As fans of magic, I think most of us dream of being able to afford that trip to see David Copperfield preform in Las Vegas, or see Criss Angel’s worldwide tour as he brings his stunt filled show from city to city. The reality isn’t quite the same, with the price of tickets soaring and airplane costs ever increasing, it ensures that most people will never get to see some amazing magical events in real life. But with the advent of technological wonders like Sky+ and HDTV, these experiences can now be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home. Which let’s face it, can sometimes be better than being out and about.
My current magician de jour is Dynamo, he of the Magician Impossible series currently being show on digital TV. In his everyday life, he is a humble guy called Steven from Bradford, unassuming, polite, and very shy. But put a deck of cards in his hand, and he turns into Dynamo. If it were not for TV or word of internet mouth, I for one would never have heard of him. And how happy I am to have been able to see him broadcast into my sitting room on a weekly basis! Technology may be pushing us further apart as a global community, but it is bringing into our homes these masters of sleight of hand. The tricks Dynamo has been able to show us on his program, from show stopping walking on the Thames, to simple things like putting a mobile phone into a glass bottle, have been phenomenal. If it were not for TV bosses taking a chance on an extraordinary young man like this, millions of viewers, not just in the UK but worldwide would be missing out.
There has been a renewed interest in recent years for magicians appearing on TV, with shows such as MindFreak, Penn and Teller’s Fool Us, and even Derren Brown’s many events being showcased. Penn and Teller have even been broadcast this year on prime time Saturday night television, the perfect timeslot for bringing magic shows back to the masses. This show in particular, gave amateur magicians a platform to show their talents and try and fool the big men in magic, with the main prize being a show running in the home of tack and magic, Las Vegas. What an opportunity for budding enthusiasts, not only getting to go on national television and do their thing, but also attempting to fool two of the most recognisable faces in the magic entertainment industry. I hate to say it, but my first experience of Penn was on “Friends” when he was a door to door encyclopaedia salesman attempting to scrounge Joey’s last fifty. Sad and all as that was, it was the medium of television that brought him to my attention.
Television may be the root of a lot of problems, ones which I won’t go into now, but without it, us in the mainstream may never have heard of Dynamo. Criss Angel and his entourage family wouldn’t have had much of career, and Derren Brown wouldn’t be dandying across our screens on a Friday night. The added bonus of things like Sky+ and YouTube, enables people like me who are utterly astounded by the tricks being shown to rewind over and over and over again, and figure out how exactly they manage to do what they do. These programs, inviting the big name stars of magic to come and share our evenings with us, will hopefully continue to bring joy and wonderment with them for years to come. When hard times fall, there is a yearning for nostalgia and light entertainment. And they are just some of the things these shows provide. They hark back to the TV magicians of old who were about personality and performing as well as magic, and to tricks of the mind and feats so jaw dropping, that they evoke almost a childlike amazement from grown adults.And all for the price of a channel subscription and a TV license. Now that’s magic.
No comments:
Post a Comment