Unless the first episode opened with nine of the contestants congratulating the tenth for his eventual victory in the finale, I’m not watching.
I only watched the second half but neither of those two tricks was performed particularly well in my opinion (the phone number and the nail guns).
I know they don’t really have time to a full act and build a rapport with the audience but it was still pretty lame. Of course, it doesn’t help that I’ve seen both of those tricks done by much better people.
Darren Brown really builds suspense in this version of the nailgun trick (done as Russian Roullette). And Penn & Teller do a much more elaborate version of the phone number one in their show at the Rio in Vegas.
Uri fuckin Geller. Hi, I was only exposed as a complete fraud 30 years ago and yet NBC gives me my own show! I can’t believe they’re in last place in the ratings, what with this stunning attention to the pulse of America.
Fuck you, NBC. Fuck you long, hard and unlubed. In the ass.
Crap, I meant to watch this for the snarky goodness, but I forgot all about it. I guess I’m not psychic. Did Criss Angel explain the trick during which he stole Marisa Tomei’s haircut?
Are y’all sure it’s the same guy? That one was Yoor-ee. This one is Oo-ree. (Slight trill on the “r”).
Okay, I’ve got more time to give some thoughts on the individual performers. I’m dead certain that I know how two of the tricks were done and I’m reasonably confident that I know the other two on the basis of those, but I’ll spoiler those bits for those people who don’t like thinking about how tricks are done.
First, the guy with the “remote touching” (for lack of a better term). I thought he had a terrible act, no stage presence, and his trick wasn’t visual and so held no audience appeal.
How I think he did it:The initial argument in my house was between Carmen Electra being a plant and him using small puffs of air to give her a sensation and then filling in the blanks with suggestion. When it became clear that Electra was a plant for other tricks that was settled on as the most likely thing. You’ll note that he prompted the other person for touching the nose and showed him the whiteboard.
Second, the guy with the snap traps. Not bad stage presence but his clumsy work made the trick obvious to everyone except the most unobservant. When he said that a finger bone was the width of a pencil there was a chorus here of “No it isn’t!” (Really, it was eerie; maybe we’re all psychic.)
How he did it:I hope I’m not surprising anyone on this board but he showed a slightly dangerous trap (though I doubt it would cause serious injury) and then immediately and blatantly substituted it with one that was noticeably weaker. As for the name on the white board, there’s literally dozens of ways any half-way competent magician could have gotten that.
Third, the nail gun guy had a nice set up but I think he was rushed to fit that act into two minutes. It would have been better with suspense built up longer.
How I think he did it:Carmen the plant again. She loaded the guns. However it is not beyond belief that there is a simple tell to know if the gun is properly loaded or not that most laymen wouldn’t be able to see over television.
Finally, getting the phone number. My brother says that he’s seen the trick done before but he couldn’t recall where. It wasn’t a bad run through of it but the guy didn’t impress me.
How he did it:This is what convinced me Electra was acting as plant. The envelopes have to be pre-loaded since he can’t tamper with them or have the people pull out different numbers. Carmen just recited what she had memorized and the “selection” of the number was just for show. Carmen and the magician were the only ones to see the number so that makes it simple.
Here is the clip . The Carson thing starts at around 5:48.
That’s awesome. I suspect Uri said, “I don’t feel strong tonight”, but meant “I feel like a fraud tonight”.
NBC has had some really awful reality programming in the past (America’s Got Talent) but this really takes the cake. Not only were the contestants awful, but they all presented themselves as having some sort of real psychic ability. NBC should be ashamed. I’m sure James Randi will have a field day with this in this weeks SWIFT newsletter. The only saving grace, so to speak, was that Chris Angel was brutally honest with each of them and even referenced the sources of some of their acts (He mentioned Banacheck as the source of the PK touch routine).
Without Uri on this show I could almost like it. But his raised eyebrow stare, and attempts to look all magic-ey just annoyed the shit outta me.
Slightly tangential, but only slightly: Straight Dope Staff Report: How come TV psychics seem so convincing
Chris Angel is a douche who uses stupid camera tricks to make HIS tricks work. No talent required there.
Would it kill Rachel Hunter to smile once in a while? She looked like a robot on stage.
The gay judge was incredibly annoying.
The gay judge?
Why is that, exactly?
Don’t you agree that Geller is one of the greatest stage magicians that ever lived?
I’m guessing Ross the Intern (a recurring character from Leno). That’s who that was, right?