talkmagic.co.uk

If we ignore the potty 'tube up your trouser leg etc' secrets, the proper tricks were quite good although I'd love to know what time of day they filmed in Asda. There are never, ever, never cashiers available like that! Good to see they did away with the panel of 'C' list celebs, hopefully for the third programme they'll do away with the daft tricks and secrets and show twice as much proper magic.

I was also suspicious about the filming in Asda and noted that their shelves appeared to be rather full whereas our local store always has empty shelves, regardless of the time of day!

One of FHM's recommended TV viewing programmes for this month is Derren Brown's new series... starting April 17th or thereabouts... I haven't got the mag with me so can't give you the exact date I'm afraid.

Surprisingly, the TV show will run parallel to his tour...

(Courtesy of Magicweek.co.uk)
For those with Sky and who may have missed the BBC2 transmissions:

Magic - The BBC2 series (Rpt)
Monday 18.7.05 - Friday 22.7.05
Throughout the day on UKTV Documentary and UKTV Documentary Plus 1. Dates and times tbc.

Get those VCRs at the ready!!

In case anyone hasn't had the regular 'what's new' e-mail from Alakazam, they say:

We have so many projects on the go including working on the new upcoming magic show Freaky to be aired next year on Channel 4.

Just spotted the 'How Edinburgh was held captive by Houdini' reference on Magicweek and followed the link to:
http://news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=1824432005 . Guy Pierce is a fine actor and I'm sure he'll do justice to the role!

Magick was quite a good program


although the presentation was a bit "weird" it wasn't bad (problem is that a.I only saw one episode and b. I missed russian roulette - didn't care about Blaine though.)

Derren is Really Friendly, i met him a couple of times

or possibly not to look forward to! On ITV at 9pm tonight, concluding tomorrow at the same time, is a two part drama called Marian, Again, which tells the disturbing story of a Bernie Sullivan who kidnapped an unsuspecting woman and imprisoned her for years until she lost all sense of identity. Stephen (Drop the Dead Donkey and Ballygobackwards etc) co-stars as the girl's ex boyfriend who becomes involved in the bizarre twists and turns of what is described as a worrying drama. The point of this post? According to Teletext today, Bernie is, 'a part time magician and full time fruit loop' so be prepared for unkind comparisons from unimpressed spectators!

Apparently the actor, Owen Teale, had to practice a few tricks to do in the program so it might be worth watching just to see what he actually does. His catchphrase, 'I am Magic' is used quite a bit so for crying out loud don’t start using it yourselves!

I almost missed this! According to our friends at magicweek ( www.magicweek.co.uk ):

Dirty Tricks, Channel 4's new 6-part magic series from Objective Productions, starts at 10.30pm on Friday 7th October. From Radio Times "Stephen Fry adopts the guise of an owl to host this offbeat, studio-based, magic show. Conjurer Pete Firman uses maggots and skewers in his escapades with celebrities such as Zoë Ball, and escapologist Jonathan Goodwin finds himself chained to his bed with a red-hot iron poised to fall on him. Featuring deranged double act Barry & Stuart."

So it's not likely to be mistaken for Paul Daniels or Stephen Mulhern!

Sunday December 5th Channel 5, 8pm. Said to involve tests to discover whether various people's claims of having psychic powers are correct.

The panel of 'experts' who are assessing things will include an illusionist - no name given out at the moment. The whole thing is presented by Trisha Goddard but don't let that put you off!

Tonight, 9pm, C4:

Derren Brown, The Gathering.

My work here is done...

Just had an email from Paul Zenon:

Season's Greetings!

Just a quick line to say have a good 'un and don't forget to tune in to yours truly's new show Paul Zenon's Revenge Squad tonight (Friday) at 11pm on ITV, and on New Year's Eve there's a one-hour one-man special White Magic: Paul Zenon at 11.45pm, also on ITV. Yes, I know you'll be out on the lash - so will I - so set the video! And don't forget that the new book Street Magic is the ideal last minute present - and it's cheaper if you buy it through the PZ website!

Very best wishes for a happy and healthy 2006,
pzx

There ya go!

Woo-hoo! I've just seen the www.magicweek.co.uk article which says:

Pilot points to a magic Saturday night. "Children’s presenter Dominic Wood and Dancing on Ice host Holly Willoughby are to star in a new Saturday night magic show for BBC1. Magic Maniacs, which will also feature Dirty Tricks magicians Alistair Cook and Pete Firman, is to be made by Objective Productions and is still at the pilot stage but if it proves a success it could herald the return of the genre to mainstream television." To read the full story by Liz Thomas in The Stage Click Here

About time too!

I saw this on Magicweek too! I really hope it makes it beyond pilot stage, Magic on a Saturday Night AND with the lovely Holly too boot! I would be a very happy bear! I mean its gotta be better than the ****ing ice skating thing on telly at the moment. Ah, it takes me back to watching the Paul Daniels show on a weekend! Here's hoping!