The Wizard(s) of SyFy

I am in love with the new SyFy show, Wizards Wars. Penn and Teller have created a golden nugget of magical awesomeness. If they did in fact create it, I haven’t looked into the behind the scenes details, but even if they’re just there as judges their involvement was a good idea.  For those that have not seen it yet, the general premise is: Two pairs of magicians compete against each other for the chance to face the Wizards. The Wizards are the show’s four person group of expert magicians—their goal is to out magic the competitors and keep them from winning $10,000. The catch: all the magic is done using three very different every-day items. Judges then rate their routine on creativity, deception, and showmanship. The judges of course are Penn & Teller, Christen Gerhart, and Jason Latimer. First, they pick their favorite pair out of the two competitor teams. Secondly, the Wizards decide amongst themselves--based on their individual strengths—which two of them will compete against the challengers. That’s it, the whole show. But what makes it fun is what these magicians are able to do with these items. I have always been fascinated my magic tricks—deceptions and slights of hand. I grew up watching David Copperfield, Siegfried & Roy, and of course Penn & Teller. To this day (regardless of the fact that as an adult I know how some of these tricks are done) I still find magic entertaining and cool. So this show is right up my alley. It’s almost as great as…hey what’s that? How did that quarter get in my ear? I can totally buy a gumball—now that’s magical (I’m sorry).