''TV's 50 Greatest Magic Tricks'' is a one-off list show that was produced by

Objective Productions Objective Media Group (OMG), previously known as Objective Productions, is a media production company. It has produced shows including '' The Cube'', ''Lingo'', '' The Gold'', '' Feel Good, Peep Show'', '' Fresh Meat'', and '' Toast of London' ...

for Channel 5. The programme counts down the fifty greatest

magic tricks Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of close-up magic, parlor magic, and stage magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural mea ...

– The Magic Bullet by

Penn & Teller Penn & Teller, Penn Jillette and Teller, are American magicians, entertainers, and scientific skeptics who have performed together since 1975. They are noted for their ongoing act that combines elements of comedy with magic. The duo has bee ...

is the illusion at number one. The show was presented by the British actress

Fay Ripley Fay Ripley (born 26 February 1966)Ripley, Fay (25 February 2011).Don't tell me you are going to get my followers up to 5,000 for my birthday tomorrow...I say my birthday tomorrow. Twitter. Retrieved 26 February 2011. is an English actress, telev ...

, and was directed by Helen Albon. ''TV's 50 Greatest Magic Tricks'' was first broadcast on Channel 5 on 31 December 2011. The list of magic tricks features set pieces, stunts and rabbit-out-of-the-hat tricks. Contributors to the programme included Penn & Teller,

Paul Daniels Newton Edward Daniels (6 April 1938 – 17 March 2016), known professionally as Paul Daniels, was an English magician and television presenter. He achieved international fame through his television series '' The Paul Daniels Magic Show'', whic ...

and

Dynamo "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator. Dynamos employed electromagnets for self-starting by using residual magnetic field left in the iron cores ...

. Two tricks by the British magician

Pete Firman Peter "Pete" Firman (born 26 April 1980) is an English magician, comedian, television presenter and actor. He has appeared in magic shows on BBC1, ITV, Channel 4, Five, and Sky1. He was also the presenter of two game shows on CBBC: ''St ...

featured in the list, with his Goldfish Trick in the top ten.

Magic tricks

# The Magic Bullet (

, 1996) #

Death Saw Sawing a woman in half is a generic name for a number of stage magic tricks in which a person (traditionally a magician's assistant, female assistant) is apparently cut or divided into two (or more) pieces. History There remains a debate about t ...

(

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...

) #

Russian Roulette Russian roulette () is a potentially lethal game of chance in which a player places a single round in a revolver, spins the cylinder, places the muzzle against the head or body (their opponent's or their own), and pulls the trigger. If the ...

(

Derren Brown Derren Brown (born 27 February 1971) is an English mentalist, illusionist, and writer. He is a self-described "psychological illusionist" whose acts are often designed to expose the methods of those who claim to possess supernatural powers, ...

, 2003) # Chop Cup (

, 1985) #The Cardboard Box Illusion ( Shahid & Lisa Malik, 2000) #Walking on Water (

, 2011) #Goldfish Trick (

, 2005) #Challenge of the Death Dive (

Robert Gallup The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

, 1996) #Cigarette Routine ( Tom Mullica, 1996) #Quick Change ( David & Dania, 2006) #Blended Mouse (Pete Firman, 2005) #

Metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and different ...

( The Pendragons, 1983) #Shoe Trick (

John Lenahan John Lenahan (born 1961 in Philadelphia, US) is an American illusionist and entertainer resident in the UK since 1984. A successful corporate entertainer, he came to greater fame as a result of a 1994 appearance on the BBC One show '' How Do Th ...

, 2003) #Dream (

Siegfried & Roy Siegfried Fischbacher (born Siegfried Tyron Fischbacher; June 13, 1939 – January 13, 2021) and Roy Horn (born Uwe Ludwig Horn; October 3, 1944 – May 8, 2020) were German-American entertainers who performed an animal-based magic show together ...

, 1994) #Torn and Restored Newspaper ( The Great Soprendo, 1982) #

Guillotine A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...

(

Simon Drake Simon Drake (born Simon Alexander; 1 March 1957) is an English magician based in London. He is best known for the television series ''The Secret Cabaret'' made for Britain's Channel 4. Early life Born in London, Drake is the son of a GP. Dr ...

, 1992) #Pool Shark (

Paul Zenon Paul Zenon (born Paul Collins) is an English stage and TV Magic (illusion), magician, comedian, presenter and writer. He is the author of three books on magic, proposition bets and practical jokes, and an expert on the history of magic and mag ...

, 2000) #The Tube Experiment (Derren Brown, 2001) #Iron Maiden (Paul Daniels, 1987) #Hummer Illusion, (

Franz Harary Franz Harary (born July 18, 1962) is an American magician and inventor who has appeared on television shows such as the first episode of NBC's ''The World's Greatest Magic'', on which Harary made the Space Shuttle appear to vanish. While studyi ...

, 2006) #Spreadwave ( Mathieu Bich, 2011) #Coin Trick (

Criss Angel Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos (; born December 19, 1967), known professionally as Criss Angel, is an American magician, Magic (illusion), illusionist and musician. He is often referred to as one of the world's most successful illusionists, g ...

, 2005) # Houdini's Water Torture Escape (

Ali Cook Ali Cook (also credited as Alistair Cook) is an English actor and comedian from Yorkshire. Cook played Sgt. Paul McMellon in the feature film ''Kajaki (film), Kajaki'', which won the ''Producer of The Year Award'' at the 2015 British Independen ...

, 2002) #Truck Trick (Penn & Teller, 1990) #

Levitation Levitation, Levitate, or Levitating may refer to: Concepts *Levitation (illusion), an illusion where a magician appears to levitate a person or object *Levitation (paranormal), the claimed paranormal phenomenon of levitation, occurring without an ...

(

David Blaine David Blaine (born David Blaine White; April 4, 1973) is an American magician, mentalist, and Endurance art, endurance performer. Born in New York City, Blaine became interested in magic at a very young age. He gained prominence in 1997, when h ...

) #Card Manipulation ( An Ha Lim) #Pulse Stopping ( David Berglas, 1986) #Motorcycle Illusion (

Doug Henning Douglas James Henning (May 3, 1947 – February 7, 2000) was a Canadian magician, illusionist, escape artist and politician. Early life Henning was born in the Fort Garry district of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Henning became interested in magi ...

, 1983) #Snowball Trick (Dynamo, 2011) #

Flying Flying may refer to: * Flight, the process of flying * Aviation, the creation and operation of aircraft Music Albums * '' Flying (Cody Fry album)'', 2017 * ''Flying'' (Grammatrain album), 1997 * ''Flying'' (Jonathan Fagerlund album), 2008 * ...

(David Copperfield) # Sawing in Half (

Kevin James Kevin George Knipfing (born April 26, 1965), known professionally as Kevin James, is an American comedian and actor. He began his career by performing stand-up comedy at clubs on Long Island in the 1980s. He rose to prominence for his portrayal ...

, 2007) #Goldfish Transformation (Criss Angel) #Silhouette (Simon Drake, 1992) #Homunculus ( Barry & Stuart, 2005) #Tax Disc Trick (Paul Zenon, 2000) #Doves (

Lance Burton William Lance Burton (born March 10, 1960) is an American stage magician. He performed more than 15,000 shows in Las Vegas for over 5,000,000 people until retiring in 2010. He serves as a judge on '' Criss Angel's Magic with the Stars''. Profess ...

, 1982) #Interlude (Siegfried & Roy) #Floating Lightbulb ( Harry Blackstone Jr., 1986) #Toe Cards (Ali Cook, 2002) #Signed and Restored Card (

Piff the Magic Dragon John van der Put (born 9 June 1980) is an English magician and comedian, who performs under the stage name Piff the Magic Dragon. A winner of multiple awards from British magic societies, he toured as a supporting act for Mumford and Sons an ...

, 2011) # Spoon Bending (

Uri Geller Uri Geller ( ; ; 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 illusions. Geller use ...

, 1983) #Card Revelation (David Blaine) #

Portal Portal may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), a series of video games developed by Valve ** ''Portal'' (video game), a 2007 video game, the first in the series ** '' Portal 2'', the 2011 sequel ** '' Portal Stori ...

(David Copperfield) #Any Card at Any Number ( Marc Paul, 2002) #One Million Pound Vanish (Paul Daniels, 1984) #673 King Street (

James Galea James Galea (born 1981) is an Australian illusionist, magician and actor based in Sydney and Los Angeles. Early life and education Galea was introduced to the art of magic (illusion), magic at the age of 14. He spent most of his youth studying ...

, 2009) #Bottle Glass (

Tommy Cooper Thomas Frederick Cooper (19 March 1921 – 15 April 1984) was a Welsh prop comedian and magician. As an entertainer, his appearance was large and lumbering at , and he habitually wore a red fez when performing. He served in the British Army ...

, 1971) #Tower Bridge Vanish (Franz Harary, 2004) #Miser's Dream (Penn & Teller, 2011) #Floating Guitar (Dynamo, 2011)

Reception

Following the original broadcast in 2011, Channel 5 repeated ''TV's 50 Greatest Magic Tricks'' multiple times, including in 2012 and 2013. When broadcast in 2012, the programme achieved an average of one million viewers and an audience share of 3.9%.

References

External links

* * * {{Use dmy dates, date=July 2018 2011 British television series debuts 2011 British television series endings British documentary television films British English-language television shows Magic tricks