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Criss Angel Mindfreak: Season 1 (2005)

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Overall Rating 58%
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Ranked #6,732
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Criss Angel shows us a new way of magic. He shows that doing magic, is not only making some good tricks on TV. He's kicking ass! Watch this mind master doing his magic all around the world... and try to discover the secrets within his mind. --IMDb
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Review by Chad
Added: November 23, 2008
It was David Copperfield that got me interested in magic during my younger years, but after his television specials slowed down, it seemed as though nobody was going to replace or top him. Sure, there were still guys doing magic acts and it was still as big as ever over in Las Vegas, but as far as prime-time specials and larger-than-life performers go, it seemed as though that well had run dry. Jumping ahead about a decade, I started to see videos circulating on YouTube with the "new breed" of magicians: Criss Angel and David Blaine. These guys were pretty damned good, but I never really got into them beyond doing a quick search and watching a few videos every now and then. I decided to change that when I set out to test the Netflix integration found in Microsoft's newest version of the Xbox interface (end shameless corporate whoring), and thus, we find ourselves with the first season of Criss Angel Mindfreak.

The "Complete Season One" part of the title is a bit misleading, as this collection is actually missing four episodes. One of these episodes was never aired on television due to the subject matter (but is freely available on the internet) so I can sort of see why it was excluded, but this set is also missing the Halloween special and the two "Best of" episodes (both of which featured new material). It's sort of sad that even if you choose to support the companies putting out the discs (even if indirectly in my case), you still have to resort to illegal torrent sites in order to see the complete first season. Strike number one, and the episode list for this set goes a little something like this:

Burned Alive
Levitation
Wine Barrel Escape (with guest Lance Burton)
SUV Nail Bed
Body Suspension
Buried Alive (with guest Rob Zombie)
Hellstromism
Superhuman
Blind (with guest Mandy Moore).
Tesla Strike
Oasis
Building Walk
C4 Crate
Prediction
Chicken (with guest The Amazing Johnathan)

Now, as I mentioned up above, I really had no idea what I was in for when I started watching these episodes. I knew that he did some pretty convincing illusions as seen in those brief YouTube clips, but I knew nothing about the format of his show or how these illusions were going to be presented. This was my fault, I'll admit that, but after sitting through the first season, I can honestly say that I have completely lost interest in ever checking out the remaining releases.

The problem isn't so much the content as it is the presentation. You see, each of the episodes follows a basic formula: we watch as Criss does two or three magic tricks in front of "complete strangers on the street", we listen to his family members and staff worry and complain about the "dangers" of whatever illusion it is that Criss is preparing for the finish, and then, we get the grand finale for the episode. There's three basic elements to each of the episodes, so let's take a look at each to see where my problems with the show comes into play.

The street magic section is what got me (and undoubtedly many others) interested in the man, and these illusions are what you're going to see when you pop the man's name into a YouTube search. I think that it goes without saying that they are by far the best part of each of the episodes, but too many of them seemed extremely fake. Now, I realize that magic is an illusion and that there's some "trick" behind each illusion, but you have to give your audience a little credit: pairing Criss up with a pop star, having her draw a picture, and then having him guess what she drew down to the tiniest detail is pushing it. You're telling me that this was completely unplanned and that everything was completely spur-of-the-moment? This man is either supernatural, has his crew watch his subjects with binoculars from across the street while whispering into his ear through a mic, or he uses actors for his tricks. I'm going with a combination of the latter two for a good chunk of his work (an obvious blooper featuring a pair of twins that wasn't supposed to be seen does nothing to help).

Other illusions could have been more convincing if not for the breakneck pace of the editing crew. Criss Angel repeatedly assures us that what we see in the given episode is exactly what we'd see if we were there in person, so why not present it as such? One illusion features him slapping a ring through a jewelry store counter, and while this could have been a highlight, it turned out to be entirely unconvincing due to the editing and numerous (and I do mean numerous) camera angles. I'm going to give Criss the benefit of the doubt here: the man has talent and he didn't make his name by being a complete and utter fraud, but I could have pulled some of these things off with an editing crew like the one that went to work on this material.

Another big part of the episodes is the interaction between Criss and his family, and truth be told, I could have done without all of this. I can fully understand his mother being worried just before he sets himself on fire and I can understand his brother being nervous when Criss decides to bury himself alive (a trick that took the life of another magician), but this card was played in just about every episode and quickly grew tiresome. I didn't keep count, but it seemed as though we got four or five segments in each of the fifteen episodes in which his brother, mom, girlfriend, friends, or staff members went on and on about "how dangerous this was going to be", "he really shouldn't be doing this" and "no, no way are you going to do that, I won't allow it." Once here and there is fine, but injecting this type of drama time and time again (and having the guys seem completely rehearsed in their protests) almost started to feel like a parody by the midway point of the season.

Finally, we have the grand finales, the illusions that each of the episodes are named after. Some of these are downright amazing (or would have been - see my earlier gripe about the editing), but others are nothing more than glorified stuntman work. As I watched him lay in a box that would later explode with him still inside, I couldn't help but wonder if that was really it or if there was going to be a legit conclusion... and then the credits rolled. When I saw him get hit by a car before getting up and laughing it off, I couldn't stop thinking about how many stuntmen have done that same thing in movies over the years, but here, it wraps up the season - the grandest of finales, if you will. Look, I'm not saying that these tricks (and the others like them) weren't impressive and I'm not saying that any random scrub off the street could have done them, but they're far from spectacular nonetheless.

Oh, and as if that wasn't bad enough, the highlights of each trick are featured in the introduction to each of the episodes, so we already see the best pieces before the episode even begins. Watching Criss wonder if he's going to be able to pull off escaping a wine barrel that is suspended eighty feet in the air and listening to his family members bitch and moan about how dangerous it's going to be sort of loses it's appeal after you've seen the conclusion to this very trick three times over in the highlight reels that kick off each episode on the disc.

I can understand the stuntman finishes to the episodes; it's not my cup of tea, but I realize that this is part of his act and I also realize that you can't exactly sell a show with something like "Watch as Criss does amazing card tricks! See him make a quarter disappear!" Some of these are actually pretty fun, with some even managing to bring out the "How in the hell did he do that?" feeling that I haven't felt since the glory days of David Copperfield. I also enjoyed a lot of the street magic that was found here, as even though I did spend the vast majority of this review spouting negativity, I had a good time throughout most of the material. The main problem, quite simply, is the presentation of said material. This season needed a little less polish, a little more believability, and a whole lot less drama to fully gain my support, so I really hope that the producers cleaned up the structure and format of the show for the latter seasons. Sadly, thanks to a bad first impression, I'll probably never know if that's the case. 6/10.
George Snow #1: George Snow - added November 23, 2008 at 7:41pm
I hate magicians that use trick photography, camera work and editing for many of their illusions. If you can't do it while standing in front an audience, you shouldn't do it at all.

Even some of the card tricks are duped with fake camera work and editing, how pathetic is that?

I'd rather watch The Magic Show with Doug Henning then Angel and especially Blaine.
The Red Clover #2: The Red Clover - added November 30, 2008 at 8:17pm
I absolutely can not stand Criss Angel. He's pretty much a fancier version of David Blaine without the endurance trials Blaine often puts himself through. At least David Blaine can hold his breath for like twelve minutes, something that takes some amount of skill.

I'm with George, give me Doug Henning or personally my favorites, Penn & Teller.
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