Star Spangled Magic

We've had some wonderful magic stuff this season, but none tonight. It's like they decided to lump all the lame tricks (although presented in an entertaining way) in the same episode.

But there may have been another purpose. To make a "diversity" episode.

When a kid in his early teens opened the show and a woman magician followed, I just thought, OK, these people were selected just because the show is dominated by grown up white males, so there need to be some balance. The next one might just well be an African American, I told myself jokingly. And to my utter astonishment, it was! All the presentations passed and we knew 100% the guys did not get even close to fooling.

The last one was an aging magic legend who long ago created dozens of tricks many people use today, but does not have new stuff to show anymore. So he just gave a good performance of his stuff and got a condescending "FU" prize out of respect, since he did not fool the stars (P&T even knew the movements because of the book he himself wrote!). So three quotas and one homage.

The P&T piece at the end was one of those they show how its done, so it's not about the trick, but about the theatrical presentation. In this case, a statement on their patriotic beliefs.

No thrills, just mild entertainment. Barely rises above the level of fluff. But I like the show's format so much that even the weak episodes are a delight to watch.