I believe 2010's festive season was a dire moment in the history of magic on British Television.
The QI Xmas edition demonstrated the love and respect for the art that the editing/production team on the Paul Daniels Magic Show clearly had, that on QI was noticeably absent.
- The camera angle painfully exposed Scott Penrose's dove effect
A shot of Daniel Radcliffe laughing in the guillotine exposed the feked apparatus (although only if you were watching closely to be fair)
The BBC's New Year's Day's "Magicians" set out its stall with a cheesy dance troupe and went downhill from there. It places magic firmly in the 1970s/80s cruise ship mold. It is ironic that an attempt to bring the art "up to date" for the Saturday Evening Strictly audience in the 2010-2019 decade has set it back so far.
We await Penn & Teller's ITV offering... but check out their appearance on "Lorraine" last week when she demonstrated use of four balls in her version of the cups!
More than a decade on from David Blaine's and Derren Brown's first appearances revolutionising public perception of magic... what the hell is going on?
