T16:49:12Z")
I also really like the way Boris did the Penn audio. Sure there was nothing magic to it (Penn has read some audio books so his voice is very out there) but it was hilarious to me and very very clever! ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169/142 "2020-10-10T16:52:18Z")
Penn should ask “Are we wasting our time trying to figure this out?” If it was pure luck the answer is “Yes” and nothing is given away to the audience, but at least P&T will know they weren’t REALLY fooled. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-season-of-penn-teller-s-fool-us-3rd-time-s-the-charm/912169.md?page=8)