Ok guys, put it out there,
your thoughts on the special?

Personally I think it'll be better if Blaine will do more than 8 effects.
A total of less than 10 effects for a magic special is unacceptable IMO.

Yeah...I was a little disappointed with thenumber of effects he performed. And there were WAY too many commercial breaks.....About every 3 minutes there was a break. Just a couple of times, I'd like to see Blaine come up with his OWN stuff. I was sort of surprised to see he didn't make the record. I mean, I understand it's difficult to hold your breath for that long, but on network television...to fail like that...hmm...I thought they said on one of the promos he "would break the record or die trying."...nuts...neither one happened. They pulled him out. That's false advertisement, ABC!!!!!

I was waiting for the "death" part too. Interesting that one of the safety divers jumped in and held his nose shut for a few seconds I thought...

I heard he made around $70,000 a day- a commercial break every three minutes would help pay that I think...

I thought the interview segment with Evel Kneivel was interesting as well. David was trying to say that we all have the ability to do what he does- which I think is "why" he is doing this stuff (maybe I'm attributing something more to a meaningless stunt). Evel wasn't hearing any of it, He repeatedly and forcefully insisted that only certain people can do what they have done/are doing.

The past programs as well as this one have, to me, lacked vision. There is no point to them in a larger context. I think the shows themselves are produced nicely with everything based on a central theme or idea (ie confinement). I just feel that there is no point to it...it doesn't go anywhere. I never thought for a second that he would really die, nor did I think he could/would break the record. There just isn't any reason for the things he is doing...maybe that's reason enough...


Highlights- For me the bar thing (I honestly didn't see the whole thing I am a 'Deal or no Deal' junkie).
Well peace love and all that jazz,
JTW

Fox news said it the best this morning: "Stuntman David Blaine, etc....)

This was in my opinion David's Best special. The footage that he had recorded of him underwater, the interviews, it all went together so well. And we saw some of the most horrifying and captivating footage ever broadcast in primetime I am sure ( the clip of the free diver that died...) It really created a sense that what he was doing was incredibly dangerous...


Hats off to David!

I like him better after this show. SEAL training is pure grit. So incongruous with the tuxedoed image so many of the public have of magicians, but closer to reality for some magicians... (vague but some will get it).

High paid or not, his chops were on the line in this. Imagine being in a tank for even 2 days, let alone 7. Not a relaxing experience-- a huge swath of the public would come out of it insane.

Then again, maybe the frozen experience did drive him nuts, and that's why he did this one?

Evel said he was more of a daredevil, like himself. Blaine did not make the record nine minutes, but the attempt may have done damage to his body that is irreversible, if the reports are true. I liked the parts where he mentioned Houdini and the feats he did in his day.

Glenn

I must confess I TIVO'ed it and zipped through the entire special and watched only the 15 or so minutes of magic. I appreciate the publicity he gives to the magic industry by keeping it alive in the media, but I'm not very interested in his stunts.

I was disappointed by the lack of magic. And when they did show the magic, it seemed rushed, like they were ready to get to the next commercial. It was drawn out way to long and c(sh)ould have been an hour or even 30 minutes long.

OK...A few thoughts on the comments already posted.

The reason the safety dive kept his nose and mouth closed was to make sure that he didn't aspirate water into his lungs and make the problem worse.

Seal Training...Please...I'd be supprised if he did more then a few hours with the instructors. Yes he was down in Coronado where BUD/S training is held, but making yourself a sugercookie and a little surf tortuer does NOT put you in their caliber.

The free diver segment was tacky at best.

I'm not a Blaine basher, I've met him. He's a nice guy that has a talent to draw people into him. We (magicians) need to remember that he does these shows for lay people for entertainment, not to impress us.

I would of liked to have seen a few more effects, Nash was correct more then 10 would of been better.

A 7 minute breath hold is nothing to sneeze at.

All in all I thought it was pulled off well.

IMHO this was not a stunt but a trick... He is a magician. David did not make the record because he couldn't make a world record and hold up to the scrutiny of testing involved with an actual world record. Falling just short was the only option -- 7 minutes, still superhuman... But no testing needed.

I only hope that David explains to people more clearly that he is a magician. You don't want crazy teens around the country drowned trying to recreate the stunt...

Blaine MUST be credited with stirring magical interests in the general public, and making magic hip and edgy. I admire him for this and give him a load of credit.

Gianni

True Gianni... He helped bring a new generation of fan to magic.

He should be credited for bringing magic to a new high and he should also be credited for making it be a morning talk show joke.
It's amazing how fast the tide can turn.

I've already had a couple of people ask me how long I can hold my breath. My reply, I'm a magician not a deep sea diver. We're gonna get a lot of questions and challenges like that now.

The show as okay in my opinion. It's kind of ironic how Evel was on it because that's more like what these stunts reminds me of. Even how the show was put together reminded me of the same kind of suspense the Knievel guys (Evel and his son Robbie) use to do. I was a huge fan of Evel's when I was a kid and this reminded me of that. Doesn't matter to me how it was accomplished. I did like the suspense feeling and that's all that matters to me.

Ron Jaxon

Truthfully, I think that it was some of the most compelling entertainment that I have ever seen. I caught myself wondering if the atmosphere was similar to when Houdini did his upside down straitjacket escape on street corners. As a matter of fact, Houdini's straitjacket escape was not well received until he started performing it in the open where the audience could see that there was no trickery(?) but instead, his sheer will and strength that allowed him to escape. David captivated the world for a week, and then attempted a world record on a two hour special. Fine work if you ask me.

What does he do for magic? Well, as a table worker, I can't tell you how many people ask about David Blaine and his "levitation" when I begin a conversation with them. That gives me and the spectator a common bond, so suddenly, I am not a jerk when Ipull out a deck of cards and begin an effect. It's implied credibility.

Is his magic the strongest magic in the world? Maybe not, but surely some of Paul Harris's influences and routines can't be balked at. They are time tested effects that SPECTATORS REMEMBER.

I am not what you would call a Blaine fan, but I think the stunt was brilliant, and I appreciate all that he does for magic.

Scott Compton

I liked the card-in-phone trick a lot... but probably because it is one of my signature pieces...

I wish he would have stayed away from it:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf6wIgf3E8c

I have been perfoming this for more than a year on lot's of television shows all around the world. I will post more versions from different markets soon... have fun...

Probably a silly question, but....they said he was in salt water, how do you open your eyes in salt water without it burning them?

When the saltwater is really Perflubron.

They called it salt water but it's not, it's essentially the same "mix" as the water that naturally moistens your eyes.

Salt water and fresh water alternately swell or tighten the skin on the human body, this doesn't do either because it's a neutral balance of the two.