MY ACCOUNT
Dennis Anyone? FOUR New Magic Shows on Television
Category: Posted by: C. DENNIS SCHICK
During the past year, 2014, all sorts of magic has been on television, which we have told you about as we learned about them. Of course at the top of the list was the stunning win on September 17 by magician Mat Franco of America’s Got Talent. Then there was the return of Masters of Illusion, and the creative and clever The Carbanaro Effect, and Wizard Wars, to name four.
In my morning newspaper today -- Wednesday, January 27, 2015 -- in Little Rock, Arkansas, I noticed on the daily television log mention of something named “Troy: Street Magic.” It is scheduled for the SyFy Channel tonight and the TV log says, “Magician Troy Von Scheibner travels the streets of London performing his blend of close-up magic and spectacular stunts for unsuspecting locals and tourists.”
Being a thoughtful member of Ring 29, I sent an e-mail to Ring members telling them about it. Almost immediately another Ring member wrote back saying HE had heard of yet another new magic television show called “Close-Up Kings.” So I looked for it on the Internet, and came up with that show on some network I had not heard of before, OLN. When I searched further, I found the show and, with this description:
“Close Up Kings” brings audiences the adventures of three best friends, who also happen to be America’s top sleight-of-hand artists. Magick Balay, Loki, and Johnny Blaze travel from city to city taking on different challenges and attempting to outperform one another. Viewers will be enthralled by the trio’s carefully orchestrated and artfully executed capers and tricks that become more complex as the stakes get higher. From bringing a bird back to life and teleporting a person 700 yards across the desert, to performing an amazing Houdini-style jail escape in front of a crowd, these magicians will have audiences asking, “How did they do that?”
Apparently OLN is a Canadian company, and I thought I may not be able to see the show. But then on the Website I saw that you can watch full episodes on that site. Go to www.oln.ca/shows/close-up-kings/ for more information and to see the show.
Before leaving OLN, I noticed a button which said “All Shows,” so I clicked on it and came up with a screenful of fascinating TV titles, from “Whisker Wars” and “Python Hunters” to “You Can’t Lick Your Elbow.” I’ll look into them some other time. But what grabbed my attention was TWO OTHER MAGIC SHOWS: one called “Illusions of Grandeur.” This one is “Coming in 2015.” In this show, up-and-coming street magician Zack Mirza travels to twelve cities in twelve weeks, in the style of David Blaine.
ANOTHER one is called “Dynamo: Magician Impossible.” That one says: “Back again in another four-part series, illusionist Steven Frayne delights crowds across the world, dazzling spectators with his genre-bending mixture of crowd-blowing illusions, sleight of hand tricks and innovative street magic.” Check them out at: www.oln.ca/shows/illusions-of-grandeur/ and www.oln.ca/shows/dynamo-magician-impossible/
So there are FOUR (4) NEW MAGIC SHOWS on television (at least new to ME and probably to YOU). Those should keep you busy for a while. Excuse me while I go look for some more.
