Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Discuss the latest news and rumors in the magic world.
User avatar
Dustin Stinett
Posts: 7257
Joined: July 22nd, 2001, 12:00 pm
Favorite Magician: Sometimes
Location: Southern California
Contact:

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby Dustin Stinett » August 27th, 2015, 3:28 am

Larry Horowitz wrote:When the "nit-picking" stops, Genii magazine can close down.

I don't believe that's the case. The Genii Forum perhaps, but not the magazine. Besides, I'm not sure how you arrived at the notion I was saying that the nit picking here was a terrible thing that must stop. I'm just noting that we are not the show's target demographic; not by a multimillion viewer longshot.

User avatar
erdnasephile
Posts: 4770
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby erdnasephile » August 27th, 2015, 6:34 am

Josh gave away the deck to the spectator at the end, and there was no equivoque. In the original MAGIC write up, Josh mentions a gambit he uses to try to take the curse off of not showing the faces of the cards.

I was fooled badly (no index? Hmmm...), but more importantly, really liked the presentation that gave an interesting premise for the trick.

I agree with Dustin--great, fun show to watch. Just like the whole "Bad Boys of Magic" thing, I'll bet that P & T are amused that the "Fool Us" premise seems so vexing to some magi.

Bob Coyne
Posts: 717
Joined: January 26th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Favorite Magician: Charlies [sic]
Location: New York, NY

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby Bob Coyne » August 27th, 2015, 8:23 am

erdnasephile wrote:Josh gave away the deck to the spectator at the end, and there was no equivoque. In the original MAGIC write up, Josh mentions a gambit he uses to try to take the curse off of not showing the faces of the cards..


I saw it on youtube (see below), but in that clip you only see him handing several of the blank cards that he dealt off the top to the spectator to examine and keep. The spectator also grabs a few more from the top of the deck to look at. You don't see the spectator getting the whole deck.

Spectator handles the cards at the end at 4:50 in this clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX4CRyANF1M

Jonathan Townsend
Posts: 8704
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Westchester, NY
Contact:

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby Jonathan Townsend » August 27th, 2015, 8:34 am

without looking yet... same blocking (sitting at a table...)?

anyway - great item and congrats to Joshua Jay
Mundus vult decipi -per Caleb Carr's story Killing Time

User avatar
erdnasephile
Posts: 4770
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby erdnasephile » August 27th, 2015, 9:22 am

Bob Coyne wrote:
erdnasephile wrote:Josh gave away the deck to the spectator at the end, and there was no equivoque. In the original MAGIC write up, Josh mentions a gambit he uses to try to take the curse off of not showing the faces of the cards..


I saw it on youtube (see below), but in that clip you only see him handing several of the blank cards that he dealt off the top to the spectator to examine and keep. The spectator also grabs a few more from the top of the deck to look at. You don't see the spectator getting the whole deck.

Spectator handles the cards at the end at 4:50 in this clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX4CRyANF1M


Fair enough; however, he does say right after 4:50 or so: "They're yours" as he indicates all the cards to the spectator. Maybe they were gaffed, but if so, that certainly fooled me again by implying the spectator could have all of them. Just a really great performance by Josh!

Bob Coyne
Posts: 717
Joined: January 26th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Favorite Magician: Charlies [sic]
Location: New York, NY

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby Bob Coyne » August 27th, 2015, 4:08 pm

erdnasephile wrote:
Fair enough; however, he does say right after 4:50 or so: "They're yours" as he indicates all the cards to the spectator. Maybe they were gaffed, but if so, that certainly fooled me again by implying the spectator could have all of them. Just a really great performance by Josh!


I agree! Whatever the exact method (difficult to know for sure given the editing), the performance and effect were both fantastic.

Joji Matsuo
Posts: 40
Joined: November 13th, 2012, 8:21 am
Location: Shizuoka, Japan
Contact:

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby Joji Matsuo » August 28th, 2015, 4:06 am

[quote="Ristiharju"]Funny... People criticize decision that Joshua Jay fooled Penn&Teller here when their own guesses are as far of as Penn&Teller's was :lol: There was no deck switch nor there was switch of a card or ringing in extra card from index. The routine is published in Joshua Jay's unreal set and it is much more clever than that. So the above 3-5 commenters were also fooled by Joshua Jay ;)]

I own and have watched this DVD set. Which disk is it on? What effect?

Edited Aug 31: It was on disk 3, the only disk of the set where I didn't use Play All. I was watching each one individually.

P.T.Widdle
Posts: 694
Joined: April 30th, 2008, 1:51 pm
Location: New York City

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby P.T.Widdle » September 1st, 2015, 8:41 am

This is the second time P&T have given out their "Fool Everyone" magic set. Shrink wrapped and everything, but I can't find it anywhere!

P.T.Widdle
Posts: 694
Joined: April 30th, 2008, 1:51 pm
Location: New York City

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby P.T.Widdle » September 17th, 2015, 3:58 pm

Rick Lax interviewed about fooling Penn & Teller:

http://boingboing.net/2015/09/17/rick-l ... nn-an.html

P.T.Widdle
Posts: 694
Joined: April 30th, 2008, 1:51 pm
Location: New York City

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby P.T.Widdle » September 22nd, 2015, 1:24 pm

Teller performed "Shadows" for the first time on TV.

and re-posting the new Vanity Fair interview with Teller here because it's so good:

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/ ... ing-tricks

User avatar
Dustin Stinett
Posts: 7257
Joined: July 22nd, 2001, 12:00 pm
Favorite Magician: Sometimes
Location: Southern California
Contact:

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby Dustin Stinett » September 22nd, 2015, 5:05 pm

A piece that I cannot see too many times going back to the first time, which was when the were The Asparagus Valley Cultural Society in San Francisco (1978 if I recall correctly). Brilliant magic.

Bill Mullins
Posts: 5913
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Huntsville, AL
Contact:

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby Bill Mullins » September 24th, 2015, 12:18 am

Eric Jones just killed on the show this week. We hosted him for a lecture earlier this year and he really is that good.

Bill Duncan
Posts: 1639
Joined: March 13th, 2008, 11:33 pm

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby Bill Duncan » September 24th, 2015, 12:38 am

Eric was the best I've ever seen him, and that's a pretty high bar to exceed.

He looked as at home on that stage as Penn and Teller do.

User avatar
erdnasephile
Posts: 4770
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby erdnasephile » September 24th, 2015, 4:24 pm

I really liked the last episode, and I agree with the Bills' comments Re: Eric Jones. I still can't figure how the spectators could have handled the coins and not felt anything, especially at the end. Extremely strong magic. The turtle conversation was hilarious!

The Paul Vigil trick was powerful as well. He is very polished, and as Penn said, he would have fooled just about anyone who hadn't read Paul's book (or wasn't familiar with some of the precursors). Well done.

The one thing I will say is that it seemed to take a relatively long time to get to the magic in some of the acts, but I think that's the advantage of this show over something like AGT, where they will "buzz" you.

Shadows was just spectacular--a trick only Teller could do justice to. I just can't imagine how much of an idiot one would have to be to try to steal that.

User avatar
erdnasephile
Posts: 4770
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby erdnasephile » September 28th, 2015, 7:39 pm

I just thought of a perfect trick for someone to do on "Fool Us": Dean's Triangle.

Based on P & T's reaction to the Eric Jones set (notice the absence of references to dolphins :D ), I'll bet it would fool them.
Last edited by erdnasephile on September 28th, 2015, 8:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Bill Duncan
Posts: 1639
Joined: March 13th, 2008, 11:33 pm

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby Bill Duncan » September 28th, 2015, 8:12 pm

erdnasephile wrote: I still can't figure how the spectators could have handled the coins and not felt anything, especially at the end. Extremely strong magic. The turtle conversation was hilarious!


Remember that at that point they have all four coins in their hand, and half dollars aren't common so they don't have a lot to compare. And they're under stress because they are in the spotlight at that moment, so there's a strong emotional motivation to get the coin into Eric's hand and the focus back on him.

You'd never use a spectator who want the attention.

User avatar
erdnasephile
Posts: 4770
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby erdnasephile » September 28th, 2015, 8:35 pm

Bill Duncan wrote:
erdnasephile wrote: I still can't figure how the spectators could have handled the coins and not felt anything, especially at the end. Extremely strong magic. The turtle conversation was hilarious!


Remember that at that point they have all four coins in their hand, and half dollars aren't common so they don't have a lot to compare. And they're under stress because they are in the spotlight at that moment, so there's a strong emotional motivation to get the coin into Eric's hand and the focus back on him.

You'd never use a spectator who want the attention.


Those are real good points, Bill. I hadn't thought about those.

I'm still amazed the spectator could handle the turtle so cleanly. Even magicians can't seem to handle turtles naturally (you can generally spot one across the room). Has the idea of letting the spectator do this been published before?

Kudos to Eric for his strong audience management skills as well as great chops.

Bill Mullins
Posts: 5913
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Huntsville, AL
Contact:

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby Bill Mullins » September 28th, 2015, 9:57 pm

erdnasephile wrote: I still can't figure how the spectators could have handled the coins and not felt anything, especially at the end.


Eric goes into detail on this subject in his lecture. These moments are very tightly scripted and choreographed. The coins are given to the spectator in such a way that their ability to detect by feel, or to see, if a "turtle" is in play is near non-existent. As mentioned, they are distracted by the pressure of the moment, and are intent on doing what the magician says rather than paying attention to thickness, edges, sounds, etc.

For those few seconds, there is a whole lot going on that we only see a little of.

P.T.Widdle
Posts: 694
Joined: April 30th, 2008, 1:51 pm
Location: New York City

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby P.T.Widdle » September 30th, 2015, 9:09 am

Another great show this week, and no card tricks!

P.T.Widdle
Posts: 694
Joined: April 30th, 2008, 1:51 pm
Location: New York City

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby P.T.Widdle » October 6th, 2015, 9:16 am

Great season finale, and not just because Penn said, "The more the word 'skeptic' is said, the better it is for our culture."

Brad Henderson
Posts: 4546
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: austin, tx

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby Brad Henderson » October 6th, 2015, 11:40 am

I guess that depends on what one means by skeptic.

are we genuine skeptics who look at the information and make claims based on facts, or are we talking about people who zealously preach the dogma as dictated by the church of Randi? I presume there are people out there who hang on every word he and his disciples utter, repeat them as nauseum as proof of how we should live our lives and produce our art.

Bill Mullins
Posts: 5913
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Huntsville, AL
Contact:

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby Bill Mullins » October 6th, 2015, 12:08 pm

Who were the guests?

Leo Garet
Posts: 617
Joined: March 14th, 2015, 9:14 am
Favorite Magician: Nobody In Particular

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby Leo Garet » October 6th, 2015, 12:14 pm

Brad Henderson wrote:I guess that depends on what one means by skeptic.

are we genuine skeptics who look at the information and make claims based on facts, or are we talking about people who zealously preach the dogma as dictated by the church of Randi? I presume there are people out there who hang on every word he and his disciples utter, repeat them as nauseum as proof of how we should live our lives and produce our art.

Yep. And it's not just Randi's disciples. It tends to be what "zealous disciples" do as a matter of course. It's in the job description.

Jonathan Townsend
Posts: 8704
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Westchester, NY
Contact:

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby Jonathan Townsend » October 6th, 2015, 12:35 pm

Bill Mullins wrote:Who were the guests?


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_%26_Teller:_Fool_Us

Suzanne came across well. As did the guy doing closeup to music.
Mundus vult decipi -per Caleb Carr's story Killing Time

P.T.Widdle
Posts: 694
Joined: April 30th, 2008, 1:51 pm
Location: New York City

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby P.T.Widdle » October 6th, 2015, 1:07 pm

Even though Suzanne had the fooler with her fine band-aid routine, Reuben Moreland was my favorite, with his playful Matrix with dice. He came across so well. You can't help but like him.

User avatar
erdnasephile
Posts: 4770
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm

Re: Penn & Teller: Fool Us - Season 2

Postby erdnasephile » October 6th, 2015, 9:40 pm

Suzanne fooled me as well. She owns that routine and it fits her like a glove. I'd like to meet her someday--she seems very cool.

I saw Rueben Moreland at IBM/SAM with his multi-colored dice matrix routine, but I think the version he performed on "Fool Us" had a few more blowoffs than what I witnessed in St. Louis. Very smooth and well done. The falling card effect is very cool. For some reason though, my family found his staring at the camera just a tiny bit...disconcerting.

Jared Kopf has a very distinctive stage presence, and I liked the fact he had a premise for his mentalism. I thought the routine was very strong, especially how he customized the denouement for P & T. However, I wish Penn had been more circumspect in his post-act commentary to help maintain the illusion. (Selfishly, I hope that Jared comes back and does a close-up act because I've heard he has big time chops).

I thought even though he didn't fool P & T, Derek Hughes was my favorite. So quick on his feet, polished, and really hilarious. His is a character that is just fun to watch. Unfortunately, the camera crew shot a close up at an inopportune moment, but he didn't miss a beat and scored well with the audience.

Can't wait for Season 3! (If there's one person I'd like to see next year, it'd be Daryl)


Return to “Buzz”