NBC's promos for Phenomenon are annoying me a fair bit. Maybe that's because I have a freaking brain, and that brain makes me remember things I've learned. The network is promoting this series on the basis that it's from the minds of Uri Geller and Chris Angel. Now I have no beef with Chris Angel except that he seems a bit more freak than mindfreak. But Uri Geller? Here's where the old noodle comes in.
You see, I happen to remember that Uri Geller is a famous fraud. He billed himself as a paranormalist who could bend spoons with his mind, but he's really just an illusionist. This wouldn't be a problem if he actually had billed himself as a magician all along, but he didn't do that. He claimed to be a psychic, but he's not. This is how I know about Geller's history: James Randi debunked him quite some time ago.
So is he billing himself as a magician now, since the show is all about illusions, or is he going by something like his old title? Either way, I'm offended that he's given an ounce of recognition whatsoever, except the one kind of recognition he so richly deserves. This guy's 15 minutes are good and up. This show would have more credibility if Kevin frelling Federline was Angel's co-host.
ID:35533
 Oct 8 2007, 5:19 pm
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Oct 8 2007, 5:22 pm
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Popisfizzy
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Chris Angel is pretty good though (unless they apply some fairly good editing to his stuff).
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I hate Chris Angel with a passion. He tries to make his stuff sound so extreme. He was going on the other day about how 'Houdini wouldn't go this close to the edge' and how he has a lot less regard for my own safety.
At the end of the day he (like pretty much every other escape artist) doesn't walk into a situation where luck comes into play. He'll push his skills to the limit in order to make it exciting but it's still planned out to the smallest detail. Yeah, accidents happen so there's always risk. It takes a lot of guts and confidence in your skills to do that sort of stuff. I just find it really annoying that he acts like he could die even if it all goes to right. | |
Why do you people get upset that people aren't honest on TV? You can barely trust the news anymore, and that's the one thing that's expected to be "true". Everything else is just entertainment. Even Dateline dramatizes their dreg to get more ratings.
Getting upset that that "talk show" or "magic show" was a "lie" is like getting upset that the latest episode of Heroes was a "lie". It's just entertainment; that's all its meant to be. | |
The difference is, Uri Geller claimed to be genuine and had a lot of people believing in him. That's a lot different than a magic show.
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Speaking of the latest episode of Heroes... aiyeeeee!
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I get upset because it's not simply tricking people. They make a lot of money off running scams and these TV shows only help boost their effectiveness.
The only difference between Uri Geller and people who go around collecting for fake charities is that he puts a lot more work into it. I love that bit in the clip with Johnny Carson right before the commercial where you can tell Uri is thinking 'oh crap, oh crap, I can bluff my way through a couple but he's got everything I do out here'. I don't think I've ever seen a conman fall flat on his face that hard. You don't usually see one of those types panic so he must have been caught completely off guard. | |
What I love about that clip is it puts me in absolute awe of Johnny Carson's professionalism. He thought to question the supposed leading psychic of the day, his own guest at that, instead of soft-balling him. Would any host these days have the courage to pull that off?
Hence why NBC's newfound adoration of Geller irks me. He was exposed on their own network, by one of their greatest stars of all time. Professional magicians certainly can't take Geller seriously, yet Chris Angel signed up with him (so actually, I guess I do have a beef with Angel) and the competition is intended to discover other talented illusionists. Magicians with any knowledge of the field and any self-respect will avoid this series like the plague, which gives you an idea of the type of people who'll be competing. | |
Lummox JR wrote:
Magicians with any knowledge of the field and any self-respect will avoid this series like the plague, which gives you an idea of the type of people who'll be competing. Replace "magicians" with "musicians" and the above sentence becomes a perfect description of [Pop/American/Australian] Idol... "Talent shows" are never actually about finding talent. They'll claim otherwise, but that's just marketing. They're merely intended to provide a spectacle. | |
The part that says bucket loads about Johnny's character is that he doesn't believe Uri, he knows it's just a bunch of tricks, but he was willing to give Uri a shot. He let Uri shoot himself in the foot rather than just opening with 'your full of crap' and tearing him to shreds.
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