I'm kind of mesmerized by Criss Angel. He's definitely one freaky guy -- or is that mindfreaky? -- and every time I surf by him, I have to back up and watch whatever unbelievable, death-defying stunt he's performing. For one thing, he looks like a vampire. But a very polite vampire. I can see how all the female stars fall in love with him.

I got involved in a Criss Angel Mindfreak marathon not too long ago, and am still stumped as to how he does those levitations, his signature magic trick. I'm not kidding, he took an entire room of people and levitated them, some in bizarre positions that could never be done, even if the person was wide awake and as flexible as an Olympic gymnast.

We're talking backward bends, leaning to the point of toppling over and, of course, 20 feet off the ground. Someone tell me how he does that?!! I'm such a sucker for magic tricks.

(S02E06) "You can't sugarcoat that turd." -- The Great Herrmann to Ned

Magic and the macabre, a recipe for a perfect Pushing Daisies episode. This one also had the virtue of Fred Willard doing a terrific guest star turn as "The Great Herrmann." Considering how misused Fred has been on some other shows (Back to You last season, for instance), it was refreshing to see him really shine here. His heart-to-heart with Ned, making Ned feel uncomfortable emotions because of the memories of his father's abandonment, was a high point of the show.

Ned accepts an invitation to watch his half-brothers -- Maurice and Ralston, the family Ned didn't know he had -- at The Conjurer's Castle. Their act is called "Two for the Show," and they're actually illusionists. Later on, their sleight of hand expertise helps solve the case.

I remember seeing this the night that it happened, in 1973: Uri Geller trying to perform some psychic "feats" on The Tonight Show, and host Johnny Carson (a magician himself and someone with a low tolerance for hucksters and hoaxes) making sure he can't fool anyone with a trick by changing the items on the table. This is a slightly edited version, but it's very telling. Geller actually gets a little irritated at Carson, at one point even mentioning that Carson was supposed to ask him the questions they agreed on before the show. Doc Severinsen sits there waiting for Geller to do something amazing, but it never comes.

That's magician and professional debunker James Randi narrating the clip. I think this is part of a larger documentary that was show on television several years ago.

[via Boing Boing]

While many of the networks will undoubtedly keep a lot of crap on the air for another two seasons, this is actually good news. Showtime just picked up seasons four and five of Penn & Teller: Bullshit! The program is along the same lines as their live show, except, instead of debunking magic tricks, they debunk all sorts of things like magnet therapy, reflexology, Feng Shui, Ouija boards, baby myths, and chiropractors (don't shoot the messenger!). Season four of the show starts April 3 on Showtime. New episodes include examining the death penalty, prostitution and virginity.