What's on TV?
Hello friends,
There was lots to choose from last night.
My favorite things to watch are Televised Poker, Magic Specials, almost anything on The History Channel & Family Guy.
Last night things were three things I wanted to watch and all at once.
Mindfreak, WPT & Celebrity Poker Showdown.
The World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel Wednesdays at 9PM time. Until yesterday, I don't think I ever missed the 9 PM airing. I did however watch the repeat showing later that night.
The new season of Celebrity Poker Showdown. Which is now competing with the WPT! How dare they!
New host Phil Hellmuth Jr. made me choose to watch fake poker for last night. Normally I would prefer to watch the pros play but with Hellmuth as the new host, I had to see it. This is a man who gets so upset because he feels he is so good and that many other players besides him make bad choices when they play. What would he have to say about celebrity players mistakes? I had to know! I had my expectations that the Poker Brat would flip out on every hand.
Surprisingly he was more calm and more informative in that one half of the show I did watch than Phil Gordon was on a regular basis. I guess that is because he was not playing.
Phil Gordon is my favorite poker teacher. Get his book, The Little Green Book of Poker & DVD final Table Poker if you play and want to improve your game.
Hellmuth has some great books and DVD's too so don't think I'm knocking him. The man has 9 World Series bracelets. Though it is fun to watch him loose his mind. (sorry Phil).
Anyway, I knew Mindfreak was on in one hour & the Poker Showdown was a two hour program.
As much as I wanted to watch the last half of Celebrity Poker Showdown I had no choice I had to change the channel at 10:00 to see the new Criss Angel show. Reason? I often miss the repeats and really wanted to see the premiers yesterday.
I watched both back to back Mindfreak shows last night and really enjoyed them from a spectator's point of view. I put my magic knowledge on hold (I always try to when watching any performer).
I like the way the shows have a theme. Last night's shows were on levitations then vanishes.
I like the way various methods are employed to get the same type effect achieved. (Now I am thinking like a magician).
I enjoyed the fact that he is doing full illusions with an impromptu look. (Again thinking like a magician). I can't help it I am one.
And yes in real life you wouldn't have a Dekolta Chair on the patio in a resort hotel with random people sitting in it and another wrapped in a blanket. But this is TV and it was very refreshing to see it performed this way.
I know a lot of magicians may feel he is cheating but you know what? Television is a different medium and he, just like every other magician David Blaine, Copperfield, Burton, you name it are all using it their advantage, as they should. Not to mention network executives are probably demanding more and more from Criss and every other performer they have a show for.
The real audience, the target audience is not magicians, its teenagers watching from home. Don't forget that.
Remember magicians on TV in the 21st century are competing with computers, video games, special effects and gadgets people carry with them everyday that magician's couldn't dream of 20 years ago.
Performers on TV have to look good and do unimaginable feats to be able to keep the attention of a television audience.
I know what you are thinking, the building to building levitation was a bit out there, but if you think back, remember David Copperfield flew across the Grand Canyon.
Don't be jealous or picky, the shows are just that, shows and in my option more entertaining and more artistic than much of the magic I've seen in the past. Because this is a weekly program, the pressure is really on. He must always deliver. Always. Or the show ends.
I just loved when he brought Jeff McBride on as a guest. I loved it even more that he was performing in the desert in front of Angel's subconscious, Johnny Thompson, some misfits and a little person. That my friends is entertainment! Again, who is the real audience? The TV Viewers. See my comparison?
I saw people ripping on the Motorcycle Vanish on a magic message board.
If the internet were around when Copperfield first made the Statue of Liberty disappear with helicopters taking pictures and radar proving it was gone, would people rip on that as well?.
I am sure we would have seen the same bashing. My question is why?
Lance Burton made his car vanish, Franz Harrary made and island vanish and the Space Shuttle.
Why bad mouth the Motorcycle vanish? Compare it to all of the above and it was better. I looked the coolest of the lot of them. It moved, it made noise, it made clouds of dust, it did not use a manufactured cover.
Friends, think of the positive things magic on television does for you. Don't go ripping things apart. Just because you are unable to get away with it, doesn't mean others can't.
Imagine that a TV producer saw you do a few things and offered you a special. With production in the works he says. "I want a really big finish for your show." So far all the ideas you have suggested weren't big enough for them. He says, "My writing staff came up with this idea. We want you to make an armored car loaded with 5 tons of gold coins with a police escort vanish in the middle of the street while traveling at 55 miles per hour and reappear in your garage. We'll have cameras shooting both the empty garage and keep cameras on the car at all times. You come up with the method." Are you going to say NO? Think about it.
I've already got my method worked out and it will work great for television. Twins for driv
There was lots to choose from last night.
My favorite things to watch are Televised Poker, Magic Specials, almost anything on The History Channel & Family Guy.
Last night things were three things I wanted to watch and all at once.
Mindfreak, WPT & Celebrity Poker Showdown.
The World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel Wednesdays at 9PM time. Until yesterday, I don't think I ever missed the 9 PM airing. I did however watch the repeat showing later that night.
The new season of Celebrity Poker Showdown. Which is now competing with the WPT! How dare they!
New host Phil Hellmuth Jr. made me choose to watch fake poker for last night. Normally I would prefer to watch the pros play but with Hellmuth as the new host, I had to see it. This is a man who gets so upset because he feels he is so good and that many other players besides him make bad choices when they play. What would he have to say about celebrity players mistakes? I had to know! I had my expectations that the Poker Brat would flip out on every hand.
Surprisingly he was more calm and more informative in that one half of the show I did watch than Phil Gordon was on a regular basis. I guess that is because he was not playing.
Phil Gordon is my favorite poker teacher. Get his book, The Little Green Book of Poker & DVD final Table Poker if you play and want to improve your game.
Hellmuth has some great books and DVD's too so don't think I'm knocking him. The man has 9 World Series bracelets. Though it is fun to watch him loose his mind. (sorry Phil).
Anyway, I knew Mindfreak was on in one hour & the Poker Showdown was a two hour program.
As much as I wanted to watch the last half of Celebrity Poker Showdown I had no choice I had to change the channel at 10:00 to see the new Criss Angel show. Reason? I often miss the repeats and really wanted to see the premiers yesterday.
I watched both back to back Mindfreak shows last night and really enjoyed them from a spectator's point of view. I put my magic knowledge on hold (I always try to when watching any performer).
I like the way the shows have a theme. Last night's shows were on levitations then vanishes.
I like the way various methods are employed to get the same type effect achieved. (Now I am thinking like a magician).
I enjoyed the fact that he is doing full illusions with an impromptu look. (Again thinking like a magician). I can't help it I am one.
And yes in real life you wouldn't have a Dekolta Chair on the patio in a resort hotel with random people sitting in it and another wrapped in a blanket. But this is TV and it was very refreshing to see it performed this way.
I know a lot of magicians may feel he is cheating but you know what? Television is a different medium and he, just like every other magician David Blaine, Copperfield, Burton, you name it are all using it their advantage, as they should. Not to mention network executives are probably demanding more and more from Criss and every other performer they have a show for.
The real audience, the target audience is not magicians, its teenagers watching from home. Don't forget that.
Remember magicians on TV in the 21st century are competing with computers, video games, special effects and gadgets people carry with them everyday that magician's couldn't dream of 20 years ago.
Performers on TV have to look good and do unimaginable feats to be able to keep the attention of a television audience.
I know what you are thinking, the building to building levitation was a bit out there, but if you think back, remember David Copperfield flew across the Grand Canyon.
Don't be jealous or picky, the shows are just that, shows and in my option more entertaining and more artistic than much of the magic I've seen in the past. Because this is a weekly program, the pressure is really on. He must always deliver. Always. Or the show ends.
I just loved when he brought Jeff McBride on as a guest. I loved it even more that he was performing in the desert in front of Angel's subconscious, Johnny Thompson, some misfits and a little person. That my friends is entertainment! Again, who is the real audience? The TV Viewers. See my comparison?
I saw people ripping on the Motorcycle Vanish on a magic message board.
If the internet were around when Copperfield first made the Statue of Liberty disappear with helicopters taking pictures and radar proving it was gone, would people rip on that as well?.
I am sure we would have seen the same bashing. My question is why?
Lance Burton made his car vanish, Franz Harrary made and island vanish and the Space Shuttle.
Why bad mouth the Motorcycle vanish? Compare it to all of the above and it was better. I looked the coolest of the lot of them. It moved, it made noise, it made clouds of dust, it did not use a manufactured cover.
Friends, think of the positive things magic on television does for you. Don't go ripping things apart. Just because you are unable to get away with it, doesn't mean others can't.
Imagine that a TV producer saw you do a few things and offered you a special. With production in the works he says. "I want a really big finish for your show." So far all the ideas you have suggested weren't big enough for them. He says, "My writing staff came up with this idea. We want you to make an armored car loaded with 5 tons of gold coins with a police escort vanish in the middle of the street while traveling at 55 miles per hour and reappear in your garage. We'll have cameras shooting both the empty garage and keep cameras on the car at all times. You come up with the method." Are you going to say NO? Think about it.
I've already got my method worked out and it will work great for television. Twins for driv