“The Next Uri Geller” 2008 – 7th show (semifinal): opinion, tricks, explanations

This is about a show from the first German season of “The Next Uri Geller” from early 2008. You can also:
» Show all my reports from the first season.
» Show everything about the second season 2009.
» Show really all articles about Uri Geller.

General reading tips (German): GWUP info page; and the blog with explanations and discussion already during the shows: The contestants’ tricks, explained in an easy way. English: CSI (ex-CSICOP).

The seventh show from 19 February

Natalie Geller

From the preview on ProSieben.de – with an interview with Uri’s daughter:

Did Natalie Geller inherit her father’s mystic talents?

When she appears in this show, she must have inherited some of his “talent” of pretending mystic powers. But she is (even officially) an actress…

What will be the “unique mental experiment” (ProSieben’s word choice, of course)? Together bending a large spoon for which the physical powers of daddy alone are not enough anymore?

From the interview (my translation):

Do the Gellers eat their soup only with chopsticks?
(laughs) It hasn’t come this far yet. But seriously: I experienced it a thousand times when I wanted to get a spoon and opened the cutlery drawer that everything inside was bent – from the dessert spoon to the giant soup ladle. My father can’t always control his enormous mental powers.

That was bound to happen…

But even Uri’s “powers” are limited:

That’s why we’re eating at home always with platinum cutlery especially made for us, which handles two centimeters thick. Nothing will bend there, for sure!

That’s so supid that it’s funny again.

Furthermore, Geller’s spoon bending sometimes affected the spoon’s cup – or are they as thick? I imagine that’s pretty uncomfortable…

What are you going to show us this tuesday?
Together with my father, I want to build up a telepathic connection into the German living rooms. And the nice thing about it: Every viewer can participate – and get in close mental contact with us …

No, I’m not saying anything about other kinds of close contacts with this 25-year-old actress. As long as her father’s envolved, that ain’t gonna be nice, anyway…

Introduction

The semifinal, too, begins with the danger warning sing. A semifinal with four contestants in show 7 of 9? Hm. *check* I see, final next week, the week after that it’s the winners from Germany, Israel, USA and the Netherlands squaring off.

In addition to Uri’s daughter, an 11-year-old mentalist is also announced, and the notary with Nicolai Friedrich’s headline “prediction” also has a short appearance.

Celebrity guests

Presenter Janaina Zarrella, born in Brazil, “very very superstitious and easiliy impressed”. Perfect for this show. Plus model agent Peyman Amin, “Topmodel” finalist Yvonne Schröder. And three principals as pseudo-incorruptibles. And standing ovations for the spoon bender master who’s looking forward to the “experiment” with his daughter.

Sos Petrosyan jr.

That’s the 11-year-old’s name – he may open the show. Well, after nine minutes, it’s long open, but he’s got the first perfomance: “mind reading”. He picks Yvonne as assistant after looking all celebs into the eyes. She’s to write down an animal, pad on her lap upside down. He touches her outstretched arm or the hand, tells her to think about the specifics of the animal – size, habitat, etc., and correctly “guesses” it: “small”, “Australia”, etc. With the usual mentalist babble, just more nervous, which is understandable for an 11-year-old…

Uri liked it. And, since Sos mentioned a spoon before, hands him one – and he makes a knot into it in his fist. To me it rather looked like kind of a loop was pushed over the unchanged spoon.

Audience reactions

Geller first wants to be informed about talented kids. Then Verena Wriedt (today in red + skin) shows a cheap lifting videao and reports of two Geller believers who had themselves become influenced by what they’ve seen: a man who after an apoplectic stroke and putting his hand on the TV can play the organ again, and a pregnant woman whose contractions started afterwards. And Geller sends – even though he said he’s no healer – more zoom-in-shocking “positive energy” to the homes.

Contestant 1: David Goldrake

David wants to “combine several people to an unseparable unity”. He asks the viewers to trust him – especially those with valuable rings or such rings that mean a lot to them. Well, hopefully he doesn’t steal them. He sticks three rings (two from the celeb ladies) on a stick, shakes it, and they are connected. Or were before sticking them – one of them must have been one that can be opened (*), the third from the audience, for David surely a real “friendship ring”… In a similar fashion, the rings are separated again, of course.

(*) Not just my suspicion, the resourceful guys at the German gellerentlarvt blog already found a magic shop selling such rings: here. One commenter here below was also so kind to mention the designation “Himber ring”.

That’s all? Was that one of the life threatening “experiments”? Maybe if the ring owners had come home without them.

Geller thought it was exciting. But if that’s enough to reach the final?

Contestant 2: Farid

He wants to make a connection to the viewers at home – “mind reading through the cellphone”. The camera isn’t enough, hm? First, all three celebs enter the stage. Peyman is to write a composite word on a board (not visible), Jana Ina throws slips of paper into the audience, one of which with a red cross – at least that’s what they say –, which is cought by one André – or he had it already, at least that’s a usual way to select a certain audience member who’s in the loop “randomly” – and André is to give him his cellphone. His favorite, he said, is Vincent Raven, and Farid jokes about “gathering the slips again”.

At home, you’re to have your phone ready, you might get a call. Yvonne throws a dart on a Germany map showing the area codes, 034956 is hit, Zörbig in Sachsen-Anhalt, the principals are to call further digits → 7, 3, 12 – no, single digits, man! – 9. Jana Ina types these numbers on the phone, adding more numbers without camera for privacy reasons. Funny if this 9600 people town’s phone numbers happen to be short…

The called man named Jan is supposed to receive the word (unknown to the audience). He says he heard “groundkeeper” in his head, the camera shows the board, and no wonder, it’s correct. The German gellerentlarvt blog says the number doesn’t exist – I didn’t find it either in the online phone book – and the phone was manipulated and reached an assistant. Sounds quite plausible. Especially since the number doesn’t exist at all, already after the 7 you get “number not in service”.

Geller doesn’t know if David manipulated the phone waves or the celebs’ minds or both. I say: neither.

Natalie Geller

She wants to draw a sign and “send” it to us, the options are drawn on a board first: cross (plus), star, circle, waves, quare. One of these, she writes on a sheet and hands it to one of the principals. She draws it in her mind and sends it to us. Face in closeup, certainly a nicer view than her father. The well-known Geller numbers “achad shtaim shalosh” (= 1, 2, 3) are needed, too, of course. When will finally someone continue, “arba chamesh shesh”? Especialy the daughter, the next generation, should take the work of the parent generation to the next level instead of copying it.

People shall call – one number per symbol, 0.50 €/call. Money is always needed…

Contestant 3: Nicolai Friedrich

Wants to add a live element to his last week’s prediction – understandable, would be quite short without. For this, Peyman assists him, first by having a closer look at the 18(?) neswpapers lying on a stand – and picking the “Abendzeitung”: “Razzia at Munich banks”. The envelope is opened, matches. As is known, these tricks are based on swapping the prediction…

“This was the visionary part, now the creative.” Numerous papers are spread in the audience by Peyman, they are to tear them up. Creative or rather destructive? Nicolai collects some small snippets, preferrably with text, into a box. The three celebs are to memorize one word each of one snippet – which certainly was determined before by the trick –, and scrabble around the letters in their minds. And of course the usual mind reader babble and starin into the faces when he wants to “see” letter by letter and sray them on a wall. At the end, the words “Annie” (Yvonne), “pyjama” and “neon” by Peyman, “navy” (earlier “neon”, or whatever) by Janaina show up, with a played glitch with the latter. He had to get all his letters, of course, for now he sorts them new (in red) to get the celebs’ first names. Nice.

Geller is exalted and talks about chances of 1 billion to 1. Ignoring magic tricks again, of course.

Contestant 4: Vincent Raven

Uri wants to know how the raven is, Vinnie “aks” him: he’s busy, but great. Angry thoughts are supposed to wield actual power – at least that’s this performance’s motto. And of course raven whisper in strange tongues. (No, I don’t say anything against his Swiss German in his introduction.) Jana Ina doesn’t want to join him out of respect for voodoo and magic, Yvonne however comes without hesitation. A little doll (sparely dressed and without a doubt male) with seven marked puncture places is also there. And a “protective amulet” for Yvonne.

Six little wooden boxes, Yvonne verifying they’re empty. Vincent’s amulet is put in one of them, which she of course is to shuffle. And again spreading things in the audience! Left hand on the heart, right hand with the box behind the back. And everyone in the audience can cut a bunch of Vincent’s hair and a fingernail. Oh, no, just my wishful thinking – only Yvonne cuts off a litle, and puts that into a goblet, plus a drop of his blood – by the way, there’s “Corax” written on his black little finger nail – and an inflammable liquid. And, you guessed it, it’s put on fire.

Then she has to speak a “curse” along with him (read from a sheet of paper which also contains a kind of a gate with a double frame with symbols):

IA ATHZOTHTU! IA ANGAKU! IA ZI NEBO!
MARZAS ZI FORNIAS KANPA!
LAZHAKAS SHIN TALAS KANPA!
NEBOS ATHANATOS KANPA!
IA GAASH! IA SAASH! IA KAKOLOMANI-YASH!
IA MAAKALLI!

(„The Invocation of the Nebo Gate“ from H.P.Lovecraft’s Necronomicon, see e.g. here)

Ridiculous.

And now burn the sheet and transfer the curse onto the doll. She’s to puncture the doll at the places he tells her (vaguely) – first one that’s not life threatening. She picks the left lower leg, and Vincent “feels” it (after a while), but they somehow got confused with the legs. Now life threatening, she picks the chest, Vincent grabs his chest after quite a time to “think it over”, opens his clothes a little, you see a kind of wound. (The other alternative would have been the neck – his outfit was big enough to hide a rouged wound there, too.) But somehow no reaction from the audience…

Ten several of the people in the audience who do not have his amulet in the box are to open it (why do they always have to drag this out that long) – oops, a lady had it, though he said she wouldn’t, but a gentleman a few seats apart. Didn’t work out that well; somehow run dry, this voodoo. I’d have preferred Carl Barks’ Bombie the Zombie.

Geller loves the dark in Vincent’s performances. “Well done” despite mishaps.

Raven probably will curse his whisperer assistant.

Natalie Geller again

…sure, the result from the audience calls for the symbols is missing. Calls are Verena’s job, of course. Result: Pretendedöy 4% for the cross, 10% square, 22% waves, 27% circle, 37% star. The envelope is opened: a little star is drawn on it. Caller numbers or sheet manipulated? Or is it to be expected that the people more often pick the star, more often than the average 20%? Maybe because it’s prettier, more eye-catching, interesting, because Natalie is a Hollywood actress?

The decision

Uri doesn’t want to grant immunity today, it’s all up to the viewers. One principal thinks he can confirm again that it’s a live broadcast – does he have a TV with him?

Vincent, Nicolai and Farid are through to the final – without intermediate commercial? too few customers? – David Goldrake with his simple and unspectacular ring trick is kicked out. 18 minutes overtime (or just 9 with regard to EPG and teletext).

And next week, a plane will land on Cologne airport, something we won’t forget. Aha.

Ratings

The ratings have dropped again clearly:

Viewers aged 3+: 2.63 million, 8.3% market share (last week 2.75/9.1%)
14-49 years: 1.83 million, 13.8% market share (last week 2.00/15.8%)

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