>Let’s start the year with a hastily written bit of rantage …
The Magician is a maker of miracles, the Magician should have a privileged position on the stage, the Magician makes magic happen. We often talk of bad magicians diluting the mystery of magic by simply performing tricks poorly for all and sundry. But what happens when good magicians sign-up to a format designed to cheapen their otherwise great magic into mere tricks?
The BBC pulled it out of their hats with the terrible show The Magicians. There is no need to have celebrities being paired with magicians, there is no need to use a weak competition format, and there is no need for Lenny Henry as host.
A magic show should feature the magician, effects should not be introduced as tricks, and it is not a bloody competition. Why did the beeb not give us a Magic Show? What happened at the meeting when the show was pitched? When does the ideas machine collapse?
“I know let’s do a magic show … but wait let’s add celebs and a competitive format, because let’s face it, our audience is stupid and we could trick them into thinking it’s reality TV – I mean that’s still big, isn’t it? Let’s get Lenny Henry to host, I mean he can put them up in one of his cheap hotels, right? In fact, let’s keep the whole thing cheap, right down to the gaffa tape. And just to make it really cheap let’s use dialogue from the Eurovision Song Contest Presenter’s Joke Book. “
The Magicians isn’t about the magicians. If it was it would be great as the magicians on there are great performers. The Magicians is all in the format, and the format sucks.
What a way to start a new year.
Ok rant over.
