Penn & Teller: Fool Us

I saw this show for the first time a few nights ago, and was highly entertained in seeing the experts dissect various magic tricks by performers on stage, and then admitting when they had been fooled.

The format is simple; Penn and Teller sit at the front of a stage and watch various prestidigitators perform their tricks on stage to see if the legendary duo of Penn and Teller can reverse engineer or deduce how they did their trick.

The only down-shot is that they will, for the sake of keeping the essence of the trick, a secret, sometimes use magicians jargon or stage lingo to get their point across to the performer on stage, and in this way communicate to both us and the audience that they either know how the trick was done, or are sufficiently impressed that they have been fooled.

But even then, they do reveal and otherwise convey to us the basics of some of the tools the performers use to create their illusions.

I had fun watching this show as I watched and tried to figure out how each trick might have been done. And I found myself being right a significant part of the time. It was very interesting and entertaining.

For anyone who's been to a magic show, wants to see magic, but is curious how any of the tricks were done, then you must see this very basic yet very remarkable show.

Enjoy!

I don't do reality TV. I don't do all these so called talent shows. Nor do I watch celebrity this, Z factor that, nobody's got talent, or celebrity get me out of here dancing with has-beens on ice Big Brother. I'll stop myself there before I write paragraphs of rant about the turgid state of current prime time television - because I could quite easily. This, however, is *exactly* what *should* be on prime time TV. Family friendly. Amusing and entertaining. Two unquestionably talented guys at the peak of their profession, watching along with the audience and us at home, fellow practitioners of their art trying to "fool" them. There are no *freaks* put in front of us for us to laugh at (unless you count Jonathan Ross), nor are there any talentless buffoons for us to pity. This is a proper talent show. People at the top of their game - Penn & Teller - giving fellow (talented) magicians and illusionists a platform to showcase their skills. It's not judgmental. It's not confrontational. And some of the highest praise from P&T is reserved for acts that haven't fooled them, but who have such great technique and execution it seems to have genuinely moved them.

This a truly outstanding TV show that brings highly talented magicians to the screen. Jonathan Ross does his job really well and Penn&Teller do a wonderful job of honoring true talents who come to the show to fool them. Nothing is controversial, Penn is courteous when dealing with fellow magicians, and the magicians accept defeat with humility, also Penn&Teller do a good job of keeping the methods secret when describing how the tricks are done, which helps keep the mystifying aspect of the tricks: the 'magic' is never totally gone even after Penn explains the methods used. Almost all of the acts are exciting and have a wow factor, which provide non-stop entertainment with very little filler to artificially boost the length of the show.

You might have noticed that the other reviewers are British. And they lament that this show is not available in the U.S. Well it is now.

If you like magic--sleight of hand, comedic routines, or the big production numbers--you should like this show. Penn & Teller are Las Vegas headliners and staunch advocates for the field of magic. Here they invite other magicians to perform tricks/illusions that they, P&T, cannot solve. There is a certain level of trust required in this. First, you must believe them when they say there are no camera tricks, no editing tricks, and that the viewer (you) is seeing what they themselves see live. Secondly, you must trust that when they say they have solved a trick, they actually have.

There is no reason not to trust them. They have a reputation of being totally honest. If you watch some of Penn's videos on the internet, you will find that he always speaks his mind and, evidently, cares not one whit for conformity. Also, there is an honor among those who practice the magic arts. It stretches back centuries. When P&T say they have unraveled the mystery of an illusion, without saying too much about the solution (because they do not want to spoil it), you can bet they have. They appreciate artistry and craftsmanship. They can be lavish in their praise for those who have mastered an illusion, even if P&T are not fooled by it.

Occasionally they are fooled. In those cases, the magician gets an expense-paid trip to Las Vegas and the opportunity to perform on their stage.

You have probably seen some of these tricks. Others are very original. But the level of the performances is always high. No fooling.

Update 9/16/2016: If there is doubt about whether or not P&T have effectively deciphered a trick, there are judges to make the final decision. They are the final arbiters. I have seen them decide that P&T were fooled when P&T thought they had the solution.

I love P&T, and this show is incredible. The show features up-and-coming illusionists who perform in front of the studio audience as well as P&T, and P&T attempt to figure out how the illusion was done. Some of the acts are absolutely incredible, and the production quality of the show is outstanding. Good camera work, not a lot of filler, etc.

My only regret is that it's not available in the US. You can't even WATCH it on ITV's website if you're in the US - bummer! You can, however, watch some clips on Youtube, just enough to give you a real desire to be able to see the show in its entirety. It appears that it is still being produced(?) in July 2011. Maybe Mr. Davey will be approached to produce an American version of the show - I sure hope so!