In the first episode of the series, four of the contenders took to the stage to perform their acts: Ehud Segev, Jim Karol, Eran Raven and Gerry McCambridge. Along with the studio audience were three celebrities that would be used in the acts where required: Carmen Electra, Rachel Hunter and Ross Matthews.

First onto the stage was Ehud Segev who was runner up in the Israeli version of the show. Ehud claims that “his routines are unique because they have to do with spirituality and connections”. Is he claiming paranormal powers? If so the trick he chose to perform will surely “out” him. He used a variation of Banacheks Psychokinetic Touches, an effect I’ve always liked that has also appeared in Derren Brown’s shows in the past. The effect is that while Ehud claims to be touching Carmen, he is in fact touching himself, but Carmen feels the touches irrespectively. I must say that I felt that Ehud performed the trick very well, with Gellar seeming to believe the effect was paranormal. Criss brought us all back to earth mentioning that he knew the trick well due to Banachek being a consultant on Mind Freak.

Next up was Jim Karol. This was a very disappointing act, with Jim performing a stunt with hunting traps that wouldn’t even convince children’s party. It involved a lot of fooling around, shouting and grunting and finally trapping his hand in a clearly gimmicked hunting trap. The culmination of the trick being that he correctly determined that Rachel Hunter had written Jeff Goldblum on a piece of card. Terribly disjointed, and really quite pointless. The judges were remarkably restrained in their comments, but you could tell by the look on Criss’s face that he was far from impressed.

Third to take to the stage was Eran Raven who performed a pretty accomplished Russian Roulette style act using nail guns as the weapon of choice. The correct level of tension was maintained through the performance, and I think he did a great job.

Finally Gerry McCambridge began his very traditional phone book act. Now these sort of effects do seem a little old fashioned these days, particularly after following the excitement of Eran Ravens death defying stunt. That said the trick was performed effortlessly and I feel Criss was perhaps a little hard in his comments on the act.

Between the acts Uri Gellar did a viewer participation stunt that was so banal I’m not going to bother commenting further.

Judging by the first four acts, I would say Jim Carrol should be packing his top hat, as he will do well to survive into the next round. All in all I enjoyed the show and look forward to seeing the next episode next week.

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Banachek, Criss Angel, Phenomenon

NBC have now launched an official website for their upcoming series Phenomenon. Following my initial post about this search for a mentalist, more details have emerged including the contestants: Eran Raven, Gerry McCambridge, Guy Bavil, Jason Scott, Jim Callahan, Ehud Segev, Jan Bardi, Angela Funovits, Jim Karol and Wayne Hoffman.

The site includes profiles of all the contestants as well as hosts Criss Angel and Uri Gellar. There are also some preview videos that are worth a look, unfortunately complete with advertisements. NBC normally put full episodes on the web once they’ve aired, so my fellow colleagues in the UK should be able to watch the episodes off the NBC site.

From the site:
Together, Geller and Angel will assess the contestant’s talents each week and offer their unfiltered opinions. Ultimately, the fate of the winner is in the hands of the viewers at home, who will vote to determine which competing mentalist will receive the grand prize of $250,000 and become the next great mentalist

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Criss Angel, Phenomenon

The much talked about new reality TV show Phenomenon has been given a provisional air date of 24 October. Here’s what NBC say about it:

Mystifier/artist Criss Angel (”Criss Angel MINDFREAK”) and famed mentalist Uri Geller will host this mysterious live competition series in which they will conduct an intensive search for the next great mentalist.

The series tests 10 hopeful mentalists who must compete each week to demonstrate a wide spectrum of mystifying talents for a panel of weekly celebrity guests and a studio audience.

Geller and Angel will assess the contestants but ultimately the winner’s fate will be determined by the viewers at home. In addition to voting, each episode will also contain an interactive component to engage the at home audience.

Could be interesting, so be sure to return to Sanders the Great to read my reviews on the series once it airs.

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Criss Angel, Phenomenon