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Magic Patrick Inner circle Minnesota 1591 Posts |
Was anyone impressed with the finale of this weeks Masters of Illusions? I was watching it with my sister in law and she saw right through it. Take a girl, put her in a box with swords and then put a ginormous curtain in front of it for a while and the magician supposedly changes places with her. Unfortunately the blue curtain was moving as if it were blowing in the wind. That kind of gave it away as to how this was done. So long story short, if this is what we put on TV then we (magicians who perform like this) are exposing more than the MM. Just my thoughts.
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Christopher Lyle Inner circle Dallas, Texas 5698 Posts |
A serious response here (no joking or kidding with what I'm about to say), but are really surprised? I've said it before, but the "majority" of the people who have performed on that show are in NO WAY "Masters" of anything other than "poor performances!"
The show (in my opinion) has become a joke! It began really strong with a couple of weak performances here and there and it's now gravitated into a full show of crap with maybe one or two good bits of business tossed in at some point. I do enjoy watching Krysten Lambert BUTCHER magic as a whole. Did anyone see her TT load this week. WOW! Gave the guy a thumbs up first and then her thumb went down into her fist first and ta-da....CRAP! Based on what I have seen KL perform for the Street Sessions, I think she went to the nearest magic shop she could find and said "what can $50 buy me?" and now she's performing that crap on TV. Hacks me off something awful!
In Mystery,
Christopher Lyle Magician, Comic, Daredevil, and Balloon Twisting Genius For a Good Time...CLICK HERE! |
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Ray Pierce Inner circle Los Angeles, CA 2607 Posts |
Well, let's face it. If you had the real Masters of Illusion on a show you would be lucky to fill up two episodes, and that could be diminished by what they were paying.
It's the same challenge to fill the Castle with 7 acts a week of stellar magicians. If you have a commitment for 13 episodes and each one with 7 or 8 acts, you're just going to have to lower the bar some to get those spots filled with the budget you're working with. This isn't to say that great acts haven't been seen on the show. It's given us a chance to see some great magic from some of the country's top performers, It's just hard to hold up the standards when you have so many spots to fill. Now you could change the title of the show to "A Few Masters of Illusions and Some So-So Guys Thrown In" but it would be a little bit harder to sell to the networks. Let's just accept that to get the chance to have some great acts documented, we have to sit through some other ones. One is the price we pay for the other.
Ray Pierce
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Terry Owens Inner circle Ft. Wayne, Indiana 1707 Posts |
Nothing bad about the main line up...Tony Clark, Jeff Hobson, Dave Williamson, Dan Sperry, Ed Alonso, Jeff McBride, Mac King and several more. That sounds like a great line up of stars to me. Not everyone is going to like everything but I very much appreciated Gay Blackstone for putting a cast of magicians of this caliber together for all to enjoy.
The on the street spots stunk, but over all I enjoyed watching each week. |
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Christopher Lyle Inner circle Dallas, Texas 5698 Posts |
This is the reason I TIVO the show...nothing like FAST FORWARD! lol!
In Mystery,
Christopher Lyle Magician, Comic, Daredevil, and Balloon Twisting Genius For a Good Time...CLICK HERE! |
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dearwiseone Inner circle Portland, OR 1143 Posts |
They should have called it "Aspiring Apprentices of Illusion," with the exception of a few of the performers. It's unfortunate Krysten Lambert was given so much air time, her unpolished routines and TERRIBLE handling haven't done magic a favor! We cringe every time she comes on screen! The show is a very weird mix of pros (McBride, King, etc.) and aspiring amateurs, I'm not sure what the producers were thinking.
All that being said, I've enjoyed watching a few of the acts. It makes me long for the days of watching World's Greatest Magic on TV growing up. Levent made an interesting comment, something to the effect of being grateful for the show because it put him on the map, gave him credit, kind of bumped him up a notch. I thought that was neat. On another note, I think the show has given lots of people hope. They see the not-so-good magic on the show and think, "Hey, if they can do it and get on TV, and I can do it better, then I can get on TV too!" They realize that their aspirations of "making it big" or a TV appearance or whatever, might not be as far out of their reach as they originally thought! |
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Christopher Lyle Inner circle Dallas, Texas 5698 Posts |
The problem is, if your a laymen and you see a really bad magician, then it will sour you for magic FOREVER!!! I hear it all the time. I'll approach a table in one of my restaurants and I'm told that they hate magic b/c they saw some other guy do it before and he was awful. They won't give me a chance to turn them around again all thanks to ONE GUY (or gal) they saw perform a while back.
This show is showcasing AWFUL magicians (with exception of a few) and in my opinion, it's hurting the art of magic just as much as the show that follows. The street magic sessions need to feature actual street magicians that are familar with that atmosphere. Don't take a bunch of people that are not any good and feature them in front of the camera. It's very painful for them I'm sure as it is for us to watch.
In Mystery,
Christopher Lyle Magician, Comic, Daredevil, and Balloon Twisting Genius For a Good Time...CLICK HERE! |
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EsnRedshirt Special user Newark, CA 895 Posts |
There is an old joke-
Q- How many actors does it take to screw in a lightbulb? A- Only one. The rest are there to complain about how they could have done it better. The same may well be said about some magicians, I guess. Remember, this is television. The producers are doing it for ratings; Krysten may be getting the air time because there's not a lot of female magicians, and she looks good in front of the camera. Besides, if a layman is soured by one bad magician, they weren't the type who would ever really enjoy magic in the first place. (Some people don't- no accounting for taste.) At any rate, one of my coworkers saw an episode or two and was telling me how much she enjoyed it, so there are a variety of opinions on the quality of the show.
Self-proclaimed Jack-of-all-trades and google expert*.
* = Take any advice from this person with a grain of salt. |
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Christopher Lyle Inner circle Dallas, Texas 5698 Posts |
I just remember magic on TV when I was growing up as a kid! I got to watch Mark Wilson, Doug Henning and David Copperfield "own" everything that they did on stage. Then in my late teens and early 20s we got to see The Worlds Greatest Magic, one per year on the eve of Thanksgiving for 6 years. It was awesome!
Then David Blaine and Criss Angel took Magic into a different direction (good or bad). Magic on TV needed to get back to a live audience stage format soooo bad where there could be special edits or camera tricks like what we'd been forced to watch for the last 10 years on TV. The opportunity is there and it's slipping away! I would love to see more TALENT on that show. It's out there...but for whatever reason the producers and Gay are making poor choices for who gets on the show.
In Mystery,
Christopher Lyle Magician, Comic, Daredevil, and Balloon Twisting Genius For a Good Time...CLICK HERE! |
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Magic1man New user 87 Posts |
The biggest problem for me is the total lack of any character development in these shows. The old Henning,and Copperfield shows were about the magicians and the magic they did. Those shows had structure and flow. Even the old Words Greatest Magic had a host, to provide a little continuity to the show and the magic was top notch. These new shows are a hodge podge of routines , and the lack of direction gives me no reason to like these performers, or care what they are doing! It was a treat to see Levent and the few other true masters of magic that have appeared , but the structure of the show really leaves me flat.
The marginal performers are painful to watch. They reinforce my believe that very few performers have that certain “Something” that makes them true entertainers. Professionals hone their acts over years to achieve a seamless entertaining performance. Some of these guys look like they are performing their routines for the first time. It truly looks like the stage competition for the local magic club! Lots of potential but not ready for the Big Time. |
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Eldon Inner circle Virden, IL 1137 Posts |
I'm with Terry and Esn on this.
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Ba Ba Booey Special user In Denver, I have no less than 548 Posts |
I agree with MagicMan1 about character development. Even when the pros are on it, there is only one or two effect and BAM, it's off to KL on the street. It would have been nice if each show featured one or two Masters instead of spreading them so thinly.
Overall, I did enjoy the shows, but my thumb developed a callus from using the fast-forward button so often. |
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DanielGreenWolf Veteran user Waterbury, CT 363 Posts |
I wasn't going to jump in on this conversation because, although I do agree with some of the things said about a few lackluster performances, I overall believe this show to be a great thing for magic. Or at least a pretty good thing.
I do really like the idea of having a host of some sort for this show. We knew the people on World's Greatest Magic were at least, in some way, good, because they had some credentials that the Emcee would talk about. "Our next performer works regularly in theatres all around the world. He won Magician of the Year from the Academy of Magical Arts for the act you are about to see. Ladies and Gentlemen... so and so!" And it doesn't have to be a big name or even name. Maybe even a magician Emcee. But perhaps the problem with the format of it being pieced together from multiple days of shooting, a mixture of audience and no audience shoots, and tight schedules keep that from being possible. Maybe it isn't much, but it would get me a little more excited to see what I'm about to see. I don't know. I'm thinking more about the little ways the show can be better as opposed to "Too many magicians on it suck". |
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Magic Patrick Inner circle Minnesota 1591 Posts |
Quote:
On 2009-05-20 17:22, EsnRedshirt wrote: You can say that again. I think that she should just stand there instead of doing magic. I would be fine with that. |
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Mattillusion Regular user 170 Posts |
Quote:
On 2009-05-21 01:08, BYUDAD wrote: Eww...come on. I think she's a minor. And she's definitely a PERSON. That comment strikes me as inappropriate. Type carefully. |
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Magic Patrick Inner circle Minnesota 1591 Posts |
Quote:
On 2009-05-21 09:30, Mattillusion wrote: WTF!!!. You have a dirty mind. What I was saying is that if they are putting her in front of the camera because she looks good then I am fine with that as she is butchering magic when she does it. I am agree with the comments made earlier about her getting air time because she is a female. If she sucks then why should she get a chance only others aspire for. It is only because she is a female. So he can say that again. I think that your comments are a little accusatory and inappropriate. Did I say she was hot? No. I said I would be fine with her standing there doing nothing as her magic isn't any more impressive then her just standing there. If they have to put her on because she is a female then have her stand there and hold the mic for the real magicians. Just for the record to all I will break it down. You can say that again (reference to her getting air time only because she is a female). I think that she should just stand there instead of doing magic (if she has to be on don't let her do magic). I would be fine with that (I would rather she her standing there then doing magic). Doctor (holding up a Rorschach picture): what do you see? Patient: a naked apple Doctor: You are a pervert! Patient: well they are your dirty pictures. |
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the Sponge Inner circle Atlanta 2771 Posts |
Your analogy is off. we are not going by random blots, we are reading words in sentences that have meanings assigned to them.
"... and she looks good in front of the camera." followed by: "You can say that again. I think that she should just stand there instead of doing magic..." certainly doesn't convey everything you "meant." s |
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Drew Manning Special user Dallas, Texas 913 Posts |
Even giving the benefit of the doubt as to the intended context of the comment, I thought the same thing when I first read the comment it seemed like it wasn't meant in the same way as the subsequent explanation.
Overall, I agree that the show isn't as good as it could be, but I wonder how much of that is because of the format and time constraints rather than just poor performance. Also I can't help wondering how much of what we percieve as poor performance or lack of character development (which admit I have seen) is due to the fact that some of these performers may be new to TV and are nervous.
I live my life for a layer of ice
Just like those poured by my bartender vice Any taste of vermouth would be really sublime, When you have a good martini time! -The Reverend Horton Heat |
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mantooth New user 40 Posts |
Krystyn should've been a host at best. She's attractive and speaks well... If she had been a host doing what she is doing..ie butchering magic...I could accept it. But what concerns me most is that, Gay and her team get a shot at bringing magic back before a live audience, and this is what they do? Trust me, this will sour TV execs all over the board on doing magic like this again. It's ashame because, Henning, Copperfield and Blaine have really worked hard to elevate magic, and all it takes is one show to ruin it. There are some GREAT ACTS on the show... but through bad editing, lack of character set up, and other factors, they don't shine as well as they should. GAY BLACKSTONE, should've known better.
My other problem with the show is that they repeat the same trick SEVERAL TIMES! I mean, once someone does a floating linking rings routine, that should be it! How many water bowls do they have to put on... Jeff McBrides are the best as far as I'm concerned... but they put rocco's version on, and then the asian girl did a VERY standard rice bowl routine ending with water. I mean... COME ON! Also, they obviously chopped up a performers whole set and aired them separately on different episodes... So their running gags get lost... example... david williamson... (admittedly one of my favs) did his needle swallow... weeks later he did his card to mouth, and then produced needles before the revelation... this would've been a GREAT bit, but it was lost because of the editing. This show in no way HELPS magic... And, a good bit of the magic had already been on Worlds Greatest Magic... This show was a great opportunity for magic, and Gay and her team fumbled the ball, because I don't believe they know how to shoot magic... Krystyn Lamberts TT ditch in her back pocket is a great example... If they had shot it tight... or cut to a spectator, they could've covered this... don't get me wrong, I wanted the show to be a huge success... But sadly, it's not. |
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Drew Manning Special user Dallas, Texas 913 Posts |
Quote:
I don't believe they know how to shoot magic... Krystyn Lamberts TT ditch in her back pocket is a great example... If they had shot it tight... or cut to a spectator, they could've covered this... Why is it that when something is shot exactly as it appears to the people standing around watching it, the criticism is that it wasn't shot well, even though what you see is what really happens? Conversley, if the shot's angle is changed or they cut to a spectator at the time the business is being done, the criticism is that the effect can't be done live the way it was protrayed on TV. How is anyone to get a fair shake when they get speared either way? BTW, mantooth, that was not geared as a jab at you. It was merely an observation of ***ed if they do and ***ed if they don't in action.
I live my life for a layer of ice
Just like those poured by my bartender vice Any taste of vermouth would be really sublime, When you have a good martini time! -The Reverend Horton Heat |
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