Penn & Teller: Fool Us

(Synopsis: I'm being way too generous to this show.)
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== Synopsis ==
== Synopsis ==
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[[Jonathan Ross]] hosts as magicians perform in an attempt to baffle world famous illusionists Penn & Teller. If they can successful fool the duo, they win the chance to perform as the opening act at Penn & Teller's Las Vegas show.
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[[Jonathan Ross]] hosts as magicians perform in an attempt to baffle world famous illusionists Penn & Teller. If they can successful fool the duo, they win the chance to perform as the opening act at Penn & Teller's Las Vegas show. Following a successful pilot episode in January 2011, a six episode series will follow in Summer 2011.
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Following a successful pilot episode in January 2011, a six episode series will follow in Summer 2011.
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Now, were this www.ukmagicshows.com, we'd probably be saying how nice it is to see magic back on primetime TV, how good it is to see fresh talent given a showcase, and how excellent the acts were. But this is UKGameshows.com, and that leaves us with a bit of a problem. Because when it comes down to it, the conventions of the magic show and the conventions of the game show aren't just different, they're fundamentally opposed. The game show runs on "reveals" - of winners, obviously, but also of answers and solutions. The magic show, on the other hand, tends to be about non-reveals. It doesn't ''have'' to be, and if the performer has any modicum of genuine skill, it really ''shouldn't'' be (how insecure about their performance skills ''are'' these people, exactly?), but usually, it is.  
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{{expand}}
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This isn't to say that magic ''can't'' be incorporated into a gameshow format. You could vote on who gives the best performance (like [[The Magicians]]) or abandon the "no-reveals" concept (like [[Secrets of Magic]]). But what would be really fantastically stupid would be to base a show around the question "how was that done?" and then not answer it - which is exactly this show's approach. Stupid, stupid, stupid. And then some more stupid.
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And yet, out of this show and the two mentioned in the previous paragraph, this is still probably the best. The others were middling-to-poor executions of decent concepts; this one is a deeply flawed concept but executed well. Judged as a light entertainment performance show, it's little short of a triumph. As a game show... no.
== Champions ==
== Champions ==

Revision as of 00:10, 18 February 2011

Contents

Host

Jonathan Ross

Co-hosts

Illusionists: Penn Jillette and Teller

Voiceover: Dominic Byrne

Broadcast

September Films/117 Production for ITV1, 7 January 2011 to present

Synopsis

Jonathan Ross hosts as magicians perform in an attempt to baffle world famous illusionists Penn & Teller. If they can successful fool the duo, they win the chance to perform as the opening act at Penn & Teller's Las Vegas show. Following a successful pilot episode in January 2011, a six episode series will follow in Summer 2011.

Now, were this www.ukmagicshows.com, we'd probably be saying how nice it is to see magic back on primetime TV, how good it is to see fresh talent given a showcase, and how excellent the acts were. But this is UKGameshows.com, and that leaves us with a bit of a problem. Because when it comes down to it, the conventions of the magic show and the conventions of the game show aren't just different, they're fundamentally opposed. The game show runs on "reveals" - of winners, obviously, but also of answers and solutions. The magic show, on the other hand, tends to be about non-reveals. It doesn't have to be, and if the performer has any modicum of genuine skill, it really shouldn't be (how insecure about their performance skills are these people, exactly?), but usually, it is.

This isn't to say that magic can't be incorporated into a gameshow format. You could vote on who gives the best performance (like The Magicians) or abandon the "no-reveals" concept (like Secrets of Magic). But what would be really fantastically stupid would be to base a show around the question "how was that done?" and then not answer it - which is exactly this show's approach. Stupid, stupid, stupid. And then some more stupid.

And yet, out of this show and the two mentioned in the previous paragraph, this is still probably the best. The others were middling-to-poor executions of decent concepts; this one is a deeply flawed concept but executed well. Judged as a light entertainment performance show, it's little short of a triumph. As a game show... no.

Champions

2011 John Archer and Benjamin Earl (joint winners)

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