It was Fox that did the "Breaking the Magician's Code" specials with "The Masked Magician." One of Mike Darnell's first bright ideas that got him attention.
Mark Jeffries Saints Spotlight Editor [email protected] On Fri, Sep 7, 2018 at 10:40 PM Steve Timko <[email protected]> wrote: > “Magic For Humans” by Justin Willman has dropped on Netflix. Fans of > magic, and even those only casually interested, will find it entertaining. > Willman dampened my enjoyment by bending if not breaking the contract the > honest magician has with the audience on what kind of cheating is allowed. > > There was at least one magic show on a major network – I think ABC – back > in the 1980s that featured magic tricks. And it turns out the biggest trick > in the show, the disappearance of an elephant or something like that, was > completely fraudulent. In other words, it wasn’t smoke or mirrors. They > shot that part of the show without an audience, stopped the camera, removed > the elephant, turned on the camera and later put in audience reaction from > another trick to suggest there had been an illusion. They got busted when > other magicians turned them in. > > The rules are still bent today. I read a commentary a few weeks ago by the > guy who oversees the magic at the Magic and Comedy Club in Hermosa Beach > and he notes he has problems with Criss Angel and another magician – maybe > Dynamo? – because they use camera angles and editing to deceive viewers. I > can’t find that article now to link to it. > > *MILD SPOILER WARNING* > > So in the first episode, Willman tells us he is approaching people > randomly on the street and doing magic tricks. He pulls thinks out of a > bag. The final trick in this is pulling a guy’s wife out of the bag. > Willman defended the trick on Reddit, where there had been accusations of > CGI or other video trickery. He says he uses an M Bench. I know what a > standard M Bench looks like. I don’t know if there’s a special magician’s M > Bench. > > LINK > <https://www.reddit.com/r/Magic/comments/9820dx/justin_willmans_magic_for_humans_has_dropped_on/e4fxp75/> > > But my point is, if this was a genuinely random interaction with someone, > I don’t see how they could have had his wife ready to jump in and do the > trick. There’s a gap that damages his credibility. > > In another trick, Willman is shown running to camera left and then rolls > up driving a vehicle second later on camera right. Clearly there was a > longer lapse of time before he arrived. > > I don’t know how he did the tricks so I can’t say if these are venial sins > or mortal sins. > > Other than that, it’s a great series. It’s a hybrid of comedy and magic. > If you are on the fence about watching it, watch the first episode and then > the third episode, which is the one everyone is talking about. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
