Magic Roadshow

The Magicians  –  Season 1 ( Now available on DVD )

A Review by Rick Carruth     Price: $19.95 up..

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
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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.)