''Secrets of the Super Psychics'' was a

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

documentary special in the UK, first shown in the ''Equinox'' strand in 1997, later reformatted as a shorter

The Learning Channel TLC is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. First established in 1980 as The Learning Channel, it initially focused on educational and instructional programming. By the late 1990s, after an acquisition by the own ...

episode in 1998: "Viewers eager to know more about the differences between science and claptrap should tune in". The 90-minute film, made by

Open Media Open Media is a British television production company, best known for the discussion series '' After Dark'', described in the national press as "the most original programme on television". The company was founded in 1987 and has produced more t ...

, was first shown in the UK under the title ''Secrets of the Psychics''. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' said the documentary "...cast an enjoyably sceptical eye over 150 years of the paranormal".

David Aaronovitch David Morris Aaronovitch (born 8 July 1954) is an English journalist, television presenter and author. He is a regular columnist for ''The Times'' and the author of ''Paddling to Jerusalem: An Aquatic Tour of Our Small Country'' (2000), ''Voodoo ...

described it in ''

The Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'' as

a programme which showed two things very clearly. First that there are – and have always been – some extremely clever and ruthless illusionists out there. And – second – that there is an exceptional desire to believe that what these hoaxers tell us is actually true.

Simon Hoggart Simon David Hoggart (26 May 1946 – 5 January 2014) was an English journalist and broadcaster. He wrote on politics for ''The Guardian'', and on wine for ''The Spectator''. Until 2006 he presented ''The News Quiz'' on BBC Radio 4. His journali ...

wrote in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' that this was

the first show ever to take on the notoriously litigious
Uri Geller Uri Geller ( ; he, אורי גלר; born 20 December 1946) is an Israeli-British illusionist, magician, television personality, and self-proclaimed psychic. He is known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other ill ...
. They showed how all his parlour tricks could be easily duplicated by jobbing magicians without any help from paranormal powers.

In 1998 the

Broadcasting Standards Commission The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers ...

in the United Kingdom rejected a complaint made by

Uri Geller Uri Geller ( ; he, אורי גלר; born 20 December 1946) is an Israeli-British illusionist, magician, television personality, and self-proclaimed psychic. He is known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other ill ...

, saying that it "wasn't unfair to have magicians showing how they duplicate those 'psychic feats'." Th
full text
of the BSC adjudication is available on the internet at the

website.Broadcasting Standards Commission

References

External links

* From the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

Psychology Video Library
dates of transmission
an

* – about

* {{YouTube, EoQ3TztOYt8, Full film Channel 4 original programming Documentary films about the paranormal Equinox (TV series) Faith healers Scientific skepticism mass media 1997 television specials