thumb|White [['73 Corvette C3 like the one in the series, roof closed]]

thumb|This [[Boeing 720 called The Starship was used by rock groups touring the US]]

The Magician is an American television series that ran during the 1973–1974 season. It starred Bill Bixby as stage illusionist Anthony "Tony" Blake, a playboy philanthropist who used his skills to solve difficult crimes as needed. In the series pilot, the character was named Anthony Dorian; the name was changed due to a conflict with the name of a real-life stage magician.

Plot

Blake was a professional stage magician who used his skills to solve crimes and help the helpless. Years earlier, Blake had been in prison on a trumped-up espionage charge in an unnamed country in South America. He discovered a way to escape with his cellmate, which began his interest in escapology. The cellmate died and left him a fortune. The escape, apparently followed by exoneration of the false charges that had led to it, led to Blake's pursuit of a career in stage magic, which made him famous. He never forgot his unjust imprisonment, which motivated him to seek justice for others.

Initially, Blake used a private Boeing jet airliner named The Spirit as a base of operations; it was outfitted as a mobile residence ("It's like any other mobile home, only faster") with live-in pilot Jerry Anderson (Jerry Wallace in the pilot episode, played by the same actor). Blake drove a white '73 Chevrolet Corvette C3 with soft nose, mostly open T-top Targa roof and custom vanity license plates ("SPIRIT") and a car phone, at the time an exotic high-technology feature. Blake frequently received assistance from acerbic columnist Max Pomeroy, and Max's brilliant son Dennis, who used a wheelchair.

Starting with episode 6, the opening credits feature a narrator's voice stating, "All of the magic you're about to see is performed without trick photography of any kind... by Bill Bixby... The Magician".

Midseason changes

The pilot film showed a twin engine Boeing 737 jet airplane in gold and brown livery, parked on an apron in daylight, with Spirit painted as nose art.

The TV series showed a four engine jet airplane; it was probably the Boeing 720 called The Starship used by touring rock musicians in the 1970s, with gold and brown livery plus band logos from the Led Zeppelin North American Tour in mid 1973 to The Allman Brothers Band in summer of 1974. Then it was painted in US red-white-blue. In addition, the Corvette was shown entering the plane via a rear loading ramp, a feature only available on some dedicated cargo aircraft, but not on the Boeing 720, even when converted to freighter.

Midway through the program's run, the idea of the jet airplane mobile home was dropped and Blake took up residence in an upmarket apartment at The Magic Castle, a real club devoted to magic acts in Los Angeles, California. At the same time, the supporting cast of the show was replaced with a new, single character, Dominick, a somewhat comical sidekick. No explanation for the changes was given in the series. Jerry continued to make occasional minor appearances, and Tony recruited Jerry and Max together for one further case in the new format.

Cast

Episodes 1–13

  • Bill Bixby as Anthony Blake (named Anthony Dorian in the pilot episode)
  • Keene Curtis as Max Pomeroy
  • Jim Watkins as Jerry Anderson (named Jerry Wallace in the pilot)

Episodes 13–21

  • Bill Bixby as Anthony Blake
  • Joseph Sirola as Dominick

Some episodes feature Larry Anderson, who later created the JawDroppers video magic course, as Blake's assistant. Todd Crespi also made some appearances as Max's son Dennis.

Production

Magic on the program

Bixby, a keen amateur magician, insisted on performing all of the illusions in person, without any trick photography, although it was not possible for this to be the case in the TV-movie/pilot. Many of the episodes of the regular series were preceded by an announcement that the magic tricks were accomplished without trick photography. He was instructed in these performances by the program's technical advisor, Mark Wilson, who was credited as "magic consultant". Bixby said, "I was a catalyst for the magic of Mark [Wilson] and Larry Anderson. They deserve the applause." Once the format changed to have the hero based in a magic club, Wilson could occasionally be seen on the stage there, as well. In addition to escapes, Bixby performed feats of sleight of hand, mentalism, and stage illusions. After the series' cancellation, Bixby went on to host a string of magic specials on NBC and a series, The Wonderful World of Magic, in first-run syndication.

Reception

The Magician ranked 47th out of 80 shows during the 1973–74 season, with an average 17.6 household rating.

Pilot

Episodes

Home media

Visual Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 on August 25, 2017.

Influence

Though it ran only a single season, The Magician was an influence on later series. The show was a favorite of The X-Files creator Chris Carter, who worked it into Special Agent Fox Mulder's "origin" story: a teenaged Mulder was waiting to watch The Magician when his sister Samantha was abducted by mysterious forces.

In the Quantum Leap episode "The Great Spontini", Scott Bakula's character, Dr. Sam Beckett, leaps into an amateur magician in 1974 who aspires to appear on Bill Bixby's The Magician; however, owing to his partial amnesia, Dr. Beckett, at first, can only recall Bixby's connection with The Incredible Hulk, which had not been made at that time.

The Incredible Hulk series featured an episode that paid homage to both The Magician and Bixby's earlier series, My Favorite Martian. In The Incredible Hulk's "My Favorite Magician" episode, Bixby's character became the temporary apprentice to a stage magician played by Bixby's Martian co-star, Ray Walston. Mark Wilson was on hand again as the episode's "magic consultant" as well. In addition, Martian co-star Pamela Britton appeared in an episode of The Magician.

Actor Andrew Robinson has stated that his Star Trek: Deep Space Nine character, Elim Garak, was partially influenced by Bixby's character.

References

  • The Magician by Ed Robertson