criss angel

Even in the world of overdone magic trick specials, this one looks like it was especially overdone.

If you haven't heard, illusionist Criss Angel escaped from an imploding building Wednesday night. The A&E star was handcuffed to a six story building and had to unlock the cuffs and escape the structure via a helicopter on the roof, before tnt went off and the building imploded. Did he make it? The fact that you haven't heard any news reports of his crushing will probably give you the answer.

• At 8, CBS has a new Greatest American Dog.
• PBS has a new Click & Clack at 8, followed by a new Nova scienceNOW.
• TCM has The Glenn Miller Story at 8, then The Benny Goodman Story.
• At 9, NBC has a new Baby Borrowers.
• FOX has a new So You Think You Can Dance at 9.
• There's a new Dog The Bounty Hunter at 9, then a new Criss Angel Mindfreak.
• History Channel has a new MonsterQuest at 9.
• Bravo has a new Project Runway at 9, followed by a new Shear Genius.
• Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters International at 9, then two new episodes of Scare Tactics.
• Also at 9: Food Network has a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay at 9.
• At 10, ABC has a new Primetime: Crime.
• TruTV has a new Black Gold at 10.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has the season premiere of Root of All Evil.

Check your local TV listings for more.

A&E will celebrate the return of Mindfreak (in it's fourth season, God help us) by broadcasting the first ever live episode of the show. The special one-hour episode will feature Angel shackled to a six-story building. He must escape to a helicopter hovering over the rooftop as the building explodes. But wait, there's more. The fourth season kicks off one week before the live show with "Walk on a Lake," the season premiere. In this episode, the magician will attempt to walk on the world's largest man-made lake, Lake Mead in Nevada.

I think all the season premiere will prove is that Criss Angel definitely has a God-complex. He is the biggest megalomanic douchebag I've ever seen on TV. I think the best thing to come of Mindfreak is that parody Mad TV did. I put the video after the jump.

The live Mindfreak will air on July 30th at 10 p.m. ET on A&E. The season premiere will air on July 23rd at 10 p.m. ET. Will you be watching?

Every year, The Boston Phoenix publishes a list of the 100 Unsexiest Men of the Year, where they judge 100 males involved in everything from sports to politics to the internet. They always include several TV faces (and other body parts), and this year they've included a cartoon character.

No, not Dr. Phil, though he is a bit of a cartoon. The "doctor" is on the list, but the cartoon character I'm talking about is Quagmire, from Family Guy. The Phoenix sends a note to creator Seth MacFarlane that "nothing screams hilarity like jokes about date rape!" Giggity.

In case you missed it -- and judging by the ratings, chances are you did -- there was a bit of blowup this week on NBC's new show Phenomenon. Paranormalist Jim Callahan had just finished his performance, where he was possessed by the spirit of author Raymond Hill. After that, they went to the judges for comments. Uri Gellar was rather positive about the whole thing, but Criss Angel, not so much.

He started his critique by saying, "I just think it's comical, quite frankly." Now, the good judge/bad judge routine is nothing new to this kind of a show. But then Angel went on to pull two envelopes from his pocket and put both Callahan and, strangely enough, Geller, on the spot, offering a million dollars if they could tell him what was in the envelopes. From there, things continued to go down hill. Watch the video, after the jump.

• At 8, ABC has It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, followed by new episodes of Dancing with the Stars and Boston Legal.
• CBS has a new NCIS at 8, then new episodes of The Unit and Cane.
• FOX has new episodes of Bones and House.
• NBC has a new Singing Bee at 8, then new episodes of The Biggest Loser and Law and Order: SVU.
• There's a new Beauty and the Geek on The CW at 8, followed by a new Reaper.
• PBS has a new Nova at 8, then a new Frontline.
• HBO has a new Five Days at 8.
• At 9, Bravo has two new episodes of Queer Eye.
• Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs at 9, then the documentary Everest: Beyond The Limit.
• There's a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay on Food Network at 9.
• At 10, FX has the season premiere of Nip/Tuck.
• A&E has a new Criss Angel: Mindfreak at 10.
• Sci-Fi has a new ECW at 10.
• Also at 10: Comedy Central has the special Ralphie May: Girth of a Nation.
• At 10:30, Food Network has a new Two Dudes Catering.

Check your local TV listings for more.

The giveaways continue today! Not only are we giving away the Twin Peaks Gold Box edition, we've also got three copies of Criss Angel Mindfreak season one on DVD for three lucky, random commenters. The set is already available in stores and, until October 31, you can pick up a Criss Angel DVD for a steal at only $5!

To enter, simply leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Friday, November 2, simply telling us your favorite Criss Angel feat. As always, we'll randomly choose three winners amongst the eligible entries. Some other details:
Click here for complete Official Rules.

• At 8, ABC has a new Cavemen, then new episodes of Carpoolers, Dancing with the Stars, and Boston Legal.
• CBS has a new NCIS, followed by new episodes of The Unit and Cane.
• FOX has new episodes of Bones and House.
• NBC has a new Singing Bee at 8, then new episodes of The Biggest Loser and Law and Order: SVU.
• There's a new Beauty and the Geek on The CW at 8, followed by a new Reaper.
• ABC Family has a new Lincoln Heights at 8.
• AMC's Monsterfest has The Frighteners at 8, then Hellraiser.
• At 9, PBS has a new Frontline.
• CNN has the special Planet in Peril at 9.
• Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs special at 9, with best of clips, bloopers, and more.
• A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter at 9, then a new Criss Angel Mindfreak.
• Also at 9: Food Network has a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay.
• At 10, FX has the season finale of Damages.
• TLC has a new L.A. Ink at 10.
• At 10:30, Food Network has a new Two Dudes Catering.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 7, USA has more coverage of The U.S. Open.
• At 8, CBS has a new Power of 10, then a new Big Brother.
• ABC Family has a new Lincoln Heights at 8.
• The History Channel has a new, two-hour episode of The Universe at 8.
• Food Network has a new Rachael Ray at 8, then new episodes of Have Fork, Will Travel, Bobby Flay, and Glutton For Punishment.
• ESPN has two new episodes of The World Series of Poker at 8 (main event), then the season premiere of The Contender.
• Nickelodeon has a Home Improvement marathon every night this week.
• At 9, ABC has a new i-Caught, followed by a new Primetime: Crime.
• NBC has a new Biggest Loser reunion show at 9.
• There's a new Wide Angle on PBS at 9.
• TBS has a new Bill Engvall Show at 9.
• HGTV has a new Decorating Cents at 9.
• Also at 9: Sci-Fi has a new Eureka, then a new ECW.
• At 9:30, A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter, then a new Criss Angel Mindfreak.
• At 10, FX has a new Damages.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Criss Angel wants people to know that he is not a ladies man. He also wants to talk, a lot, about how people are talking about how he is a ladies man.
  
• David Bowie isn't actually an alien but he does have natural alien good looks.
  
• Oprah and David Letterman are soooo not feuding anymore.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can subscribe to this podcast via our feed. Plus, you can also download the file directly.

• At 7, USA has coverage of the U.S. Open.
• At 8, ABC has a new Just For Laughs.
• CBS has a new Power of 10 at 8, then a new Big Brother.
• Also at 8: ESPN has two new episodes of The World Series of Poker.
• At 9, TBS has a new Bill Engvall Show.
• Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs at 9.
• There's a new episode of The Universe on History Channel at 9.
• Sci-Fi has a new Eureka at 9, then a new ECW.
• The Travel Channel has a new Into Alaska with Jeff Corwin.
• At 9:30, A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter, followed by a new Criss Angel Mindfreak.
• At 10, TLC has a new L.A. Ink.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Mindfreak's Criss Angel is doing damage control about his relationship with Cameron Diaz. Cameron Diaz doesn't need this kind of drama - she just wants to be friends.
  
• The Apprentice is coming back? Was there a candy bar campaign I didn't know about?
  
• Miss New Jersey received another package of blackmail photos, and won't talk about what's in them except to say they contain nothing illegal.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can subscribe to this podcast via our feed. Plus, you can also download the file directly.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Scott Baio filmed a reality show about helping him find a meaningful relationship... while he was in one with his ex's stunt double. Yeah, it's complicated.
  
• Criss Angel of Mindfreak is having relationship issues too.
  
• The Simpsons Movie is responsible for turning your local 7-Eleven into a real-life Kwik-E-Mart.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can subscribe to this podcast via our feed. Plus, you can also download the file directly.

Egad.

According to the New York Post, Criss Angel's wife, Joanne Sarantakos (Sarantakos is Angel's actual surname), is suing her husband for divorce, claiming that he kept their marriage a secret to help his career and make him more appealing to fans.

Their marriage was enough of a secret that I had no idea he was even married, though it's not as if I spend every waking moment keeping up with Angel's personal life. Still, whenever a girl was by Criss' side on Mindfreak, she was always just credited as "Criss' girl" as far as I remember.

I've always respected Criss Angel for being an engaging performer, but magic and illusions have just never done much for me.

I know that, after watching someone walk through a wall, crawl out of a giraffe's mouth, or any number of super human feats, I'm supposed to stare, mouth agape, in complete amazement. The problem is, I know it's a trick, so I can never muster anything more than just, "oh yeah, that's pretty cool, what else is on TV?"

Duh, Adam, of course they're all tricks.