# Penn & Teller: Fool Us (season 5) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 24, 2018, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662 "2018-06-24T12:44:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**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:** [July 25, 2018, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662/81 "2018-07-25T02:25:07Z")
> [@Magic\_Fan](#): > > I fast-forwarded through the mentalism act. As another poster stated, I also hate mentalism acts. Seeing how she fooled them, maybe I’ll will make a point to see it. My guess was identical to Penn and Teller’s. Still, she clearly just gets the information from something(like her watch). Whatever it is, it’s not much of a trick. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662/82 "2018-07-25T02:33:34Z")
I enjoyed the Emily Victoria act as well - her youthful confidence, her interaction with Alyson, her response when she won - perhaps Teller, who is 70, isn’t up to speed on smartwatches but I was fooled too - of course she “got the the information somehow”, but that’s like saying “he made it look like he sawed the lady in half somehow”. ---
**Author:** ![Magic\_Fan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@Magic\_Fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magic_Fan)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2018, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662/83 "2018-07-25T02:39:11Z")
> [@zombywoof](#): > > Sure, the Seth Gabriel trick was extremely lame - but it was also big and complicated and expensive to pull off - my question the whole time watching was “Who spent the money to build this?” > > Is he a well known magician? You bring up another point I wanted to make. I was happy, albeit surprised, to learn the mentalist was an amateur. In its first years (the Jonathan Ross era), it seemed the show featured, for the most part, very talented amateurs (the dentist who uses magic to relax patients, the salesperson who entertains clients and closes sales, etc.). Professionals were few and far between. Then more and more well-known magicians started appearing (Piff, Mac King, Jeff McBride, and several others), some of whom have their own shows in Vegas. It seemed more like a promotional appearance than its original intention, a chance to win the break of a lifetime and appear in Vegas with P&T. To answer your question: yes, Seth Grabel has an established illusion show at Tahiti Village in Vegas. This was nothing more than a commercial for his own show. > **[Seth Grabel - Master Magician - Home Page](https://sethgrabel.com/)** > > Seth is a world-renowned master magician who has performed across the globe. His unique style of magic is second to none. Book him for your next Event NOW! ---
**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:** [July 25, 2018, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662/84 "2018-07-25T02:44:30Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Yeah, the Seth Gabriel trick was lame (he obviously was hidden in the welding tank when it was removed) but you know what? It was flashy and visual so the producers probably included it to grab channel-surfers. How’d he get in that tank? Did he drop down through the bottom of the car? Or was he actually just behind one of those signs the whole time? Lame. ---
**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:** [July 25, 2018, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662/85 "2018-07-25T02:47:36Z")
Yeah, my wife guessed he was hidden behind the signs of his name. Penn mentions it too. Most obvious trick this season. It’s just an expensive easy trick. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2018, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662/86 "2018-07-25T03:13:42Z")
> [@Magic\_Fan](#): > > Did anyone pick up on the code words Penn used in relation to the mirror trick? Ton Onosaka… ---
**Author:** ![Magic\_Fan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@Magic\_Fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magic_Fan)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2018, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662/87 "2018-07-25T03:18:46Z")
> [@zombywoof](#): > > Ton Onosaka… Yup, that’s it. Found him. Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Magic\_Fan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@Magic\_Fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magic_Fan)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2018, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662/88 "2018-07-25T03:29:01Z")
To be fair to Seth Grabel, he ain’t exactly at the David Copperfield or Criss Angel level yet. He performs on Mondays at Tahiti Village in their intimate theatre located “above a Denny’s”. So in his case a victory could possibly be a springboard to the big times. Say, performing TWO nights a week above a Denny’s. I kid, I kid… Still, somebody had to bankroll that dinosaur. Unless they can be rented in Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2018, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662/89 "2018-07-25T05:21:42Z")
> [@Magic\_Fan](#): > > Re Patrick Folkerts:The frame is definitely larger after the magician lets it “slide” through his fingers. That hid the move. Are you sure? I don’t think it was necessary for him to expand the frame since he collapsed one of the pieces to make room. Watch the piece that contains three compartments, one containing scissors and a blue box, one a photograph and a letter and some jewelry, and one a photograph. When he takes it from the board, he puts it on the bottom of his stack and inconspicuously manipulates it during his patter. When he replaces it, one of the compartments (the one containing only the photograph) is missing. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2018, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662/90 "2018-07-25T08:25:21Z")
Emily: Liked it reasonably well. Given that she’s never worked as a magician, she looked really calm and composed while running the act. It was clever to use the notebook to give herself some space to maneuver her wrist. Folker: Liked it quite a lot, since it’s mathy. But I agree that he didn’t do a good job of setting up the trick. Given that he did it while telling a nice story, I don’t think it makes sense to present it like, “I’m going to put things in and have it still fit inside this frame, yo.” But he could have flourished the frame more when he first removed it and he should have put it around the shape when he added the first element and then removed it again. Migz: He probably did a good job of building his props, but his sleight of hand was so poor and obvious that it sank the rest of the presentation. He shouldn’t have gone back to show the reflection a second time. He shouldn’t have flipped the card to show it in “ghostly state” since that basically gives away the effect to anyone who isn’t aware of what can be done with filters and lighting and reflection. Overall, his physical handling forced you to think about the properties of materials, not “Ooh, look, I’m making things go into a mirror and come out!” Grabel: :dubious: Dude doesn’t even converse well. ---
**Author:** ![cluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cluck)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2018, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662/91 "2018-07-25T09:45:36Z")
I’m still catching up on the last two episodes. These replies are from episode 4: > [@TriPolar](#): > > Kostya Kimlat disappointed me. I figured out what P&T did right away, it was just the skill of pulling a card out of the dribble, and he pulled out about 5 cards not just the one. He knew the position of the card in the deck, I wonder how often he can even pull out just the one card. Yeah, asking Penn to name his card, then pulling out 4 cards and picking the right one didn’t seem all that impressive. I’m sure there was a lot of skill involved, but it would have been better if he picked it out immediately or asked which card it was afterward. > [@TriPolar](#): > > Also should give some props to the rope guy for a creative and entertaining act although it was pretty obvious how it was done. Sometimes the how isn’t all that important. On Fool Us it’s all about the how but that’s not the only way to rate a magician. The rope trick was short, sweet and funny, so it earns points with me. I also dug the Rubik’s Cube guy, it was very visual and entertaining. > [@Oneilla](#): > > I didn’t quite understand the point of the two audience members during P&T’s trick. Either they didn’t do a very good job at inspecting the box or the section of the box to allow for the switch was well hidden. > > At the end of the trick when the stagehand is removing the black “kevlar” he made a big deal of folding it to let Teller make his way in from the side of the stage. What really bothered me about that trick was how fake the “Penn” hand looked sticking out of the box. There’s no way that was a 63-year-old man’s hand. Trick ruined. > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > My thought was that there was a piece of glass in front of the trick and the fronts of some of the blocks were sticky enough to adhere to the glass. The lamps and light string were just there to disguise the edges of the glass. Great job busting this trick. I went back and looked at both versions, and the glass theory seems to check out. I love that it’s a simple, practical method. Also, P&T didn’t look very impressed during the act, so I was surprised that was the one that stumped them. > [@zombywoof](#): > > After listening back a couple times I’m pretty sure Alyson Hannigan can be heard inadvertently swearing during the intro of Kostya Kimlat’s trick, LOL. > > KK: I have to be clever > AH: Ooh > KK: I have to be sneaky > AH: Mmm > KK: I might even have to lie just a little > AH: Huh! Shit. > KK: I know! She says “Shocking”. ---
**Author:** ![cluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cluck)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2018, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662/92 "2018-07-25T11:10:21Z")
All caught up now. These replies are from episode 5: > [@JohnGalt](#): > > I loved the Emily Victoria act, at least her reaction at the results. When Teller was writing down his response, I knew it would be “fooled us”. When she said “that’s not right”, I actually teared up. Either her trick was so good (and if it was just a watch, that explains a lot), or P&T loved the idea of her getting a leg up in her career that they gave her the award. Her personality was so calm and relaxed, that I’m glad they let her fool them. Same here. I think I was more emotional about it than she was. You can really tell the difference between the polish of a practiced stage magician and an amateur who learned a parlor trick in the past year. Not to rag on her, but I was really surprised she got them so quickly. Even watching it again, I didn’t notice her watch. > [@friedo](#): > > Patrick Folkerts: The first part of this routine is based on the age-old [missing square puzzle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_square_puzzle). The second part is adding another piece to make the rectangle bigger. I’m pretty sure the frame just has a sliding mechanism to make it bigger, which was used immediately the first time it was removed (notice that he hangs it diagonally to obscure its proportions.) I liked the guy’s presentation, but I hated his stupid mustache. Seriously, fuck that mustache. > [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Migz: He probably did a good job of building his props, but his sleight of hand was so poor and obvious that it sank the rest of the presentation. He shouldn’t have gone back to show the reflection a second time. He shouldn’t have flipped the card to show it in “ghostly state” since that basically gives away the effect to anyone who isn’t aware of what can be done with filters and lighting and reflection. Overall, his physical handling forced you to think about the properties of materials, not “Ooh, look, I’m making things go into a mirror and come out!” As others mentioned, Migz tipped his hand too far. The effect was cool, but he basically gave it away at the end by showing the translucent card and the white backing. > [@Magic\_Fan](#): > > But what was ever shown to prevent him from simply slipping out the door on the other side of the car? The windows were blacked out, so we couldn’t see when him inside the vehicle. That was my first reaction. While the car was being welded, he made his escape. The Seth Grabel trick was stupid. Pre-filming outside of the studio seemed like a clear violation of the rules. Could that squad car’s windows have been any darker? Once he goes in, they cut to a tight shot of the doors. Absolutely ANYTHING could be happening outside of the frame. The bemused look on P&T’s faces could not conceal how utterly stupid the whole thing was. This trick seemed a lot more convincing when it was done on Mindfreak. Cool way to tear a car apart, though. > [@Stephe96](#): > > Also, this show might have been the first time P&T’s trick was the best one of the night - any idea how they did that? I was very impressed by this trick, but I admit I was partially distracted by how hot Kim was. I also liked her “I’m going to cry” reaction at the end. I love tricks that seem like real magic, where the magician isn’t even involved during the final reveal. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2018, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662/93 "2018-07-25T11:28:52Z")
> [@Magic\_Fan](#): > > Still, somebody had to bankroll that dinosaur. Unless they can be rented in Vegas. I have a feeling he borrowed it from a Monster Truck show or something… ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2018, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662/94 "2018-07-25T12:37:08Z")
> [@cluck](#): > > I was very impressed by this trick, but I admit I was partially distracted by how hot Kim was. My god, if magicians realized they could use a pretty woman as a distraction, that could change everything! ---
**Author:** ![Michael1973](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ed655f/32.png) [@Michael1973](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael1973)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662/95 "2018-07-27T20:42:13Z")
I’ve been reading this forum for years but never posted before. I had to ask the burning question that doesn’t seem to have occurred to anyone… What is a young woman who knows exactly one magic trick (that took a year to develop) going to do when she returns to Vegas to open for Penn & Teller? ---
**Author:** ![Oneilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3e96dc/32.png) [@Oneilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oneilla)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662/96 "2018-07-27T22:54:55Z")
> [@Michael1973](#): > > I’ve been reading this forum for years but never posted before. I had to ask the burning question that doesn’t seem to have occurred to anyone… > > What is a young woman who knows exactly one magic trick (that took a year to develop) going to do when she returns to Vegas to open for Penn & Teller? Good question. Going by her intro video, background, reaction to winning and her comments on the Reddit Fool Us thread… I have no idea. Afaik at least one previous fooler accepted cash in lieu of opening for P&T.\* \*ETA I think it might have been Jean-Pierre Parent with the Alison in a box trick. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2018, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662/97 "2018-07-28T00:03:04Z")
> [@Michael1973](#): > > I’ve been reading this forum for years but never posted before. I had to ask the burning question that doesn’t seem to have occurred to anyone… > > What is a young woman who knows exactly one magic trick (that took a year to develop) going to do when she returns to Vegas to open for Penn & Teller? I’m guessing nobody HAS to open for P&T if they don’t want to. She’s probably happy with just the trophy. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2018, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662/98 "2018-07-28T01:51:38Z")
If she has a genuine interest in magic, I would expect that she’d use the contacts that she’ll have been able to make through the show to build a set of tricks and develop them into something stageworthy. I imagine that the real trick in magic is less about learning tricks, it’s about establishing good stage presence and being entertaining. She came across well on stage and her act seemed polished. That is was actually very simple has no demerits to it. She can pull out any book on magic tricks, learn a half dozen easy ones and so long as her routine is entertaining, that’s alright. And Penn & Teller wouldn’t want to put her on their stage unless she was able to be entertaining so they’d likely work with her to turn her tricks into acts, or assign a producer to do so. I think the bigger question would be to wonder what the actual commitment is for the people who go on to perform with P&T. Do they have to do a full 30m set every night for three weeks or just do one act one and they’re all done? For Emily, I would expect that any large time commitment would be a larger issue than one of developing an act since, like I said, they’d likely help her with that. It just might not be worth 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:** [July 28, 2018, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662/99 "2018-07-28T02:05:15Z")
Maybe they’ll find a way to incorporate her in one of their acts. She needs experience, she has a lot to learn, and she seems like she’ll be a good student. ---
**Author:** ![johnnycab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/48db29/32.png) [@johnnycab](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnnycab)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2018, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662/100 "2018-07-28T03:46:18Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > I loved the Emily Victoria act, at least her reaction at the results. When Teller was writing down his response, I knew it would be “fooled us”. When she said “that’s not right”, I actually teared up. Either her trick was so good (and if it was just a watch, that explains a lot), or P&T loved the idea of her getting a leg up in her career that they gave her the award. Her personality was so calm and relaxed, that I’m glad they let her fool them. After Emily’s incredulous reaction to having fooled them, she couldn’t help but actually show Teller how she did it. Watch as Teller is holding up the sign she moves her left arm behind it and appears to pull back her sleeve and how him the watch. Teller’s professionalism shows through as he just nods a couple of times without giving any other reaction. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-season-5/816662.md?page=6)