Penn Jillette is a magician and a juggler, a flamboyant and funny performer. He’s also only two-thirds as big as he was in November 2014, when, approaching his 60th birthday, he weighed 330 pounds.
His new book is called “Presto! How I Made Over 100 Pounds Magically Disappear and Other Big Fat Tales,” and that pretty much lays it out. How did he do it? Well, he started by eating nothing but potatoes for two weeks. Boiled, raw, baked . . . didn’t matter, he just had to eat nothing but potatoes, including the skin. After two weeks of that, he was allowed to eat an ear of corn — no butter, no salt —and it takes a full page for him to express just how that corn boggled his “potato famine” palate. Read more..
I am truly impressed by the level of programming originating from cable channels formerly dependent on reruns and older movies. ‘Mr. Robot’, ‘Preacher’, ‘Walking Dead’, and ‘Breaking Bad’ are/were four of my very favorite shows on all of TV. Now, you can add SyFy’s ‘The Magicians’ to my list of favorites.
I was a fan of Harry Potter, both the books and the movies, and when I discovered SyFy was producing Lev Grossman’s NYTimes best selling ‘The Magicians’, from the Magician’s trilogy, The Magicians, The Magician King, and The Magician’s Land, I was both excited and apprehensive, as I wanted the series to succeed.. but wasn’t sure it could on cable. I got my wish..
Quentin Coldwater (Jason Ralph) and Julia Wicker (Stella Maeve), two childhood friends and budding magicians, are recruited by Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy for their secret studies. Both are very talented, but only Quentin is selected for entry.
Quentin balances life, being young, and his love of magic.. for a short while. What had been his dream world, a series of books called “Fillory and Further,” involving a family of children discovering a Narnia-like land called Fillory, takes on a realism as a beast, appropriately named the Beast, appears in a classroom one day to dine on a fellow student.
‘The Magicians’ part ways with any similarities with Hogwart after this materialization, and the students of Brakebills realize magic is far more serious than they had imagined.
What separates Brakebills and its students from Hogwart and its young cast is ‘The Magicians’ is a fantasy for adults. There are serious love interests, serious acts of violence, and serious life and death situations that leave the fate of all characters in the balance.
Magic as practice in Brakebills is learned through hard work and endless study. Nothing, aside from parlor magic, comes easy. Spells are complicated and sophisticated tapestries of words, gestures and positioning. Spells can conjure beast and demons when misused, as was the case with the first appearance of the Beast.
Character development in The Magicians is central and several of the characters are, like most of us, a mix of the good and not so good. Relationships blossom, and end.. And students grow from hedonistic youths to young adults with serious attributes. Along the way they discover that Fillory is a real place, at least in the world of magic, and that the Beast resides in Fillory.
A journey to Fillory ultimately leads to one final battle with the Beast, but before the finale, students face truths, lies and betrayal, and travel through time to other ‘worlds’. Students are trapped, others are discovered who vanished previously, and the Neitherlands, a space between worlds, holds one of the central characters captive.
Despite their ‘heady’ responsibilities, life doesn’t cease for the students, as they must deal with a wide array of ‘adult’ problems while mastering the skills of magicians. Rape and molestation are broached. The death of parents, infidelity, and murder all take the stage at one point or another.
The Magicians is full of creative visuals and adult storytelling. The array of characters does require your attention, as the story constantly evolves, characters come and go.. for one reason or another, often nefariously, and the plot is anything aside from simple or boring. Also, since we are dealing with young adults here, there is an abundance of sexual themes. If you are easily offended, perhaps you should pass. Remember, this is a cable series, and they are allowed to go a little further than network TV.
I would feel as if I were being unfair to readers if I didn’t say this… I was not overly impressed with the first couple episodes. Everything seems to be going a little too fast, characters were introduced right and left, magic was real.. or not, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to invest the mental resources – and time – necessary to watch each week. As the following weeks went by, the characterization became clear and I knew who to root for.. and who not. The plotting took a sudden turn and it was as if the cruise ship passed from the Gulf Stream into the calm Caribbean waters. I knew the characters and I knew what was at stake. What I didn’t know was, like Game of Thrones, who would reappear the following week and who would vanish forever. Each episode became a joy and a highly anticipated part of my week.
Reviews for Season 1 are both good and bad, but largely good. I personally rely on Rotten Tomatoes when I’m unsure if I want to watch a certain movie or series. This past season was ranked right at 70% positive.. This is a very good cross-section of viewers from all demographics. Personally, I’d give it a solid 4 stars, out of 5. Sometimes, in its first season, a show wiggles somewhat to find its place in line. Writers are not as familiar with the characters, or one another, and there is a slight learning curve. I think The Magicians worked through any shortcomings and found a solid following for Season 2.
Genre: Drama/Fantasy Network: SyFy Premiere Date: Dec 16, 2015 Creators: Sera Gamble, John McNamara Executive Producers: Michael London, Mike Cahill, Sera Gamble, John McNamara, Janice Williams, Henry Alonso Myers, Scott Smith Producers: Michael London, Mitch Engel, John McNamara, Michael London, Janice Williams, Laurie Lieser
Season 1 is packaged as 4 DVD’s, including deleted scenes and gag reel. Available at most big box stores for around $25.00 You can purchase the 4 DVD package from Amazon for $19.95 – http://amzn.to/29YQJ9c
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About Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (UPHE – www.uphe.com) is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios. Universal Studios is a part of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.
About Universal Cable Productions Universal Cable Productions (UCP) creates innovative and critically acclaimed original scripted and digital content across media platforms for domestic and international distribution. In the U.S., UCP’s programming can be seen across various networks including the Golden Globe and Peabody award-winning drama “Mr. Robot,” “Colony,” “Playing House,” “Royal Pains” and “Suits” on USA Network; “The Magicians,” “12 Monkeys,” “Hunters” and “Killjoys” on Syfy; “Girlfriends’ Guide To Divorce” on Bravo; “The Royals,” on E!; and “Difficult People,” on Hulu. UCP’s content library includes critic and fan favorites such as the Emmy-award winning “Monk” as well as “Psych” and “Battlestar Galactica.” Universal Cable Productions is a part of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. Follow us @UCPisTV.
About Syfy Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in 96 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation. (Syfy. Imagine Greater.)
Oscar Munoz – San Antonio magician crowned president of national magic organization..
I started doing magic when I was 7 years old and have been doing it professionally for the better part of 30 years. As a kid, my grandmother was diabetic and often sick. Kids weren’t allowed to visit in the hospital rooms so when my mom went to see her, I would go across the street to a magic shop. That’s the first place I remember saying the word, ‘Wow.’
About a year after I started visiting the magic shop, a magician came to perform at our school. It cost 50 cents to go see him. I grew up in South Texas and worked in the fields so I knew what 50 cents meant. When he left after his show that day, his pockets were full of change and I said, “If he can do that, I can do that.’
I went to the library and checked out as many magic books as I could. I also hung out at the magic shop hoping to run into a magician who could teach me tricks. My first trick was a coin trick—pulling it out of somebody’s ear…Read more..
With summer well under way, the Abbott’s Magic Company, the Colon Lions Club and the Colon Chamber of Commerce are proud to celebrate the Annual Abbott’s Magic Get-Together. The dates are August 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th of 2016. Once again, magicians from all over the world will migrate to Colon, Michigan, the Magic Capital of the World, to be a part of this family oriented event. Tents and campers will magically pop up everywhere to swell this tiny little village until it appears there is no room for even one more person. Everyone scampers to be a part of this fun convention.
Magicians will be performing in the streets, restaurants and bars. The annual craft fair will take place on Friday and Saturday. The yearly fireworks will go off as in recent years on Friday night after the show at the Colon High School. Visit the Colon Historical Museum for a special Magic adventure or take a cemetery tour where many famous and not so famous magicians have chose to perform their final act and become a permanent part of the magical history of Colon.
Each of the four days ends with a world class magic and variety show held in the air-conditioned Colon High School Auditorium. These are not your average birthday party magicians and each show is different, with comedy, large illusions, variety acts, and much more. Tickets for the show are $25.00 for reserved seats, $20.00 for a bleacher seat.
For more information, contact the Abbott’s Magic Company, 124 S. St. Joseph St., Colon, MI 49040 or at 269 – 432-3235. Or visit us online at www.magicgettogether.com where you can get more information on the performers or order tickets.
