Penn & Teller: Fool Us

We're massive Penn-Teller fans - my wife "did" the joke-book trick with them in Vegas - and I'd love to give the show a 9 or 10, but the show definitely lost something after moving from the UK after 2 seasons.

Changing hosts didn't help. Jonathon Ross was cheeky and fast on his feet while Alyson Hannigan comes across like a kid selling raffle tickets. However, her blandness is consistent with how the show is now safer and tailored to a middle American audience.

After all, the duo became conjuring superstars by pairing Penn's staggering stage presence with Teller's skills - they were hip and "dangerous" and perfectly fit shows like SNL and early Letterman.

That time has faded. The pair compliment all the acts, as they should, but the whole vibe has softened and been tooled to never tease or offend. That's a shame as the magic is still great but the experience is pure vanilla.

This a truly outstanding TV show that brings highly talented magicians to the screen. Jonathan Ross does his job really well and Penn&Teller do a wonderful job of honoring true talents who come to the show to fool them. Nothing is controversial, Penn is courteous when dealing with fellow magicians, and the magicians accept defeat with humility, also Penn&Teller do a good job of keeping the methods secret when describing how the tricks are done, which helps keep the mystifying aspect of the tricks: the 'magic' is never totally gone even after Penn explains the methods used. Almost all of the acts are exciting and have a wow factor, which provide non-stop entertainment with very little filler to artificially boost the length of the show.

I love P&T, and this show is incredible. The show features up-and-coming illusionists who perform in front of the studio audience as well as P&T, and P&T attempt to figure out how the illusion was done. Some of the acts are absolutely incredible, and the production quality of the show is outstanding. Good camera work, not a lot of filler, etc.

My only regret is that it's not available in the US. You can't even WATCH it on ITV's website if you're in the US - bummer! You can, however, watch some clips on Youtube, just enough to give you a real desire to be able to see the show in its entirety. It appears that it is still being produced(?) in July 2011. Maybe Mr. Davey will be approached to produce an American version of the show - I sure hope so!

I generally quite like this show as it's just fun to watch. But there are a few things that are starting to really bother me. Yes, it's reality TV and so there is going to be some things left out, but at some point if you know it's all fake it isn't as much fun.

Specifically: they are editing some performances to make them seem impossible; performances that SURELY did not fool them get some made up story about how it really DID fool them so they can get the performer in their Vegas act; they are re-using audience reactions to tricks for multiple episodes/performances; Penn & Teller are hamming up their fake reactions to tricks that don't deserve such a reaction.

Vegas and Hollywood together...I shouldn't be surprised?

You might have noticed that the other reviewers are British. And they lament that this show is not available in the U.S. Well it is now.

If you like magic--sleight of hand, comedic routines, or the big production numbers--you should like this show. Penn & Teller are Las Vegas headliners and staunch advocates for the field of magic. Here they invite other magicians to perform tricks/illusions that they, P&T, cannot solve. There is a certain level of trust required in this. First, you must believe them when they say there are no camera tricks, no editing tricks, and that the viewer (you) is seeing what they themselves see live. Secondly, you must trust that when they say they have solved a trick, they actually have.

There is no reason not to trust them. They have a reputation of being totally honest. If you watch some of Penn's videos on the internet, you will find that he always speaks his mind and, evidently, cares not one whit for conformity. Also, there is an honor among those who practice the magic arts. It stretches back centuries. When P&T say they have unraveled the mystery of an illusion, without saying too much about the solution (because they do not want to spoil it), you can bet they have. They appreciate artistry and craftsmanship. They can be lavish in their praise for those who have mastered an illusion, even if P&T are not fooled by it.

Occasionally they are fooled. In those cases, the magician gets an expense-paid trip to Las Vegas and the opportunity to perform on their stage.

You have probably seen some of these tricks. Others are very original. But the level of the performances is always high. No fooling.

Update 9/16/2016: If there is doubt about whether or not P&T have effectively deciphered a trick, there are judges to make the final decision. They are the final arbiters. I have seen them decide that P&T were fooled when P&T thought they had the solution.