Impossible - A Review

(The Following Will Contain Spoilers, So Don’t Read If You Haven’t Seen the Show Yet and Are Going To)

This week, I saw Impossible, the new magic show playing at London’s Noel Coward Theatre until the end of the month. It features an all-star line-up of magicians consisting of: Killer Magic’s Ben Hart, escapologist and daredevil Johnathan Goodwin*, Luis De Matos, star of 2011’s hit TV Show The Magicians, Illusionist Ali Cook, Mentalist Chris Cox (Also from Killer Magic), and “Digital Marvel” Jamie Allan. In spite of the fact that Street Magician Damien O’ Brien (Another magician from Killer Magic) and Katherine Mills were heavily featured on promotional material, they did not appear on the show (Although Damien apparently performed tricks in the stalls during the interval), which was a real shame. Indeed, most reviews of Impossible have criticised Katherine’s absence, claiming that the show placed too much emphasis on male “Machismo” (With Ali providing the majority of the show’s Women-in-boxes tricks)

(*At the end of this week, Johnathan will leave Impossible, and be replaced by mentalist and former Britain’s’ Got Talent Competitor Aaron Crow for the remainder of the show’s run.)

Between them, the magicians performed 16 routines, not counting the opening and closing tricks.

PART ONE

Opening

The show began by introducing a basic framing story involving a boy trying to learn basic magic, before coming across a box and making Chris, Johnathan, Jamie, Ali and Luis appear from it. The opening was well staged, and I like the concept of teaching children about how incredible the art of magic is, but only three of the routines actually involved the child and the theme he represented.  

The First Eight Routines

• ·         Ben was the first magician to perform, telling the child from the opening about a magic trick his grandfather saw during the monsoon season in India. He did a routine with a deck of cards in which he diminished them to increasingly small sizes (with an unaltered card in his pocket to provide a convenient reference), before finally making them vanish. I think that the best aspect of this routine was not the trick itself, but Ben’s skill at storytelling.

• ·         Johnathan followed this kid-friendly routine with one that was probably far too intense for the children in the audience. In fact, even older viewers such as myself found it uncomfortable to watch. Johnathan was restrained in a black straitjacket (That had been tried out by a random audience member before the show begun) and hung upside down. A fuse was lit next to him, and he had thirty seconds to escape from the straitjacket before the spark set his legs on fire. Johnathan didn’t make the initial deadline, and his trousers were set alight, but he was still able to get out of the straitjacket and reach a nearby fire extinguisher, which he used to put out the flames before he could get seriously injured. It was utterly terrifying, but also incredibly memorable. In short, it was a routine I couldn’t wait to tell people about.

• ·         Luis then did a simple card routine involving four aces. He used sleight-of-hand to turn them all face-down, then made the backs of the cards change colour from blue to red, before finally transforming them into kings. It was a relatively simple routine compared to most of the others performed on the show, but it was done very well.

• ·         After two close-up routines and some escapology, it was time for the first stage illusions of the evening. Ali performed three large-scale box tricks to an energetic rock soundtrack. He begun by doing the Sword Basket illusion, as he placed an assistant inside a small box and thrust seven flaming spears into it.  He removed the spears and not only made the first assistant reappear unharmed, but made a second assistant appear from within the box. He followed this with the Suspended Animation trick, in which he switched places with an assistant from within a clear glass box. Ali finished his routine by combining two illusions into one. He made an assistant vanish from a chair, then reappear inside the Suspended Animation box a few seconds later. Overall, it was an enjoyable routine, even if I’ve seen the tricks he performed a dozen times before.

• ·         Chris then wowed the audience with a comedic mentalism routine themed around clothing. After showing a photograph of himself in an “I Love Frozen” T-Shirt (He already demonstrated his love of the Disney hit with a memorable routine on Killer Magic), Chris decided to let a volunteer dictate his fashion choices. He told a random audience member to join him on stage, come up with a one-word name for a fictional clothing brand, write it on a sheet of paper, and put the paper in her pocket. He then introduced the volunteer to two dressing rooms, one (which was covered by a curtain) for her and an open one for him. Both contained six pieces of headwear, six shirts and six pairs of shoes. Asking the volunteer a set of seemingly trivial questions, he used them to choose a piece of headwear, a shirt, and a pair of shoes, whilst the volunteer simultaneously made her own choices in private. When the volunteer removed the curtain, Chris’ chosen clothing completely matched hers, including a wig he chose as his headwear at the last second. Chris finished the routine by asking the volunteer to reveal her chosen brand name (“Dog”), and showing that it was printed on the tag of his chosen shirt. This was a very enjoyable routine, and demonstrated that Chris was able to transfer from TV to the stage.

• ·         Jamie then introduced the audience to his digital style of magic with a routine centred on digital screens. He used four digital screens to do a number of effects which involved making objects shown on the screens come to life, including a light, a ball, feathers, confetti and finally a rose. He then made a newspaper appear from an iPad before abandoning the technology for a comedic version of the Torn and Restored Newspaper trick. I felt that this routine provided Jamie an opportunity to demonstrate his style and personality, and he did this very well.

• ·         Johnathan’s second routine was themed around “Pain Tolerance”. He began this performance by telling stories of performers who had themselves crucified or locked inside incredibly hot ovens (another reason why his act isn’t really suitable for children). Compared to them, his performance initially appeared rather conventional, as he showed off a bed of a thousand steel nails and told a volunteer to lie down on it. She did this and suffered no harm, leading the audience to expect that it would be a safe stunt. However, Johnathan then explained the science behind the Bed of Nails stunt, and decided that the stunt would be too easy with 1000 nails, so he chose to lie down on a single nail. If that wasn’t enough, he told the volunteer to place a cinder block over his chest and shatter it with a sledgehammer. Johnathan managed to pull this stunt off without being injured, but it seemed more of a test of strength and balance as opposed to pain toleration, although that is probably a positive thing, given how dangerous it looked.

• ·         Luis performed the last routine before the interval. He begun with two box illusions similar to those performed by Ali. The first of these was the Origami illusion, in which he put his assistant inside a box, folded it into a tiny cube, and put swords through it to demonstrate that she had vanished, before reversing the process and making her reappear. After a brief effect in which he passed a scarf through his assistant’s neck, he put her inside a small box that was suspended in the top half of a giant frame. He then divided the box into fifths, and moved these pieces to the bottom of the frame, before opening the box to reveal the assistant inside. Following these tricks, Luis then did a smaller one with the child from the opening sequence, in which he taught him how to make a white silk change into a red one, then made the red silk vanish and reappear in his mouth. Though the silk sequence was a bit too slow and not impressive enough (I was still able to appreciate though, because it was one of the few sections of the show to emphasise the theme of the opening sequence), Luis finished the routine with an incredible trick in which he made a sports car containing the child vanish, even though it was completely surrounded by not only a curtain, but a chain of volunteers. It was the perfect way of ending the first half of the show.

 PART TWO

• ·         During the interval, Chris invited those sitting in the stalls to “Control Chris Cox” by writing down an activity they wanted him to do during his routine and putting their request in a box placed on the stage.  When it was time for the second half of the show to begin, Chris started by correctly predicting the activities written down by three random volunteers after getting them to project their thoughts to him in a number of ways (In one instance, Chris told a volunteer to drink from a bottle of water and spit some of it back in. Chris took the remaining water and drank it himself, receiving the thoughts through the volunteer’s spit). When he had done this, he got four volunteers (randomly chosen through golden envelopes with golden tickets inside) to join him on stage. They were each instructed to name an activity and a place in London, and as they did so, Chris appeared to read the minds of his volunteers by correctly guessing key facts about them (e.g. when their birthday was, what the names of their pets were). He then took out a postcard and revealed that it contained correct predictions of all the chosen activities and locations. In order to eliminate the possibility that he had written the predictions down after the volunteers had provided them, Chris then unveiled a video clip of him in London doing all the predicted activities in the predicted locations. It was an amusing routine, with Chris providing some great lines, but I wonder if the final reveal was one too many.

• ·         After his technological tricks in the first half of the show, Jamie chose to apply his distinctive style to two of the most popular (and overused) Stage Illusions of all time. First of all, he provided a variation on Sawing a Lady in Half called Clearly Impossible. In Clearly Impossible the assistants’ limbs are visible throughout the time she is in the box, and when she is bisected, the two halves are pulled pretty far away from each other. The most notable twist Jamie put on Clearly Impossible was the use of a laser to cut the assistant in half. Following this illusion, Jamie performed a short trick with Laser beams, in which he appeared to transform them into solid rods. This was impressive, but more suitable for stage than TV, as it is far more spectacular when the laser beams are being projected above the audience’s heads (This also helps them feel far more involved in the performance). Jamie than performed a levitation sequence where he appeared to levitate his assistant with light waves, covered her with a cloth, made her levitate a second time, levitated himself briefly, and finally made her vanish. I liked the way Jamie was able to blend the three most popular levitation routines into one sequence, and add his own unique touches, but I preferred the more unusual “Digital Magic” from his first routine.

• ·         Jamie’s Grand Illusions were followed by a close-up routine from Ben, who performed from within the circles above the stalls, with the TV screens that showed most of the close-up tricks in great detail conveying his performance to the rest of the audience. Inside the circles, he did a number of small tricks. The first of these saw him make a butter knife pass through a box of cards, before opening it to reveal a steel block inside, completely undamaged by the knife. This was followed by a sequence in which he did a tricks with a rope for two kids in the audience. He cut it and joined the two halves by magic, then made the rope appear to cut itself in two again without the use of visible scissors. Ben made the two unequal halves equal size before restoring them to one piece. He finally collected all the pieces of rope he had cut away during the trick, placed them in his closed fist, then made them vanish and re-join the rope. As with his first performance on the show, Ben was aiming his performance towards children, but chose to forgo the mystery of the Diminishing Cards routine, instead taking a sillier, but still amusing approach.

• ·         Johnathan’s third and final routine saw him perform a number of stunts with a crossbow, using his wife Katie as an assistant. He began by firing at a balloon held in Katie’s mouth, then managed to hit a rose and a sheet of paper. Johnathan then put on a steel blindfold and aimed at a balloon, relying on the sound of a bell held by Katie to tell him when and where he should fire. After his first shot missed the balloon, Johnathan managed to hit it on the second go. However, the remarkable part came when he removed the board behind all the items he items he had hit. There was an assistant behind it, and she was totally unharmed, even with Johnathan’s miss. I wasn’t crazy about the routine, because I’ve seen most of those Crossbow tricks before (It must be hard to come up with new ones), but Johnathan was a skilled archer and the final twist was memorable.

• ·         Having performed Illusions In the first half of the show, Ali aimed to demonstrate his close-up skills. He began with a trick involving four credit cards, as he made a coin vanish from his fist and reappear under each card one at a time, before making nine coins, including one giant one, appear beneath the cards. Ali followed this with a card trick inspired by the great magician Dai Vernon, who famously managed to fool Harry Houdini himself. He got a volunteer to sign a card with Houdini’s name, pushed it into the centre of the deck, and made it appear on top of the deck. He then added a red-backed card, and made it appear on top of the deck face first, before turning all the cards from blue-backed ones to red-backed ones. Sticking to the Houdini theme, Ali then performed the Aquarian Illusion, a trick based on two of Houdini’s most iconic Illusions: The Water Torture Escape and the Metamorphosis. He was handcuffed and shackled inside a tank full of water, and an assistant placed a curtain over it. After a few seconds, the curtain was removed to reveal that Ali had escaped from the box and the assistant was inside. I personally thought that the close-up magic was more unique and impressive, but the Aquarian Illusion was fun to watch as well.

• ·         For his final routine of the night, Luis chose to perform a trick utilising everyone in the audience. Every audience member (myself Included) had an envelope containing four postcards with a different famous magician (Carter, Thurston, Alexander and Houdini) on each one. Luis instructed everyone in the audience to tear all the postcards in half and shuffle them in a number of ways. He then got them to choose one of the eight pieces and put it in their pocket. After shuffling the pieces some more, the audience members were told to discard six of the seven pieces they had in their hands, leaving one piece in their hand to go with the piece in their pocket. The audience members were then told to look at the piece in their hand, and this turned out to match the half of the postcard in their pocket. I’m generally not a big fan of interactive tricks. They are far too simple and it is fairly obvious that they are directing the audience towards a single outcome. However, the elaborate nature of this routine and the fact it worked for everyone regardless of the half which they selected made it very impressive.

• ·         Ben then performed a routine inspired by silent movies, in which he did a couple of tricks with cigarettes, then went into the Multiplying Balls trick, in which he made several small white balls appear between his fingers. The manipulations were performed very well, but this was evidently a slower and smaller routine designed to lead into the spectacle of the climax.

• ·         The final performance was given by Ali, who provided a version of the Bo-Staff illusion. He put a female assistant inside a box, then compressed the interior to reveal that she had vanished. Ali then restored the box to its original state, and produced not the assistant, but the child who had vanished during Luis’ Disappearing car trick. It was probably Ali’s least impressive routine out of the three he performed, but I liked the way he finished by returning to the theme of the show, which had been neglected throughout the second half.

Closing

For the final trick of the show, the six magicians made a giant helicopter appear from beneath a giant sheet on the stage. It was a short routine, but the climax was truly spectacular. The Helicopter Production is a trick that gets performed a little too often, but it is incredible to watch in person, and ensured that the show finished on a high note.

VERDICT

Overall, this was an enjoyable magic show. I thought that Chris, Luis and Ali provided the best performances, but all six of the magicians were good. There were a wonderful range of tricks, with the smaller ones being performed very well and the larger ones proving utterly breath-taking when seen in the flesh. However, the main problem with the show (even more damaging than Katherine’s absence), was the framing story. I loved the idea behind it, but it was not properly integrated into the show, and should have either been used more often or scrapped entirely. In spite of this, I think the show should be judged based on the quality of the magic, and that was generally amazing.

Killer Magic - A Final Overview

The Final Results

(These refer to all 7 of the episodes, including the Pilot)

Highest Score for a Single Routine

33 – Ben Hart (Pilot and Week 1)

Lowest Score for a Single Routine

21 – Dee Christopher (Week 1)

Most Victories

 4 - Ben Hart

 2 - Damien O’Brien

 1 - Chris Cox

Most Killer Tricks

 3 - Jasz Vegas

 3 - Dee Christopher

 1 - Ben Hart

Final Scores

(These are the combined total of the scores each magician received for all 7 of their routines)

Ben Hart – 214/280

Chris Cox – 196/280

Damien O’Brien – 203/280

Dee Christopher – 184/280

Jasz Vegas - 187/280

Top 10 Performances

10. Alchemy (Dee Christopher, Week 3) -  After unimpressive performances in the Pilot Episode and Week 2, and the lowest ever Killer Magic score in Week 1, Dee needed to provide an impressive trick in Week 3 and did not disappoint. His “Alchemy” routine allowed himself to demonstrate a different side of himself with some unusually energetic quick-fire magic that contrasted with his usual focus on single tricks and long set-ups. Dee received his highest-ever score for this performance, with Jasz giving it 10 out of 10.

9. Sleight Of Shadow (Ben Hart, Week 3) – The tricks Ben provided do not seem particularly unconventional at first glance, but in this case, presentation was the key factor that turned an apparently ordinary routine into a resounding success. I was particularly impressed by how the coins appeared to move from pocket to pocket at exactly the right moments.

8. Ribbon Shot Through Body (Dee Christopher, Week 5) – Dee brought an old favourite up to date with this performance. The central trick was certainly daring, and Dee provided a perfect presentation that both emphasised the threat and ensured that the trick fitted him perfectly.

7. Robert-Houdin’s Clockwork Contraption (Ben Hart, Week 6) – I loved the idea of applying the week’s “Gadget” theme to fit a historical gadget instead of a modern one. Furthermore, the trick was just as impressive as it had been 200 years ago.

6. Card in Fried Fish (Damien O’Brien, Pilot Episode) – This trick felt a bit like something Dynamo would do, but that’s a good thing. It was a simple, attention-grabbing, and wonderfully British piece of card magic.

5. Champagne Bottle Magic (Damien O’Brien, Week 4) – The main reason why this stood out was the climax. The first half of the routine wasn’t too exciting, but the second half, in which he turned an empty Champagne bottle into a full, unopened, chilled one, was incredible.

4. Predicting Chosen Films (Chris Cox, Week 2) – There was a reason why Chris managed to break Ben and Damien’s dominance over the series with this routine. It was creative and had an enjoyable finish that fitted Chris but also allowed him to do something different. Furthermore, it was a lot easier to follow that Chris’ other routines, because it had a shorter set-up and a simpler, more effective reveal. Whilst I generally liked Chris’ performances throughout the series, this was his best by a wide margin.

3. Lego Car From Stomach (Jasz Vegas, Week 1) – This trick was unique, creative and disgusting. For better or for worse, it perfectly epitomised Killer Magic.

2. The Magical Board Game (Ben Hart, Week 1) – This routine was made up of a number of tricks that became increasingly ostentatious. Beginning with some simple but striking illusions and finishing with a wonderfully over-the-top climax, this routine required a lot of time and effort, and the end result was worth every second.

1. Card from Photograph (Damien O’Brien, Week 6) – This was practically the perfect card trick – an original, impressive, vanish leading into a climax that was both spectacular and hard to figure out.

Top 3 Killer Tricks

3. The Buzzsaw (Week 5) –This was the best of the two tricks in which Jasz appeared to be killed. I did not like the fact that Jasz had to do a second seemingly fatal “Killer Trick” after the Guillotine “Killer Trick” of Week 3, but this one had a better presentation and was more entertaining to watch.

2. The Table of Death (Week 2) – This is always a great trick, and the presentation was very entertaining. I believe that more of the Killer Tricks should have used escapology as a theme.

1. Russian Roulette (Week 4) – This was a unique, shocking and very dangerous Killer Trick. It was fun to watch and probably got a lot of viewers talking, which is what all great magic should do.

Final Review

When reviewing the pilot last year, I described this show as a cross between Come Dine With Me and The Magicians. This concept continued to define Killer Magic, with the show taking the basic format of The Magicians (Magicians compete to avoid a forfeit trick) and adding several of the tropes associated with Come Dine With Me (The competitive contestants observing and scoring each other, the narrator who responds to the action with a snarky voice-over), using these elements to create a unique and interesting show. The magicians were all very good, and managed to provide a number of creative routines throughout their time on the show. Overall, this was a very enjoyable series, and I hope to see this show continue.

Killer Magic - The Last Two Episodes

I’m sorry that these two reviews are being published 2 months after these episodes aired, but better late than never. With Penn and Teller: Fool Us returning to American television next week, and numerous magicians auditioning for the tenth season of Americas Got Talent (hoping to emulate last year’s winner, close-up magician Mat Franco), there is going to be a lot of activity on this blog during the summer, so I decided to get my reviews of Killer Magic out of the way beforehand.

The rules of Killer Magic are the same as ever. Five magicians (Ben Hart, Chris Cox, Damien O’Brien, Dee Christopher and Jasz Vegas) each perform a routine fitting a weekly theme. The other magicians give them a score out of 10, and the magician with the lowest total score has to do an incredibly dangerous “Killer Trick” as a forfeit.

The fifth episode of Killer Magic was themed around “Sports” and the theme of the sixth was “Gadgets”

(The Following May Contain Spoilers)

Killer Magic – Episode 5

The Tricks

•  Ben went first, and performed his routine at a tennis club. He began by telling his volunteer to sign a key. He then threaded the key onto a shoelace, and appeared to remove it by making it pass through the lace, then restored it to its original position. Ben then made the key vanish and reappear attached to the strings of a tennis racket that had been held in the volunteer’s hands. After removing the key by smashing the tennis racket against a bench, Ben then put the pieces of the Racket’s head inside a head cover, with the handle sticking out and held by the volunteer, and restored the tennis racket to its previous undamaged state. This was a very creative routine, with Ben’s tricks becoming more impressive as his performance progressed, and the climax was very strong. The other magicians enjoyed Ben’s performance, and gave him a total score of 30.

• If there was one magician who looked like they would struggle with the week’s theme, it was probably Chris, whose routine was inspired by his attempts at avoiding P.E lessons at his school. He used a P.E teacher as his volunteer, and gave him a “Sick-note” to put in his pocket without reading. Chris then told the teacher to pick items of clothing at random from a Lost Property box to serve as his P.E kit. After getting dressed in the chosen clothing, Chris did a mentalism trick in which he went onto a trampoline blindfolded and correctly predicted the trampolining positions chosen by the teacher. At the end, Chris told the teacher to open read the sick-note he had been given at the start of the routine – it featured a perfect prediction of the clothing which Chris had been made to wear. The tricks were impressive, and Chris provided a unique spin on a theme that did not appear to suit him, but he seems to be relying solely on mentalism, and the problems with this style of magic (Such as the lengthy set-ups) become increasingly apparent the more it is used. Ben said that Chris’ routine was too confusing, and Damien criticised his costume, but Chris received a total score of 27.

• Under pressure to end his streak of poor performances, Dee performed an attention-grabbing trick at a shooting range. He loaded a gun with red ribbon, then borrowed a ring from a volunteer. After appearing to swallow the ring, Dee then got an expert shooter to aim the gun at his chest and fire, causing the ribbon to fly through his body and hit the wall behind him. The volunteer’s ring reappeared threaded onto the ribbon behind Dee, and when he walked forward and released himself from the ribbon that had appeared to pass through his stomach, it was clear that he was unharmed.  This trick is a relatively old and obscure one (I remember seeing the masked magician do it and expose the secret in his controversial show Breaking the Magicians Code) but it is still interesting to watch, and I believe that Dee brought it up to date. The other magicians also expressed this opinion, and gave Dee a total score of 28.

• For her performance, Jasz aimed to combine Synchronised Swimming with magic. She dived into the deep end of a swimming pool and performed a Linking Rings routine underwater. Jasz performed the trick well, and the decision to do it underwater provided an unusual, pretty performance, but it was not very impressive, because she did one of the oldest and most conventional magic tricks of all time without any major twists or subversions (With the exception of the setting) to make it more spectacular or harder to figure out. The other magicians were critical of Jasz’s performance, with Dee saying she wasn’t edgy enough, and received a total score of 24.

• Damien was the last magician to perform, and did a routine themed around his favourite sport, football. He showed an empty Scottish Football-themed sticker album to his two volunteers, telling one of them to hold it between his hands, and telling the other to pick one sticker from a set held in Damien’s hands. The volunteer chose a sticker of the Scottish footballer Barry Nicholson. Damien then waved the sticker book over the stickers, and the faces on the stickers vanished except for the one showing Barry Nicholson, whilst the sticker album was filled with stickers for every player except for Barry Nicholson. For the climax of his routine, Damien told his volunteers to hold the sticker album up to their faces and repeat Barry’s name. As they did so, Barry Nicholson himself emerged from a nearby box, and Damien took his place inside in time for the volunteers to put down the Sticker Album and realise that Barry had appeared in front of them. Barry then went to the box and opened it up to reveal that Damien had vanished and left a football behind. I liked the presentation, the decision to use stickers in a manner similar to playing cards in the first part of the routine was creative, and the climax was fun to watch, although it was designed to surprise the volunteers more than Damien’s fellow magicians. Although Ben was a bit critical, saying that the volunteers were more interested in Barry’s presence then the trick, the magicians generally liked it, and Damien received a total score of 29.

The Forfeit

Ben was announced as the winner and Jasz the loser, so Jasz had to do the “Killer Trick”, which was The Buzzsaw. This involved Jasz being placed on a table, and Ben appearing to cut her in half with a giant buzzsaw. As with the Guillotine, the “Killer Trick” from the third episode, this routine appeared to end with Jasz’s demise. It was played for a significant amount of black humour, with the song “If I Die Young” being used in the end credits. Both Ben and Jasz acted their parts well, and some of the narration was funny, even if this version of the trick was not particularly advanced (especially when compared to the variation performed by Penn and Teller). However, the main problem with this “Killer Trick” was pointed out by Jasz. After she was announced as the loser, she said of the trick she had to do:  “That’s so typical. Cut the girl in half”. Given the scorn for conventional tricks shown by the magicians (as epitomised by Ben’s comment “You shouldn’t have done Linking Rings” after appearing to bisect Jasz), it does not make sense for the show to resort to outdated Grand Guignol clichés by making the only female magician on the show a consistent victim of “fatal” routines which go wrong in an incredibly gruesome manner.

The Verdict

Criticisms of the “Killer Trick” aside, this was a fun episode, with an interesting theme and good tricks. However, the series has reached a point where things are getting a little predictable. The magicians all perform certain styles of magic (With Chris in particular focusing almost exclusively on his signature mentalism ) and reveal their scores in manners relating to their personalities (For example, Jasz reveals her scores on silks, and Chris reveals his inside fake books with amusing titles). Whilst these are understandable (The magicians should always be allowed to demonstrate their own personalities and approaches), the clear divide between stronger magicians (Damien and Ben) and weaker ones (Dee and Jasz) makes the competition a lot less exciting. Where’s the fun if you know who is likely of doing the “Killer Trick” as soon as the episode starts? If Killer Magic airs again in the future, the producers should encourage the less impressive magicians to up their game, or find new ones who can compete with the star magicians.

Killer Magic – Episode 6

The Tricks

• Damien went first, using Radio DJ Sarah-Jane Crawford as his volunteer. He got Sarah-Jane to pick a card (The King of Hearts) and write the name of it on a sticker attached to the back. He then took several photos of Sarah-Jane holding the card. He then put the card face-down on a table, making the message on the sticker change from “King of Hearts” to “Gone” without touching it, and making then face of the card vanish as well. After Damien did this, he showed one of the photos he had taken on a TV screen, claiming that it represented the only evidence that the chosen card had ever existed. He then put his hand over the image of the card, and appeared to pull it out of the screen, with it vanishing from the photo and appearing in his hands, with both the face and the sticker on the back completely restored. The two things that made this trick great were the initial vanish and the climax. The vanish was impressive because Damien carried it out in an unusual and striking manner without appearing to touch it, and it goes without saying that the climax was very impressive. The other magicians praised the creative presentation, and gave Damien a total score of 31.

• Chris was next to perform and did a trick themed around the internet. He used video bloggers and DJ’s Dan and Phil as his volunteers, communicating with them over a webcam. He gave them a personality test from a “Generic Magazine” (Really an issue of Cosmopolitan with the title “Generic Magazine” and Chris’ face glued onto the cover to avoid accusations of product placement). This involved three questions, with Dan and Phil receiving a score for each answer. In addition, Chris asked them to name a holiday destination and a T-Shirt design. When Dan and Phil finished their test, they were told to open a box they had been given earlier in the day and retrieve three items from it. These items had a correct prediction of each part of the test was printed on them (A mousemat featured a prediction of the score on each question, a mug featured the total score, and a CD box had the verdict printed on it). Chris then went on to unveil a poster in his own room, hidden for the duration of the performance, which featured both another correct prediction of what would happen, and a correct prediction of the answers Dan and Phill gave to the two smaller questions. Chris is a great mentalist, but his decision to limit himself to that field has made him seem less impressive (It’s not a coincidence that he received his highest score for his film-themed routine in episode 2, which featured him performing the “Snowstorm” illusion in addition to his signature mind-reading). However, this trick was a very good one, as the personality test theme, whilst generating the slow set-up that can often hinder mentalism routines, allowed Chris to have fun with his volunteers, and the climax was very impressive. He received a total score of 28.

• Ben chose to take an unusual approach, using a very old gadget and setting his performance in Britain’s oldest music hall. He began by taking a volunteer’s ring, wrapping it in a handkerchief and putting both inside a glass container. He then made both the ring and handkerchief vanish from within the contained. After doing this, he unveiled a clockwork device that had been previously used by the great nineteenth-century French magician Robert Houdin. This device was designed to look like a tree, and when Ben turned it on, it began to change, with blossoms and oranges growing on it. All the oranges were real except for one in the centre, which split open as two clockwork butterflies emerged from the centre of the machine. The two butterflies held a white handkerchief between them, with the vanished ring tied to it. Ben provided a very clever spin on the theme by using old-fashioned technology instead of modern items, and his performance proved that a trick which hasn’t been done on stage for almost 200 years can be just as impressive as brand-new ones. The other magicians gave him a total score of 31.

• For her trick, Jasz performed in a shopping centre using a specially-created magical gadget called the Resize 9000, which resembled a fancy microwave. Jasz began by putting an apple in the machine, then shrank it until it was roughly the size of her thumb. She then took a watch, and shrank it as well. To finish her routine, she put a shrunken copy of the resize 9000 manual to the machine, then turned it into a thick, full-sized manual. The basic idea was an interesting one, but this was another disappointing trick from Jasz. She should have used a larger machine to grow and shrink larger items, as doing this would have made the routine more spectacular. The other magicians also felt that the routine was not impressive enough, so Jasz only received a total score of 24.

• Finally, Dee provided a trick which demonstrated his love of music by using an electric guitar and amplifier as his gadgets of choice. He got a volunteer to name a song of her choice, and she chose “Umbrella” by Rhianna. Unable to play that song on his guitar, he poured some ink onto a tray, then told her volunteer to put her hand on the amplifier and transfer her thoughts through it to the ink. When Dee turned up the amplifier and played the guitar, an image of an umbrella formed in the ink, correctly predicting the chosen song, then vanished when he turned the sound off. Dee then produced a blank book of sheet music, then appeared to pour ink into it. He made the ink vanish, and the blank book had now changed into one with the sheet music for “Umbrella” printed on it. I enjoyed this routine, and particularly liked the creative theme, the unusual song choice, and the initial reveal of the song in the ink, which was very unique and unusual. Although Ben noticed that “Umbrella” had been spelt incorrectly, the other magicians gave him a total score of 27.

The Forfeit

Damien was the winner and Jasz was the loser, so she had to do the week’s “Killer Trick”, called Electroshock. Jasz had to get into a Faraday cage, which was hit by a million volts of electricity. She appeared to survive unscathed, but the ending was a little abrupt. It was certainly a scary stunt, and Jasz certainly found it terrifying, but all she needed to do was avoid touching the Faraday cage. It was an effective as a forfeit, but not as spectacular as the other “Killer Tricks” from the season.

The Verdict

The theme was very strong, because it allowed the magicians to use a wide range of technology to carry off a wide range of unique and creative tricks. However, the “Killer Trick” was not as good as some of the others, and I did not like the fact that Jasz had to do the forfeit yet again – It sends a pretty unfortunate message when the only female magician on the show gives consistently weak performances.

Killer Magic -Episode 4

After the impressive tricks we saw in the last show, the competing magicians had to keep up the good work with a set of routines themed around "Time". Ben, Christopher, Damien, Dee and Jasz (who managed to survive last week's "Killer Trick" with barely a scratch on her neck) performed once each, and as usual, they needed to provide an impressive performance in order to avoid the "Killer Trick". This time, it would be a twisted variation on Russian Roulette.

(If You Haven't Watched This On BBC iPlayer Yet, the Following Will Contain Spoilers)

The Tricks

• Ben was first to perform, doing a routine in front of a couple of Science students. He began by putting his watch in his pocket, then appeared to transform a piece of ice into glass and blew on it, inflating it into a test tube. Next, he filled it with salt, then changed it into a sand timer. He then reversed the process, turning the timer back into an ice cube, making the salt return to the saltshaker, and making his watch reappear on his hand. The routine was not perfect (You can see the watch back on Ben's hand throughout the second half of the trick before he reveals it), but the presentation was engaging and the flaws are only apparent if you rewatch the performance closely. Ben received a score of 29.
• Before his performance, Damien confessed that he was not used to the style of magic he was going to provide. If he hadn't said this, I wouldn't have noticed, for he was as slick as usual. He asked two volunteers at a champagne bar to sign a coin with a significant year (In this case, 2000). Damien then made the coin pass through the bottom of an empty champagne bottle and appear inside it. He followed this by chilling and sealing the bottle with his bare hands, then making it fill with champagne. He finished by changing the date on the bottle into the chosen year. Although the first half of the routine wasn't that exciting, the transformation of the bottle was very impressive. Damien's competitors gave him a score of 31. 
• Chris themed his routine around journalism, promising to "Hack the Future". He hired a group of media and journalism students to serve as his staff and create a front page for his own newspaper, but not before receiving a private message from his future self revealing what the front page would be. Chris wrote this information on an envelope and stuck it on a banner in clear sight but out of reach; He got the students to choose a headline, strap-line, byline, picture and inside feature, before taking down the future message to reveal that it accurately predicted the front page created by the students. Because the mentalism he specializes in relies heavily on predicting the future, Chris probably found it easier to come up with a routine than his competitors, and I personally loved the presentation. However, his fellow magicians did not find the trick stunning enough, so he got a score of 27.
• Jasz went next, with a performance involving a rose bush and a theme of going back in time. She told a volunteer to sign a leaf, then removed it from the bush. She did some close-up tricks with it as she appeared to pull the signature off the leaf, then put it into a small box and turned it into a brown autumn leaf before making it vanish. She followed this by making the bush vanish as well, then finished the routine by restoring time to the present, making it reappear with the signed leaf attached and the signature intact. This was a very creative trick with a solid story line, but the magicians found the presentation flat and she only gained a score of 27.
• The final routine came from Dee, who added 76 years to someone's life using only his coat. He performed in a graveyard, telling two volunteers stories about the lives of the dead. He revealed a gravestone belonging to a boy who had died decades before. After transforming a withered rose into a fresh red one to put on the grave, he discussed how it was possible to prevent people from dying before their time. He then put his coat over the gravestone, and when he removed it, the date of the boy's death and the inscription had changed - it now told the story of a man who had lived a full and healthy life and died only recently at the ripe old age of 88. Whilst the concept behind the trick was fascinating, the conclusion was a bit of an anticlimax. Dee's competitors believed that it wasn't visual enough, and I agree- maybe he could have done something a bit more spectacular, such as making the boy (or at least an old man representing him) appear.  As a result of the weak conclusion, Dee received a low score of 24. 

The Forfeit

Damien was the winner and Dee the loser, so Dee had to do the "Killer Trick". Most Russian Roulette-themed tricks involve only one or two dangerous options, but here Dee was guaranteed to suffer several injuries. He was tethered to a chair with five ropes attached to different items: one was holding a bottle of Dee's favorite Whiskey, one was attached to his beard, one would drop hot candle wax onto his left hand, one would release a rat trap onto his right hand, and deadliest of all a fifth was attacked to Dee's ...erm..."highly masculine area". Damien told a doctor to pick four of the ropes at random, and these would be cut, releasing the deadly devices. Although Dee had some of his facial hair yanked off, his bottle of whiskey spilled, and his two hands injured, he managed to avoid castration. Killer Magic has always been a very edgy show, but this probably pushed the limits of what could be shown on TV, and was all the better for it. This was another "Killer Trick" that will get viewers talking.

The Verdict

As was the case in the last episode, the "Killer Trick" was the highlight, but the other tricks were good too. The theme was very unusual, as it was based on a concept rather than a fixed item (e.g toys or movies), but it inspired several strong performances. Killer Magic has been great fun to watch so far, and I hope that the remaining two episodes are just as good as this one. 

Killer Magic - Episode 3

This week, Ben, Chris, Damien, Dee and Jasz had to do tricks themed around "Money". On the surface, this seemed like a simpler theme then "Food", "Toys" or "Film", but it inspired a wide range of creative illusions. The "Killer Trick" that the loser had to perform would be the Guillotine, and our five magicians had to pull out all the stops to avoid it.

(If You Haven't Watched This On BBC iPlayer Yet, The Following Will Contain Spoilers)

The Tricks

• Damien was the first to perform, and he did his routine in a pub. He asked a volunteer to provide him with a £5 note and sign it. He then turned the paper note into five £1 coins. He put them all into a nearby fruit machine, and eventually got three matching oranges on the machine, winning three real oranges as a prize. Damien told his volunteer to select one of them, then cut the chosen orange open to reveal the signed banknote. This was a bit of an old trick, but the use of slot machines in the set-up provided an interesting twist and made the climax more impressive. Damien's competitors also appreciated the unique aspects of the performance, and gave him a score of 31.
• Ben went next, hiring comedian Joel Dommett to assist him for a shadow-themed routine performed with four half-dollar coins. He began by moving the four coins with only the shadow of his hands, then made Joel sign the four coins, with a letter from his name on each one. He put one coin in each of the pockets of Joel's coat using a pair of tweezers, then utilized "Sleight-of-shadow" to make all the coins appear in one pocket. The decision to avoid physical contact, and the use of sound as the coins audibly fell into the chosen pockets at exactly the right moments, made the trick far harder to figure out. Ben received a score of 32.
• Having done two "Killer Tricks" and narrowly avoided a third in "Film" week, Dee had to provide a great routine in order to end his run of unimpressive performances. He updated the ancient art of Alchemy with a series of quick-fire tricks. First of all, he turned a scrap of paper into a silver leaf, then melted a silver ring in his hand. Next, he extracted a drop of the molten silver, then turned it into a coin. The coin was soon turned into a credit card, which was signed by a volunteer. Dee finished his routine by putting the credit card in an envelope, making it vanish, then reproducing the signed card from within the zipped section of his wallet. Dee received a 10 out of 10 from Jasz, but his fellow competitors were less impressed. However, Dee still received a solid total of 31.
• Chris themed his trick around a birthday party. He got a group of volunteers to pick a novelty birthday card each, write a message inside it, and put it in an envelope. One volunteer who had some cash on him was instructed to put the money into his card before he sealed it inside his envelope. Chris had the identical envelopes shuffled, then, without opening them, returned the cards which did not contain money. He was left with the envelope containing money. Chris correctly predicted the message on the greeting card, and the age on it, but got the value of the money wrong. Nonetheless, he provided an impressive finish, revealing that the ages on the other eight greeting cards formed a correct prediction of the serial number on the banknote. This was an creative price of mentalism, but the other magicians felt the trick was too complicated and gave him a score of 28.
• Jasz was the last to perform, and did a routine at an antiques shop. She used a roller to turn an empty sheet of paper into a novelty banknote. Next, she put in a second sheet at an unusual angle, with an incomplete impression of a £20 note appearing on both sides. She got a volunteer to stamp a thumbprint on a third sheet, then put it straight through the roller to reveal a fully printed banknote with the thumbprint still on. The trick was entertaining, but not as impressive as the previous four, so Jasz received a score of 26.

The Forfeit

Ben was the winner and Jasz the loser, so Jasz had to endure the Guillotine trick. Her head would be covered and placed beneath a sharp blade, which would be released onto her neck. The idea was that the blade would go through her neck, but leave her unharmed. However, the trick did not go to plan. Instead of surviving unscathed, Jasz appeared to be decapitated. The episode ended on this cliffhanger, so you have to tune in next week to see if Jasz escaped in time. Concluding a magic show with the apparent death of the magician is not new, as Paul Daniels and Penn and Teller have both done this in the past. However, using this tactic here demonstrates how dangerous the "Killer Trick" can be, even though Jasz probably didn't suffer any real injury - she is a magician after all!

The Verdict

This was the best episode of Killer Magic to date, with all five magicians providing tricks that were creative and made good use of the theme. The shocking conclusion was also effective. On its own, a "Killer Trick" would be scary to watch, but a competent magician (such as the five on this show) can perform it without suffering any problems. By forcing the losing magicians to perform these tricks as punishments for failure, and using them for the climax of the show, Killer Magic makes them seem far more dangerous and therefore more impressive, even though the magicians are not in any real danger as long as they prepare properly. By ending with a "Killer Trick" appearing to go horribly wrong, Killer Magic got the viewers talking, and that is what all good magic shows should be doing.

Killer Magic - Episode 2

In the second (third if you count the pilot) episode of Killer Magic, our five magicians had to do tricks themed around "Film".The movie industry owes its popularity to the art of illusion, with the magician George Méliès being one of the most notable pioneers of the medium. The numerous iconic movies made in the years since Méliès picked up a camera provided an infinite number of opportunities for  Ben, Chris, Damien, Dee and Jasz. As usual, they had to provide the most impressive routines they could if they wanted to get the highest possible score and avoid the dreaded "Killer Trick".

(If You Haven't Watched the Show on BBC iPlayer, the Following Will Contain Spoilers)

The Tricks

• Damien started the show with a close-up routine inspired by superhero movies. He performed in front of a volunteer in a cafe, and revealed his three favorite superpowers, doing a trick for each one. He began with the power of controlling the elements, and demonstrated this by setting a scrap of paper on fire, then turning it into a block of ice. He followed this with a trick in which he manipulated metal by bending a signed coin held inside the volunteer's hand. Finally, he proved that he was capable of super speed by making the coin vanish and reappear in a half-empty glass of tea on another table. Whilst the theme of superheros could have inspired a more spectacular routine, Damien provided a competent performance. The other magicians agreed that his routine was solid and gave him a score of 28. 
• Jasz was second to perform, providing a trick inspired by silent movies. She performed with her mouth sealed by duct tape, and provided instructions to her audience by using cue cards. One of the spectators was instructed to choose a card by counting to a random part of the deck. Jasz then made the chosen card vanish, and when she removed the tape from her lips, she revealed that it had been in her mouth the whole time. I've seen this trick before, so I was able to figure out the final reveal early, which diminished my enjoyment of the routine. Nonetheless, I liked the presentation, and Jasz's competitors did as well. She also earned a score of 28.
• For the next performance, Ben invited the Children's TV hosts Sam and Mark to a cinema, where he did a number of small tricks themed around the movie-going experience. He began by making popcorn kernels appear in his cap, then produced a stream of sugar. He poured the kernels and sugar into an empty wheelie bin, then did a close-up illusion in which he restored an empty can of soft drink to its original condition. He finished by triggering an explosion inside the wheelie bin, and revealed that it was now filled to the brim with sweet popcorn. I enjoyed the presentation and liked the final trick, but the other illusions weren't as impressive, and Ben spent a bit too much time on them, The other magicians gave him a score of 27.
• Chris did a routine combining movies and mentalism. He told an audience of film students to write down their favorite films and put their choices in a glass bowl. He then told a couple of his volunteers to stand up, and successfully guessed the movies they had chosen. After doing this, Chris got another audience member to guess his favorite film by answering questions. Her answers matched the ones Chris gave, and he eventually revealed that his chosen movie was the Disney hit Frozen. Chris finished his performance by making a snowstorm appear from his bare hands whilst lip-syncing to the film's most iconic song, "Let It Go". Personally, I didn't think that this was an especially great performance. The opening was good, but I felt that the climax was weak, as Frozen was a predictable choice and the final trick was not that spectacular. However, "Let It Go" is a terrific song, and I enjoyed the miming. Chris received an impressive score of 30. 
• Finally, Dee provided a trick with a horror theme. He opened a box full of scary dolls, each one representing a different monster (Zombies, Voodoo Dolls, etc). He then told his volunteer to choose one of them, and she chose the doll with the image of a Clown on it. Dee then set up a tent, and made a scary clown appear inside it. The set-up was atmospheric, but the trick itself was a little bit cliched. Dee's competitors gave him a score of 27. 

The Forfeit

Chris was the winner, but there was a tie for last place between Ben and Dee, Therefore, Chris got to choose the magician who would have to face the "Killer Trick" and chose Ben. This week, the "Killer Trick" was the Table of Death. Chris tied Ben to a table beneath a column of spikes suspended by a rope. He set the rope on fire, and Ben had to escape before the spikes fell on him. The fire burnt through the rope quicker than expected, and the spikes appeared to hit Ben. However, he then appeared on top of them, completely unharmed. This was a far better "Killer Trick" than last week's, because it relied on a big climax rather than a long wait, and Chris provided a strong presentation, successfully building up suspense and making the final reveal even more impressive.

My Verdict

Although the "Killer Trick" was great, this week's episode was a little disappointing when you consider the vast amount of possibilities the magicians had. I understand the need to focus on smaller-scale magic, as it is usually very hard to figure out and fits both the competing magicians and the show's dark and unconventional tone better than a lavish trick performed on a giant stage. I also believe that the magicians provided good performances and made the theme fit their respective styles, However, I felt that the tricks were a bit boring and not as impressive as the ones we saw last week. Movies rely on spectacle and creativity to stand out, and I believe that the magicians should have provided tricks that were a bit more breathtaking and less traditional if they wanted to utilize the full potential of the theme.

Killer Magic - Episode 1

2014 was a great year for magicians, with Mat Franco becoming the first magician to win America's Got Talent. Back in Britain, BBC3's dark and twisted magic show Killer Magic, which first aired as a pilot last year, has been picked up for a full series, and the first episode aired last week.

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

• 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.

Killer Magic

It's been a while since I posted an article on this blog, but I recently watched Killer Magic, a new magic show on BBC3. This week's episode was a "pilot"- The rest of the series will air later in the year. Based on this episode, I cannot wait to see the rest.

The format of Killer Magic is simple, and brings to mind both The Magicians (Another Magic show from the BBC) and Come Dine With Me. We have five magicians, who each perform a trick based on a certain theme. They will watch each other's performances, and give them marks out of ten. The magician who comes last will have to take part in an especially dangerous trick, with the "help" of the winner. For example, if the trick is "Sawing a person in half", the loser will be the one in the box, and the winner will be the one wielding the saw.

The five magicians are

• Ben Hart (The Gent)
• Damien O' Brian (The Geezer)
• Dee Christopher (The Goth)
• Jasz Vegas (The Girl)
• Chris Cox (The Geek)

The theme for this week was "Food"

(If you haven't watched the show on BBC IPlayer yet, the following may contain spoilers)

The Tricks

• Damien went first, and he performed his trick in a fish-and-chips takeaway. He asked two volunteers to pick a card and sign it. He then made it vanish and appear inside the fried fish that they had ordered. It was a simple but effective trick, well performed, and Damien received a score of 32 out of 40 from his competitors.
• Ben fared even better with his trick. In an ice bar, he asked two women to pick a raw egg from a box. He then stripped down to his pants and put the egg inside his pants, before taking it out to reveal that it had turned into a hard-boiled one. He then put a slice of bread between two plates, and appeared to cook it with his bare hands, turning it into toast. This unusual, creative routine earned a score of 33.
• Chris performed next, giving us an elaborate mentalism routine. He asked a volunteer to pick a dream meal (Spaghetti Bolognese) and a dream date (Simon Webbe from the boyband Blue). After a couple of "fakeouts", he revealed that the chosen items had been correctly predicted, and made Webbe appear with two dishes of Spaghetti Bolognese. The trick was funny and hard to figure out, but the overuse of fakeouts annoyed the other magicians, who gave him a score of 29.
• Dee also used a celebrity guest in his trick, enlisting the help of the model Imogen Thomas. His trick involved a toad and five blenders. Imogen put the toad in one of the blenders, and was asked to plug in four of them. You can guess how this trick is supposed to go, but the fourth and final blender turned on was actually the one with the toad in. Fortunately, Dee made the toad reappear under a bowl, completely unharmed. Dee received the low score of 26, because the danger posed to the toad made his fellow magicians uncomfortable, and they were also unsure about the extent to which the trick followed the theme.
• Jasz performed last, and chose to do a "Hidden Camera" trick. She invited a guest to dinner at a restaurant, but, instead of the food, she ate a flower, a glass and a plate. She finished by levitating off her seat, which caused her increasingly worried guest to leave. The other magicians liked the spontaneity of the trick, but felt sorry for the guest, and gave Jasz a score of 29.

The Forfeit

Ben won and Dee lost, so Dee had to do the Bullet Catch trick, with Ben firing the bullet. Due to UK gun laws, the bullet used was a paintball (Although this didn't really eliminate the danger involved). Fortunately, the trick went to plan, with Dee catching the signed paintball in his mouth.

My Verdict

 Overall, I liked this show. The magicians were good and the tricks were good. I liked the focus on close-up magic and mentalism, and I also enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. I'm looking forward to seeing the full season.