The Unpleasant World of Penn & Teller

Last updated

The Unpleasant World of Penn & Teller
Created by Penn & Teller
Directed byPeter Orton
StarringPenn & Teller
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6
Production
Running time30 minutes
Original release
Network Channel 4
Release7 January (1994-01-07) 
11 February 1994 (1994-02-11)

The Unpleasant World of Penn & Teller is a British magic show presented by Penn & Teller in 1994 on Channel 4. [1] The show featured segments deconstructing magic tricks, while performing some of their signature comedy magic stunts, essentially introducing the pair to British audiences.

Contents

Format

The first or middle segments would always feature a British celebrity like Stephen Fry or John Cleese who would participate in one of the pair's magic tricks.

The duo would also make a running gag poking fun at the popular British magician Paul Daniels. Another running gag that ended each episode was one where the pair would promise the audience that they never did any camera tricks for their magic, with the gag being that, at that moment, a camera trick would be done to the TV audience.

Episodes

No.GuestDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1 Stephen Fry Peter OrtonPenn & Teller7 January 1994 (1994-01-07)
2 John Cleese Peter OrtonPenn & Teller14 January 1994 (1994-01-14)
3 Dawn French Peter OrtonPenn & Teller21 January 1994 (1994-01-21)
4 Fiona Fullerton Peter OrtonPenn & Teller28 February 1994 (1994-02-28)
5 Alexei Sayle Peter OrtonPenn & Teller4 February 1994 (1994-02-04)
6 Christopher Reeve Peter OrtonPenn & Teller11 February 1994 (1994-02-11)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penn & Teller</span> American illusionists and entertainers

Penn & Teller, Penn Jillette and Teller, are American magicians, entertainers, and scientific skeptics who have performed together since the late 1970s. They are noted for their ongoing act that combines elements of comedy with magic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penn Jillette</span> American magician and actor (born 1955)

Penn Fraser Jillette is an American magician, actor, musician, inventor, television presenter, and author, best known for his work with fellow magician Teller as half of the team Penn & Teller. The duo has been featured in numerous stage and television shows, such as Penn & Teller: Fool Us and Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, and is currently headlining in Las Vegas at The Rio. Jillette serves as the act's orator and raconteur.

The bullet catch is a stage magic illusion in which a magician appears to catch a bullet fired directly at them ⁠— often in the mouth, sometimes in the hand or sometimes caught with other items such as a dinner plate. The bullet catch may also be referred to as the bullet trick, defying the bullets or occasionally the gun trick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teller (magician)</span> American magician (born 1948)

Teller is an American magician. He is half of the comedy magic duo Penn & Teller, along with Penn Jillette, and usually does not speak during performances. Teller, along with Jillette, is an H.L. Mencken Fellow at the Cato Institute.

Penn & Teller's Magic and Mystery Tour is a 2003 television documentary miniseries starring Penn & Teller. The program was created by the CBC in association with Channel 4 Film. Ric Esther Bienstock was series producer and writer. She also directed the China episode.

<i>Penn & Tellers Smoke and Mirrors</i> Video game

Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors is an unreleased video game starring the magician duo Penn & Teller that was planned for release initially on the Sega CD in April 1995. The game is a collection of several minigames and an adventure platform game. All the minigames, with one exception, were made for the sole purpose of enabling the player to fool their friends by different means, designating the games "scam minigames" and virtual tricks. Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors is similar to the video Penn & Teller's Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends, which has the same purpose, and uses properties of the video medium itself for the tricks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mac King</span> American magician

Mac King is an American magician who has performed on television specials, often as a co-host. He has his own family-friendly show, "The Mac King Comedy Magic Show", at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino in the Thunderland Showroom, in Las Vegas, Nevada. King's show is currently the longest running one-man show in the history of Las Vegas.

The World's Greatest Magic was a series of American television specials showcasing magic acts. The first of five shows was broadcast by NBC in 1994, and continued with annual editions through 1998. These shows were most often first telecast during the Thanksgiving holidays when special programming would occur. These specials reran occasionally on ABC Family from October 1996 to early 2002.

Michael Carey Goudeau is a juggler and an ex-circus clown who graduated from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. He is a writer and was an executive producer for the Showtime series Penn & Teller: Bullshit!.

John Archer is a British comedy magician, television writer and actor. As well as performing magic, he has also commercially released a number of his tricks through various magic suppliers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shawn Farquhar</span> Canadian magician

Shawn Farquhar is a Canadian magician and illusionist notable for his title as the "Grand Prix World Champion of Magic" from the International Federation of Magic Societies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magic (illusion)</span> Performing art involving the use of illusion

Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close-up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It is to be distinguished from paranormal magic which are effects claimed to be created through supernatural means. It is one of the oldest performing arts in the world.

<i>Penn & Teller: Fool Us</i> American magic competition television series

Penn & Teller: Fool Us is a magic competition television series in which magicians perform tricks in front of American magician-comedian duo Penn & Teller. Its first two seasons were hosted by Jonathan Ross, the third through ninth seasons were hosted by Alyson Hannigan and the tenth season onwards by Brooke Burke. Fool Us was filmed at Fountain Studios in London, England and the Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, located in Las Vegas. After each performance, if Penn & Teller cannot figure out how a trick was done, the magician(s) who performed it win a Fool Us trophy and a five-star trip to Las Vegas to perform as the opening act in Penn & Teller's show, also at the Rio Hotel & Casino.

<i>The Magicians</i> (British TV series) British TV series or programme

The Magicians is a British talent show, first broadcast throughout January 2011 on BBC One.

"The Great Simpsina" is the eighteenth episode of the twenty-second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 10, 2011. It was written by Matt Warburton and directed by Chris Clements. This episode was based on the 2002 film Spooky House, starring Ben Kingsley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piff the Magic Dragon</span> British magician and comedian

John van der Put is an English magician and comedian, who performs under the stage name Piff the Magic Dragon. A winner of multiple awards from British magic societies, he toured as a supporting act for Mumford and Sons and has appeared on Penn & Teller: Fool Us and America's Got Talent. In June 2019, van der Put was named one of Variety's 10 Comics to Watch for 2019. Van der Put lives in Las Vegas and has a residency at The Flamingo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kostya Kimlat</span>

Kostya Kimlat is a Ukrainian-American magician, motivational speaker, entrepreneur, and business consultant. With the use of magic tricks, Kimlat helps companies train employees. As a speaker, he lectures on the importance of perception in daily life through magic and sleight of hand.

<i>TVs 50 Greatest Magic Tricks</i> British TV series or programme

TV's 50 Greatest Magic Tricks is a one-off list show that was produced by Objective Productions for Channel 5. The programme counts down the fifty greatest magic tricks – The Magic Bullet by Penn & Teller is the illusion at number one. The show was presented by the British actress Fay Ripley, and was directed by Helen Albon. TV's 50 Greatest Magic Tricks was first broadcast on Channel 5 on 31 December 2011. The list of magic tricks features set pieces, stunts and rabbit-out-of-the-hat tricks. Contributors to the programme included Penn & Teller, Paul Daniels and Dynamo. Two tricks by the British magician Pete Firman featured in the list, with his Goldfish Trick in the top ten.

<i>50 Greatest Magic Tricks</i> British TV series or programme

50 Greatest Magic Tricks is a one-off list show that was produced by Objective Productions for Channel 4. The programme counted down the fifty greatest magic tricks, as voted for by members of The Magic Circle. The illusion at number one was Death Saw by David Copperfield. The show was presented by British comedy duo Adam and Joe, who also wrote and narrated the programme. The show was first broadcast on Channel 4 on 6 May 2002.

Ryan Lam known professionally as Ryan Hayashi, is a Chinese Canadian magician, mentalist and performer. Hayashi focuses on coin magic and is known for his coin matrix. He also works in other forms of magic including cards, mentalism and displays of skill such as blindfolded performances with a samurai sword. Hayashi has performed magic in 18 different countries. He is a self-described "samurai entertainer" and has performed on multiple talent contests including Germany's Got Talent, Britain's Got Talent and Czechoslovakia's Got Talent.

References

  1. "Penn & Teller: interview". Time Out. 5 July 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2014.