I love Criss Angel Mindfreak. I don’t care how many cool points I may lose for this but I can’t honestly think of a more entertaining half hour.
For those of you that may not have seen this gem, let me explain: Criss Angel is an illusionist. Well I think he’s an illusionist. Although instead of calling his tricks “illusions”, he calls them “demonstrations”. Now, semantically, I’m not really sure if what Criss does constitutes a “demonstation” so I will let you decide. In the past, Criss has: escaped from being buried alive, levitated from one building to another, walked on water, and made an elephant disappear. He also hangs out with random people like Vince Neil, Mark McGrath, and Dog the Bounty Hunter in a bit of A&E cross-promotion. My favorite though was from a recent episode where Wayne from The Wonder Years just showed up. I literally hadn’t thought of him for ten years but apparently he’s down with the Angle Posse.
Let’s talk about Team Angel shall we? There’s like four guys that provide commentary through each episode, two of which are billed as ”Mindfreak Consultants”. First of all, how do you get that job? Do you find it on CareerBuilder? Do you need a degree? So many questions, the mind boggles. Then there’s his two brothers , J.D. and Costa. I prefer Costa, just because I like saying that name. Plus when you put the Brothers Angel together, they look like some kind of hairband that would sound like a cross between Poison and Nelson. Anyway, their job is just to set up the main illusion demonstration that Criss will be performing in the last act. They also like to look concerned and/or frightened when Criss is performing said demonstration. To heighten the drama, sometimes they bring out Criss’s mother who will cry. I love how the whole family is in on the act. They know where there next meal is coming from.
Speaking of meal tickets, CA (that’s what I call him) performs out of The Luxor and he pimps that like the ArchBishop Don Magic Juan. I could make my own drinking game based on how many times the Luxor laser beam is shown (take a shot!) or when they film a segment at another MGM/Mirage venue (eg “I’m standing here at the Sigfried and Roy Magic Garden at the Mirage…” drink!). For this, Cris gets his own “production office” somewhere in the lobby I assume, a deal with Cirque du Soleil, a gift shop, and a penthouse suite under the aforementioned Luxor laser. This will come in handy in what I presume will be the messiest divorce since…some other illusionist’s divorce.
Appearance-wise, I think CA was created by scientists who crossbred Tommy Lee with David Copperfield (the illusionist and not the Dickens urchin). Criss is usually clothed in some sort of leather and denim ensemble and 24 pounds of platnum and diamond bling. Sometimes he also braids or highlights his hair. Much like Vicky Beckham, I think every day is a fashion show for him. Then, since the show is all about him, he also sings the theme song. Sidenote: I wish more TV stars sang their own theme songs. Like remember Linda Lavin on Alice? I mean, does anyone do that anymore? Well they should start. Frankly I’m shocked that Evangeline Lily isn’t belting out some little ditty on Lost.
Back to CA. So he fills up a good 3/4 of the show doing little tricks with cards or slight of hand or disappearing animals and other nonsense like that. Those are things that I like the best, because I could care less if Criss makes a lamborghini (or “lambo”as he refers to it) disappear; I just want him to guess what my card is. Oh and go around yelling “Now” and “Yeah!” after he successfully pulls something off. I love his enthusiasm, although it does freak me out when he looks into the camera and whispers “are you ready?” It’s all very intense and I just can’t take it.
