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Criss Angel Mindfreak

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File:Ca-mindfreak-ae.jpg
Criss Angel Mindfreak A&E TV Series promotional image.

Criss Angel Mindfreak is a reality television show distributed by A&E Network. It debuted in 2005, and centers on unusual stunts and street magic acts by illusionist Criss Angel. A major part of the show is the fact that Criss uses as little technology and equipment as possible in his magic. Also, his family makes occasional appearances on the show, alternately expressing their disapproval and fear that he will injure himself. Aside from the stunts and illusions, Criss also talks to the camera about his past and childhood, which involve his first magic stunts, along with giving (naturally limited) inside information on the stunts.

List of Episodes

Season 1, 2005

Episode Details

First Season

  • Halloween Special: Criss takes a death-defying risk, as he attempts to free himself from a wooden coffin that is rapidly approaching the gnashing teeth of an industrial-sized Bio-Chipper.
  • Burned Alive: Criss is set ablaze with the bare minimum of protection necessary to keep him from burning alive. Despite the protection only reportedly being adequate for a span of 45 seconds, Criss remained engulfed far past the mark and in the end incorporated an interesting illusion by morphing into one of the technicians.
  • Levitation: Before a perplexed street audience, Criss uses his self-proclaimed telekinesis to levitate a volunteer four feet in the air.
  • Wine Barrel Escape: Stunt technicians place Criss in a cramped wine barrel completely filled with water and handcuff his hands through the top. The contraption is then raised up eighty feet. Not only does Criss have to worry about holding his breath and freeing himself from the handcuffs, but there is also the time limit. He has two minutes to free himself before the barrel crashes to the ground. Criss has said that the stunt was an intentional homage to famed escape artist Harry Houdini.
  • SUV Nail Bed: Criss expands upon the traditional bed of nails trick by lying on a bed of nails while a Hummer (a particularly large type of SUV) rolls over him. He was seriously injured in the process.
  • Body Suspension: From a helicopter, Criss is suspended by metal hooks in his skin over one thousand feet in the air.
  • Buried Alive: In this episode featuring singer Rob Zombie, Criss Angel is buried alive and must escape before running out of oxygen. Over ninety minutes elapse before he manages to escape.
  • Hellstromism: Based mostly around the art of reading people's reactions to touch and movements, this episode involves Criss drawing in various ways the picture or number that a volunteer is thinking. The main stunt is a bet that Criss can find the key to a Dodge Viper hidden in a large car lot with a single guess. Instead of direct contact, Criss uses a handkerchief to tie his hand and the dealership employee's hand together. Then Criss leads the employee around the lot while trying to detect feelings or impulses towards a certain vehicle and location within the vehicle.
  • Superhuman: It's been said that in times of crisis, people may experience a sort of superhuman strength, chocked up to adrenaline. Criss attempts to harness this might for use any old time, and demonstrates his control over it on a myriad of tests, including lifting a parked taxi cab two feet off the ground.
  • Building Walk: Criss attempts to defy the laws of physics once again, by walking down the side of the Aladdin Hotel as if he were on a normal sidewalk, with no wires or safety netting preventing his falling to his death.
  • Blind: When he closes his eyes, Criss claims to see reality, whereas other people would see darkness. He puts this theory to the test, by driving Mandy Moore to her favorite restaurant completely blindfolded, relying solely on his vision of reality beyond his closed eyes to guide him.
  • Oasis: Criss wonders what it would be like to be locked inside of an oxygen-filled glass tube, inside of a larger aquarium, in the middle of New York City. He challenges himself to stay in the tank for 30 hours, then makes his escape.
  • C4 Crate: Urged on by his fascination with explosives, Criss decides to experience a C4 explosion...up close and personal, as he attempts to escape from a crate filled with the equivalent of a stick of dynamite's worth of the stuff. Penn and Teller guest star.
  • Prediction: Criss goes on Los Angeles radio for a public on-air attempt to predict a major news story and the lottery.
  • Chicken: Criss faces off against his comedy magician friend, the Amazing Jonathan, in the ultimate game of Chicken to see who's crazier, culminating in a face off, where the Amazing Jonathan tries to ram Criss straight through a brick wall with a car.
  • Tesla Strike: People who are struck by lightning often show increased memory and mental capabilities. Wanting to experience these benefits, Criss heads to the largest Tesla Coil in the country, in order to get struck by 4 million volts of electricity, and survive.
  • Uncut: A clip show of Criss' most memorable moments, new footage, and an uncut, continuous shot of his most famous illusion: the trascan teleport.
  • Up Close: More magic tricks from Criss, though most of the episode is a behind-the-scenes view of Criss' world, his family and friends, and co-workers.

Second Season

  • Building Float: In a new twist to the old levitation trick, Criss attempts to float safely from one rooftop to another, inspired by the outrageous levitating feats of urban legendary Scottish magician, DD Home. Special Guest: Lance Burton.
  • Walk on Water: Jesus was able to walk on water; now Criss is attempting to follow in his footsteps, as he tries to walk fully across a swimming pool, while there are still people swimming around and under him. Special Guest: Penn and Teller.

Season 2

Season 2 will begin airing on A&E Wednesday, May 31, 2006.

External links

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