UK TV - Sounds like a must see...(long)

[mrgoat]

From www.magicweek.co.uk (for some reason I cannot directly link so sorry for the long post)

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Secret World of Magic

Sky One, April - May 2005

6 x 1 hour shows

Preview

Top magicians and buddies Pete Firman and Alistair Cook take us on a magical mystery tour of the globe. From Paris to Los Angeles and Vegas, from Buenos Aires to Madrid to New York we follow Pete and Alis road trip as they meet their heroes of magic, reveal the true stories behind some of the worlds most legendary tricks and attempt to wow the locals with their unique brand of magic entertainment. Sometimes they succeed.

First stop is MADRID where Pete and Ali get close and personal with Mago Migue, a former Spanish pop star who is now a World Champion card magician. They also meet the Woody Allen of Spanish magic, Juan Tamariz, who is a former TV star and film director and are invited to perform to his students at the world-famous Tamariz school of Magic where a precocious 11 year-old threatens to out perform them. Pete tries to dazzle with a card trick only to discover that the temperature and humidity makes the cards bend and warp. Meanwhile Ali tries to impress with his Spanish but, in his own words: when I ordered coffee I kept being served portions of trifle

Then its across the border to PARIS, where they find out that Gaeton Bloom, Frances answer to Tommy Cooper, is performing at a topless revue bar. They make it their mission to seek him out. Magic and girls - Pete and Alis idea of heaven. Not quite so heavenly is Petes reception at Le Double Fond - a magic bar owned by magician Dominique Duvivier. My magic has a lot of banter. I was ranting on about how the coin was in my hand and I realised they didnt have a clue what was going on.

Next its touchdown in NEW YORK. They meet one of their all time greats Harry Lorayne, the fast-talking magic legend whose bible The Magic Book sparked David Blaines interest in Magic. They also meet David Acer, Canadas finest close-up magician and blag their way in to Monday Night Magic (the Big Apples premiere magic venue) where they perform to a sell-out crowd. Pete also gets to fulfill a personal goal by performing on the boardwalk at Coney Island. Awesome, he says.

On to LA, the city of stars, where our hard-working magicians cruise, eat sushi, hang out with Gary Oldman (nearly) and attend a premiere. In between they catch up with the world famous close-up magician Dean Dill, who is an expert at coin magic. They also share stories with John Gaughan, a legendary magic inventor who taught Blaine how to chop off his ear and interview the outrageous performer Max Maven, the Ming the Merciless of mind reading. They also get to perform at the prestigious Magic Castle. A life-long ambition, says Ali.

Next destination are the casinos and showrooms of VEGAS where Pete and Ali reluctantly watch a bevy of showgirls perform an erotic magic show and marvel at the old ladies wheeling their oxygen tanks from slot machine to slot machine. They pop in to the Rio Hotel to watch Penn & Teller weave their magic skills and chat to the Emo Philips of comedy magic Mac King and the pagan persona that is Jeff McBride, a magician whose act embraces mine, masks and martial arts. Fuelled by the Vegas vibe, our swingers hit the bamboo lounges to perform some close-up magic of their own.

Another day. Another continent. BUENOS AIRES, home to the worlds only professional one-handed magician, Rene Levand and some nice young ladies who give Pete and Ali some tango lessons they showed us some of their moves, we showed them some of ours, says Ali. They also talk to Henry Evans, who is famous in Argentina for his card tricks and sleight of hand. Revealing some sleight of hand of their own, our magic mavericks perform on the streets and at the Bazar de magia and get to eat a lot of cow.

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Sky One...

[El Mystico]

Anyone see Harry Lorayne last night?
Lot of build up to him, but we only got to see him perform about four tricks!

[mrgoat]

Originally posted by Dom:
Anyone see Harry Lorayne last night?
Lot of build up to him, but we only got to see him perform about four tricks!

That's pretty much been the format of the others.

Those two from MOnkey Magic walking around doing very poorly scripted* tricks on each other, then some people you havent heard of. Then some more from those two, then 2 mins with the person we are all watching the show for.

Tameriz was great, but did two tricks.

Missed opportunity really.


*Oh hello mate what are you doing?
Well I am cealning my teeth
Teeth eh? aren't they great?
Yes
Look at me do gypsy thread with your dental floss
That's great mate
Where's Tameriz?
Dunno
Bye

[El Mystico]

Yes, but - you are taking a magician's view.
Think about the millions of "ordinary" people watching the show - who do you think they would rather see? Tamariz,one of the most entertaining magicians on the planet, or the Monkey Magic boys talking about dental floss? Oh, wait a minute....

[Matthew Field]

It's easy to pick apart a TV show, especially from a mgicians point of view.

In fact, "Secret World of Magic" has been one of the most intelligent magic series I've ever seen. Wednesday's episode, No. 3, included a visit to Monday Night Magic, Rocco, Harry Lorayne and David Acer. When's the last time you saw a lineup like that before? Previous weeks had Tamariz, John Gaughan and much more, and I can't wait for Gaetan Bloom.

And you're complaining??????

Matt Field

[mrgoat]

Originally posted by Matthew Field:
It's easy to pick apart a TV show, especially from a mgicians point of view.

In fact, "Secret World of Magic" has been one of the most intelligent magic series I've ever seen. Wednesday's episode, No. 3, included a visit to Monday Night Magic, Rocco, Harry Lorayne and David Acer. When's the last time you saw a lineup like that before? Previous weeks had Tamariz, John Gaughan and much more, and I can't wait for Gaetan Bloom.

And you're complaining??????

Matt Field

Not complaining. Criticising. Giving my opinion - the worth of which is utterly debatable. I don't get paid to give mine as you do. However, surely I can voice that opinion?

I think it's possibly the most insultingly patronising show I have seen. The constant sub-terry and June acting and scripting for the seemingly impromptu bits with the two monkey lads is just plain bad.

I love the other acts.

Make the show 30 minutes and ditch the monkeys.

I'm very glad you are enjoying British telly though Mr Field.

[Guest]

Originally posted by mrgoat:
Make the show 30 minutes and ditch the monkeys.

Absolutely right!

[El Mystico]

I'm with Mr Goat. I'm delighted at the standard of the guests. My problem is that in an hour long show, those guests take up around 15 minutes, I'd estimate. For the rest we get a basic shell and pea routine, a copy of a Tommy Wonder routine, a weak straightjacket joke, etc. If you are going to have guests of this calibre, why not make the most of their talents? It's not as if they didnt have the material - one of the star guests told me his contribution had been considerably cut down.