The Magicians- Episode 4

Episode 4 of The Magicians featured several card tricks, a piano and even a few animals. But who avoided the forfeit, the threat of which was emphasised even more then before (If that was possible), and who ended up having concrete smashed over their head?


Barry and Stuart + Tina Hobley (Television Actress)

LIVE GRAND: Tina got into one of two boxes, which was watched over by five blindfolded spectators.  everyone except them saw Tina got out of the box and went into another. However, when the "Trick" had finished and the spectators took their blindfold off, it was revealed that Tina had vanished from that box and reappeared in the first one! It was a little bit similar to the Ninja trick Latimer did  with David Hasselhoff a few weeks ago, but it was better because Barry and Stuart were funny, and Hobley is far less irritating then Hasselhoff

STREET CLOSE: Barry, Stuart and Tina made a frog vanish from their hands and appear in their mouths. It was a good trick at first, but they did it too often (We saw it done about 10 times, and they claim to have done it about 40 times during the day at the end of the video).

LIVE CLOSE: Barry performed the Bowl-o-Rama Illusion, making a bowling Ball appear from a sketch-pad.The dating patter was good, but it was just too much buildup to what is a good opening effect, but not an act in itself.

STREET GRAND: Barry and Stuart did a ghost hunting trick for a terrifying monster- Santa Claus ( It helps that the European portrayal of Santa is often pretty scary). There was vanishing milk and levitation, which made the performance effective.

Jason Latimer + Myleene Klass (Singer and Pianist)

LIVE GRAND: Latimer made Myleene vanish and reappear in a picture frame. In between, he brought a dress to life. It was a nice trick, but not great.

STREET CLOSE: In an ice rink, Latimer made a signed card vanish and reappear under the ice. A very clever and impressive trick

LIVE CLOSE: A card, with its features randomly chosen by three volunteers, was revealed by Latimer inside a sealed prediction box. Oldie but goodie.

STREET GRAND: Latimer and Myleene were cuffed together inside a cage which was lowered into the river. When it was brought back up, they had vanished and reappeared on a nearby bridge. Dangerous and spectacular.

Pete Firman and Adam Woodyat (Eastenders star)

LIVE GRAND: Pete and Adam did a medley of several tricks with a Vegas theme. They made a girl appear in a cage, pushed spikes through Pete's body, and did the Geometrix illusion, where they put three tubes through an assistant, and removed her from the box unharmed before making three more appear. A pretty amazing performance.

STREET CLOSE: Pete and Adam had a volunteer choose an animal, which appeared in a prediction box. A good trick, but it didn't wow me.

LIVE CLOSE: Pete and Adam performed the "Hospitality illusion, where they poured several random drinks from a single orange juice carton. Simple but really impressive

STREET GRAND: Pete and Adam performed a card trick with a deck of cards an 52 cars with a giant card printed on the roof. They had one spectator choose a card an a car, and revealed that the card in her hand and the one on top of the car matched. It was an inventive trick, but it could have gone further (For example, matching more people to the cards)

Were there any guests?

Quick-Change act David and Dania performed their act. Their routine was slightly different to the one I have seen online hundreds of times before, but not enough to really stand out for me, although the viewers who haven't seen their performance on Youtube probably enjoyed it a lot

Who Did the forfeit?

Pete and Adam won (The first victory for the Middlesbrough Magician) and Barry And Stuart and Tina Came second, Leaving Latimer and Myleene to walk over glass and have a concrete block broken over their heads. A tough forfeit, but not the scariest.

NEXT WEEK: A group of genuinely recognisable celebs join in the action, including Cricketer Phil Tufnell, Former Strictly come dancing judge Arlene Phillips, and Masterchef judges John Torrode and Greg Wallace.