The Magicians on BBC1

Pete Firman recently gave an interview about the BBC series The Magicians. To hear the interview, click the link below. The link opens in a new window.
Radio Teasdale

The Magicians, BBC1, New Series This Week

The second series of The Magicians airs its first episode this Saturday. The format is to be different; each show will be broadcast live. Barry & Stuart are still part of the team; joining them will be Pete Firman and American magician Jason Latimer. You can read about the new series at

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b019fyjl

and if you want to be in the audience during one of the later shows, there is still an opportunity to get free tickets from

http://www.applausestore.com/applausestore-book-show.php?id=195&bid=1
The links will open in a new window.

Derren Brown’s Faith Healers

The recent Derren Brown special on Faith Healers was an interesting dip into the murky world of those who exploit people who have religious faith. Anyone who was interested in the program can follow it up by reading James Randi’s book The Faith Healers, published by Prometheus Books. The book gives a history of the subject and an analytical survey of faith healing in modern America.

Something to watch for in the near future is a Channel 5 program called Impossible hosted by Philip Escoffey. The show will be in a reality TV/game show format apparently. This continues the trend that has been present for some time now. BBC’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, BBC’s The Magicians and ITV’s Penn & Teller: Fool Us have all had a reality TV/rise to the challenge aspect to the them. The Derren Brown special on Faith Healers was just that, pushing Nathan, sometimes unwillingly, through his paces to meet the aim set by Brown. The last Derren Brown series, in which people were trained/mentored to tackle challenges, from escapology to being a quiz whiz, is another example.

I, for one, hope this trend fades. It detracts from the real point of interest which is magic and mentalism. I believe that the choice to do that, unfortunately, lies in the hands of those that hold the purse strings to make any of these programs and not with the performers.

R. Paul Wilson on BBC's The Magicians

Having seen three episodes of The Magicians I've warmed to the show. The second two episodes were much better than the first. I suggested in an earlier blog that making such a series from a magic perspective isn't easy and one of the consultant producers, R. Paul Wilson, recently gave an interview regarding the making of the series and the difficulties involved in making it. He explains why it was a "massive challenge."

Here is the link to the audio interview:

http://www.linkingpage.com/magicnewsfeed/2011/1/18/mnw-202-r-paul-wilson.html

The Magicians Website

The BBC website for the new magic series The Magicians is now live and can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcone/magicians/

I'm looking forward to seeing this series.

This is, as far as I know, my last blog entry for 2010 so Season's Greetings and Happy Holidays to everyone!

The Magicians, a new television series

Twitter was a-buzz today with news of the BBC bringing a new magic show to prime time television in the New Year. R. Paul Wilson and Alexis Conran, of The Real Hustle, will be the magical brains behind the program whilst other magicians appear in the program. The program will be called The Magicians; there have been some emails asking if (because of the name) the series connects in any way with my art exhibition Magicians which begins on October 31st of this year – no, there is no connection whatsoever. There will be an aspect of competition in the series. For more details see the BBC press release by clicking on the link below.

The Magicians