ITV in Britain (edit: And now, CW in the US!!!) is currently airing a show which, for my money, is one of the finest pieces of television going anywhere in the world right now. In fact, I’ll go one step further and say that it’s a show built entirely around the very best aspects of human nature, and is more entertaining than almost anything I’ve seen recently (and I’ve just finished watching The Tudors , which was a fine piece of drama).
But this show isn’t drama–it’s essentially a game show. Another foray into the genre–reality TV–which the Brits perfected and which is by far my least favorite form of entertainment, as it’s neither reality nor does it frequently feature anything interesting enough to be worthy of display on a television screen. But I digress.
So, what is this amazing, magical show?
Well, you’re not going to believe me, but it’s actually a magic show. It’s called Penn & Teller: Fool Us.
The concept is pretty simple:
Contestants do a single stage magic routine in front of a studio audience that includes magicians Penn & Teller. If Penn & Teller can’t figure out how the trick was done, and describe it to the contestant, that contestant wins. The prize?
They get to open for Penn & Teller in Las Vegas.
Okay, So What’s The Big Deal?
But this isn’t just a pedestrian game show. Or a pedestrian reality TV show. Or even a run-of-the-mill magic show. This is something else again. To explain, let me recast in tribal terms:
The two most renowned old warriors in a village announce that it’s time for a new generation to rise up and come into their own. They put the call out far and wide to all the neighboring villages, and stage a competition. “We have grown weary of hunting, having long since mastered all we learned in our youth. We are weary of teaching, for we have taught all we know.” they say. “Anyone who can teach us a new technique, a new art for hunting, they shall lead the next hunt.”
Young hunters, at the peak of their creativity and ambition, bring their best skills from all across the countryside. They display their best work, and when sometimes one of them is so groundbreaking that the old masters have never seen it before, the masters bring them into their party. Sometimes, there are no new techniques, but the demonstration has such finesse that the masters are astounded and envious, and sincere about their awe in the face of mastery as great as–or greater than–their own.
And so we have in this dynamic all the things that are best about human nature: community, mentorship, maturity, non-destructive competition, the transfer of knowledge between the generations (which is the substance of culture), hard work, virtuosity, the appetite for learning, the appetite for–and display of–wonder, and the application of close examination and critical thinking.
Intelligence, mentorship, love of a shared culture, community, and all of it wrapped up in a candy coating of witty banter and smart comedy.
Folks, truly, it doesn’t get any better than this. It can’t. Because this is the best of what we are, in microcosm.
jdsawyer
After a childhood in academia, J. Daniel Sawyer declared his independence by dropping out of high school and setting off on a series of adventures in the bowels of the film industry, the venture capital culture of silicon valley, surfing safaris, bohemians, burners, historians, theologians, adventurers, climbers, drug dealers, gangbangers, and inventors before his past finally caught up to him.
Trapped in a world bookended by one wall falling in Berlin and other walls going up around suburbia and along national borders throughout the world, he rediscovered his deep love of history and, with it, and obsession with predicting the future as it grew aggressively out of the past.
To date, this obsession has yielded over thirty books and innumerable short stories, the occasional short film, nearly a dozen podcasts stretching over a decade and a half, and a career creating novels and audiobooks exploring the world through the lens of his own peculiar madness, in the depths of his own private forest in a rural exile, where he uses the quiet to write, walk on the beach, and manage a production company that brings innovative stories to the ears of audiences across the world.
For news and free stories, sign up for his occasional newsletter. Or find his contact info, podcasts, and more on his home page at http://www.jdsawyer.net
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Pingback: Penn & Teller: Showcasing the Best in Human Culture « SHG
@pennjillette and @MrTeller’s #FoolUs is one of the best shows on TV, showcasing the best in human culture. My review:http://t.co/1rWuIYBjXY
RT @dsawyer: @pennjillette and @MrTeller’s #FoolUs is one of the best shows on TV, showcasing the best in human culture. My review:http://t…
RT @dsawyer: @pennjillette and @MrTeller’s #FoolUs is one of the best shows on TV, showcasing the best in human culture. My review:http://t…
RT @dsawyer: @pennjillette and @MrTeller’s #FoolUs is one of the best shows on TV, showcasing the best in human culture. My review:http://t…
RT @dsawyer: @pennjillette and @MrTeller’s #FoolUs is one of the best shows on TV, showcasing the best in human culture. My review:http://t…
RT @dsawyer: @pennjillette and @MrTeller’s #FoolUs is one of the best shows on TV, showcasing the best in human culture. My review:http://t…