The show is pretty much unchanged from the pilot. Five magicians each have to perform a trick that fits a specific theme. They give each other a score out of ten, and the magician with the lowest score has to perform a famously dangerous trick as a forfeit.
The five magicians were the same ones who competed in the pilot, and, unless there is a change in line-up, they will be competing against each other for the duration of the series. They are:
- Ben Hart (The Gent)
- Chris Cox (The Geek)
- Damien O' Brien (The Geezer)
- Dee Christopher (The Goth)
- Jasz Vegas (The Girl)
This week, the theme was "Toys"
(If you haven't watched the show on BBC Iplayer yet, the following may contain spoilers)
The Tricks
The Forfeit
The result this week was the same as that of the pilot: Ben was the winner, and Dee had to perform the "Killer Trick", which involved having to stay inside an ice bath for as long as possible. Dee stayed inside the bath for 20 minutes and 20 seconds. This was certainly a brave feat, but endurance tricks are a bit boring to watch, due to the lack of action involved. For the "Killer Trick" to stand out, it has to be not only difficult and dangerous, but spectacular as well.
My Verdict
Overall, this was a strong episode, with the five magicians all providing creative tricks that fit the theme well. Although the "Killer Trick" should have been more entertaining, it was, on the whole, a strong start to the main series. Hopefully, the remaining five episodes will be just as good.
The Tricks
- Jasz was the first to perform with a gruesome but creative trick. She began her performance by getting a volunteer to sign a Lego brick, then swallowed it. After swallowing several other Lego pieces, she appeared to cut herself open, and removed a Lego car from the very bloody wound. This car was made up of all the pieces she had swallowed, including the signed one. The idea for the trick was probably inspired by needle-swallowing routines, and the "twist" is similar to one used by Lee Hathaway on Penn and Teller: Fool Us. Nonetheless, this was an unusual trick, performed well, and Jasz got a score of 29 in spite of the fact her fellow magicians were uncomfortable with the gory nature of the routine.
- Chris went next, and he was the only performer of the week to use a celebrity guest, getting TV personality Joe Swash to be his assistant. Chris made Joe dress as Pac Man, and play a live-action version of the classic videogame, in which he had to go through a maze and pop as many balloons as he could within thirty seconds. After Joe had finished, Chris opened an envelope to reveal that the had correctly predicted the amount of balloons Joe would pop. He then removed a sheet of paper from Joe's costume to reveal that he had also predicted the route that Joe would take during the game. The concept was unique, but the final reveal, whilst making the trick more impressive, was a bit drawn out, because it involved reshowing Joe's time in the maze on a video monitor and comparing it to the second prediction. Though the trick was strong, the prolonged finish ensured that Chris only received a score of 27.
- Ben's routine involved taking a volunteer to a secret hotel room. He began with a series of small tricks, such as turning a blindfold into a walking stick and a mini table, printing a game on an empty board by magic, and making a top hat appear on his head. He then got the volunteer to roll a dice four times, getting the number 14 and move her playing piece 14 spaces, landing at a train station. After she had done this, the volunteer was told that she could build a hotel on that spot, and was instructed to name it. After she had done this, Ben led her out of the room to reveal she was in a real hotel that had the chosen name, and this hotel was actually in a train station! The original nature of the trick and its elaborate climax impressed the other magicians, who gave Ben a score of 33.
- Damien performed a dangerous trick at a BMX park. He invited another cyclist to join him in a game of "Chicken", in which the participants had to cycle towards a solid wall at full speed, and stop as near to the wall as possible without actually hitting it. After the cyclist had done this stunt, Damien announced that he would perform it blindfolded, with only a protective screen to get him to stop. When Damien did this, he not only cycled past the protective screen, he went through the wall as well! This was a strong spin on the Walking-through-a-wall trick, because the fast pace made it hard to detect when the magic was being done. As a result, Damien gained a score of 31 from his competitors.
- Dee went last, performing a variation on the Sword Box illusion inspired by the children's game Pop-up Pirate. Dee got into a cardboard box, and told two volunteers to take turns putting swords in until he jumped out of the box. The volunteers put all their swords in, but Dee did not jump out as expected. However, when the swords were withdrawn, Dee finally emerged, dressed in a full pirate outfit. Whilst the presentation was fun, the large box and small number of swords ensured that the trick wasn't all that impressive, and therefore, Dee received a score of only 21.
The Forfeit
The result this week was the same as that of the pilot: Ben was the winner, and Dee had to perform the "Killer Trick", which involved having to stay inside an ice bath for as long as possible. Dee stayed inside the bath for 20 minutes and 20 seconds. This was certainly a brave feat, but endurance tricks are a bit boring to watch, due to the lack of action involved. For the "Killer Trick" to stand out, it has to be not only difficult and dangerous, but spectacular as well.
My Verdict
Overall, this was a strong episode, with the five magicians all providing creative tricks that fit the theme well. Although the "Killer Trick" should have been more entertaining, it was, on the whole, a strong start to the main series. Hopefully, the remaining five episodes will be just as good.
