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TV/Movies

“The Next Uri Geller” 2008 – Live (1st show)

2008-01-08

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.

bent Alright, I decided – after last night’s post about the advertising “documentary” – to watch “The next Uri Geller – Incredible phenomena live”, since I “have” to ad my two cents, and I couldn’t do that “blind” – I’m no real mentalist, y’know, and even less a real supernaturally gifted one (though I could use James Randi‘s million, actually). :mrgreen:

And I don’t mind magic tricks, anyway, I just hate it when they claim that these are real “inexplicable” phenomea and the like..

The GWUP (German) wants to accompany this show, too, of course, and also blog live. And I made my attempts at live blogging, too – quite stressful…

Host for this show is Stefan Gödde – known (or not) from BIZZ, taff and Stars on Ice. Geller says about him (my translation): “I already met Stefan once in Munich. He is a very talented, likeably young man. I couldn’t wish for a better host.”

I can understand that. Criss Angel, who hosted the US edition of this show, is an experienced magician himself who also caused some problems for Geller (see Wikipedia, or David’s D-Blog here); Stefan Gödde, on the other hand, is just a simple presenter, from whom you probably cannot expect something like this, unfortunately. Even if he described himself as “a little skeptic” at the beginning who likes to be fascinated.

Read now the result of my live blogging:

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The phenomenon “The Next Uri Geller”

2008-01-08

This is about a pre-show for 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.

bent ProSieben has just shown the commercial disguised as a documentary “The phenomenon Uri Geller” – as “preparation” for the first edition of the casting show “The next Uri Geller – Incredible phenomena live” on Tuesday at 20:15 to find a “successor” of the “world’s most famous mystifier”, as ProSieben titles (and I translated).

Successor in which regard, anyway? Making a fool of himself when the conditions differ from the preparations? Speaking about pretended real supernatural powers without even rudimentarily trying to prove them in a respectable, reliable way? Instead suing critics in most ridiculous ways? Stefan Niggemeier has a nice list (in German) in his comment for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, and also the topic page of the GWUP (German; cf. CSI (ex-CSICOP)) has extensive information including descriptions of tricks as well as several (English) videos including James Randi’s “classic”.

Stefan Niggemeier ends with (in my translation):

“That ProSieben has bought the format regardless, drivels about “extrasensory, supernatural, inexplicable” phenomena, calls the ten contestants “chosen ones” and, like so many others, attends to this icky impostor: That is the only inexplicable phenomenon of Uri Geller.”

Well – that’s ProSieben, private TV, and the hunt for ratings…

Speaking of “Mystifier”: The GWUP Blog (German), too, wondered about this choice of words, since “mystify” means doch bewilder, dumbfound, flummox, baffle, blot out, obliterate, veil, hide, obscure etc. (TheFreeDictionary) – more in the GWUP Blog and via OneLook.

Now back to this about 45 minutes long “documentary”: No-one expected that it came even close to the extensive German article about this “media reality satire” at Telepolis, anyway. Rather that you get what was actually shown…

Geller himself said at the beginning (my re-translation): “Some believe it’s a trick. Some believe it’s a gift. I always want to stay mysterious.” Sure. No wonder. He’s surprised himself how long the hype around him is lasting…

You get to know something about his beginnings, his vita – childhood stuff like a “strange light” or clock changing tricks, together with statements from one-time companions; family; first appearance on German TV in 1974; things like that. His “ego trip”, the addiction to fame especially in the 70s, bulimia – oooh, the poor guy. Knowing other celebrities. Dowsing-rod search for treasures of the soil. Millionaire. Work for secret service and police, about which he’d rather remain silent. Juwelry designer. Author of 16 books. A great guy, ain’t he?

Sarcasm aside. Added to that, by the way, many short clips of several show hosts and the like who probably just didn’t have anything better to do at the time, which seems to be a must everywhere today. And, of course, basically only positive, non-skeptical, admiring statements.

About his debacle in Johnny Carson’s show? Just briefly showing the un-bent spoon and basically using it as basis to explain his following publicity and the realization “There is no such thing as bad PR”. Other critical voices? Very scarce, just some doubtful, inadequately reliable tests, one of which (with a pig?) alledgedly scared him off so much that he doesn’t want anything to do with science anymore. How useful…

Comparison with magic tricks? None. Only a few times, the words “mentalist” (who in the target audience knows what this means?) or “magician”, but rather without connection or with regard to the casting show. Scientific explanations as e.g. the GWUP or CSI offer? Zero. On the contrary, alledgedly scientists have been arguing for 40 years whether these are tricks or not.

Had I expected anything different? Certainly not.

:thumbsdown:

“Marvel instead of understanding”, the ProSieben trailer said (my translation). Probably mandatory for the show – preferrably not even trying to understand, it seems to me. Should I really watch that show?

Addendum: Ratings of this “documentary”: 0,79 million (6,0% market share) of all viewers aged 3 or older, 0,59 million (9,5%) aged 14-49. (source: ProSieben teletext)

» Take a look here at all my posts about Uri Geller «

Quotes of the Day (9)

2007-12-07

zodiac The German TV magazine HörZu reports in its current issue about „fortune telling on TV“ on AstroTV and Co. under the headline “collusive game” (everything translated by me):

“But in truth, the pendulum swingers and card readers want one thing above all others: the money of those seeking counsel.”

They also mention a woman who spent 38.000 € in one year for phone calls and became indebted beyond hope.

I wouldn’t have anything to add to that if it wasn’t for the chairman of the German astrologers association, Dr. Schubert-Weller, being also quoted (emphasis mine):

“TV formats, hotlines and similar things in which astrological counsel is being offered raise considerable doubts in respectability. The time just is insufficient to properly understand the concerns of the consulter and work on a trustworthy horoscope.”

:blossnicht:

Horoscopes trustworthy, respectable? Pah! At most in the following sense, and the choice of the word “work on” above seems appropriate:

Let’s quote (and translate) more, this time from the (German) text of the GWUP about astrology (emphases mine):

“From a scientific point of view, any form of astrology appears unsustainable. […]

The quality of astrologic life coaching is highly depending on the competence of the astrologer, in any case, the astrologer does not take any information from the horoscope, instead he puts the information into it. By this, he can, of course, achieve correct statements and sensible advice. This just has nothing to do with astrology, it only feigns a “higher” legitimation of the statements and advice for the customer than a normal psychologist conducting a counseling interview.”

I think it’s a pity that despite all enlightenment, education and today’s life’s modernity there are still so many people who believe in zodiac sign influences & Co.

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