talkmagic.co.uk

Interestingly enough Pete Firman is MC'ing at The Headliners Comedy Club in Chiswick tonight... which is where I'm heading for my 30th should anyone wish to join in the fun!

30th? ... golly Mark ... officialy an old man!

Rob

I think the scripting of the Staurt and Barry tricks are quite good - i think it's interesting how they weave a story around their tricks - although the rabbit and the hat one did seem a bit rude, and i thought they said there was going to be 16 rabbits anyway!!

I think Ali and Jonathan could be used better - Ali has great close-up skills, and Jonathan doing home-made escapes is just well...rubbish.

The hypnotist is sometimes funny, but it also seems very cheap and tacky and it's what you expect from a holiday cabaret routine.

I do like the different acts, they have on each week, such as the crossbow man, and Peter Marvey, and the bubble-magic man.
One thing i particularly didn't like from last week, was when the bubble-magic man had been on, and the annoying voice-over (monkey) said 'get a proper job' - I don't really think that's the way to be treating specialised acts, that go out and perform to people. He's got more skill, than doing voice-overs...and if that's the opinion of the programme makers, why did they book him?

I see your point Jing, I was quite surprised at the way they insulted their guests - but I don't think it was the monkey's decision to say that, there was most probably some writers behind the lines and Nick (monkey) came in and read them. I don't think the makers meant it either as it's clearly all in jest and every week the animal's say the same sort of thing - it's more a reflection on the animal's 'character' as opposed to the performer himself. And I thought the bubble man was entertaining as well. Plus, I guess he saw the programme before it went out and didn't mind the comment and it's clear what he did was impressive (despite skill or lack thereof) and the audience liked him.

This show just gets worse and worse. Its really not allright to say its good to have a magic show back on TV whatever it is. We have far more talent in the magic business than showcasing these bunch of pratts, and so this show even being a late at night adult rated entertainment could have been much, much better than this. Stuart & Barry just are the most annoying amateurs, The weekly regular spots including Kill Foxy are just yawningly boring now and doing no justice at all to stage illusion at all. I suspect that all of the studio filming had been done on a tight schedule and very evident that the budgets are low. the whole thing just seems to have been just thrown together again I guess in the hope of making their money quickly and giving Channel 4 something like they think they wanted. Objective productions really need to get their heads together and produce some quality magic shows ( Or give it up to someone else who can), rather than just banging out the seemingly endless stream of below par rubbbish that is doing the profile of magic and magicians no good whatsoever on TV. For my money the best magic series we have had in the last couple of years has been BBC 2's MAGIC.

Well this was the first one I watched and can see what you all mean now!

When I sat in the studio, it was entertaining as I mentioned before! In fact I was actually in tears of laughter at some points! But, when you are sat there and are being constantly entertained with a warm up act inbetween and feeders of previous filming while the next section is being set up, then the giggles are already on a roll. I prepared myself for a good giggle once again when I sat down on Saturday night......still preparing!

I completely understand what is meant by the scripting of Barry and Stuart. I watched the smaller one on his own doing basic tricks when I went to meet the producers, and was all very good. But with the OTT Dick and Dom style, it becomes quite irratating.

Mark, think they may have cut the bit with me as a friend of mine said he spotted me sitting at the front when they done a wallet trick last week.

Lucie xx

They may have cut yout out Lucie ... but by the sounds of thing you're better of out of it

Any luck finding your Magic Man yet? how long do you have to go before the brighton show?

Rob

I think the general trend of comments about DT sums it all up quite accurately. There's the possibility that we're actually expecting something from the programme which it didn’t set out to provide - and that something is magic.

My very personal and totlaly biased conclusion is that magic is secondary to everything else on that programme, Stuart and Barry's witty ripostes and exchanges seem to take priority over any effects they do. Even though they can actually be funny and entertaining, it's just coming over as 'Look at me Ma, I'm on telly'. Pete Firman can do far, far better but seems to be concentrating on 'gross' effects (No, I don’t mean he does 144 of 'em!). Ali Cooke is wasted - his segments could be done just as well by the escapologist's Dad. And on that topic, having listened to a lecture recently by Scott Creasy (escapologist!), I can safely say that Jonathan needs to talk to real escapologists - they can show him where he's going wrong! (Mind you, seeing him end up with a bum full of pins was slightly amusing in a perverse kind of way and I'll bet everyone who watched that bit went, ' Aaargh!' (or something similar) when he dropped into the bath!)

The rabbit from the 'hat' was wrong on so many levels and I don't think I can add much to the comments above - smut isn't magical, it's just descending to the 'mucky little school boy jokes' area. IMHO Lucie had a lucky escape to be not associated with this level of TV! I think by now we've got the point that people can be hypnotised, make them resort to gutter language, and act seemingly out of character - can we have some entertainment instead please Mr.Hypnotist?

If you stand back a bit from all the minute details, I think you'll see that there hasn't been a lot of real magic involved, the same effects being used over and over, the same intention to use a rigged selection process and method to kill Foxy (yet they never bring him back so it's always only half a trick!), the same appearance effect for the voiceover animal, the same choreographed patter exchange for S & B etc. It not just a bad magic programme, it's more like someone couldn’t be bothered to make each programme different. Anyway, that's just my opinion and, like most others, I'll still be watching the next programme!

I agree with you, Mandrake. Much of it isn't magic, it's novelty acts like balancing a motorbike on the chin, or making square bubbles. Nice as they are, they're filler, especially in a supposedly cutting edge show.

Perhaps there should be a CAMRA-style Campaign for Real Magic...

Accept no immitation: Support CAMRM today!

I think that Ali Cooke is being used in the programme because most of the general public have never seen or heard of him before. What I think the makers are trying to portray is that Ali is a lay person who's trying his hand at these stunts, whereas we know that he's better than this.

am i the only one that thought that they should of produced more than one bunny this week?
It would of made the routine less gratuitious.
I understand that , because of the method used, you could onlu realy do one bunny, but other methods could of been bought into play.

Nope .. i agree with you Dale .... they played on the old story talking about 16 or 17 rabbits over and over and then only pulled on out.

Very poor performance.

Rob

Isn't it ironic that such a complained-about show has resulted in one of the longest threads on TM?

I can understand Lucie's point - I guess being at a live recording there's always more of an atmosphere that just doesn't come across on TV and it's easy to get caught up in it - then later you look back and wonder what was so great about it. I'm sure most of the people there had a great time, it's just us magicians who loathe it (for the most part).

Still, as a bit of lightweight Friday night back-from-the-pub type entertainment I suppose it just about does the job.

dat8962 wrote:I think that Ali Cooke is being used in the programme because most of the general public have never seen or heard of him before. What I think the makers are trying to portray is that Ali is a lay person who's trying his hand at these stunts, whereas we know that he's better than this.

Don't you mean Jonathan?

I just had a thought that the show would be better if the hosting animal was dropped, Pete Firman and Ali Cook presented the show as they seem the most natural and have "presenter" skills.

Barry and Stuart should do the bit in the house as they have a cruel sense of humour to make it more extreme and do some of their story tricks each week like the trick with the rubiks cube but not illusions. Jonathan the escapes man I think is good but should also have a bit in the studio perhaps with Ali and Pete.

The hypnotist should still be in the show for the token "if you really hate magic you might like this bit" but his bit should be shorter.

And have a few more guests to keep up the pace?

Just to say I've seen the line-up for the Mental Magic week - seems like there's some good stuff going on, with a programme regarding foolish escapes, magic that's gone wrong, Mindfreak, 50 Greatest Magic Shows and Rajan the Evil Hypnotist...on Monday to Friday on E4, shows starting around 9pm/10pm. Worth a watch, I think.