Americas Got Talent Semifinals- Landon Swank

FOR BRITISH VEIWERS, THIS ARTICLE MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

WHAT DID LANDON DO?

Upping the danger level even further, Landon performed a high-stakes mentalism routine. In it, there were four boxes with explosives attached, each rigged to a controller. From inside one of the boxes, he told the judges to choose a controller each and use it to blow up the corresponding box.  The did, leaving one box untouched. Landon jumped out of that one, safe and sound. To prove that there was no rigging, and that the whole thing was genuine, Landon used the remaining controller to blow up the box he had been in.Again, while the concept was familiar, the presentation was excellent, and, just like last time, the suspense was really milked. Earlier in the competition, Frank Miles performed a trick with a similar theme, but Landon's was much better

WHAT DID THE JUDGES SAY?

All three judges gave Landon a standing ovation. Howie said that he was concerned because "We came close to killing you", but felt that the performance was "amazing". Piers said that Landon was a "dark horse" and said that the trick was "Dangerous" and "Exciting". Sharon, who had accidently buzzed Landon during the buildup, admitted her mistake had been due to nerves, but praised Landon's "A+" presentation. She also added that she felt Landon was "Pacing himself" excellently (Compare this trick with the mirror one he did in his quarterfinal round), as opposed to doing the big ones early (A pitfall that has cost magicians like Kevin James and Shimshi before).

WHAT WAS THE COMPETITION LIKE?

It's hard to predict, as, just like with the wildcard round, no one was perfect. Apart from Landon, only Anna Graceman, who sang "Home sweet home", and the Smage brothers, who got their whole family to help them, got praise from all three judges. The Shilouettes, Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., Snap Boogie and Fatally Unique all got mixed reviews, with one judge or another stating that they had been better in previous rounds. The Knetic King and Professor Splash did well, but I doubt that they can hold an hour-long show. Meanwhile, three acts each recieved an X (From Piers, natch): Steven Retchless, who was a bit boring compared to other acts, Summerwind Skippers, who made mistakes and were not as exciting as last time, and Gymkana, who had one member doing chair balancing which was weaker than Zuma Zuma's last week, and the rest doing repetitive flips, cumilating in a performer botching a jump through a flaming hoop and only narrowly avoiding injury. Their problems sum up the judges complaints about the bulk of the acts

WHAT ARE LANDON'S CHANCES LIKE?

Landon has a moderate to high chance of advancing, given the judges praise of him, and the weak quality of most of the competition.

Penn and Teller: fool us-episode 8

After two months and 31 magicians, Penn and Teller: Fool us has finished airing. Hopefully (Although  I can't say for certain due to the meh ratings) It will return for a christmas special. In today's episode, we had some gory magic, Some modern magic,some youthful magic, some slick magic, and even a "Death". But did anyone fool Penn and Teller?

Lee Hathaway-Close-up Magician

In a trick that certainly can't be packaged in a magic set, Hathaway had a volunteer choose a card from a randomly-chosen deck and place the whole deck in a box in his back. He then appeared to cut himelf open (WIth the resulting entrails looking less convincing as the trick wore on) and pulled the chosen card out of his stomach. The trick fooled Penn and Teller.

Jack Trapnell- 14 year old card trickster.

Trapnell's trick was far better than the last teenage trickster we saw on the show, Daniel Kraemer. In it, he had Penn choose a card at random, and Teller deal down in a different pack to a random card. He then predicted Penn's card, and revealed it matched the one chosen by Teller. The trick didn't quite fool Penn and Teller, but they noted that most viewers at home would be fooled. I think I was.

Laura London- Magicienne

After Romany, Laura London was the second female performer during the whole series. She did a "bill-in-lemon" trick that was more like a "Bill-in-walnut-in-egg-in-randomly-chosen-lemon" trick.  Many viewers, including me and Penn and Teller themselves, hoped that she could win the trip to vegas, but she diidn't manage to fool Penn and Teller. The two noted that they'd done the trick themselves, but praised Laura's spin on it.

Martin Daniels-illusionist and son of Paul Daniels

This trick ranks up with Chris Dugdale's video trick in the last show as one of the most memorable, if least impregnable, tricks seen on the series. In it, Martin performed the "asrah levitation" in phantom of the opera garb. It appeared to be performed totally straight, as a traditional "Levitation and Vanish" trick. However, when the assistant vanished, both Her and Martin appeared in the audience. The man in the mask was revealed as Paul Daniels himself! They adnmitted themselves that they weren't out to fool Penn and Teller, and they didn't, but it was still a trick that everyone will be talking about.

Penn and Teller finished the show with the world's first underwater card trick. In it, Teller was locked in a water tank, and had to hold his breath for a whole, long-drawn-out card trick. After several failed attempts from Penn at finding a chosen, signed, card, Teller appeared to drown underwater (he didn't really. Watch closely and you'll see he's using breathing apparatus). Penn turned teller's body around to reveal the signed card on Teller's gogggles.

The Magicians-Top 5 tricks

In January, BBC brought magic back onto our saturday night screens with the magicians. The show, in which three top magicians (Luis de Matos, Chris Korn and Barry and Stuart) taught various celebrities to perform their tricks with them, received mixed reviews for it's celebrity gimmick and lack of prize for the winners, But earned deservedly solid ratings thanks to the appeal of the (admittedly mostly B-list) celebrity guests themselves (N-Dubz! Diversity!), but above all, due to the amazing magic. He are my personal top 5 tricks during the whole series

5. Floating Butterflies (Luis De Matos + Tulisa from N-Dubz)

Some of the best magic tricks in the world are those that are simple to describe, but beautiful to watch. The floating butterflies effect is one of those, and was perfectly done by Luis and Tulisa

4. X ray interlude (Barry and Stuart + Ade Edmonson)

This was, to put it simply, a wonderful piece of shock magic made hilarious by the young, handsome and scottish version of Penn and Teller.

3. Smash and Stab (Chris Korn + Samantha Womack)

Chris Korn was the weakest of the 3 magicians, but he still did some good tricks. Notable among these was his version of the Smash and Stab trick, which utilized excellent showmanship and a real sense of suspense.

2. Red Carpet Trick (Barry and Stuart + Angela Griffin)

 Barry and Stuart added infrared cameras and hilarious jokes to a simple shadowbox trck. It's not difficult to figure out, but the showmanship is wonderful

1. Divesity from a cardboard box (Luis de Matos + Diversity)

The trick is great. The showmanship is wonderful. And Diversity are amazing dancers. This was a great performance to see and talk about, and a wonderful way of kicking the series off.

Penn and Teller: Fool Us

Three weeks after the previous episode aired, Penn and Teller: fool us is back on Sunday with a special episode. This means that, for the first time ever, I will cover the episode live as it happens.4 magicians will compete to fool the magic duo. Who are they?

Lee Hathaway

An award winning British professional who has created the Magic Masters and Wow! Street magic sets.

Laura London

Similar to burlesque magician Romany from warier this series, but can she do what Romany didn't?

Jack trapnell

A 15 year old magician. Like David Kraemer, expect him to be great for his age

Martin

I'm not revealling his surname, because you should watch on sunday to find out which famous magician is Martin's father. You'll like him, though. Not a lot, but you'll like him

To find out which, if any of these, fool Penn and Teller, tune in on Sunday at 9:00 to find out

AMERICAS GOT TALENT-Landon Swank

FOR BRITISH VIEWERS, THIS ARTICLE MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Americas Got  Talent's Semifinals start tonight, and one of the top 24 is magician Landon Swank. As the only magician left out of 4 who made the liveshows (Having beaten one of them, Seth Grabel, in the wildcard round) Landon is under great pressure to deliver and follow in Michael Grasso's footsteps and make the top 10 against several talented and/or inventive acts. Landon won't perform until next week, so he has plenty of
things to consider when preparing his performance

1. The trick itself- Landon's tricks have been very traditional so far. It is often the case on Americas got Talent that traditional tricks, no matter how impressive, fail to win over the voters (Despite making a whole choir disappear and reappear, Scott Alexander didn't even make the judges choice in his heat). Therefore, Landon needs to create illusions which stand out for more than just presentation
2. The Presentation- it is Landon's presentation of these traditional tricks though, that makes him stand out. Whether levitating a box with balloons or folding a woman's shadow, Landon has added new and innovative twists to his old tricks. Furthermore, his version of the Aquarian Illusion in the wildcard round was probably one of the best I have seen- He milked the escape aspect of the trick skillfully, and the nature of the switch was different from most versions. That performance also showcased major improvements from Landon's previous ones in terms of excitement levels. The performance (and music) was faster-paced and the water added some real risk. Landon needs to keep up the good work
3. The judges (Well, two of them) -  Landon was picked as a wildcard by Piers. However, this means that Howie and Sharon, who've spent the whole year insulting or annoying Piers, may be inclined to criticize him for this association with the mean brit. In fact, when Landon was put through, Howie told him "I hate that you're [Piers'] choice". Furthermore, the two's critisim of Landon's Quarterfinal performance contributed to his inital failiure to make it through. Having said that, they praised Landon's wildcard performance, despite the fact Howie himself chose Seth Grabel to compete against him. If Landon keeps up the form he showed in the Wild Card round, then the two won't have any critism of Landon's performances themselves, which matters far more then the juvenile feuds between the judges.
4. The competition- Many of the favourites (such as POPLYFE, Team ILuminate, Zuma Zuma and Lys Agnes) will compete this week, but Landon still has plenty of competition in his quest to make the top 10. There's the talented young fellow Alaskan Anna Graceman, and Americas own equivalent to Susan Boyle, Landau Eugene Murphy jr. There are also two great dance acts, Snap Boogie and Fatally Unique, as well as the amazing Gymkana and the beautiful Shilouettes. Then ther's the inventive Knetic King, The dangerous Professor Splash, The excitng Summerwind Skippers, the Pole-tastic Steven Retchless and the exciting Smage Brothers. With the exception of Daniel Joseph Baker, all the acts that beat Landon in his heat will be there, so Landon will need to give 110% to prove that he is as good, or better then them, as well as other rivals far tougher than those Landon faced in his quarter Final
5. Magic's history- Magicians have a history of flopping on this show, so, to avoid continuing this tradition, Landon needs to avoid playing it safe (Which cost Kevin James in Series 2), Being sentimental (Which cost Drew thomas in Series 4 and Murray Sawchuck last year) or leaving sections where nothing happens (Which cost Brett Daniels this year). Hopefully, due to his initial elimination, Landon will be out to avoid these pitfalls. He has shown several times that he is the sort of performer not to make mistakes or get complacent.

All in all, Landon's chances depend on his next performance. If it's a hit, Then Landon has a great chance of doing as well, or better than, the great Michael Grasso. Hopefully, he will deliver on the high expectations we all have of him.

Americas Got Talent Wild Cards- Landon Swank Vs. Seth Grabel

What Did Seth And Landon Do?

For his performance, Seth did some Cyr wheel tricks, then made a Deorlean with three mini-judges appear. It was a very simple trick, and while well-presented, was not as origional as we have come to expect from Seth. The Cyr wheel tricks were also obvious as misdirection, making this another imperfect trick from Seth. Landon, meanwhile, stuck to what he was best at- Doing an often seen trick (The Aquarian illusion, Which David and Karen did on Britains got Talent, and Anthony Reed did on the American stage a few years back), but the presentation was excellent, making his the better trick. Going last will help Landon's chances too.


What did the judges say?

Howie, who chose Seth as a wildcard, said he had all the facets a headline act needs. Piers praised the showmanship, but felt that the content was lacking. Sharon just liked the mini-version of her. For Landon, Piers, who chose him, said he was a natural magician. Sharon praised the sexiness of the performance. Howie also said he liked it, but felt both Landon and Seth could go through.

What was the competition like?

the competition was Imperfect. Yellow Design Stunts, Summerwind Skippers and Charles peachock made mistakes, but only the latter was critiszed for them. Knetic Kings Performance went to plan, but can he sustain an hour long show? The singers (Avery and the Calico hearts, The fiddleheads and Shevvone) were forgettable , but Shevonne did the best out of them. WSDC were scary but boring. And Funny Little People and J chris Newberg were simply there to annoy Piers

What are Landon and Seth's chances?

Landon's chances are high, Seth's are moderate

AMERICAS GOT TALENT-The Magic-Off

FOR BRITISH VIEWERS, THIS ARTICLE MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

On Wednesday night, after Brett Daniels became the latest magician to be eliminated in Americas Got Talent, the wildcards for next week's wildcard round were announced. I expected at least one magician to be there, and two have been announced as performing- Landon Swank and Seth Grabel, both of whom ended up on the losing end of judges decisions in their heats. They will be competing for some of the last places in the top 24 in what promises to be the biggest magic battle since Michael Grasso and Murray Sawchuck's magical duel in last years semi-final. But how do they compare against each other?

WHICH ONE IS BETTER?

Landon and Seth are complete opposites. Landon's tricks are tried-and-tested classics with a scaled-back presentation. They also have twists that make them harder to figure out (For example, his folding up an assistant's shadow in the audition). Seth, however, produces big, loud, spectacular and original tricks, but they are too easy to figure out, often due to small mistakes or oversights (For example, the dummy which was loaded into the cannon in his live performance). Due to these differences, it's impossible for me to choose which one I prefer. Therefore, my opinions of them will hinge on their wildcard performances.

WHAT DO THE VIEWERS THINK?

This is also hard to judge, as both finished in the same place in their respective heats. Landon has had more coverage then Seth and seems to be more popular with viewers (In a Facebook poll asking whose live show performance was best, Landon got over two-thirds of the vote). However, some may see the fact that Seth got his 5th place in a far stronger heat as an advantage to him. However, most viewers vote based on an act's most recent performance, so this may only be indicative of their live show performances and probably won't have any bearing on the wildcard round. This means that most viewer's votes will depend on their wildcard performances

WHAT DO THE JUDGES THINK?

All three judges have generally praised Landon and Seth, but, in the liveshows, Howie and Sharon criticized Landon's presentation, which may have led to his failure to get through (Howie's predicted top 4 that week were all put through instead). This will put pressure on Landon to prove them wrong in the wildcard round.

WHAT DO SWANK AND GRABEL NEED TO DO?

LANDON SWANK needs to improve his presentation. As Brett Daniels found out last week, a good trick means absolutely nothing if the presentation is terrible. Doing an original trick would help too, otherwise a trick that is hard to figure out to begin with (Such as Scott Alexander Eclipse trick in Vegas) would work fine

SETH GRABEL needs to avoid mistakes and oversights whilst designing his tricks, because the more viewers that can figure out a trick there and then, the less votes he will get

WHO ARE THE COMPETITION?

In the wildcard round, each judge chooses four acts. Piers voted for Swank in the judges choice in Swank's heat, and Sharon voted for Grabel in his heat, so it's a safe bet that they each chose them.

The 12 competitors (Listed by the judge implied to have chosen them) are:

PIERS

1. Landon Swank
2. Charles Peachock-Like with Swank, Piers supported Peachock in the liveshows against strong critism from Howie and Sharon. The two claimed that his precision juggling in the liveshows was not as spectacular as previous performances, so Peachock needs to mix spectacle and skill this time to win everyone over
3. Summerwind Skippers-This group finished below Grabel, and may have trouble improving their act. Better tricks and less obstructive visuals would help
4. Yellow Design- This group needs more focus when they perform again, and maybe a strong visual gimmick (Matt Wilhelm performed similar tricks to them but with blacklights). They should also avoid mistakes like in their audition and live performance

SHARON

1. Seth Grabel
2. West Springfield dance- This gothic dance crew have good moves, but seem to lack personality. They also need to stand out from better dance acts in the top 24
3. The Knetic King- His last performance failed, so the Knetic King is only in the wildcard round out of pity. But even if his chain reactions work this time, will they impress viewers?
4. Avery and the Calico Hearts- The judges think this trio have potential, but most viewers think that they are too much like the Chipettes to succed

HOWIE

1. Shevonne Phildor- This singer hasn't performed live yet. She has talent, but was only seen briefly in Vegas. Therefore, she goes in as an unknown quantity, but should be encouraged by the fact that, every year since series 3, a wild card originally rejected in Vegas has proved the judges wrong by making the top 10. As this years only wildcard to have been rejected in Vegas, could she continue the trend?
2. The Fiddleheads-This group were disappointing in the live shows, but got a suprisingly high number of votes, only going out in the judges choice. The forecast looks good for them, but every other judges choice loser is in the wildcard round. Therefore, they may have trouble standing out against this competition
3. Those Funny Little People-There is only one reason why they are here. Piers doesn't like them....
4. J. Chris Newberg. This singing comedian is also hated by Piers, and was probably put through for that reason. His audition and Vegas performance were alright, but he lost the respect of many viewers with his terrible live performance. This time, he should put focus on winning over the audience rather than annoying Piers

WHAT ARE LANDON AND SETH'S CHANCES?
The two are both equal in talent, and up against a diverse and exciting batch of opponents. Therfore, they both have moderate chances of advancing at the moment. It all hinges on their wildcard performance.

SAFECRACKER

THE EFFECT

This is an excellent trick for you to perform on holiday. In it, you get a volunteer to put something of value in a hotel room safe. You then tell the volunteer to do a set of sums to get a four digit code number to lock the safe with.All this is done with you out of sight of the volunteer and not looking at the safe. But you are able to guess the code and open the safe in one try!

YOU WILL NEED

• A hotel room with a small safe in the cupboard
• A willing volunteer
• A calculator, or pencil and pen (Optional if your volunteer doesn't need them)

HOW TO PERFORM

1. Tell your audience that you are so good at safecracking that you can open a safe by instinct alone. Go into another room and stand with your back to the safe
2. Give your volunteer the pencil and paper or calculator. Tell them to put an object of value to them into the safe, but not to lock it yet. Tell them they'll have to do a couple of sums to get the number to lock the safe with. Tell them to pick any three digit number where the first and last digit are 2 apart (So they can have 320, 321, or 325, but not 322 or 323). Then tell them to reverse it and subtract the smaller number from the larger one.
3. Tell them to reverse the number they end up with and add the new smaller and larger numbers they have. If they have been doing their sums correctly, the volunteer should always end up with 1089 as their final number.
4. Tell the volunteer to key this number in and lock the safe. Sometimes, the number flashes on the safe for a few seconds, so don't enter the room with the safe in untill you are sure (Or told) that the number has gone
5. Remind the volunteer that you have not been watching them, or the safe at all. When they confirm this, key in 1089, and wait for the safe to open. When it does, tell them to get better locks and give their object back to them

AMERICAS GOT TALENT LIVE SHOW 5- BRETT DANIELS

What did Brett Do?

Wisely, Brett chose not to do the motorbike routine in his youtube video on the Americas Got Talent stage. Instead, he did one of his signature tricks, making an assistant dressed as Marylin Monroe appear and dissappear. When she appeared, her image vanished from a picture above her, reappearing on it when she vanished herself. The trick was beautiful and impressive. However, there was one major problem; The performance was too slow, with the middle of it seeming to be nothing more than padding. As a result, Brett got buzzed by Piers, a first among this year's magicians. As the viewer is judging partially on what the judges think,  the X is a disaster for Brett's, which puts his chances of getting through in serious jepordy. I think the wildcard round will end up as the last chance to get a magician through.

What did the judges say?

The judges were in agreement when it came to this act. They all thought that the trick was good, but found the presentation a bit boring. However, this didn't prevent the judges from continuing to argue amongst themselves, with Howie setting off a fart machine and a stink bomb under Pier's desk, preventing him from finishing his critique properly. This behavior of a two year old from Howie overshadowed Brett's act even further, making things even worse for him.

What is the competition like?

In general, the competition was not very good (this time, I am listing it in order of performance). TNC elite were not special, especially compared to past cloggers. Gabe Rocks was an utterly useless dog act, but was not quite as bad as Pup from last year(Though that isn't too hard). Aeon had some good tricks, but their performance was too cluttered and a bit repetitive, the latter point being the chief problem with Breena Bell. Kevin Kolis was pretty good for what was his first time on stage. Following him, Beth Ann Robinson was praised for her technique and dedication. Gymkana delivered an amazing Roman Ladder act with added tumbling, Whilst Kalani Basketball freestyle did some good tricks, but dropped the ball in his grand finale. West Springfield Dance were creepy and precise but not original, whilst vote winner Matt Wilhelm was creative in his use of blacklights, but there were some technical problems. Finally, Powerhouse were a Glee-Lite singing group.

What are Brett's Chances?

With an X to his name and an early performance slot, Brett's chances of qualifying are pretty low. However, it was a weak heat overall, with only half the acts not getting an X, and only a few of those really standing out. Brett's best hope is to qualify for the judges choice, and hope that the judges see enough potential in him to put him through

America's Got Talent Youtube heat - Could Brett Daniels be magic's last hope?

FOR BRITISH VIEWERS, THIS ARTICLE MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

After Landon Swank, Seth Grabel and Scott Alexander failed to get out of their first round heats, the future of magic acts on the show this year hinges on two events. One of these will be the wildcard heat next week, which could involve at least one of those three (Only Alexander failed to make the judges choice). But first of all comes the Youtube heat, which airs tonight. Hundreds of acts submitted videos on Youtube, and twelve of those will perform in the liveshows. One of these twelve is Brett Daniels, and you can see his Youtube video below

WHAT ARE BRETT'S CHANCES?

The video that Brett submitted to Youtube was not that good, and the dislikes for it outnumber the likes. It involved him making a motorbike appear, then vanishing on the motorbike and reappearing on it on a wire model on stage. The middle bit has already been exposed by the Masked Magician, and the other parts of the trick are cliche. Judging by it, Brett's chances don't look great

However, Brett has two assets. One of these should be appreciated by viewers, but only devout magicians are aware of the other one.

Brett's first strength is showmanship. The trick and presentation were dated, but with all the smoke and dancers, the staging was at the level few acts could compete with. His second strength is thus: He has a varied- and excellent- Repertoire of illusions. As a popular and respected magician who has performed all over the globe, he has a number of impressive tricks up his sleeve,  ranging from clever sleights to the sort of escapology that earned Cosentino Second place overall in this year's Australia's Got Talent, thus setting the bar very high indeed for magicians in the western world. Hopefully, Brett will aim to go one better...

WHAT IS THE COMPETITION LIKE?

As is the case with Brett, It's hard to tell how his competition (Which was revealed earlier today) will fare tonight. The change in stage is one factor, and it is also worth noting that there will only be two singing acts among the twelve contestants. This top twelve is:

1. Brett Daniels
2. Kevin Kolis- a singer with a nice voice, but how many singers can this show have?
3. Gabe Rocks- Dog act. I thought that Pup's disastrous performance last year may have put the judges off picking a dog act, but here we are. At least Gabe appears to be properly trained
4. TNC elite- Clogging act .Cloggers use their feet to create percussive music in a manner similar to tap dancing.As previous such acts like Series 4 finallists The Fab Five can attest, they tend to do well in the votes, but are never spectacular. Personally, I found this act less exciting than others
5. Aeon Fever- A group of gymnasts whose routine was influenced by parkour. Their routine may not fit onto stage (which happened to Ryan Rodriguez last year) but there were some good tricks. 
6. Beth Ann Robinson- A gymnast/Dancer. She is very talented, but may be a bit limited
7. Breena Bell - The same as Beth, only much younger
8. West Springfield Dance- Very good for a dance crew, but their video was a bit short.
9. Powerhouse Choir-An All-Singing, All-Dancing choir, they are good, but not "Wow". Choirs have never been seen in the liveshows before.
10. Gymkana- An acrobatic troupe who did a Roman Ladder routine. They were very impressive, but I'm not sure about their range.
11. Kalanai Basketball- A basketball freestyle juggler whose video was the shortest of the top 12, but included some excellent tricks. This is another act that has never been seen on Americas Got Talent before.
12. Matt Wilhelm- Unlike the other eleven acts, who were chosen by the judges, Matt was chosen by the viewers, which gives him an advantage of sorts (Jackie Evancho was chosen that way last year). However, his act is very different from Jackie's. His involves bikes, and although only one of this years three biking acts in the liveshows have made it through (Like with the magicians, this may change in the wildcard round), Matt used Fighting-Gravity style Black lights to stand out, and used the bike as a prop for some excellent acrobatics rather than a thing to ride up ramps on. His act is also more focused than, say, Yellow Design Stunt crew were last week.

These are the sort of acts without a firm voter base and who may be prone to a disaster on tonight's stage.They are also the sort of acts who look like they could be interesting viewing, just not in a distorted online video There is no-one that appears to match last years Youtube heat standout Jackie Evancho, but, overall, the group of twelve appears to be better than last year's. If I were to rate Brett's chances, they would be moderate, as are those of everyone else, even Matt Wilhelm's. It all depends on tonight's performances

Penn and Teller: Fool us -Episodes 6 and 7

Having been on holiday the last couple of weeks, I was unable to access ITV player to watch it. I'm back now, and I've watched the two episodes I missed on ITV player. what happened in them?

EPISODE 6

This episode featured an street magician with a habit of insulting the audience, a physcologist, a Quick-Change act and a pair of Sweden's Got Talent finalists. But which of them manage to fool Penn and Teller?

Gazzo - Street Magician

Despite being a former pupil of the famous cardsharp Walter Irving Scott (He didn't mention this but you can find out about it in his wikipedia article), Gazzo didn't do any card tricks. Instead he did a version of the cups and balls, with a patter involving him being mean to the audience (He established pre-performance that it was fake, but it's still an overused device among comedy magicians). So far, so banal, but Gazzo finished on a high by making several oranges appear from the cup, and a melon appear from his hat. The trick didn't fool Penn and Teller, but they noted that Gazzo did it better than them

Colin Mcleod - Psychological mentalist

Like Gazzo, Colin did an inventive spin on a trick as old as time. He did a version of the book test in which he predicted the invisible word chosen from an invisible book by a volunteer. He finished by making a brick appear from his hat. The trick didn't quite fool Penn and Teller, but was very interesting

Keelan and Charlotte Marie - Quick Change performers and Dancers

Keelan and Charlotte Marie changed clothes at rapid speeds whilst dancing to a diverse medly of songs.The best quick change acts are the ones with the most varied routines, therefore I liked these two a lot. Penn and Teller  weren't fooled, but noted quick change acts were not desingned to "Mistify, but instead Amaze"

Brynholf and Ljung - Swedish Illusionists

These two Swedens got Talent finallists called themselves Joanas and Peter throughout, so I will refer to them as that. They were like a Swedish Penn and Teller (Or, thinking outside the show, Barry and Stuart). For their performance, Joanas covered Peter's whole head in duct tape. He had Teller choose and sign a card, then had Peter try to pick it. After a few failed attempts, one of which utilized a staple gun, Joanas removed the duct tape, and revealed the tape in Peter's mouth.. The trick fooled Penn and Teller.

Penn and Teller finshed the episode with a trick (How many do they have in their repetoire?) In which they did a cut and restored rope trick with a sheet of polyester and a young volunteer, then passed the polyester through his neck. The tricks were nothing new, but I liked the religious patter

EPISODE 7

This episode featured a Canadian Card champion, a "Cuban" magician living in Margate, a French magician, and a performer known to thousands in Britain for lending his face to the Britain's got Talent magic set. Which of these fooled Penn and Teller?

Shawn Farquar-Canadian Cardsharp

A world champion at card magic, Shawn had Penn choose and sign a card from a brand new deck. He put the deck in Penn's hands, and made it appear in another, brand-new, opened box, with the chosen card reversed.Wow. Needless to say, he fooled  Penn and Teller

Manuel Martinez- Not Cuban illusionist

Just like those psuedo-Chinese magicians of the 1920s, "Manuel" was a brit named Gary pretending to be Cuban. But the trick he did, whilst a bit overdone (|Penn and Teller themselves did a version a few weeks ago) was solid. It was a version of Russian Roulette involving "Manuel" choosing four out of five staple guns. Of the five staple guns, one had staples in it, but Manuel managed to avoid choosing it.Amusing, but meh. It didn't fool Penn and Teller, natch

Ettienne Pradier - French Cardsharp

Ettienne had Telle sign a card. He made Teller's teleport from his pocket to his purse, his watch, and finally into a bottle, then made a card predicted by Penn appear on the reverse of the deck. This  isn't a  particularly memorable trick, but it dd fool Penn and Teller.

Chris Dugdale - British Illusionist

If there was one trick that really stood out in this show, it was Dugdale's. This was a world away from the thumbtips and linking rings of the Britain's got Talent magic kit his face is on. Giving every direction and reveal on video (Not weblink), he had Penn pick a volunteer at random, and made him take the person next to him as a second volunteer. Dugdale predicted on his shirt the location chosen at random by the second volunteer, then predicted the cost of the trip via the envelope. Then came the most mind-blowing part. The second volunteer came to the cenre of stage and revealed himself as Dugdale! Though the effect is fairly easy to figure out when you consider that Dugdale had the location and cost on him throughout the effect, and therefore, he didn't fool Penn and Teller, it was still an impressive and memorable piece of magic. Penn even said that he would love to perform it himself.

Penn and Teller showed us yet another trick to finish things off. This involved Teller eating several needles, then a thread, and removing the thread with all the needles attached. I've seen this trick many times before, but it's still impressive.

AMERICAS GOT TALENT LIVESHOWS-SCOTT ALEXANDER AND FRANK MILES

FOR BRITISH VIEWERS, THIS ARTICLE MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

This blog supported both Alexander and Miles during the callbacks, even though the latter is not a magician per se, so it will anylyze both's performances and chances last night

WHAT DID THEY DO?

For his performance, Alexander got a whole church choir to go into a box, made them vanish and reappear in a royal box. It was impressive and well choreographed, but there was a little too much time spent behind the curtain by the choir. Meanwhile, Miles had  crossbows fire at a jelly donut on his head (and miss). This went too quickly, and the miss was not impressive Alexander could break the spell on magicians (Both Landon Swank and Seth Grabel went out via the judges vote) and go through. Miles, though, should be going home

WHAT DID THE JUDGES SAY?

After Alexander's performance, Sharon called it "Unique" and "Fun". Howie and Piers also like it, but felt there were minor problems,  having differing views views on what they were. Howie liked the trick but not the presentation , whilst Piers thought it was "The oldest trick in the book", but praised the presentation For Miles, Sharon found it exciting, but questioned whether or not it was a million dollar act. Howie liked the fact that he "Saved the donut" but Piers was dissappointed by this

WHAT IS THE COMPETITION LIKE?

The Knetic King's act was a disaster and can be ruled out (His Rube Goldberg device failed to work) The two singing acts, Avery and the Calico Hearts and Taylor Davis, can be ruled out, as can "Dancer" Sam B. Charles Peachock got X's from Howie and Sharon but praise from Piers after using his juggling to play "Jailhouse Rock" on the piano. Piers is the most sensible of the judges, so maybe voters could side with him, but then again, as the mean brit, he is also the least popular, so Charles could go. Zuma Zuma were impressive but unconventional, as were Team ILuminate. Impressionist Melissa Vilasenor nailed some impressions but not others. Meanwhile. BMX biking act Yellow Design stunt crew also made mistakes, the judges praised them, and dance crew Fatally Unique also went down well. All in all, competiton considered Alexander has a moderate chance of advancing, but Miles' chances are low