Season 3: Goodbye Jonathan, Hello Alyson!

[The Crazed Spruce]

Quote

Magicians Shawn Farquhar, Michael Kent, Nathan Burton, and Nathan Coe Marsh try to fool the veteran duo with their tricks. Alyson Hannigan serves as host.

[ae2]

Alyson Hannigan? I'm... intrigued. On the one hand, I've enjoyed watching her on TV for over half of my life now. On the other, she doesn't seem like a typical TV host. Here's to hoping she brings something fun and unique!

[Charlesman]

Not bad. Seemed to progress from the toughest to the easiest to figure out. 

[Porterest]

This Sherlock Holmes trick is driving me crazy. I have a theory; I just wish I could check it. (And now I see the appropriate thread. My apologies!)

Edited July 14, 2016 by Porterest

[Amarsir]

I wonder if this was the first one they filmed. Alyson seemed a little stiff during some of the early introductions, but was a good participant for the tricks.

I'm very impressed by Farquhar. He seems like he's got a really inventive mind for mechanics. (And is funny.) My problem with that book trick is that many audience members would assume what Penn & Teller did: that he memorized it. And while that would be incredibly difficult, I don't think it impresses the way it deserves to. (Even more so with a book switch.) So to do it anywhere other than Fool Us I think it needs more of a prover to weed out the false guesses.

[FormerMod-a1]

Why Allison Hannigan?  What happened to Jonathon Ross?

[Amarsir]

44 minutes ago, aquarian1 said:

Why Allison Hannigan?  What happened to Jonathon Ross?

Short answer: unavailable.

Long answer: Filming a season requires an opening in Penn's schedule, Teller's schedule, the Rio's schedule, the CW's shooting schedule, and the host's schedule. And there just wasn't one. Something had to go and Ross was the only one that's not essential. Everyone wanted him back, but it just couldn't happen. So they got Alyson to go in a completely different direction.

[mansonlamps]

I for one really missed Ross.  Alyson was okay, but Ross added a lot more to the show IMO.

I'm glad this is back, I actually look forward to it every week.  I'm a huge fan of magic although I can never figure anything out.

[SomethingClever]

I'm so glad to have this back!

The show definitely misses Ross. I love Alyson Hannigan, but she was much less natural as the host. She also didn't have the slightly adversarial camaraderie that Ross had developed with P&T. I'm hoping she'll relax and get more comfortable with it as the season goes on.

The other three were fine performing some pretty standard material (the multiplying bottles is a classic but, as they said, very well done), but Farquhar was clearly the standout. I could think of about 10 different ways he could've done that...and then he handed the book to Alyson. 

[Charlesman]

The multiplying bottles guy did a Reddit AMA yesterday. He actually pitched a different trick to the producers, but they saw his bottle routine on youtube and thought it would look better on television. So, even though it's a "buy it at the magic shop" decades-old standard routine, he went with that instead of the one he thought might actually fool Penn & Teller. He fully knew he wasn't going to fool them, but, accepted the idea that the point of being on the show isn't to fool them, but to get the exposure for your act.

[mansonlamps]

I have no idea what a Reddit AMA is, but that's interesting about the bottle routine.  As ignorant as I am on most magic tricks, even I know how that one is done and it seemed weird that he thought he would fool P&T with that.

[Rowsdower]

I'm a fan of Allyson Hannigan's acting, but I don't have much praise for her hosting (thus far).  She spoke with the cadence of someone reading words from a teleprompter without processing their meaning.

She did pronounce the letter "R" like a pro, though.  I'll give her that.

[theatremouse]

Reading a prompter and not sounding like you're reading a prompter is a skill. Of course, if you're going to host a show, it's a skill you should have, so I'm not giving her a pass or anything, but it's less easy than it might seem. She sounded like she'd never seen the text before. For all I know that's true. Felt very "first time I've done this" to my ear.

[greyhorse]

I think this is the first time I've ever seen this show and I only caught bits of it at that.  Are we allowed to discuss theories of how the tricks were done here?  

I think I started at the discussion of the "book" trick, which I have no idea what it was because I didn't see the beginning.  The tricks I did see where the multiplying bottles (which I will have to do some research but it does seem to just be sleight of hand) and the woman who disappeared in the box and reappeared behind Penn and Teller.

Unlike the "Magicians Untold" or whatever that show was where they actually revealed how the trick was done, this one apparently has Penn and Teller trying to guess, and even when they guess, it's done very cryptically in a manner that it doesn't reveal actually how it was done?  I fail to see how this is interesting for the viewer aside from simply just watching a magic trick on tv.

Edited July 17, 2016 by greyhorse
removed part of my post because I see there is a "How tricks were done" thread

[Amarsir]

12 hours ago, greyhorse said:

Unlike the "Magicians Untold" or whatever that show was where they actually revealed how the trick was done, this one apparently has Penn and Teller trying to guess, and even when they guess, it's done very cryptically in a manner that it doesn't reveal actually how it was done?  I fail to see how this is interesting for the viewer aside from simply just watching a magic trick on tv.

Penn has said they're trying to walk a line so that people who want to know get enough clues to look into it, but those who don't want to be spoiled aren't. And when you consider that some magicians get a fair amount of income from selling tricks, giving away their secrets on television isn't necessarily doing the magic world any favors.

In fact, in Season 1 they were less cautious about this. And I came across a guy who was complaining (politely) that he'd sold a trick to someone who then took it on Fool Us and got it revealed. So the performer gave away a secret that wasn't his to give away and potentially hurt sales from the inventor.  As for the interest, well we certainly enjoy discussing them here. In the "Behind the curtain" thread you seem to have found.

[greyhorse]

3 hours ago, Amarsir said:

Penn has said they're trying to walk a line so that people who want to know get enough clues to look into it, but those who don't want to be spoiled aren't. And when you consider that some magicians get a fair amount of income from selling tricks, giving away their secrets on television isn't necessarily doing the magic world any favors.

In fact, in Season 1 they were less cautious about this. And I came across a guy who was complaining (politely) that he'd sold a trick to someone who then took it on Fool Us and got it revealed. So the performer gave away a secret that wasn't his to give away and potentially hurt sales from the inventor.  As for the interest, well we certainly enjoy discussing them here. In the "Behind the curtain" thread you seem to have found.

Agreed.  As I said, this was the first ever show I've seen.  I love magic and was surprised there were two seasons already and I've never heard of this show.  I grew, as I'm sure most here did, watching those David Copperfield specials and was fascinated with how he made the Statue of Liberty disappear, walked through the Great Wall of China, escaped a locked safe of a building that was demolished, etc.  Back then, there was no such thing as the internet where we could easily discuss with people or find out answers.  Now that I understand the premise of the show, it does make it intriguing.  

I haven't done any research on the multiplying bottles, but I get what you say now.  I think Penn said something to the magician that he could read the label on the wine bottles and that the wine was "XXX XXX".  I'm going to assume that the name he mentioned once or twice is the guy who created the trick or the technique.

[Taeolas]

On 7/17/2016 at 0:21 PM, greyhorse said:

Agreed.  As I said, this was the first ever show I've seen.  I love magic and was surprised there were two seasons already and I've never heard of this show.  I grew, as I'm sure most here did, watching those David Copperfield specials and was fascinated with how he made the Statue of Liberty disappear, walked through the Great Wall of China, escaped a locked safe of a building that was demolished, etc.  Back then, there was no such thing as the internet where we could easily discuss with people or find out answers.  Now that I understand the premise of the show, it does make it intriguing.  

I haven't done any research on the multiplying bottles, but I get what you say now.  I think Penn said something to the magician that he could read the label on the wine bottles and that the wine was "XXX XXX".  I'm going to assume that the name he mentioned once or twice is the guy who created the trick or the technique.

As you watch more episodes, you'll find that is often what Penn will do. P&T have been around for so long, they not only know how most of the tricks are done, they know who did them first. So instead of giving details that may blow the trick too much, they'll name drop in their guesses, and if the other magician know's their trick's history, they'll pick up on it right away. 

*Edit* The other thing I've noticed, is that no matter how obvious the trick is, P&T will almost always complement the magician. Sometimes the mage is a jerk trying to get a 'win' on a technicality; those guys they tend to be less friendly with. But whether it's a kid doing a trick they got at the magic shop out in the hall, or someone who has pulled off something they legit have never seen before, they'll lavish them with praise and encouragement. Often times, P&T will really appreciate a trick they know by heart that is just very well done. 

Edited July 20, 2016 by Taeolas

[The Crazed Spruce]

Actor Jesse Eisenberg performs a trick with Penn & Teller; featured magicians include Brett Loudermilk, Dan Harlan, Ryan Joyce and Kyle Eschen.

[Amarsir]

"Now You See Me 2" must have paid P&T a lot of money. Between this appearance here and the glowing article Penn wrote, that is way more praise than a movie that makes a joke out of magic deserves. That said, Jesse Eisenberg did a fine job, using his personality to give a nice payoff on the trick.

Speaking of personality, I really enjoyed Kyle Eschen's performance. Deadpan humor isn't unique, but combining it with a sort of depressed awkwardness made for a hilarious act. The trick wasn't that impressive, but Penn's right - being funny is a real selling point.

The other one really memorable was Dan Harlan. Doing a trick he's made famous is good. Changing the method to fool P&T is amazing.

[greyhorse]

Did Jesse Eisenberg seem especially nervous?  It looked like his hands were shaking.  Not something you would expect of an actor who is used to being in front of a camera and an audience.

Hopefully going to get some enlightenment in the other thread!

[tominboston]

46 minutes ago, greyhorse said:

Did Jesse Eisenberg seem especially nervous?  It looked like his hands were shaking. 

Yes, I noticed the same thing and it seemed odd. I too hope to see an explanation of the tattoo trick in the spoiler section since that one had me completely baffled... I have to assume that there was something funny with the cards.

[SomethingClever]

I love Kyle Eschen's pesona. He's a really funny dude. I do think it worked a little better when he was younger though. This is my favorite performance of his:

Edited July 22, 2016 by SomethingClever

[Kromm]

On 7/21/2016 at 11:02 AM, greyhorse said:

Did Jesse Eisenberg seem especially nervous?  It looked like his hands were shaking.  Not something you would expect of an actor who is used to being in front of a camera and an audience.

Hopefully going to get some enlightenment in the other thread!

That quivery thing seems to be a constant for Eisenberg in most things he does. It's part of his default public persona, I'd say.

[nat-fthc]

I didn't catch what Dan Harlan said there at the end. Could someone enlighten me? I'm not asking how the trick was done, just what he told them at the end that revealed that he fooled them.

[SomethingClever]

So, the trick he did is called Card-Toon. It's a marketed effect which, as they noted in the show, is the best selling magic trick of all time. It's a great trick which is relatively simple to do (strong enough to kill not just on this show, but drew some rave reviews on Britain's Got Talent too). The trade-off for that simplicity is that you can't examine the deck (I won't explain the secret here, it's really easy to find if you want, just google "cardtoon"). When Dan tells them that he can show every card in the deck, they realize the method has to be totally different. 

[nat-fthc]

7 minutes ago, SomethingClever said:

So, the trick he did is called Card-Toon. It's a marketed effect which, as they noted in the show, is the best selling magic trick of all time. It's a great trick which is relatively simple to do (strong enough to kill not just on this show, but drew some rave reviews on Britain's Got Talent too). The trade-off for that simplicity is that you can't examine the deck (I won't explain the secret here, it's really easy to find if you want, just google "cardtoon"). When Dan tells them that he can show every card in the deck, they realize the method has to be totally different. 

Ahh gotcha. Thanks!

[The Crazed Spruce]

Featured magicians include Robert Ramirez, Dominik, Joel Ward and Mahdi Gilbert.

[SomethingClever]

I'm so glad the rest of the world got to meet Mahdi Gilbert tonight. He's absolutely incredible. Learning sleight of hand card magic is often an immensely frustrating process for those of us with two hands. I cannot even begin to imagine the perseverance it takes to develop and perfect card moves with no hands. Part of me thinks that Penn and Teller guessed what they did because they wanted him to fool them, but I also kind of think they just didn't think it was possible for a guy with no hands to do that purely by sleight of "hand".

As for everyone else, Dominik's act was good, but not really the style that I enjoy. Joel Ward's trick was fine, if a little generic, but he's the kind of comedy magician that I find kind of cringy to watch. Robert Ramirez, on the other hand, was genuinely funny without a bunch of canned lines, and had a great charisma and stage presence. I really enjoyed watching his act. 

[Amarsir]

9 hours ago, SomethingClever said:

Part of me thinks that Penn and Teller guessed what they did because they wanted him to fool them, but I also kind of think they just didn't think it was possible for a guy with no hands to do that purely by sleight of "hand".

I think it was a brilliant choice by them. Given several possible methods, guess one of the easier ones so if he beats them it's by exceeding expectations. Which he did.

Dominick actually made me think that we don't see that much escape magic. And that got me wondering if legitimate lockpicking doesn't have any place in the modern scene because audiences don't have the patience they did in Houdini's day.  Anyway I think more of us than just P&T caught the "dirty work", but it wasn't badly formed.

Blast Off is a P&T classic but I suspect this may be the last time they do it for the simple reason that Teller is 68. Which makes the moving around all the more impressive. But I noticed a difference here compared to how they performed it in the past. I won't say what but I'm wondering who else noticed.

[MsTree]

16 hours ago, Amarsir said:

Blast Off is a P&T classic but I suspect this may be the last time they do it for the simple reason that Teller is 68. Which makes the moving around all the more impressive. But I noticed a difference here compared to how they performed it in the past. I won't say what but I'm wondering who else noticed

I've seen them perform this on another one of their shows several years ago, but not sure what was different. Can you put it in spoiler tags for those of us who are now curious?

[SVNBob]

16 hours ago, Amarsir said:

But I noticed a difference here compared to how they performed it in the past. I won't say what but I'm wondering who else noticed.

I thought I'd seen something different to when I'd seen that particular routine before.  So I just looked back on YouTube for an older version, and I was right.  So it's probably the same change you noticed.

Though, I don't mind that particular alteration.  It does the same effect as the original move, but is probably a lot safer, and definitely easier.

[MsTree]

SVN Bob...not fair :-)  What did I miss?

[SVNBob]

Spoiler

What I saw was in the gag with the leg portion being upside down.  In the older versions, when Teller was younger, he pushes his own legs into the box and sticks them out the sides, holding himself upside-down and supporting himself on his shoulders.

In this version, Teller used artificial legs for the gag.  Again, same effect, but easier on Teller than continuing to do it himself.

That's the big change I saw, and I think I understand why it was made.  Was that what you saw @Amarsir?  Or was there something else beyond that?

[Amarsir]

Yup, that's the one. :)

[mansonlamps]

On 7/27/2016 at 11:42 PM, SomethingClever said:

I'm so glad the rest of the world got to meet Mahdi Gilbert tonight. He's absolutely incredible. Learning sleight of hand card magic is often an immensely frustrating process for those of us with two hands. I cannot even begin to imagine the perseverance it takes to develop and perfect card moves with no hands. Part of me thinks that Penn and Teller guessed what they did because they wanted him to fool them, but I also kind of think they just didn't think it was possible for a guy with no hands to do that purely by sleight of "hand".

As for everyone else, Dominik's act was good, but not really the style that I enjoy. Joel Ward's trick was fine, if a little generic, but he's the kind of comedy magician that I find kind of cringy to watch. Robert Ramirez, on the other hand, was genuinely funny without a bunch of canned lines, and had a great charisma and stage presence. I really enjoyed watching his act. 

I agree with everything but I would switch the comments about Ward and Ramirez.  I thought Ward was genuinely funny and Ramirez kinda cringey.  Just goes to show you can't please everyone.

[MsTree]

23 hours ago, SVNBob said:

  Hide contents

What I saw was in the gag with the leg portion being upside down.  In the older versions, when Teller was younger, he pushes his own legs into the box and sticks them out the sides, holding himself upside-down and supporting himself on his shoulders.

In this version, Teller used artificial legs for the gag.  Again, same effect, but easier on Teller than continuing to do it himself.

That's the big change I saw, and I think I understand why it was made.  Was that what you saw @Amarsir?  Or was there something else beyond that?

Thanks Bob! Now that you mention it, I do recall the difference.

[The Crazed Spruce]

Featured magicians include David & Leeman, Jibrizy, Rick Maisel and Felix Bodden.

[marketdoctor]

I liked it a lot.  The escape from the washing machine was particularly impressive (and matches my limited understanding of what Houdini would have done.  As P & T noted, a lot of it (not all) was just doing it.)  I wondered if Amber Lynn was the same Amber Lynn that was on America's Got Talent this week.

Likewise the fire eating at the end...that was a nice presentation of a genuinely dangerous stunt.

[Amarsir]

I was just saying last week how we don't see many Houdini-style escapes anymore and then here's a great one. Getting someone else to talk the audience is a great way to cover the duration, and much better than having the magician do all the talking while an assistant actually does the work.

The trick that fooled them was a little unsatisfying as a "fool" goes, simply because it seemed like "guess the wrong viable method of several". But I liked the guy and was rooting for him, so no complaint really.

What I like about Penn's fire-eating, which I'm sure is not an accident, is that it takes something that's traditionally a "Carnie Trash" low-class trick and turns it into something elegant. It's a very respectful way to treat something that was traditionally relegated to a Freak Show level performance.

[theatremouse]

9 hours ago, marketdoctor said:

I wondered if Amber Lynn was the same Amber Lynn that was on America's Got Talent this week.

Yes, both of them (who were not in the washing machine) were the same pair from AGT of the shot-in-the-neck-with-flaming-arrow fame.

Edited August 4, 2016 by theatremouse

[marketdoctor]

Quote

Yes, both of them (who were not in the washing machine) were the same pair from AGT of the shot-in-the-neck-with-flaming-arrow fame.

Thanks.  I'm glad he's OK, and that they got another shot at fame.

[Kromm]

On 8/4/2016 at 9:48 AM, marketdoctor said:

 I wondered if Amber Lynn was the same Amber Lynn that was on America's Got Talent this week.

This show and AGT have a huge crossover.  I think most of the decent magic acts who have appeared on one show make their way to the other one eventually.

[marketdoctor]

Quote

This show and AGT have a huge crossover.

True, and P & T did "Blast Off" on an earlier season of AGT.  It was just an oddly close exposure for them.  OTOH, I don't see as much crossover from Masters of Illusion.  I think Piff the Magic Dragon has done all three--but the dynamic is different. 

[The Crazed Spruce]

Featured magicians include Alex Ramon, Greg Frewin, Vinny Grosso and Arthur Trace.

[SomethingClever]

I didn't catch the episode when it aired, but I'm excited to watch when it goes online. I've seen Arthur Trace lecture on two occasions, and he's an absolute delight. 

[Kromm]

Geez, that trick with the guy being chained up was old hat.  And yet predictably the audience goes nuts for it.

[SomethingClever]

Yeah, I'm not much for big stage illusions, they're all kind of the same to me, but people seem to love them.

I thought the other 3 acts were very good though. I was blown away by Alex Ramon. What a terrific presentation for that trick. Entertaining, polished, funny, and with a great magical moment at the end. 

[Kromm]

9 minutes ago, SomethingClever said:

Yeah, I'm not much for big stage illusions, they're all kind of the same to me, but people seem to love them.

I laughed at how he had to bang on about how he invented the trick himself, when if you get around the stage dressing, it is the same as every other trick where you lock someone in a box and/or put a curtain in front of them and they escape and swap places (and avoid dangerous things piercing the box or area). They're literally all the same trick, aren't they?

[marketdoctor]

Quote

Yeah, I'm not much for big stage illusions, they're all kind of the same to me, but people seem to love them.

Done well, and done live, I can find them impressive (because the various tricks are designed for stage perception.)   That said, if you do them too often, they get repetitive.  Card tricks can fall into that trap ("is this your card?") but the things you can do to a card give you some options. 

I keep hoping someone will pull a stage version of Card-Toons, and do something really original.  (Hydrophobic sand; Mike Super's chair; some people are trying tricks that involve tablet computers, and some that use other high technology.)  Google glass could have opened up people for a little while, but you would have needed different frames, and possibly a tech-naive audience.

[theatremouse]

Oh, I am so completely bored of any and all tricks that involve iPads.