50 greatest magic tricks

As part of their New Years Eve programming, Channel Five gave us a countdown of their 50 greatest magic tricks. This was completely different from the countdown Channel 4 did almost 10 years ago, There were 22 tricks from the previous countdown, but they were accompanied by new and amazing tricks from the likes of Dynamo and Pete Firman. The lineup was slick and contemporary, featuring magic tricks from Americas Got Talent (Britain's got Talent hasn't had enough good magicians), Penn and Teller: Fool us and Dynamo:Magician Impossible. Unlike Channel 4's version, which featured too much emphasis on annoying comedians talking about the clips, this time (Joe Pasquale notwithstanding) it was mostly the magicians themselves talking about what made the tricks so great. The longer length ( 2 hours 40 to the 2 hours of the Channel 4 special) also meant more time and greater focus on each clip.

The top 50 were (a * denotes a trick that wasn't on Channel 4's 2002 countdown)

50. Dynamo- Floating Guitar * (Beats my impossible straw trick any day!)
49. Penn and Teller- Misers Dream *
48. Franz Harary - Vanishing Tower Bridge *
47: Tommy Cooper- Multiplying Bottles
46. James Galea - 673 King Street * (An inventive piece of storytelling with sleights)
45. Paul Daniels- Million Pound Vanish*  (An excellent and original trick)
44. Marc Paul- Any Card, Any Number*
43. David Copperfield- Portal* (A spectacular trick with a family reunion theme)
42. David Blaine- Card in window
41. Uri Geller- Spoon Bending
40. Piff the Magic Dragon- Card changing by quarters *
39. Ali Cook- Card caught by Toe *
38. Harry Blackstone Jr.- Floating Lightbulb
37. Siegfried and Roy- Interlude
36. Lance Burton- Doves
35. Paul Zenon- Tax Disc trick (If only he'd done this at the palladium)
34. Barry and Stuart- Hommunculus * (A medley of tricks involving a self-solving Rubix cube and a person vanishing from a chair)
33. Simon Drake- Silhouette * (A set of scary sleights done in Silhouette)
32. Criss Angel- Goldfish into Lady *
31. Kevin James - Sawing a man in half * (With no boxes, the man upright, and both halves having a life of their own)
30. David Copperfield- Flying
29. Dynamo- Ring into Snowball *
28. Doug Henning- Motorbike Vanish *
27. David Berglas- Pulse Stopping
26. An Ha Lin- Card Manipulation * (Amazing magic from a virtual unknown)
25. David Blaine- Balducci Levitation
24. Penn and Teller- Truck Trick
23. Ali Cook- Water Torture Escape *
22. Criss Angel- Coin into Arm * (Sick but memorable- Didn't Homer Simpson once do that by squeezing too hard?)
21. Mathieu Bich- Spreadwave *
20. Franz Harary- Hummer * (Franz Harary stands in front of a speeding car, and vanishes at the last physical moment. He is then revealed to be inside! I saw this trick on Youtube in March and I'm really pleased it's on the countdown)
19. Paul Daniels- Iron Maiden* (The trick that shocked all of Britain)
18. Derren Brown- Tube Hypnosis ( Derren induces amnesia in a passenger and restores his memory with a snap of his fingers)
17. Paul Zenon- Billiard Ball on Chosen Card
16. Simon Drake- Guillotine
15. Geoffrey Durham- Torn and Restored Newspaper
14. Siegfried and Roy- Dream* (Tiger Teleportation)
13. John Lenahan - Vanishing shoe in Random Train* (This trick was aired and exposed in 2003's failed TV pilot "Secrets of Magic". However, enough people have remembered the trick and forgotten the secret for it to make the countdown)
12. The Pendragons- Metamorphosis
11. Pete Firman- Blended Mouse* (Don't worry, no mice were actually harmed)
10. David And Dania- Quick Change* (A performance that went viral)
9.  Tom Mullica- Cigarette Eating
8.  Robert Gallup- Death Dive
7.  Pete Firman- Goldfish regurgitaion* (Pete can be seen on The Magicians when it returns next week)
6.  Dynamo- Walk on Water*
5.  Shadid Malik- Cardboard Box
4.  Paul Daniels- Chop Cup
3.  Derren Brown- Russian Roulette *
2. David Copperfield- Death Saw (Number 1 in Channel 4's countdown)
1. Penn and Teller- Double bullet catch 

7 tricks of christmas-the impossible straw.

Here is a sixth magic trick to try at home, (Although i'm not revealing the secret, it is an easy enough trick to perform when you know how. The method for a similar trick can be found in some magic magic books.). This trick is a small-scale version of a classic of victorian magic, where a straw levitates at an impossible angle.

Enjoy!

7 tricks of Christmas - Card on Ruler

Sorry about how late these tricks are. I promise I will have the final two tricks up before the new year, but in the meantime, here is the 5th- A version of the chosen-card-on-sword trick with a safer central prop that can be found in the home. Enjoy!

the seven tricks of christmas-muppet card trick

For the 4th trick of Christmas, a trick inspired by those puppet icons, the Muppets. Again, i'm not giving instructions on how to do them, but you can figure out for yourselves. with a couple of views.

Enjoy!

(Whilst some might frown upon the revelation of secrets, most of the tricks I've filmed are either original or commonly seen in magic books available in ordinary shops. I'm not going to reveal tricks which use specialist equipment, or tricks that have been made by other magicians, where the secret is less well-known)

seven tricks of christmas - coin in the crate

For our third trick of Christmas, we have an illusion where a coin ends up inside four sealed boxes. I won't reveal how it's done, but it's fairly easy to do when you know how and the props can be found in some magic kits.

Enjoy!

7 tricks of Christmas- Santa's Hat

I'm sorry about the 3 day delay, but here are 3 new tricks to try at home! First of these is Santa's hat, a seasonal version of the change bag where a santa hat conceals a magical surprise.

Enjoy!

The Magicans is about to return!

The Magicians, Britain's most successful magic show (Versions of it have been commissioned in Sweden and Russia) returns on the 7th of January. Several changes have been made to make the show bigger and better.

• A new host, Minute to Win It's Darren Macmullen
• Two new magicians: Pete Firman and Jason Latimer will be replacing Chris Korn and Luis De Matos (Who presumably have other engagements)
• The episodes will be transmitted live
• The episodes will be longer- Each magician gets an extra trick (A pre-recorded outdoor Grand illusion), as well as the Street magic, Grand illusion and Celebrities choice tricks they all got in each episode last year. This means that, with a total of six episodes this series, we will see a staggering 72 tricks, compared to the 45 we saw last year.
• Some rather extravagant illusions and famous guests are promised. Not much change there, then

We will have more articles nearer the time, and, of couse, we will be following the show in detail when it does return. The television event of 2012 starts here!

The seven tricks of Christmas

As a Christmas treat, we will upload a trick a day in the week leading up to Christmas day for your viewing pleasure. We won't reveal how to do the tricks, but the methods are simple and can be found in repeat viewings. Today's trick is the "Magic present delivery" In which a destroyed Christmas Card and predicted Harry Potter book end up as a pre-wrapped present. for the volunteer

Enjoy!

Frances Got Talent- How did Xavier and Syl et Son fare?

In the final of Incroyable Talent, Syl et Son and Xavier Mortimer performed one last time with the aim of winning the 100,000 euro prize.This time, I was able to get videos of both performances quickly and easily (You can see them on the Incroyable Talent website, which now works in Britain. Hooray!), so I can tell you how they fared.

Syl et Son upped their game considerably when they performed, doing a novel version of one of the most popular (and dangerous) mentalism tricks, as Son predicted which of four cups had a spike under it. The trick was executed with panache and enthusiasm, and all three judges noticed this.

Xavie Mortimer again showed how charming and original he was with a routine themed around sticky tape, which he turned into a tie, a silk, a rose and stripes for his suit. Head judge Gilbert Rozon called him "the Fred Astaire of magic". However, the routine took a while to get going and was a bit too small-scale for the final of a national talent show. Furthermore, the number of unused cardboard boxes in the background were frustrating, as Xavier could have done some impressive tricks with those-maybe making a woman or two appear (I had the same problem with Laurent Beretta, who left a mini and Telephone box on stage without using them in his live performance). Therefore, he was a bit disappointing.

So, who won?

Eventually, Incroyable talent's winner for 2011 was revealed as teenage singer Marina, who edged out young ventriloquist Nans and another singer, Lois. Syl and Son came in at 6th, exceeding my expectations, but Xavier Mortimer came in at a diappointing 10th. Hopefully, next year will see some truly spectacular magicians, as the British, Australian and American Got Talents are about to start filming soon. Look out for more coverage of them on this blog soon.

France's Got Talent FInallists

I'm sorry that I didn't provide any news on the Incroyable talent finallists-I couldn't find any videos (This is when I hate being British). However, I can reveal that, Whilst Amile and Sylvie were amateurish and Laurent Beretta was bland, Xavier Mortimer and Syl et Son have made the final. But can they beat competitiors including two ventriloquists, two singers, two acrobats, a dance crew, a biking crew, an impressionist and model plane fliers on wednesday's final and win the prize? We will reveal all on thursday.

Xavier Mortimer

Audition: Did a trick with a disembodied hand, which drunk milk at one point
Semifinal: Did a tick with multiplying shadows and span 360 degrees in midair
Pros: Very original and inventive
Cons: not especially spectacular
Aim For Final: to do another original routine, and add spectacle
Where might he finish?: 6th


Syl et son

Audition:  Son Predicted a chosen card, a dice on a board, and an assortment of shapes
Semifinal: Son Predicted a chosen planet, state of Canada and number
Pros: Original and cute
Cons: Not winner material. A bit repetitive
Aim For final: Add some more excitement
Where might they finish?: 10th