NBC's "The Phenomenon" - Final Thoughts

Congratulations to Mike Super for being named "The Phenomenon" on NBC's television show. Here are some final thoughts now that the series is over.

Tricks Versus Phenomena
Despite Uri Geller’s participation, the lay public that watched the show now knows that mentalism is about tricks and not phenomena. The show effectively stripped mentalism of its mystique.

Super's routines were mostly reminiscent of those that you would see in a major illusion show. His winning performance in the finals was much like a routine that David Copperfield has performed for some years - a series of impossible predictions, the magical production of a vehicle (Copperfield - a classic car, Super - a motorcycle) and a license plate that provides a secondary prediction. It’s Super's production of the motorcycle that clearly extended beyond mentalism into magic.

Geller himself contributed towards feats being seen as tricks. When providing comments, Geller constantly referred to a performer’s "act" and not "feat" or "phenomena." And he even presented an interactive television magic trick in the second show - the kind usually performed by David Copperfield and Max Maven - that was based on mathematics and not on paranormal phenomena.

[In a prior version of this story, I said that "there was no argument from Geller when Angel referred to Guy Bavli's spoon-bending as a "trick" that Geller performed. Arnon I. Sincoff e-mailed me to point out that this was incorrect. Geller did dispute the term saying "I hate calling it a trick."]

There were numerous segments that were clearly tricks. Contestant Jim Callahan, during the final show, performed a rope through body trick.

Contestant Ehud Segev executed a great levitating credit card effect on the second show that was not only a trick, he said that he taught how to do this on his website (I couldn't find the trick on his site). Perhaps it's best stated by Segev himself. "There is no such thing as Supernatural powers," says Segev in his exit interview on NBC's Phenomenon website. Forget about any mystery here.

The Voting and MySpace
A lot has been said about the voting that allowed for multiple votes, and apparently, databases and MySpace may have influenced the results. "I don't feel that I was voted off the show," said contestant Jim Karol in his exit interview on NBC's website. "I feel that Gerry [McCambridge] did a much better job than I did promoting himself through his data base."

"I told them this would not be a talent show, but in the end it would be a popularity contest," says Gerry McCambridge in his exit interview. "Mike Super seems to have the biggest MySpace following with over 600,000 friends." While McCambridge doesn’t specifically state that this is a reason for Super's progress through the shows, it seems to indicate that it played a factor.

Zero Buzz
Whenever there’s something big on television regarding magic, I usually hear about it at my restaurants and other gigs. Whether it was David Blaine marinating in his fish bowl, or Criss Angel walking across water or separating a woman in two on a park bench, my audiences often ask me about or mention the feats. With "The Phenomenon," on the other hand, I didn’t have a single spectator mention or ask me about the show over the past five weeks.

I have a strong feeling that this show did nothing to promote magic to the general public or increase awareness.

Big New Stars - the Phenomenons
There were some standout personalities. Angela Funovits gained lots of name recognition among magicians and the general public. It will be interesting to see her next move - medical school versus performing or some melding of both.

Super, who I understand is already big on the college circuit, will be able to add some zeroes to his fees after winning this show. Guy Bavli is already well known in the magic community. As with Funovits, it will be interesting to see what the show will do for his career.

I can't imagine what it took for these performers to not only work within the constraints of live television but having producers breathing down their necks telling them what to do and how to perform their routines. And I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the contestants were performing routines for the first time to suit the show. I applaud them.

“Magic American Idol”
After this experiment with mentalism, how about a magic-version of "American Idol" or "America's Got Talent?" I can come up with a host of creative, energetic and compelling performers who would easily be up to the task such as Danny Cole, Martin Lewis, Tim Ellis & Sue-Anne Webster, David Minkin, Alan Rorrison, Daniel Garcia, Joseph Tran, Daryl, Murray Sawchuck, Eric Buss, Arthur Trace, Germany's Flicking Fingers and more. And we can also bring back Mike Super and Angela Funovits and let them go crazy with illusion and magic shows.

With illusionists Kevin James and Nathan Burton already having a go on earlier talent shows, how about giving Hans Klok, Dave Hamner and Steve Wyrick a chance? And get Steve Valentine, Jason Alexander and Harry Anderson to lend their celebrity and MC the event?

Given that the final episode of "The Phenomenon" aired the night before Thanksgiving, how about bringing back "World’s Greatest Magic," a television showcase that was something of a Thanksgiving tradition in the nineties. The specials presented amazing magic talents and undoubtedly inspired numerous magicians who are now working and inventing today. It would be great to have these specials back.

More Reading:
Readers Talk About NBC's "Phenomenon"
Phenomenon - Week 4
NBC's Phenomenon: Week Three
NBC's "Phenomenon" - Week 2 and Readers' Comments
NBC's "Phenomenon" - Week 1 and Readers' Comments
Between 2 Minds by Guy Bavli and Haim Goldenberg