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Uri Geller live, three “Aliens” and no UFOs

Dies ist nur der Vorbericht zur Sendung.
» Zum Live-Bericht hier klicken!

This is just the preliminary report for the show.
» To go to the live report, click here!

At least that’s what I expect from the show “Uri Geller live – Ufos & Aliens: The incredible TV experiment” on Saturday Nov 15, 2008 at 20:15 on ProSieben (Germany). For the guests can be labeled “aliens” in a way:

  • mysticism eccentric and (as ProSieben calls her) “world star” Nina Hagen – who really can be called “not of this world”;
  • Ancient astronaut dreamer and “Swiss success author” Erich von Däniken – in his “theories” also floating a little too high above reality (and also, being Swiss, an alien in Germany);
  • and “The Next Uri Geller” winner Vincent Raven – with his really alien performances.

Well then, as I did for the magic shows with Geller’s gibberish called “The Next Uri Geller” I will have a look at this concoction (and hopefully survive it) and report live or at least shortly after the end of the show, maybe with an intermediate update or two. (Though the English version will probably take a little more time.)

ProSieben writes about this show (all quotes my translations):

Uri Geller doesn’t doubt the existence of extraterrestrials:
“All my life I believed in ufos and aliens. Everyone should look up to the sky in a cloudless night and ask himself: Is it really possible that we’re alone? I think nobody can tell.”

The chief spoon bender, however, forgets to distinguish between life somewhere in space and actual visits here on earth – he probably thinks that everything is “just around the corner” and can be reached easily.

See also: » Proof and faith issues and the strange thoughts of Uri Geller.

In a unique experiment, he wants to try to establish contact

That’d better be null-ique – certainly it won’t be an experiment that deserves this name, but instead the next of Geller’s dumbing of the masses. With an audience in the millions. Where “The Next Uri Geller” still had the somewhat entertaining magic tricks from the contestants, this show can only become some kind of “freak show”…

Together with the audience, the world-famous mystifier will send messages over a radio telescope into space. What will be the replies?

None. At any rate, not in the next few years. Anything else can only be tricks. The TV DIGITAL magazine writes about this teensy-weensy problem (emphasis mine, translation too):

In 1974, the astrophysicist Frank Drake in Arecibo sent a message towards the star cluster M 13. However it will only arrive there in 20000 lightyears[sic!]. Since Uri Geller doesn’t want to wait that long, he will rely not only on radio waves in the show, but also other means: “I need the viewers’ assistance”, the mentalist living in England says. “With the collective power of our thoughts, we will be able to establish contact. This has never been tried before.”

Never tried before? Geller indeed came up with a new trick after all those years?? A miracle! But probably all that’s new is that it’s pretended aliens instead of people who are the pretended telepathy transceivers.

But no matter how they will stage that, I had received the true greetings from the aliens back in September – thanks to spacetime loops. ;)

Let’s have Erich von Däniken give the last word (from an interview in the TV DIGITAL):

You believe, like Uri Geller, that aliens exist. When will we be able to meet the aliens?
“The Maya in Central America have given a date for the return of their gods, i.e. the extraterrestrials. If you believe in this calendar, then it’s December 21, 2012. But you have to convert their date to our calendar. A very insecure thing.”
What a luck for you, for you could be nailed down to it otherwise, couldn’t you?
“Yes, and then everybody says: Neener-neener! [Ätschbätsch!]”

Which is also what all these guys can say whenever they find more people who believe their balderdash…

This is just the preliminary report for the show.
» To go to the live report, click here!

“The next Uri Geller 2008 – The world’s best mentalists” – 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.

:arrow: 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 ninth show from March 4 – the international competition

bent As if the shows in various countries had not been enough, this time we are presented with a selection of international winners or runners-up and a for once funny comedian – unfortunately, the celebrities are not that international.

The contestants, next to Vincent Raven, winner of the German show, are Angela Funovits who reached second place in the USA show “Phenomenon” (which had only 5 episondes, by the way) – what happened to the winner, Mike Super? –, Lior Suchard, Israel’s winner („The Successor“), Aaron Crow, “gloomy star” from “De nieuwe Uri Geller”, the show from the Netherlands, and as “surprise guest of the evening” Morta Deller, known from Schmidt & Pocher – well, that really is a surprise that Geller lets Oliver Pocher appear here. Ratings, that’s what counts – and something which may be intentionally funny. :)

From the preview on prosieben.de (my translation):

Raven father Vincent Raven demands: “I want to fight the best of the best!”

Even if he didn’t want to, he had to, since this was planned long ago…

“All four belong to the best of their craft. But this time, they must push the envelope to earn the title ‘World’s Best Mentalist’”, mystifier legend Uri Geller said. “During this unique live show, not the slightest glich must happen.”

Oh, bad prospective for our raven daddy. ;)

The show begins

“The most unusual international contest in television history” begins. Lots of cheering and standing ovations, especially for the old spoon fiddler – the audience might have been ordered to do so; but many arguably won’t need that order, sadly.

Uri is overwhelmed by the success and tells about poor little children who shout “achat shtaim shalosh” when they see him on the street. The “poor” didn’t come from him, of course, but from me. And Geller wants to sharpen the viewers’ intuition – you can win some money, too.

Celebrity guests

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The Next Uri Geller 2008, Vincent Raven – a little résumé

This is about a show from the first German season of “The Next Uri Geller” from early 2008 and the announcement of the second season in 2009. 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.

So, now the first German season of “The Next Uri Geller” is over (except for the “international special” next Tuesday) – what was it good for?

  • the winner, Vincent Raven – the arguably most original of the contestants, with his constantly spooky-looking scenery and the craziest pseudo-reality talk, seen thus a worthy winner – despite some glitches;
  • the regrettable knowledge that Uri Geller, “this Nostradamus on QVC level” (Spiegel Online), still can sell his cheap old tricks to private TV and its target audience and still pretend it’s “all real”, what they even wanted to write into the contestants’ contracts;
  • occasionally a fooling around with the viewers’ feelings in doubtful ways;
  • many too :yawn: long-winded performances, including the final, thus ao many overtime minutes – but also entertaining ones;
  • several “celebrity” guests who were known only to die-hard ProSieben fans;
  • the knowledge that Uri Geller can at least count to three in his mother tongue – “achad, shtaim, shalosh”; ;)
  • the cleavage of Verena Wriedt in the phone studio;
  • ratings which, while dropping before the final, still were above the station’s average and thus give us a second season (see below):
    Uri Geller ratings
    on average, 3.16 million (10.1% market share), or 2.24 million in the “target audience” aged 14-49 (17.1%);
  • and to me personal some long blog posts here with visitor records and great comments like this one – well, and more content-rich ones, too, thanks! :)
Next week

On March 4, Vincent – who, by the way, has three ravens: Corax, Asael/Azael/Azrael, Odin – will square off against the winners from Israel, Lior Sushard, the USA, Mike Super, and the still running show in the Netherlands.

Press release for the final and the second season

As announced in the show and in a press release, a second season is planned fo next year – and since the raven daddy surely won’t like to be voted off right away, I guess it won’t be called “The next Vincent Raven” heißen. ;)

Quote (in my translation):

Vincent Raven: “I thank all people who believed in me and my ravens.”

Believed they’d win, or believed that mystic stuff were real? :)

“All who voted for me can be sure: ‚Shem ham forash!‘ That’s ancient Enochian and means: The wing beat of my ravens will watch over you! In death as in life.”

Well, Uri’s Hebrew is older – for Enochian is just a fantasy language invented in the 16th century (despite its creators and believers may think otherwise). At least it’s astonishing how much text Vinnieboy wants to pack into these three words. You really ask yourself how much of his mystic stuff he believes himself…

From his prize, the “raven father” wants to open a raven farm for injured animals.

So some good result of this show after all. :)

And Farid, who seemingly can’t afford any family name but Cool, is of course glad about his second place. Nicolai Friedrich, number 3, wasn’t allowed a statement in the press release – no time for losers, ’cause we are the champions…


:arrow: 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).

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

“The Next Uri Geller” 2008 – 8th show, German final: 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.

:arrow: 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).

„World of Wonders“

RTL II showed a Welt der Wunder“ special „Power of the thoughts“ last Sunday with special guest James Randi. The topics were The magic of Uri Geller, Mind reading & co. – Everything just monkey business?, PSI seminar – Mind reading for beginners (with party games and guesswork that’s intended to sell additional seminars at horrendous prices) and Ingenious mind – What thoughts really can do. (For more, in German of course, see the link above.)

Quite worth watching and pleasantly critical for a private TV magazine. But since it was about being against the competition – which, by the way, showed a thematically matching and expectedly myserable “Galileo Mistery” on Friday –, this is apparently possible. ;)

Repeated on n-tv: Sat. 1.3. at 19:05 and 23:05, Thu. 4.3. 21:05, Wed. 5.3. 20:05. Or see YouTube, links on Randi’s own site.

Stefan Raab
  • Stephen Raven (YouTube video) – Stefan Raab’s parody on Vincent Raven’s voodoo performance in the last show.
  • On Monday on TV total (Raab’s show), Uri Geller and his three contestants appeared. Uri brought an Oscar for Stefan for his Raven parody – which he (preparedly, of course) immediately broke like his spoons. :)
    Uri announced for the final to do something which he might be attacked for, something very emotional will happen, or something like that. Vincent mentioned he has three ravens: Corax, Asael and Odin. Other than that, rather trivial stuff about previous and following tricks, pardon, “performances”; they also did the cheap lifting trick (with Stefan), with the same babble from Uri.

The eighth show from 26.February – the German final

bent For the final – also scheduled for two hours (incl. commercials) – they came up with something different: the remaining contestants first perform a “big act” outdoors, and after an audience voting to kick out one of them, the two remaining magicians perform again in the studio to find the winner. I wonder if they make do with the two hours…

Celebrity guests

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