I hadn't really heard of Criss Angel before I'd seen the previews for the new show Phenomenon (which honestly looked like a pile of crap). I may actually watch it now.

Here's a clip of one of the contestants, Jim Callahan, "channeling" some dead author to tell him which 1 of 100 random objects has been selected without Callahan's knowledge and locked in a box of salt. Okay.



It's pretty hokey stuff, and Criss Angel calls him out on the claim of actually having supernatural powers, rather than using craft.

Here are the responses to the incident by Gellar, Angel, and Callahan:



Gellar comes off as a doofus. "Who is anyone to say whether or not he's really channeling a spirit? You can't prove or disprove it." Nice. You can't prove or disprove that I mentally teleported to Mars this morning, had a tea party with Zeus and Superman, then made it back in time for class either...but do you have good reasons to believe it's true?

Angel actually impresses me by explaining that magicians/illusionists/mentalists are performers, who master psychological techniques to create the appearance of the impossible. But when they cross the line into claiming actual supernatural powers, they need to be exposed as the lying douchebags they are.

And finally Callahan...well, just watch it for yourself.

It's actually nice to see that a show on network television that might actually promote a little rational thought.