Next Uri Geller

So, I was at work last night, and a collegue of mine wanted to watch the next Uri Geller on (Dutch) tv. What a load of rule 10 that show was. I tried to explane how these things worked as much as possible. Had work to do as well, so I could only watch parts of the show.

Best part were the commercial breaks, where the station promoted another program, dealing with unmasking frauds. Maybe they could start with unmasking the frauds on their Uri Geller show?

My collegue was a little annoyed with me, for being so skeptical about the show and commenting on every aspect. She just wanted to watch and enjoy it. But she could laugh about me being so skeptical as well.

I'm not going to watch it.

Also, why do we need a second next Uri Geller? Last year's next Uri Geller hasn't become Uri Geller yet, so it seems unnecessary to line up another one

That is the issue. People are a bit more skeptical than they were in the 1970s when Uri Geller was in his prime. So it is very hard to make a name for yourself as a psychic.

MetalPig said:

I'm not going to watch it.

Also, why do we need a second next Uri Geller? Last year's next Uri Geller hasn't become Uri Geller yet, so it seems unnecessary to line up another one

Click to expand...

Well, you know what kind of people watch SBS6.

rjh01 said:

That is the issue. People are a bit more skeptical than they were in the 1970s when Uri Geller was in his prime. So it is very hard to make a name for yourself as a psychic.

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When I was in college I was popular at parties for performing magic and bending keys/silverware/nails/anything metal because of Uri Geller. I suspect students would be disinterested today in psychic metal bending. I had to say Uri helped my popularity. I know/knew all the methods yet I actually possessed gimicked nails. Only a hack had gimicked nails (Uri never had gimicked nails --he never could make the exchange on camera- but I could at a party. Bending real ones wasn't hard -- but bending a rubber nail and exchanging it fot a bent one knocked the socks off of everyone.

In my defence several times young naive women followed me out the door after the party (always young women, never a guy and way more guys saw me perform than women -- there is a conclusion to be drawn, not that woman follow me but women are more likely to believe they have metal bending powers.) and made spiritual disclosures to me. I always explained that my performance was just tricks. These women thought they had woo power (usually they thought they had the power to bend metal). I always told anyone who asked that I was just performing tricks but all the people who thought they did the bending with their mind rarely believed me.

So even a hack like me has to have ethics. Too bad others don't.

If we still have the original floating around,why do we need imitations? Do they increase in lameness,the farther from the original they appear in time?

The acts were very lame indeed. There was a guy who made lightbulbs glow, which someone was carrying in his hands, and one even went for the psychic surgery act
The show was like watching amateur magician night for children.

More failure! And blood!

Contestants 'Winfried & Angelique' had a bit of an accident during rehearsal for tonight's show. They are brother and sister and have 'a strong mental connection'. This connection is put to the test by putting Angelique in a cardboard box and having Winfried stick spears through the box. The alleged mental connection should prevent Angelique from getting hurt.
Unfortunately, she was hit by one of the spears and was rushed to the emergency room.

Some blurry video here:
http://www.telegraaf.nl/prive/3014870/__Levensgevaarlijk_ongeluk_bij_Uri_Geller__.html?p=16,2

MetalPig said:

I'm not going to watch it.

Also, why do we need a second next Uri Geller? Last year's next Uri Geller hasn't become Uri Geller yet, so it seems unnecessary to line up another one

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You've gotta have a backup!

What if the original and the understudy are in a car and a twister is headed their way. Suddenly they realize they can't start the car because they've bent the key!

i watched some episodes of the German version and was happy we didnt have such a show in Switzerland. welll then came Vincent Raven :s a nuts swiss guy. While others showed some amazing tricks and did good performance, he sucked and had a totaly sick show when he talks to death people and all the stuff....
at the end he won.

In germany there was also alot debate about the strange contracts they had to sign, some illusionists didnt sign it because they did not want to claim they are mentalists or so.
i never looked into it. i saw the whole show as an illusionist show.

MetalPig said:

More failure! And blood!

Contestants 'Winfried & Angelique' had a bit of an accident during rehearsal for tonight's show. They are brother and sister and have 'a strong mental connection'. This connection is put to the test by putting Angelique in a cardboard box and having Winfried stick spears through the box. The alleged mental connection should prevent Angelique from getting hurt.
Unfortunately, she was hit by one of the spears and was rushed to the emergency room.

Some blurry video here:
http://www.telegraaf.nl/prive/3014870/__Levensgevaarlijk_ongeluk_bij_Uri_Geller__.html?p=16,2

Click to expand...

I think it's a hoax, building up suspension and attracting more viewers. Like said before, they ARE frauds.

While switching channels I had the 'pleasure' of watching a horrid bit of this show, with a wannabe vampire accidentally dropping leeches into a circle of salt (poor animals, but nobody seemed to mind), and doing a really amateurish switch in showing a leech and then eating something red.
He let a celebrity blonde draw something on a piece of paper in the 'Vampire's Bible', got the bible back, and 'guessed' the drawing, after a lot of misdirection.
A pathetic performance.

The fun thing was seeing Uri getting livid, screaming how disgusting this was, eating a live animal on stage.

Yeah, that was fun

And maybe also a hoax. It's not like Uri didn't know what acts were performed, or that he believes the acts are real (after all, he's a fraud himself). So maybe another way to attract viewers.

Next week on the next next Uri Geller: More blood! More rage!

In a way I was shocked to see the token celebrities being so impressed with this show. They even say so in the teasers, tears in their eyes: 'This proves there is something more to it.'
Hello, it is a magic show! And a poor one too.