Support NeoGAF

[BlackBanditSho]

The toughest part about this show is not knowing exactly how things are done.

Like Amazing Allison, I imagine that's an easy trick but I have no clue how it's done. Anyone?

I'm a big fan of mentalism. Pretty sure This is Mentalism I & II by Rich Fergusen covers how she did the math sudoku part of her trick. IT's been a while since I watched it, though. You can find it on ellusionist.com

The second part is an application of mentalism principles heavily involving suggestion. I'm about 75% sure how she did it, but can't be sure unless you speak to her. My STRONG guess is that when she said draw whatever you want and made a point to show her busty self, most people would assume she meant 'woman', when in fact, she was subliminally pointing out how flowery the material on the front of her blouse was. Her breasts accentuated it. When asking to keep it simple and draw immediately after, most people will draw what you direct them to. Thus, the flowers.

 

[SmokeMaxX]

I'm a big fan of mentalism. Pretty sure This is Mentalism I & II by Rich Fergusen covers how she did the math sudoku part of her trick. IT's been a while since I watched it, though. You can find it on ellusionist.com

The second part is an application of mentalism principles heavily involving suggestion. I'm about 75% sure how she did it, but can't be sure unless you speak to her. My STRONG guess is that when she said draw whatever you want and made a point to show her busty self, most people would assume she meant 'woman', when in fact, she was subliminally pointing out how flowery the material on the front of her blouse was. Her breasts accentuated it. When asking to keep it simple and draw immediately after, most people will draw what you direct them to. Thus, the flowers.

I doubt that's what the second part was. First off, Teller obviously wasn't going to be manipulated since he knew what she did so easily. Second, she's on TV. I doubt she'd do an act that would be so easy to screw up.

Trick spoilers :

Spoiler

I'm sure the bill says literally "Your Name" and when he asks "Does this say your name on it?" then the answer is "Yes".

I thought that too but doesn't the person on stage say "yes, it says my name"?

 

[nicoga3000]

Newest episode is really meh.

 

[BreezyLimbo]

I haven't watched it yet, hope it's not too bad

 

[BlackBanditSho]

I doubt that's what the second part was. First off, Teller obviously wasn't going to be manipulated since he knew what she did so easily. Second, she's on TV. I doubt she'd do an act that would be so easy to screw up.



I thought that too but doesn't the person on stage say "yes, it says my name"?

Dunno. Like i said, it was just a guess but looking back at it, she was really upping the sexuality. Also, with Mentalism, there doesn't seem to be any real 100% technique without using a gimmick, so maybe that was the case?

 

[SecretSphere]

Most of the time when a magician says he or she is a mentalist, it is just to give an alternative bullshit explanation to the real trick. It's the modern 'spirits from beyond did it', except somehow a lot of people buy the mentalist explanation.

 

[Messypandas]

Forgettable episode. Hope its not inidictive of the rest of the season.

 

[Katana_Strikes]

Didn't like Penn and Tellers "trick" at the end. But a couple of good people on that I enjoyed.

 

[jett]

Kinda boring episode, no real cool tricks :/

Yeaaaah, nothing mindmelding or anything.

And P&T just did a comedy routine at the end. Funny though.

 

[Asbel]

I doubt that's what the second part was. First off, Teller obviously wasn't going to be manipulated since he knew what she did so easily. Second, she's on TV. I doubt she'd do an act that would be so easy to screw up.



I thought that too but doesn't the person on stage say "yes, it says my name"?

I'm sure Teller knew what was going on and just played along cuz it makes for better TV and it would embarrass any performer if their trick failed.

 

[liliththepale]

Flowers are a pretty common thing for people to draw at events like this. It's not even the first time this season of FU that a participant has drawn a flower when prompted. I'm sure that plays into it a lot.

 

[perfectchaos007]

Flowers are a pretty common thing for people to draw at events like this. It's not even the first time this season of FU that a participant has drawn a flower when prompted. I'm sure that plays into it a lot.

You would think there would be some rules against P&T being "in" on a trick considering these contestants are trying to fool P&T. Kinda defeats the purpose of the show if a contestant walks on stage already conceding.

 

[liliththepale]

You would think there would be some rules against P&T being "in" on a trick considering these contestants are trying to fool P&T. Kinda defeats the purpose of the show if a contestant walks on stage already conceding.

I imagine P&T aren't told very much about the act before hand so that they don't ruminate over its solution previous to seeing it performed. They're only in on it in the sense that they understand a lot about stage magic, mentalism and how these things are normally performed, and you can't filter for that.

 

[jerd]

I imagine P&T aren't told very much about the act before hand so that they don't ruminate over its solution previous to seeing it performed. They're only in on it in the sense that they understand a lot about stage magic, mentalism and how these things are normally performed, and you can't filter for that.

Rubik's cube guy said in his reddit ama that he wasn't allowed to see penn and teller prior to filming, the first time he saw them face to face was when he performed, and that penn and teller don't know who is coming onto the stage until they're there.

That being said, even if she did "force" him in some way, i wouldn't be surprised if teller had played along just to make the trick work for the show since he clearly knew how she did it anyway.

 

[liliththepale]

Rubik's cube guy said in his reddit ama that he wasn't allowed to see penn and teller prior to filming, the first time he saw them face to face was when he performed, and that penn and teller don't know who is coming onto the stage until they're there.

That being said, even if she did "force" him in some way, i wouldn't be surprised if teller had played along just to make the trick work for the show since he clearly knew how she did it anyway.

Oh, cool, thanks!

That's what I suspected, but I also know that P&T are more than just figureheads. Some of the business side is dealt by them, I assume, just not sure which parts specifically.

 

[narcosis219]

I doubt that's what the second part was. First off, Teller obviously wasn't going to be manipulated since he knew what she did so easily. Second, she's on TV. I doubt she'd do an act that would be so easy to screw up.



I thought that too but doesn't the person on stage say "yes, it says my name"?

lol i dunno, must be something fishy written on that bill

 

[BreezyLimbo]

So on tonights episode-

First kid was cute. He did his thing.

Amazing Alli did good. Obvious to P&T but it fooled me.

Mac King was great, a fun guy. He's so damn likeable. And yeah I think at this point it's obvious that P&T are doing it less for the 'Oh it's a real competition', and more for the exposure for magicians. Which is great on their part.

Norman was short but pretty good. It was neat.

It was an alright episode. I liked it, I'll be in the minority.

 

[liliththepale]

So on tonights episode-

First kid was cute. He did his thing.

Amazing Alli did good. Obvious to P&T but it fooled me.

Mac King was great, a fun guy. He's so damn likeable. And yeah I think at this point it's obvious that P&T are doing it less for the 'Oh it's a real competition', and more for the exposure for magicians. Which is great on their part.

Norman was short but pretty good. It was neat.

It was an alright episode. I liked it, I'll be in the minority.

It's probably too much to expect to be floored every single episode, and this one was still enjoyable.

My favorite moment was when Mac

Spoiler

ate the guinea pig!

He'd been pretty light hearted previously and that totally caught me by surprise.

 

[BreezyLimbo]

It's probably too much to expect to be floored every single episode, and this one was still enjoyable.

My favorite moment was when Mac

Spoiler

ate the guinea pig!

He'd been pretty light hearted previously and that totally caught me by surprise.

Yeah that was a really good bit. You can kinda see the guinea pig get pushed down into the cage, but it was still a pretty fast switch and I loved the reactions from the audience.

 

[liliththepale]

Yeah that was a really good bit. You can kinda see the guinea pig get pushed down into the cage, but it was still a pretty fast switch and I loved the reactions from the audience.

Right. And when he comes out and makes a joke about his super baggy suit, you know there are all kinds of tricks literally up his sleeve, but his showmanship is excellent.

 

[BreezyLimbo]

Right. And when he comes out and makes a joke about his super baggy suit, you know there are all kinds of tricks literally up his sleeve, but his showmanship is excellent.

Ayup, he probably had like 3 guinea pigs in there. It was a fun bit.

 

[Clydefrog]

Mac King was a nice surprise. I hadn't seen him in a while. His giant suit wasnt fooling anyone though.

For the mentalist drawing trick, I always pick something too and it's never what they end up drawing. I chose a squirrel, not a flower.

 

[lunchtoast]

That guy with Mac King looked scared for a second before he revealed the guinea pig. Wonder what he was thinking.

 

[mclem]

They don't even hint at an explanation this time around.

I think they do, but it's done in more coded language these days. I noticed the trick from a week or so ago with "The Shocker" predicting multiple responses placed in envelopes stated something along the lines of "Teller was one step ahead of me".

 

[BreezyLimbo]

I think they do, but it's done in more coded language these days. I noticed the trick from a week or so ago with "The Shocker" predicting multiple responses placed in envelopes stated something along the lines of "Teller was one step ahead of me".

Yeah. Like with the "bending a drawn spoon" trick, its literally coded language. Which is understandable because even though we live in the age of google, P&T seem to still have a modicum of respect to the participants tricks

 

[mclem]

One other thing from a while back:

Just watched that. It reminds me why I had trouble with the show in the first place: wtf is with Jonathan Ross? Does he talk like that as an affectation or what?

There's a reason he's affectionately known as "Wossy" over here. It's a speech impediment.

 

[Victory Red]

On now.

First trick: He forced her to pick Hearts. He had all the cards in his left pocket, fished it near the end out of his pocket. Piece of cake.

 

[BreezyLimbo]

On now.

First trick: He forced her to pick Hearts. He had all the cards in his left pocket, fished it near the end out of his pocket. Piece of cake.

Last season taught me that's known as a 'force'

@+@

 

[firehawk12]

What was happening with Canadian phonebook guy?

Given that he didn't let Jonathan or anyone else see the phonebook page, I just assume he had a way to see what Jonathan wrote on the piece of paper. lol

 

[BreezyLimbo]

I dunno but the episode is up online now!

 

[SmokeMaxX]

Only watched it once but my thought was that he marked the page somehow and then when he made the joke about "some people rip it in half this way" and then opened it up, that's when he looked at the page number.

 

[firehawk12]

Only watched it once but my thought was that he marked the page somehow and then when he made the joke about "some people rip it in half this way" and then opened it up, that's when he looked at the page number.

Yeah, I just assume the ripping in half stuff was all theatre and he already knew the number way before hand. I wonder if he had a back up if he's unable to stab a page though. lol

 

[Aiii]

When the final guy had his hand out and had the final five cards there I knew what happened. I'm sure tons of people saw that, but boy does it make me feel smart when I figure out what is happening along with P&T.

Yeah. Like with the "bending a drawn spoon" trick, its literally coded language. Which is understandable because even though we live in the age of google, P&T seem to still have a modicum of respect to the participants tricks

Magician's code is still a thing, you don't reveal a trick to the public, despite some people breaking it of course.

 

[Messypandas]

Not a very good episode. Are these shorter than usual? The last guy with the cards kept mixing the order of numbers that Penn selected. In the business they call that "painting the target around the arrow after its been fired"

 

[Nose Master]

What's the deal with Penn's red finger nail?

Nvm, googled

Loool, "since you like using pre-bought gimmick cards, have a Penn and Teller Board Game!"

 

[Five]

Not a very good episode. Are these shorter than usual? The last guy with the cards kept mixing the order of numbers that Penn selected. In the business they call that "painting the target around the arrow after its been fired"

Yeah. He should have just forced all five cards to be the same since he was already forcing the 2H to be there. It wasn't a particularly great trick, regardless of what Penn said afterward. I think he was just being polite.

 

[MBison]

On now.

First trick: He forced her to pick Hearts. He had all the cards in his left pocket, fished it near the end out of his pocket. Piece of cake.

How was she forced to pick hearts?

 

[Five]

How was she forced to pick hearts?

By enumerating through the list of suits twice and having her say the last one, hearts, each time. "Force" is a strong word for it, but there was significant conditioning.

 

[BreezyLimbo]

By enumerating through the list of suits twice and having her say the last one, hearts, each time. "Force" is a strong word for it, but there was significant conditioning.

Yup

Ending in hearts

Saying it twice with significant emphasis on Hearts

FOr a person, being on stage in the spotlight, magician is fast talking in changing the subject fast with jokes, it's a very easy force. They're probably not concentrating so they repeat the last thing the other person said.

 

[dLMN8R]

The thing is, there has to be some contingency plan in case the person doesn't fall for it, right? Sure odds are odds and luck is luck, but I can't imagine that it works every time, even if most of the time.

 

[perfectchaos007]

Yup

Ending in hearts

Saying it twice with significant emphasis on Hearts

FOr a person, being on stage in the spotlight, magician is fast talking in changing the subject fast with jokes, it's a very easy force. They're probably not concentrating so they repeat the last thing the other person said.

It's still a risk. I would be so nervous if I was a magician trying to pull off a force

The thing is, there has to be some contingency plan in case the person doesn't fall for it, right? Sure odds are odds and luck is luck, but I can't imagine that it works every time, even if most of the time.

You know what.....I think I figured it out. If she said a suit other than hearts, he could have tossed that one out in the audience. For example, if she said spades, he could have said, "Okay lets toss the spades out. Now you have hearts, clubs, and DIAMONDS left. pick another". So basically after the hearts force doesn't work, he could then try to force the other 2 suits to be chosen so only Hearts is left. If that doesn't work then he's screwed, but a lot does have to go wrong for his trick to fail

 

[turtle553]

How was she forced to pick hearts?

Haven't watched this episode yet, but forcing can be similar to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOqUb-4qoUA

 

[narcosis219]

Haven't watched this episode yet, but forcing can be similar to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOqUb-4qoUA

lol were there 2 or 3 of that card in the deck?

 

[HawksWinStanley]

Very cool show but holy hell is CW's app a total piece of shit.

Keeps closing on me and telling me it can only do an audio-only stream because apparently my office's 25mb+ connection isn't fast enough...

 

[BreezyLimbo]

It's still a risk. I would be so nervous if I was a magician trying to pull off a force



You know what.....I think I figured it out. If she said a suit other than hearts, he could have tossed that one out in the audience. For example, if she said spades, he could have said, "Okay lets toss the spades out. Now you have hearts, clubs, and DIAMONDS left. pick another". So basically after the hearts force doesn't work, he could then try to force the other 2 suits to be chosen so only Hearts is left. If that doesn't work then he's screwed, but a lot does have to go wrong for his trick to fail

Yeah. It's very possible. Penn also insinuated about his jacket, IE it's big and bulky. So he probably had alot of scape goats in it.

Very cool show but holy hell is CW's app a total piece of shit.

Keeps closing on me and telling me it can only do an audio-only stream because apparently my office's 25mb+ connection isn't fast enough...

Yeah, I only really had problems with it last night, where the quality would keep intermittently changing and it would keep stopping out of no where.

 

[Clydefrog]

Yeah, I just assume the ripping in half stuff was all theatre and he already knew the number way before hand. I wonder if he had a back up if he's unable to stab a page though. lol

I don't think he stabbed a page in mid-air at all. He turns his back and puts the page on the sword right before Jonathan tosses it all in the air. He pretends to stab a page mid-air but there was already a page on the end of the sword before he even lunged.

 

[devilhawk]

Did Jen just memorize half the deck real quick?

Was really the only interesting one of the entire show.

 

[firehawk12]

I don't think he stabbed a page in mid-air at all. He turns his back and puts the page on the sword right before Jonathan tosses it all in the air. He pretends to stab a page mid-air but there was already a page on the end of the sword before he even lunged.

Oh, that's even better than just straight up lying. lol

Did Jen just memorize half the deck real quick?

Was really the only interesting one of the entire show.

Oh that makes sense. She makes the final shuffle, so she knows where the card is. I just assumed that each card was marked and memorized all of the marks.

 

[hamchan]

Went to watch that Shin Lim guy on youtube. How the fu....

 

[jerd]

Went to watch that Shin Lim guy on youtube. How the fu....

Hopefully you watched the 52 shades of red! That one is much more impressive than what he did for p&t imo