The Magicians (British TV series)

Last updated

The Magicians
Trailer-generic.jpg
Genre Talent show
Presented by Lenny Henry (2011)
Darren McMullen (2012)
Starring Barry and Stuart
Luis de Matos (2011)
Chris Korn (2011)
Jason Latimer (2012)
Pete Firman (2012)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes11 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerKaren Smith
ProducersWill Spokes (2011)
Sam Donnelly (2011)
Richard Greenwood (2012)
Running time60 minutes (2011)
75 minutes (2012)
Production company Shine TV
Original release
Network BBC One
Release1 January 2011 (2011-01-01) 
11 February 2012 (2012-02-11)

The Magicians is a British talent show, first broadcast throughout January 2011 on BBC One. [1]

Contents

The show features magicians performing a number of magic tricks with guest celebrities, to decide which pair will face a forfeit trick at the end of the episode. In the first series, this was decided through audience participation; however, for the second series, a phone vote was introduced. The first series was hosted by Lenny Henry, and featured magicians Luis de Matos, Barry and Stuart and Chris Korn. At the end of series 1, Luis de Matos was deemed series champion.[ citation needed ]

The second series, which began airing in January 2012, is hosted by Darren McMullen, and replaces magicians de Matos and Korn with Jason Latimer and Pete Firman. While the first series was completely pre-recorded, the second series was broadcast live on Saturday nights, with the exception of the pre-recorded "Street Magic" and "Location Grand Illusion" segments. Thus, The Magicians became the first live magic programme to be broadcast on the BBC in over 30 years. At the end of series 2 Jason Latimer was deemed series champion by the UK viewers.[ citation needed ]

It was announced on 28 June 2012 that The Magicians had been axed. [2]

Format

Each episode features three magicians, each of whom are paired with a different celebrity. They must then perform a series of tricks to decide which pair will face a forfeit trick at the end of the episode.

In series one, the tricks were as follows:

In series two, the tricks were as follows:

The order in which each of the magicians perform, and the order in which each of the tricks is done, changes from show to show. In series one, each episode had a specific theme, however, in series two, there were no themes. The second series also featured guest performances from another magician whilst the phone votes were being counted.

In the first series, after all nine performances, members of the studio audience voted for their favourite magician-celebrity partnership using an audience response system. In the second series, viewers could vote for their favourite acts via telephone. The act with the most votes were declared the winners, and the act with the fewest votes had to then attempt the forfeit trick. In the first series, the forfeit trick was explained to the magician, but not the celebrity. In the second series, the forfeit was explained to all three celebrities and magicians before the show went on air.

Episode list

International adaptations

CountryTitlePresenterMagiciansNetworkPremiere Date
Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine Магiя [3] Yuriy Horbunov
Tatyana Lazareva
Lyudmila Ratiani
Maria Koch-Kukes
Diana Gaičiūnaitė
Arvydas Gaičiūnas
Valentina Maximova
Vladimir Maximov
1+1 9 July 2012
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Por arte de magia [4] Anna Simon Jorge Blass
Yunque
Luis de Matos
Juan Tamariz (assistant)
Antena 3 13 September 2013
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia Магия [5] Volodymyr Zelensky
Tatyana Lazareva
Lyudmila Ratiani
Maria Koch-Kukes
Diana Gaičiūnaitė
Arvydas Gaičiūnas
Valentina Maximova
Vladimir Maximov
NTV (filmed for Russia-1 in 2011)3 May 2019

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Copperfield (illusionist)</span> American magician (born 1956)

David Seth Kotkin, known professionally as David Copperfield, is an American magician, described by Forbes as the most commercially successful magician in history.

<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">Sawing a woman in half</span> Stage magic trick

Sawing a woman in half is a generic name for a number of stage magic tricks in which a person is apparently cut or divided into two or more pieces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Street magic</span> Genre of magic performance

Street magic falls into two genres; traditional street performance and guerrilla magic.

Fay Presto is the stage name of Letitia Winter, a British magician and member of The Inner Magic Circle known for her close-up magic.

Tenko Hikita II, best known under the stage name of Princess Tenko and formerly Mari Asakaze, is a Japanese pop singer turned magician specialising in grand illusions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criss Angel</span> American magician, illusionist and musician (born 1967)

Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos, known professionally as Criss Angel, is an American magician, illusionist and musician. He is often referred to as one of the world's most successful illusionists, generating in excess of $150 million in tourism revenue for Las Vegas in one year.

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.

Tricky TV is a British television show that aired on CITV from 2005 to 2010, presented by magician Stephen Mulhern. The show featured street magic, pranks, illusions, and step-by-step how-to guides for magic tricks.

Barry Jones and Stuart MacLeod are a duo of Scottish BAFTA-nominated magicians and comedians whose work has been seen on television and on stage around the world. The double act are known for their comically dark performing style, for taking as inspiration the accounts of Biblical miracles and faking paranormal phenomena to form the basis for some of their illusions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luís de Matos</span> Portuguese magician (born 1970)

Luis de Matos is a Portuguese magician. He has been called “the best known illusionist in Portugal” and was the co-winner of the "Golden Grolla" in 2013 alongside Lu Chen and Dynamo.

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.

Peter "Pete" Firman is an English magician, comedian, television presenter and actor.

<i>Celebracadabra</i> American TV series or program

Celebracadabra is an American reality television series on VH1 that premiered on April 27, 2008. The series involves celebrities attempting to learn and perform magic. Magician/actor Jonathan Levit serves as the host. On Thursday, June 12, 2008, C. Thomas Howell was named Greatest Celebrity Magician.

Magic Numbers is a British television game show which aired for one series of seven episodes in July and August 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murray SawChuck</span> Canadian magician

Murray John Sawchuck is a stage illusionist, magician, comedian, actor, and host. Based in Las Vegas, SawChuck has dubbed himself "The 'Dennis the Menace' of Magic," and his shows often consist of a blend of "comical mishaps" that result in illusions and magic tricks. He was featured in the fifth season of America's Got Talent, and is the resident magic historian on Pawn Stars. SawChuck has also appeared as a magic coach on five episodes of the VH1 series Celebracadabra, and has been a guest star on shows such as Reno 911!, Last Comic Standing, Celebrity Blind Date, War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave, and Ring of Darkness.

Jason Latimer American magician

Jason Latimer, known by the stage name LATIMER, is an American illusionist. In 2003, he became one of four Americans ever to win the title Grand Prix "Best Overall" at the World Championships of Magic. In 2012, Latimer starred in the six live British television specials on the BBC One's "The Magicians," and won UK competition overall. In 2014, Latimer joined Penn & Teller and Christen Gerhart as a judge on the American magic competition television series Wizard Wars on the Syfy channel. In 2015, Latimer launched the Impossible Science program in San Diego, CA. Currently, Latimer is the curator of Impossible Science for the Fleet Science Center and oversees the Impossible Science Initiative in science centers throughout Southern California. Jason co-hosts Science Channel's series SciJinks with The Big Bang Theory's Johnny Galecki and Mythbusters: The Search's Tamara Robertson. In 2018, Jason joined the likes David Copperfield and David Blaine as one of the few recipients of the prestigious Golden Grolla Award from the Masters of Magic in Saint-Vincent, Italy. In 2018, Jason was the closing speaker of the USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C., for recognition of Impossible Science and changing education with wonder.

Jamie Allan is a United Kingdom-based magician. He is known for the fusion of magic and technology. Jamie Allan performs modern illusions with iPads, Laser Beams, Facebook and Twitter. He has appeared on various TV shows and has worked alongside various other entertainers and performers and designed illusions and effects for them. He has also worked in many aspects of the entertainment industry, as performer, producer, writer and director. He is Creator and Co-Writer of the musical Houdini.

<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.

References

  1. BBC – BBC One Programmes
  2. "Magicians, Penn & Teller: Fool Us axed". Digital Spy. 28 June 2012.
  3. ""White Media" announces the show "Magic"". Association of Film and Television Producers. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  4. "Por arte de magia (official site)". Antena3.com. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  5. "Magic (official site)". Antena3.com. Retrieved 4 May 2019.