What did you think of Blaine's TV Special?

[Guest]

I see I posted my resoponse to this before I found the thread. Look in the Buzz section for my thoughts.

Frank Tougas

[Bob Farmer]

For all the Blaine cultists who choose to ignore his crass exploitation of a drowning victim (not something thatin any way could enhance magic), may I say that, I broke the world holding-your-nose record while reading your posts.

[Guest]

Originally posted by Bob Farmer:
For all the Blaine cultists who choose to ignore his crass exploitation of a drowning victim (not something thatin any way could enhance magic), may I say that, I broke the world holding-your-nose record while reading your posts.

Oh, Bob, spare me.

Is telling the story in itself exploitation? It was respectful to the woman and to the danger of that sport.

Any bullet catch begins with the performer going into the history of all the people who died performing it. But I guess that's fine because it's not Blaine doing the bullet catch.

[Guest]

Originally posted by LightsOut:
Maybe in 30 or 40 years your 8-year-old grand-daughter will develop an interest in magic and shell go to her public library and check out the only three magic books they have over and over again

You really think they'll still have public libraries in 30 years time?

you can pull her up on to your knee, kiss her forehead, give her a hug then scream Blaine! We didnt even LIKE Blaine. He was so BORING. I was better than him. And that VOICE! Where was the patter.

:) :) :) Best post I've seen on here in ages

[Pete Biro]

OK,the real important question. How were the ratings? And I bet the cost to ABC was indredibly cheap compared to other types of entertainment shows.

[Guest]

According to zap2it.com ABC came in fourth for the night, but they say Blaine did decent ratings. (Although they didn't give number for his special, just for the night overall.)

Gord

[John LeBlanc]

Originally posted by Pete Biro:
OK,the real important question. How were the ratings? And I bet the cost to ABC was indredibly cheap compared to other types of entertainment shows.

Here's a quote from Mediaweek:

Over at ABC, two-hour special, David Blaine: Downed Alive scored a respectable 6.8/10 in the overnights (#4 overall), 9.94 million viewers (#4), and a 4.1/10 among adults 18-49 (#3) from 8-10 p.m., with ratings building as the half-hours progressed. (Overnight track 8 p.m.: 5.1/ 8, 8:30 p.m.: 5.3/ 8, 9 p.m.: 7.6/11, 9:30 p.m.: 9.0/13). Comparably, this was an improvement over Blaines last ABC special (Viewers: 8.90 million; A18-49: 4.0/10 on Wednesday, May 22, 2002) of 1.04 million viewers and 2 percent among adults 18-49. What will he think of next?

The rest of the evening's ratings can be seen here:
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/newsletters ... /index.jsp

John
new blog post: David Blaine, then and now.

[Guest]

I was working and missed the show (nothing like standing at work and realizing "@$@#$, that Blaine show is on now and I didn't put on the tape machine". I do wonder how the kids at the cafe are reacting, I can't check for another month or so.
Steve V

[Jim Maloney_dup1]

The first half of the show tied with Seventh Heaven for fourth place. The second half showed a pretty significant jump, though only enough to put it in third place.

For comparison, "Deal or No Deal" had the top spot in the first hour, followed by Prison Break, then King of Queens/How I Met your Mother. In the second hour, Two and a Half Men/New Adv. of Old Christine was at the top, with 24 coming in second.

The fact that David had a steady increase of viewers over the course of the 2 hours is good.

-Jim

[Guest]

I don't know if David is trying to broaden the definition of magic.
I think the definition is pretty much defined.
Magic is doing the impossible.
Anything else is a stunt.

With magic failure is not an option because anything is possible with magic.

With stunts its always possible to fail. But that's why you train, and prepare, and include backup plans. That way you can guarantee your success. If you can't guarantee success you scrap the stunt BEFORE you attempt it, and especially before you put it on TV.

Holding your breath for 9 minutes is technically possible. but it's so improbable that it falls into the realm of impossible.
I kept waiting for him to magically redeem himself as he was pulled from the tank. To somehow vanish from under the towells only to appear on the other side of the stage or something. I was let down.

If this was magic, it was weak magic.
If this was a stunt... it was not thought out, rehearsed, and guaranteed.

People like to see their heroes overcome impossible odds. It's what makes them a hero. David set himself a goal that was impossible and failed to acheive it.


Some have compered David Blaine to Houdini, I don't think that is a good comparison. Yes both have/had the talent for attracting the attention of everyone...
But, to my knowledge, Houdini never failed. He never stopped his show and said "Sorry I failed. Thanks for your support... this is just too impossible... please pass me the keys to these handcuffs" He would never attempt a stunt if he couldn't succeed, through magical means or through thorough, careful, planning and preparation.

I like David Blaine. I think he has a lot of potential.

I wonder if anyone told him that failure would be a let down. I wonder if he listened.

[Jim Maloney_dup1]

Originally posted by Eric Falconer:
I kept waiting for him to magically redeem himself as he was pulled from the tank. To somehow vanish from under the towells only to appear on the other side of the stage or something. I was let down.

In my opinion, doing this would have been a HUGE mistake, as it would have invalidated everything that has happened over the past week. This is one of my BIGGEST pet peeves, and it really bothers me when people do this. If something is being presented as a stunt or and escape, then it should be just that -- don't turn it into a magic trick. It's insulting. It says to your audience, "Thank you for caring whether or not I would survive the challenge, but HA HA! Fooled you! I'm over here!"

-Jim

[Guest]

Originally posted by Eric Falconer:
I kept waiting for him to magically redeem himself as he was pulled from the tank. To somehow vanish from under the towells only to appear on the other side of the stage or something. I was let down.

God, I hope that you weren't serious.

What better way to marginalize the attempt, the hype, the buzz, the challenge, the entire show in fact, than by making the whole thing a cheap set-up for a typical magic trick?

[Guest]

Yeah, what Jim said.

[Jim Maloney_dup1]

Re: the "failure"

There was a director I worked with on several plays while in college. We'd rehearse the show for a couple of months, and everyone in the cast knew it cold. We could do the show flawlessly. But, inevitably, something would come up that wasn't expected. If we were lucky, it'd happen before opening night. Sometimes, though, it wouldn't. Her response to the situation was always the same, to the point where, I believe, we made a plaque for her with the bit of wisdom she always provided us: "This is live theater. S#!t happens. Deal with it."

You can rehearse all you want, but sometimes, there's just nothing you can do. When you're putting your life on the line, I'll forgive you for ending things early if they start to go bad.

To me, I wasn't tuning in to see David Blaine hold his breath for nine minutes. Rather, I was tuning in to watch him attempt to hold his breath for nine mintues. Because, honestly, if it's a sure thing...why bother watching?

-Jim

[Guest]

I was thinking about a possible lawsuit against ABC, they hooked me in with a "record or die" line, that has me now wondering if I can sue, due to false advertising.
For all those that approve A&E (Mindfreak) advertising at peak block, during a Blaine special, remind me never to any buisness with/or besides you. Let's all be men here.Buisness is buisness to a certain point.I have now lost most respect for Criss. Upstaging is unprofessional. I am 95 percent positive Criss was approached by A&E, and probably gave the nod.Target audience, yes...Great placement, yes...BUT...I don't even think A&E and ABC are owned by the same parent company. Live by the almighty dollar, die by the almighty dollar.Criss you are better than to stoop to greed. Rise above! Let your magic do the talking,let the better entertainer reign.Don't sell YOURSELF in the middle of another guy's act. Jim you are usually dead right, here you are dead wrong.A&E was most disrespectful. This is why they are flying planes into our skyscrapers...The greed of America will kill us, nothing else.Compete like gentleman.

[Bob Farmer]

Lights Out: there's nothing wrong with telling the story of a woman who died while diving.

Showing her dead body being dragged onto a boat while her anguished husband looks on helplessly, all as a prelude to a talentless goof marinating in his own moral filth is obviously different.

The woman faced real danger and died. Blaine faced no danger and gets a big payday. Only someone with no sense of decency and no sense of compassion would find the juxtaposition acceptable.

Dragging out an elderly Evel Kneivel sucking on an oxygen bottle and babbling incoherently was sad. The drowning sequence was sick.

[Guest]

Somehow I doubt Houdini would ever have refused to adverise during a compeitors appearance, if the opportunity presented itself. That's show biz.

[Guest]

Yes, but did you get to www.ellusionist.com to look over and buy the products?

Come on folks, YOU are part of the target demographic.

Or we could take the drowned thing as an economic metaphor for how so many are feeling drowned and shackled to their debits. Nah, that takes us out of Oz-Neverland and who wants to look at reality when we can fuss over somebody on TV in a bubble... like us when we watch TV. Bad enough to be a couch potato, now we're looking at a metaphor for our lives as in bubbles on display?

As with Houdini escaping the shackles of the world's oppression, Blaine probably struck a few nerves where it counts. Good for him. Some will hold their breath waiting for outside help. Some will help themselves.

[Guest]

Originally posted by Bob Farmer:

The woman faced real danger and died. Blaine faced no danger and gets a big payday. Only someone with no sense of decency and no sense of compassion would find the juxtaposition acceptable.

Then I guess I have no sense of decency or compassion. To me it was another example of someone challenging themselves physically, in a somewhat similar situation, and the truth about what happened to her. Her husband seemed to feel it was relevant enough to release the footage for use on the show.

But if you thought that short, somber segment was in poor taste, then you're really going to hate the movie James Cameron is making about her. It's in 3-D.

I'm not kidding.

[Jim Maloney_dup1]

Originally posted by MaxNY:
I don't even think A&E and ABC are owned by the same parent company.

Well...

A&E Television Networks, a joint venture of The Hearst Corporation, ABC, Inc. and NBC Universal...

- About A&E Television Networks

It's not like Criss was interrupting David's performance. It was space that was already allotted for advertising. He wasn't pulling people away from David's show -- Mindfreak doesn't start for another couple of weeks. I don't see how anyone gets hurt from this. Despite what Kellar thought, America is able to support more than one big magician at a time.

-Jim

[Guest]

Well, I really enjoyed it. I watched part of "How I Met Your Mother" and "Two and a Half Men." I did not spoil my perfect record of not watching "New Adventures of old Charlotte" or my perfect record of not watching a Blaine special.

I've seen enough snippets of his show to know that his style doesn't particularly appeal to me. Nothing personal, but why should I waste my time when I know I can find out what I missed by reading this forum?

[Bob Farmer]

Lights Out: you make my point better than I do.

You find no substantial difference between a guy with his head a few inches below water (surrounded by doctors and trainers ready to pluck him out if he blinks), and a woman diving 550 feet down on one breath.

Obviously, Blaine's explotation worked -- at least on you.

And as to James Cameron's movie: if you can't tell the difference between a movie and a documentary, you'll probably be surprised to learn the dinosours in Jurassic Park are not living on an island off Hawaii.

[Guest]

Originally posted by Bob Farmer:
Lights Out: you make my point better than I do.

You find no substantial difference between a guy with his head a few inches below water (surrounded by doctors and trainers ready to pluck him out if he blinks), and a woman diving 550 feet down on one breath.

Obviously, Blaine's explotation worked -- at least on you.

And as to James Cameron's movie: if you can't tell the difference between a movie and a documentary, you'll probably be surprised to learn the dinosours in Jurassic Park are not living on an island off Hawaii.

Okay, Bob, I get it. You can make a movie of something and it's not exploitation. But if you present it in a non-fiction form, then it is exploitation. Your logic is unassailable.

And I didn't say there was no substantial difference between the two situations. But you're acting like there are no similarities. He was training with freedivers, he was being coached by a freediver, the rescuers were freedivers, the damage that he could have/may have suffered has the same cause (lack of oxygen) as the damage freedivers face. I'm sorry the depth wasn't enough to constitute a real hazard for you. Next time a baby drowns in a bathtub I'll make sure the mother knows that Bob Farmer says it's not the real deal unless that baby is 550 feet underwater. Heck, holding your breath for 7 minutes under two feet of water is practically shiatsu massage, its so damn pleasurable

Forgive me if your claims of exploitation ring a little hollow. Perhaps it's your use of the word "talentless" to describe Blaine. Seems a tad pejorative. I think Ill take my cues as to the relevance and exploitative nature of that segment from her freediving husband, he might have a better insight than you.

[Amos McCormick]

We were having bad weather in our area during the special, so more time was spent cutting to doppler radar weather reports than airing the special. Every time the station cut back to Blaine, it was obvious that nothing had happened since the last segment.

My dad used to own a wholesale business and had several salesmen working for him. Whenever one of these salesmen was on vacation or ill, my dad would fill in for him on his routes. Many of the businesses on whom he called would be watching soap operas. Since my dad never saw these shows except during his travels, he would joke "Twelve months later, that same lady was still having that same baby!"

That's how I felt last night. Thankfully, there was a West Wing marathon on Bravo! :)

[Guest]

I passed by one night to see Blaine in the tank. And I watched the video clips of the ending online. (Was actually performing at Monday Night Magic so didn't get to see the entire special). Overall, I thought the stunt was very dramatic and the finish really drew you in emotionally. In one sense it was a curiosity like the old Karrell Fox girl in the fishbowl. But it ended up being far more dramatic and emotionally charged.

[Brad Henderson]

Originally posted by Eric Falconer:

But, to my knowledge, Houdini never failed. He never stopped his show and said "Sorry I failed. Thanks for your support

Geller did.

[Guest]

I recorded it then used the fast forward to watch it in 10 minutes.

[Guest]

For all you out of state... David Blaine got 1/2 of the front page of the Daily News today with the headline...Blaine's Bubble Bursts.
---When I was working for the Sally Jesse Raphael show we aired some footage about a gal that hired a hitman to murder her husband, and hired a cameraman to prove she "Didn't kill him"... As the Hitman was never revealed.(She never knew about the accessory law). And, I felt like, even though the guy is dead, he has no rights? I guess there are few laws that protect the dead, from footage of their expiration. My question was why was it used in this situation... Was David fastinated with free divers, and wanted to do a free dive, first? They certainly could afford cameras at every one hundred feet, but no extra/spare balloon? That was odd.
---Steve V., contact me Magicbymax.com

[Guest]

Mark Evanier, a TV writer and member of the Castle, has an interesting entry on his blog with his thoughts on the big stunt.

http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2006 ... tml#011458

[Guest]

Originally posted by Eric Rose:
Reuters has the best take I've seen - he's now referred to as "Stuntman David Blaine". No magic, no magician.

I didn't watch the special (guess that says something about Blaine's drawing power for me). I was about to drag out the old "any publicity is good" comment until seeing Eric's good post. Wonder if Blaine is conscious of this "transition" and desires it? Regardless, as others have noted, Blaine was the talk of the town. If getting his name back in the public eye was his overall goal, he succeeded.
Clay

[Guest]

Some clarification for Wolfgang, "half of America" did not stop to watch David Blaine. According to the TV Ratings, ABC came in fourth after CBS, NBC, and FOX in overall ratings. Among the target audience advertisers covet - 18 to 49 - ABC was fourth also.

Blaine's first hour tied with the series finale of 7th Heaven on the WB. Blaine's second hour moved up to third place, beating The Apprentice on NBC, a show that wore out its welcome last season.

It was a modest success....stressing the word "modest."

Like Bob Farmer I thought the exploitation of the free diver who died attempting to set a record unrelated to what Blaine was attempting was crass and disappointing, padding that was counterproductive and unnecessary.

I will give Blaine his due in that he seems to put forth effort in these pointless exercises that seem to accomplish little except to draw attention to David Blaine and make him a few bucks. His visit with Evel Knievel was ironic, what with Evel sitting there, knitted bones creaking, on oxygen from the craziness he'd put his body through. You'd think Blaine would get a clue - here's your future, kid. Apparently not.

I have great respect for David Copperfield who intelligently used his television appearances to make himself a household name and promote his touring show. Reports to me of Blaine's stage work strongly suggest he isn't up to the task of mounting and carrying a full touring show which is a far different thing that performing on the street or for a few people in circumstances that are creatively edited for broadcast.

As I observed some time back, David Blaine is a creature of television, part of the freak show that is mass entertainment these days.

While Copperfield and Burton specials have provided me with added income, the idea that the David Blaine "tide" will lift my performing boat is erroneous. I can't see where he'll have any effect at all.

[Guest]

We didn't get to see the Blaine special here in Australia but one thing did surprise me, the incredible amount of merchandising the next day.

Magic stores selling Blaine's 'Prime Time Magic' range saying "for a moment you and Blaine will be one."

I won't waste space here, but if you're interested in my thoughts take a look at our blog ELLIS & WEBSTER BLOG

[Jim Maloney_dup1]

Originally posted by Magicam:
Wonder if Blaine is conscious of this "transition" and desires it?

I think the answer is yes. I made a post back in 2002 about an interview Blaine had on a local radio station which included the following quote:

"I don't consider myself a magician. I think of myself more as a performer...magic is only part of what I do."

-Jim

[Guest]

I will give Blaine his due in that he seems to put forth effort in these pointless exercises that seem to accomplish little except to draw attention to David Blaine and make him a few bucks.

Isn't that really what all magic specials accomplish?

While Copperfield and Burton specials have provided me with added income, the idea that the David Blaine "tide" will lift my performing boat is erroneous. I can't see where he'll have any effect at all.

So, is the measure of a magic special the amount of money it makes for you as a performer or the amount it makes for the featured act in the special?

I for one found it entertaining, although I enjoyed the tricks more than the stunt itself. Also, I didn't feel that the diver's death was exploitation anymore than the backstories on Eval and DB himself were.
Nothing makes this forum whine more than the mention of David Blaine. It is really pathetic sometimes. If you don't like a performer, then don't watch his/her performance. If you think you are a better performer then put out your own special and prove it with ratings numbers. As far as name recognition goes for magic with the public, David Blaine is it. Most laymen remember Copperfield, a lot know about Criss Angel, but everyone knows who David Blaine is. I would say that this is a definite measure of success for a performer. And to think, he achieved this recognition by just sitting there and making us watch him. :)

[Guest]

I managed to make it to the half way point in real time, before I bailed and let the Tivo capture it while I watched last Sundays Iron Chef, which was WAY more entertaining

When I came back to it I was able to watch the final hour in about twelve minutes.

The point has been made that hes the only magician who can get the networks to allow a two hour special. But he does it by not doing any magic, except as filler. That, to me, only cements the idea that magic really has no place on network television.

I used to be a fan, but Im beginning to lose patience

[Guest]

By the way, I'm hearing lots of guys in here saying stuff like:

The Iron Chef was more entertaining.
24, Prison Break, Seventh Heaven was more entertaining.

So tell me... how can magic compete with those shows? Obviously, in your opinions, Blaine failed. What type of magic show would need to be created to be MORE ENTERTAINING than everything else out there???

[Guest]

Brad, yes, Geller failed. If you're trying to say that Blaine has more in common with Geller than Houdini I might almost tend to agree, but ultimately not. He's cast himself as a magician or whatever, not a psychic. I will however agree that both he and Geller seem to have similar approaches to doing business. It's a sort of dot com approach to magic...

Since we can't use even the names of politicians here I won't be able to make my point quite as easily, but basically Blaine strikes me as the perfect manifestation of 20th century America: a relatively untalented character who is built up by a marketing organisation to extract fees from TV advertisors. Someone mentioned Copperfield. Though I personally am not a fan of him, at least he has put in the hours to make himself famous, rather than just find a good ad agency to pimp him. Houdini (who ultimately I am not a huge fan of either) did the same. How different is Blaine really from the likes of Paris Hilton or other useless pop icons?

[Guest]

Tim, people dig his stunts, but he should'nt make the stunt (or exit from stunt), 80 percent of the show. I too believe that ABC pressured him into more "Stunt". I think his audience wants to be blown away, by great magic...I reduced his show down today, to put on DVD, lots of stunt prep, stunt talk, Medical stunt talk,stunt stunt stunt...But, there was some fantastic photography, during all this practise.
---Iron chef pits strong personalities together for competition, an allure to many.

[Guest]

Face it, stunts are all that todays audiences want. Look at the plethora of reality TV shows. Reality cop shows. Eating disgusting things show. Websites like Ogrish.com. Etc. Bigger, grosser, stupider is what it's all about. Blaine and his marketeers are cashing in on that demand.

[Guest]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by John Wilson:
[QB] [QUOTE] So, is the measure of a magic special the amount of money it makes for you as a performer or the amount it makes for the featured act in the special?

No John, I was responding to an earlier comment about all magic specials benefit other magicians. I was refuting that proposition.