09x03 - Four Fools and Counting...

[bunniefuu]

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

- From the Penn & Teller Theater

at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas,

here's our host,
Alyson Hannigan!

♪ ♪

- Welcome to "Fool Us."

From silly to sophisticated,
crazy to confounding,

Penn and Teller take
on all kinds of magicians.

And you never know which
one will find a way to fool them.

Are Penn and Teller ready?

They better be because we're
bringing them out right now.

Give it up for
magic's dapper duo,

Penn and Teller!

[big bang music]

♪ ♪

Penn and Teller award a
slot in their Las Vegas show

and a "Fool Us" trophy to
any magician performing

a trick they can't figure out.

So let's meet our first
potential stumper right now.

[suspenseful music]

- When I was 10
years old, my mother

took me in a bus every week

from Málaga to Seville

only for me to have two
hours' lesson from magicians.

This is five hour going and
five hour back every week.

This is unbelievable.

Juan Tamariz was the
first magician I meet in life.

Juan is not only my
teacher, he's also my friend.

It's unbelievable because...

When you are 10 years old,

you don't know how
big is Juan Tamariz.

Juan is like my brother, father.

If I can do magic to
Juan, I can do magic

to everybody in the world.

Magic is my life.

Magician is my family.

I am a very lucky man.

[laughs] I love magic.

I love the life.

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

- Joined by entertainment legend

and Harrah's Las Vegas
headliner, Donny Osmond,

here's some fantastic
magic from Dani Daortiz.

- Wow.
- Good to see you.

- [laughs]
- Dani.

- Oh, how are you, my friend?
- Nice to meet you.

- Great to be here.
Great to be here.

Thank you very, very much.
- Before you get started...

- Yes?

- OK, if you don't
mind, I got to make sure

this is not a trick deck.

[laughter] OK?

- Do anything you want.

Is it normal?
- It's a normal deck.

- I fool you. OK.

I can leave.
- I'm fooled.

[laughter]

- Listen to me.

I understand I'm from Spain.

My English is
very bad, but I try.

My magic will be
better. I try. I try.

Because if I tell
you, for example,

tell me stop.

♪ Da, da, da, da,
da, da, da, da... ♪

- Stop.
- How many cards...


- Four.

- Four cards.

- And now for the magic.

Look, I do nothing.

I deal cards and you,
again, you tell me stop.

- Stop.
- Are you sure?

- Yeah.
- OK.

Can you count with your
finger how many card

on the deck... on the table?



I don't know how,
but if here is 10 cards,

these four cards exactly...

One ten, another ten,
another ten, another ten.

Ta-da. [laughter]

Look at that face.

It's not possible.

[laughs]

Tell me... tell me
to stop very fast.

- Stop.

- This is very, very, very fast.

- Very, very.
- It's your life.

I don't care because
they don't know what I do.

But now it's not ten cards.

Can you count with your finger?



I don't know how, but
if here is seven cards,

what before was 10...

- No.
- Nuh-uh.

- No.
- Uh-uh.

- Welcome to my world.
- No.

- One seven, another
seven, another seven,

and another seven.
- [laughs]

- Ta-da!

Look at that, how many.

You can look at any card.

You can look or make
or anything you want.

You know what?
I'll tell you what.

- OK.
- Another card you see.

Any card you want.
- OK.

- Tell me one.
- Three of hearts.

- But any card,
really, any card.

- I did.
- Three of hearts.

OK. - Three of hearts.

- Now I like to improvise.

I like to improvise.

You will tell me stop.

I try... I hope you
understand my English.

You will tell me stop and
the three of hearts appear.

- OK.

Stop.

[laughter]

- My English is very bad.

[laughter]

No. Let me stop.

You know what? You know what?

I listen you,

but the trick is no
you tell me stop

and the three appear.
- I see.

- The trick is the three
appear on the box.

- [gasps]

- You need to see.
You need to see.

[laughter]

- This is freaking me out.

- [laughs]

- Give me another card

or look at one or anything.

You have one? Any card.

- 2 of clubs.
- 2 of clubs. I try.

I forget one card
in the box. Sorry.

[laughter] I forget.

I forget one card in the box.

Sorry. Sorry.

- No way!

- Yes, it's my life.

Come here now.

[laughter]

Penn, can you tell
me any card you want?

- Sure.
- Which one?

Which one?
- Eight of hearts.

- But the ace of...
- Eight.

Eight.
- Eight of heart, this one.

I know. Sorry.

No, no, no, not with
the eight of heart.

Not with eight of heart,
because this is another trick.

Oh, maybe... yeah, maybe yes.

Maybe yes, we use
eight. Listen to me.

Listen to me.

[laughs]

Can you... can you
no choose a card?

Can you point any of them?

Any... any of them, who you want?

- To point?
- You?

- Me?
- Yeah.

- Unbelievable. Listen me.

We don't use this card. OK?

I show you the card like so,
completely very, very open.

Only when you
want... this is true.

You can wait.

You can... only when you want,

you tell me stop.

- Stop.
- Seven?

- Seven.

- If I take a seven
and I put a seven

with the other cards,

I don't know how,
but now it's one seven,

another seven, another
seven, and another seven.

- Stop it. Stop it.

- Ta-da!

- [laughs]

- Dani, that's ridiculous.

[laughter]

- I think... I don't
understand English.

Is ridiculous good word?
- It's a good word.

- OK.

[laughter]

But this is nothing.

This is only for the trick.

This is another trick.

- That's a... you did 18 tricks.

- Yeah, but that
shouldn't matter.

That shouldn't matter.
It is only for wake up.

OK? Now the trick.

I love one trick,
and the trick is...

This is any kind of number.

Look. Oh.

[laughter] OK.

No problems.

I try... [laughs]

The next trick I love,
yes, shuffle the deck.

I try... it's not complete
because I throw out...

- Right.
- Oh, no.

I restored it. I restored it.
- Oh, yes, you did.

- There's only 51 in there.
- OK.

The box is complete,
but the thing is...

- Oh, I see. I see. OK.

- [laughs] Doesn't matter.

I give you a card.

Because we are...
We are four, OK,

I give you a few
card like so. OK?

Shuffle, please shuffle
it under the table.

You take a packet, take
a packet under the table.

Take that under the table.

You take a packet.

Take, take, and
give the half to him.

Everybody shuffle,

everybody... under the table.

Because I know me,
and I peek and I see.

Look, under the table.

Teller, can you take any
card and put in the middle.

Don't look. It's only for you.

Cut and complete.
You know what is cut?

- I do know what's cut.
- Meow.

Cats, OK? Shuffle.

[laughs] You take and
shuffle, take any card.

Only you see the
card under the table

and you put in the middle.

Now, thinking... thinking
any number, but high,

between 1 and 20
or 20 something,

but high, difficult number.

Don't tell me. Yes?
- OK.

- Don't tell me. And now I try.

I try.

Da, da, da, da, da,
da, da, da, da, da.

This is true when I tell you
the deck is not complete.

This is true.

OK, but doesn't matter. Listen.

Do you have a number?
- I do.

- What number you want?
- 21.

- Doesn't matter.

Any card is possible.

And now I do a special ritual.

This is unbelievable.

Look, this is the
ritual. Take the deck.

I need in this moment one
of you thinking any card.

Do you have one card?
- Yes.

- OK, thinking the card.
- OK.

- If you want to
change it on me, it's OK.

- It's OK.
- You have?

- Yes.
- Any card is possible.

Take the deck.

This is the ritual.

But take... take like, a...

Oh, one thing I do
for you because you

are thinking the number.
- OK.

- Ah, you are thinking the card.

- Yes.
- So you have to do the ritual.

This is the ritual.

Take one or two
and put on the table.

- Like that?

- Like so, separate and put.
- OK.

- Or do anything
you want, surely.

- OK.
- It's my deck but your life.

[laughter] Doesn't matter.

Take three or four
and put on the table.

- OK.

- Because it's a
ritual, it's very strict.

Now take... take,
like, in a pile.

Take two or seven
or eight or one, OK,

and put on the table.
- OK.

- Take two or
seven or eight, OK,

and put... or maybe six... maybe.

[laughter] Listen me.

Maybe. Maybe.

- Maybe.
- And put on the table.

- OK.
- It's a ritual, it's not mine.

OK?

Now we can do it.

Look, deal one by one.

♪ Da, da, da, da, da ♪

Faster until... what you want?

He, he, he...

For example, you,
until you say stop.

- Stop.
- OK.

In this moment, this card
you take and put in the middle.

No, no, no, in
the middle of the...

OK. Do anything you want,

but here, in the middle of here.

Here, here, here, here.
- Oh, in here.

- Anything you want.
- OK.

[laughter]

- And shuffle.
- And shuffle.

- Or not.
- No?

- This is ritual.

Cut and complete.
Meow and complete.

- Meow.
- OK?

Now take a few card from
the top through to the bottom.

♪ Da, da, da, da, da, da ♪

Cut and complete.

♪ Da, da, da, da,
da, da ♪ - Hey.

- You don't want to do.

OK, take one or two
or put in the deck.

Da, da, da, da, da, da.

Take everything you
want and put there.

Da, da... unbelievable. [laughter]

Ladies and gentlemen,
that was the ritual.

[laughter]

Listen. Listen. Listen.

You don't believe
me because it's very,

very difficult to understand.

But if you do exactly
what I tell you...

- [laughs]

- the card you
are thinking will be

in the position you told me.

- What?
- No.

- Welcome to my world.
- No.

- Tell me what was...

- You live in a very
strange world, Dani.

- What was the position?
- 21.

- 21. I tell you...

It's OK for you?

- Yes.
- OK. OK.

I don't ask you for the card.

Look, I escort,
but I do nothing.

I do nothing.

I count, and this
is your shuffle.

- [laughs] - This
is what you do.

This is your life in
this five minutes.

Right?
- That's very accurate.

- OK. 21.



- Are you sure?
- I am positive.

- It's OK. OK, 21.

OK. - 21.

- All right.

- Are you trying to
change my mind?

- I don't care.







Tell me for first time
what card you want.

- Jack of hearts.

- I tell you any
card is possible.

This is true. Jack of...

- Hearts. Jack of hearts.

[suspenseful music]

- I didn't know how.

Thank you very much.

- Oh, my word.

- Ta-da!

Pew. [applause]

- [laughs]

- I'm freaking out right now.

- Give me a card.

Thank you very much, guys.

- Dani Daortiz!

[cheers and applause]

[overlapping chatter]

- That was good.

- Oh, my goodness.

- Thank you very much.

- Oh, my word.

- Please.

Thank you.

- [laughs] You did...

You did such a long
trick that went so long,

we don't have time
to go to the seat.

We don't have time to talk.

We just have to
give you the trophy.

[laughter]

[cheers and applause]

We could do it before
you even came out.

- Yay.

- Thank you.

- Oh, goodness.
- Thank you.

- You couldn't deserve it more.

- [laughs]

- Congratulations!

[cheers and applause]

Whoo!
- You're great.

The greatest.

- We have a Fooler.

Thank you, Dani Daortiz
and Donny Osmond.

- Thank you so much.

- Thank you.

- My new best friend, let's go.

- Whoo.
- Come on.

You got to tell me
how you did that!

[cheers and applause]

- Aw.

Hey, what the fool?

Penn and Teller just
coughed up a trophy.

And they might cough up
another one after the break.

Stay close.

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

- Welcome back.

If you're just joining us,

you missed our
latest trophy winner.

Watch our next act and
you might see another.

- Hi I'm Becca Knight.

- And I'm Caroline Gale.

- And together...

Both: We are Knight and Gale.

- I have been working as
a magician for 13 years,

mainly as an assistant.

And my partner and I split up.

And I was lucky enough
to be invited out to Colorado

by a friend to work.

- That friend is my fiancé.

We do a show over at the
Stanley Hotel in Colorado.

He performs the magic
and I help run the house.

So I'm used to kind of being
behind the scenes in magic,

not the one who's
performing on stage.

- We became friends
almost instantaneously.

We bonded very quickly over
a love of puns, the paranormal...

- And being the loudest
person in the room.

- And that.

Making it here to "Fool Us"

is the culmination
of hours of work.

- Tonight we're going
to be reviving a trick

that has almost
been lost to history.

Join us as we take a
step beyond the veil

and into the strange and
spooky world of the paranormal.

[creepy laughter]

[cheers and applause]

- Give it up for the mysterious
magic of Knight and Gale.

[cheers and applause]

- We've all known
magicians and charlatans

that have made claim
they can make contact

with the spirits of the dead.

- Traditionally, we'd be
summoning a person.

- Traditionally,
we'd also be men.

- So for our performance tonight

we're going to need the help
of a very special guest star.

- My dead cat.

My dearly departed
kitten, Buster.

- Traditionally, to contact the
dead you need three things:

a spirit contact...
- My cat Buster.

- The loved one
of the departed...

- Me. -... and privacy.

- The spirit cabinet
you see behind us.

- Now, Carol has been
studying spirit communication,

and she has found
the best way for her

to contact the dead
is through hypnosis

and meditation.
- Yes.

- Since I'll be
putting her to sleep,

she's strapping
herself into the chair

so that she won't fall out.

Also, we didn't want to
run the risk of not being

able to reach Buster tonight.

So this is going to be
the first time that we've

directly tried to contact him.

Carol, are you excited
to bring your cat back

to the world of the living?

- Oh, my goodness, yes.
- Here we go.

- OK.

- Sleep. [bell chimes]

[audience laughs]

To guarantee that
visitation by Buster tonight

we're leaving
behind some cat toys,

a little bit of kibble.

And now we're ready...

to call forth the
spirit of Buster

in the traditional
way, of course.

Pss-pss-pss.

Buster!

Oh, kitty?

Hello.

Well, there you have it.

It's Buster. [clapping]

OK.

The sarcastic claps
are not necessary.

I get it. You think it's Carol,

so I'm going to prove it to you.

Wake. [bell chimes]

Carol, was that just
you throwing things

about the spirit cabinet
pretending to be Buster?

- What are you talking about?

- Sleep.

There you have it.

It wasn't Carol. OK, I get it.

You've seen plenty of
spirit cabinets in your day.

You're eyeing her
arms suspiciously.

I know you are, Teller, so I
want to put your mind at ease.

Would you join us on stage?

[eerie music]

Now I'm going to hand you a tie.

And you can take this,
and I want you to wrap it

around her arm as
many times as you like,

securing her arm to
the arm of the chair.

You can wrap it round and round,

as many knots as you'd like.

I want you to be sure there is
no way she could get herself

out of that tie that
you're creating,

so that she couldn't be creating

the manifestation of Buster.

The other arm, if you would.

♪ ♪

So many times around
as you're satisfied.

♪ ♪

Are you happy with that?

Terrific.

You can return to your seat.

Thank you so much.

So once more we're
going to call forth

the spirit of Buster.

Now, this time I'd
like to get a stronger

manifestation from him.

So, gentlemen, I'll need

a little help from
you to do this.

He's going to need a little bit
more energy than just Carol.

So I'd like you to think
about gathering your energy

and sending it into the...

Carol! Carol, are you...

Buster, bad Buster,

put her down right now.

Buster, on the
count of 3, 2, 1...

Oh, good boy. Good Buster.

Thank you.

Oh, my gosh.

[laughs nervously]

Cats are a little
terrifying in life.

I didn't know they were
that terrifying in death.

I mean, that was quite a lot
of energy for him to be able to...

[Carol screams]

Carol. Carol.

Carol. You OK?

Wake, Carol.

- Huh?

What happened?

- We were able to
make contact with Buster.

- Apparently, Buster
made contact with me.

- And Teller tied
you in really tight.

- First time?

[laughter]

Why am I bleeding?

- Um, uh, you
know, it's just a little...

It was just a little love tap.

- Oh, my god.

- It was fine.

W-what?

Don't you... don't
you want to see

if he'll do anything
else for us tonight?

- I am not getting
back in there.

- Well, if he made
contact with you,

maybe he'd be
willing to make contact

with a complete stranger.

Yeah.

Alyson, would you join us?

- Yes.

- Thank you, Alyson.
- OK.

- Don't worry. We'll
get you in there.

It'll be fine.
- Oh, yeah.

Oh, great.
- Head on in.

Get in the chair.

We're going to keep
an eye on you, Alyson,

because for the first
time in the history

of the spirit cabinet,

we are going to invite one
camera... an overhead view...

The ability to peer
inside our curtain walls

so that everyone can
watch our feline spirit at work.

♪ ♪

- So remember, what
happens within the confines

of these curtain walls can
follow you home, so good luck!

Oh!

Buster, if you
are still present,

could you give a sign and
give Alyson a little bit of love

by rubbing up against her neck?

- Alyson, if you feel
something, sense something,

could you let us know?

- Yes.
- Yeah?

Good job, Buster!

Get yourself some kibble.

[kibble rattles]
[audience exclaims]

- There you have
it, folks, the first ever

cat seance on... [bell dinging]

- Did you touch
the bell, Alyson?

- No.
- Didn't you tell her not to?

- Of course I told her. Here.

- Alyson, get out. Quickly.

Quickly.
- Out, out, out, out, out.

- Come with me. Come with me.

Come with me. Come with me.

You may not
believe that that was...

Oh. [audience exclaims]

The spirit of Buster, but...

both: He believes in you.

- [laughs] [cheers and applause]

- Knight and Gale!

So do you have any nicer animals

you could make contact with?

- Are you excited for
your new ghost cat?

- It could be interesting.

[laughter]

So is this your
first act together?

- Yes, ma'am.
- Oh, wow.

It seems like you guys have been

working together for years.

- We've just
bonded very quickly.

- Aw.

And so do you both
have a special love

for the paranormal?

- I'm very obsessed
with spooky stuff.

I come from New England,

and that's made of spooky stuff.

- I investigate the paranormal.

So it's kind of fun to
bring my paranormal world

and my magic world together.
- Fun.

Are you the first
magicians in your families?

- I am.

My parents are scientists,
and somehow they raised me.

[laughter]

- I'm the only
person in my family

that gets on stage, so yes.

- Oh.

All right, let's see
if your cat seance

will scare up a trophy.

- Hey there, Knight and Gale.

Boy, we like teams
and teams are rare.

And two person teams
that identify as female,

even rarer.

[laughter]

And we like the
height difference.

- Yeah.

- We're thrilled with
everything about that.

But Teller loves
spirit cabinets.

And...
- I know.

- Teller loves that
whole "seancey" stuff,

which I don't.

But I like this.
- Fair.

- I like this an awful lot.

And we think you have a
great new way of doing it,

a really... a really new method.

You know, the
big trick, of course,

was you floating in the air,

which you didn't see, of course.

- I wasn't there for that.

- The rest of us saw
you floating in the air.

And I'll tell you that this
might be a more amazing

trick than people think...

Than people might think at home.

'Cause they might
think that you had

a hidden assistant
somewhere in there

or someone sneaking
up from behind.

And there was nobody
doing that, we don't think.

We thought the whole
set was beautiful.

The original spirit
cabinets were...

Were incredibly
psychologically cruel.

They were exploiting people
who were filled with grief.

And by doing it with
your cat you make it very...

Very modern and sweet and kind.

And the chair looks beautiful.

We want to just give
you a standing ovation

for that chair.
- [laughs]

- And we think that the...
The message from beyond,

Buster's whispering in
our ear that we really liked it

but we don't think
you fooled us.

- Do they know the
secrets to your magic?

- They do.
- They know everything.

- Yeah. [laughter]

- Well, thank you so
much, Knight and Gale!

[cheers and applause]

Penn and Teller weren't
fooled, but were you?

See how you do on the next
trick when "Fool Us" returns.

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

- Welcome back
to our magic buffet,

where we serve up
all kinds of magicians.

So feast your eyes
on our next act.

- It all started at summer camp,

when the two guys who loved
magic got to know each other.

Now we live together.
We're housemates.

So we've got dozens
of decks of cards,

thousands of books, and
two weirdos doing tricks.

- And two wizard
costumes, but I'm not

supposed to talk about that.
- That's true.

- The best part about
being a magician

is it's like
preschool every day.

We're doing arts and crafts
and building new tricks.

Sometimes I interrupt
him to show him tricks

while he's on the toilet.

He doesn't like that.
- I hate it.

We started The
Toronto Magic Company

to produce shows
all around the city.

- We work with
hundreds of magicians.

We perform for thousands.

- We want Toronto
to give Las Vegas

a run for its money

as the most magical
city in the world.

During the pandemic,
we needed to find a way

to keep ourselves busy. So we...

- Took up Pilates.
- No.

We took tricks from
old magic books

and we made them our own,
and we posted them on YouTube.

That's actually where
this trick came from.

- So, Penn and
Teller, I hope you don't

watch our YouTube channel.

[cheers and applause]

- Teaming up to take
down Penn and Teller,

give it up for Jonah
Babins and Ben Train.

[cheers and applause]

- Jonah and I are not just
magicians and best friends.

- Acquaintances.

- We're also huge
fans of the show.

In fact, we've
seen every episode.

And you know what we've noticed?

Everyone comes
on this show and tries

to do the exact same thing.

They try to fool Penn and Teller

with tricks, but not us.

Tonight we're going to try
to do something different.

Tonight we're
going to try to fool

Penn and Teller with science.

- See, for thousands
of years, scientists

have been trying
to figure out a way

to pass a solid object
right through another.

And up until now it's been
completely impossible.

But tonight that's
about to change

because we think we
found a way to do it.

- We've discovered
an item that has

the unique property of
being both a solid and a liquid

at the exact same time.

Presenting the watermelon.

- That's right, the watermelon.

Now, for those of you
that are not experts

in the juicy fruits,

you may not be aware that
the watermelon is 96% water,

which means even though it feels

like a solid, it's
mostly a liquid.

Our theory is that this special
property of watermelons

will make it possible to pass
a solid object right through it

without harming the melon.

Now we just have to prove it.

- Alyson, would
you mind helping us

with a little experiment?
- OK.

- Alyson Hannigan, everyone.

- Hi.

- Hello.

Alyson, this is for you.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

- Now, each of us has a
role to play if this experiment

is gonna work.
- OK.

- First my job.

I need to find something
that we can pass

through the
melon... in this case,

two pieces of
industrial-strength ribbon.

This is the kind
that you might use

if you are a macho
arts and crafter.

- OK.
- The second job is yours,

and that is to keep the melon
calm during the procedure.

That's right.

So with one hand
hold it firmly from below,

and with the other hand... -
Does it matter which side?

- Yeah, just like that.

And with the other
hand, gently rub its back

like you were doing.
- Hey, buddy.

- Oh, you've done this before.

And, last but not least,
my job, which is to keep you

distracted so you don't see
Jonah threading the very big,

very scary needle behind you.

- Ew.
- Hello, Alyson.

- Hi.

- Now comes the
unpleasant part...

Penetrating the melon.

Alyson, if you don't move,

this won't hurt.
- Whew.

- Oh, and let me just say, I
know for some people at home

this looks really, really scary.

But, let me just
say, for the melon,

this feels just right.
- OK.

- Now, Alyson, can you
verify for us the ribbon

really is going
through the melon.

Yes? - Yes.

- This isn't, like,
a trick or illusion?

- Nope.

- That's right, this is science.

And in the name of good science,

we have to be honest
with everyone here.

We said this only
works with a watermelon

because it's 96% water,
but that's not entirely true.

- Hmm.
- See, we believe

this will actually
work with any object

that's more liquid than solid.

And since the human
body is 60% water,

in theory,

this should also
work with Alyson.

- Now, I'm going to take
one ribbon from this side

and one from that.

And I am going to tie a bow.

This does two things.

Oh, put your hand in, yes.
- Oh, good.

- This does two things.

Number one, it secures
you to the melon.

- OK.

- Number two, it makes
the whole experiment

feel prettier.
- True.

- You know, I'm feeling
very dehydrated today,

so I don't know if
this is gonna work.

- It will.

- Now, Alyson, verify
for us, the ribbon really

is going through the melon. Yes?

- Yes.

- And it really is wrapped
around your hand.

Yes? - Yes.

- Now comes our favorite part...

Passing a solid ribbon
through a solid melon.

- And a solid Alyson.

On the count of three,
Jonah and I are going to pull.

And if our theory is correct,

the ribbon should pass right
through the flesh of the melon

and also the flesh
of Alyson's hand

with causing a mess of either.

- I'm really wishing I
chose my left hand.

- [laughs]
- Ben, are you ready?

- Oh, I am.

- Alyson, are you ready?

- As ready as I'll ever be.

- Here we go.



- Because, just like
that, the ribbon is intact.

The melon is intact.

- Alyson, wiggle your fingers.
- Yay!

- Alyson is intact!

- The experiment was a success.

- Whoo!
- All right.

Jonah Babins and Ben Train.

Whoo!

Glad I can still clap.
- Well, it worked.

If it didn't work it would
have been horrible.

- So how long have
you two been friends?

- We've been friends
for 15, 16 years.

- Yeah.
- Is that right? It's funny.

We used to actually
be solo performers,

but in the last two years we
started performing virtually

and we became a duo act
because of the pandemic.

- And one of the cool
things that happened

during the last few
years is our energy

and our excitement
to perform on stage

has only grown and increased.

So now we're ready
to just go out there

and show it to everybody.
- Nice.

- During the pandemic,
we even invented magic

to keep ourselves
busy, and that's

where this came from.
- A-ha.

- They call it, as it
is, a pandemic baby.

- [laughs]
- This is our baby.

- It actually started
because Jonah's mom,

when she buys melons,
she slaps the melons.

And we saw her
doing it once and we

asked her why she
did it. And she said...

- She said that
she doesn't know,

but people just slap
the melons at the store.

- Well, that's how you
tell if it's a good melon.

- Yeah. But we thought
it looked really funny

and we thought it
sort of felt magical.

And we started working
on a trick with the melon.

Who would have thought it
would take us all the way here?

- [laughs] All right.

Let's see if your trick
with the watermelon

can produce a trophy.

- Oh, my goodness.

- [sighs]

Jonah and Ben, first
thing I said to Teller

when you finished was
why didn't we think of that.

[laughter]

We got all the
stuff going for us.

We're two people.

We can afford a watermelon.

And, boy, that's a great trick.

We were very interested at first

when you said we're
going to pass a watermelon.

We thought, this is a
whole different thing,

and very, very scientific.

But it's a great trick,
and really funny,

and really simple,
and really wonderful.

First of all, I just want to get

off the subject for a second.

The necklace you're wearing...

Did you get that...

Is that part of the shows
or is that your mother's

mother's necklace?

- [laughs] It's for the show.

- OK. OK.

But what I'm...
Getting back to this...

I'm sorry I was
distracted by that.

But getting back
to this, Teller and I

were looking into
this basic principle

and we spent... for this season,

for one of our closers,

we worked several
sessions on this

trying to solve the problems
that you solved like that

with your watermelon.

So we are really,
really impressed

because it's as
though... you know,

we actually went down
that road and failed,

and you went down that road
and completely succeeded.

But because we worked on it,

we don't think you fooled us.

And I might have snuck
something in there that...

That gave you...
- I think so.

- a little bit of a hint.

So...

- What do you think?

Do they know how
you did your trick?

- They know how
we did our trick.

- I think they
know how we did it.

But it was such an honor
to be part of the show.

- Oh, well, thank you so much.
- So good.

- Thank you guys.

- Jonah Babins and Ben Train.

[cheers and applause]

See Penn and Teller
perform later tonight.

See them take on another
magician right after this.

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

- Welcome back to
TV'S premier magic show.

Let's roll out the red
carpet for our next magician.

- I was forged in the crucible
of a theme park magic shop.

I did 12-minute magic
trick demonstrations


for over a decade.

And that totals up to


Think about that.

All that practice created

what we magicians
call muscle memory.

My body essentially
learned the magic,

which sort of set my mind free

to think about and
learn new tricks.

But then I would hear the
audience gasp and applaud,

which would kind of bring
you back to the moment.

And I realized, oh yeah,
I must have just done

something amazing and cool.

This theater is my
home these days.

It's a great space where
I perform parlor close up

and even stage magic
all in the same show.

But my favorite setting is here,

doing parlor magic...

Larger in scope than close up,

but more intimate than stage.

And much like Goldilocks,
it feels just right for me.

If I really connect
with the audience,

I can usually tell because
they don't want to leave.

They just want to stick
around and talk to the magician.

It makes me
feel like I've really

given them something special.

Penn, Teller, when I'm finished,

stick around.

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

- Give it up for Orlando's
own Jason Fields.

[lively acoustic music]

♪ ♪

[audience exclaims]

[music continues]

♪ ♪

[applause]

♪ ♪

[audience exclaims]

♪ ♪

[applause]

♪ ♪

[audience exclaims]

♪ ♪

[audience exclaims]

♪ ♪

[applause]

♪ ♪

[applause]

♪ ♪

[audience exclaims]

♪ ♪

[audience exclaims]

♪ ♪

[applause]

[cheers and applause]

- Jason Fields!

Hi. - Hello.

- So you call yourself
a parlor magician.

- Yeah.

Parlor is really fascinating.

It's like, this sort
of intimate hybrid

between close up and stage.

The thing I love about my
current venue where I perform

is it feels much like
my own living room.

So because we have this
relaxed sort of vibe to the space,

we're all just having fun.

So all the pressure's
off at that point.

- What's your absolute
favorite thing about magic?

- My favorite thing about
magic is if you could, like, just

look under the hood and
see all that goes together

to make a magic effect
perfect, it's a master class

in problem solving
and cleverness.

And it makes me feel
almost a sense of honor

to be counted among
people who are able to do this.

- All right, Jason, let's
see if our magic experts

know how you did your trick.

- All right.

- Hey, Jason, we really...

We really loved that.

It's really great.

You're doing... what's
really nice is you're working

under so much
pressure, and there's

so much grace and
comfort. You know?

The... you're always
trying to conceal

how hard you're working
when you're doing magic.

And this thing looks
completely effortless,

and it is anything but that.

- Yeah.

- And both of us
knew Jerry Andrus,

and Jerry Andrus did a
thing called Zone Zero,

which this is based on.
- Mm-hmm.

- But you a much
harder version of this.

It's much harder than
Jerry Andrus's Zone Zero.

And I'm a juggler.
- Uh-huh.

- And I know that
although this is a magic trick

and it is miraculous,
there is just a wicked crazy

lot amount of juggling going on.

It's just really...
It's amazing how...

You know, the purpose
of art is to conceal the art.

- Yeah.

- And you do such
a wonderful job

of concealing everything and not

collapsing under the pressure.
- Yeah.

- And your suit
coat's still fitting

really nicely while you're
moving around like that.

It's just... it's
beautifully done.

And this is one of those
tricks that if you knew

how it was done you'd
be just as impressed.

We're not gonna give
away how it's done.

I think when I say Jerry
Andrus and Zone Zero,

I think you know
what I'm talking about.

Is that right, Jason?
- Yeah.

Well, thank you very
much. I appreciate that.

- OK.

So they know how
you did your trick?

- Oh, he's pretty much spot on.

He knows what's
happening under the hood.

- All right.

Well, thank you so much.
- Thank you.

- Jason Fields!

[cheers and applause]

It's almost time for my
favorite part of the show.

Penn and Teller perform a
trick of their own right after this.

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

- To close the show,
Penn doesn't need Teller.

He needs me.

So, Teller, you stay
in your comfy chair

and we'll take it from here.

It's all you, Penn.
- Sure.

Yeah, now, one of the reasons

I wanted to do this
with you, Alyson,

is the audience
may not know this,

but I've known you longer
than Teller's known you.

I actually met you way
back in the last century.

- Whew.
- You were just a child.

- So were you.

- No, I wasn't I was a
grown-up and we were doing

a show together in Canada.
- Hmm.

- You remember how cold it was.
- Freezing.

- Holly Wagner
Star, it was called.

And the thing that
I noticed about you

when we were working on that

was you were
really, really smart,

a very smart person.

And I also noticed that
you've changed a little bit

in all these years,
doing "Fool Us,"

not that you've
gotten less smart.

Now, I asked you to do
something a little strange

during the break.
- Yes.

- What did I ask
you to do, Alyson?

- To put some tape on my butt.

- I did. I did.
- Yeah.

- Would you show the
audience the tape on your butt?

We have a piece of
tape on your left side

and a piece of tape on
your right side. Right?

- Yes.
- OK. Now, I've got

a deck of cards
here, Alyson, that our...

Well, I've been
shuffling them a bit.

I think they are
pretty mixed up,

but I'll shuffle them a bit more

and I'll also give them a cut.

And what I want you to
do, Alyson, is take the deck.

- OK.
- Take it behind your back

where no one can see it.

Then you're going to cut
somewhere in the middle.

OK? - OK.

- So take the cards behind
your back so I can't see,

no one can see.
- OK.

- And then give them a cut.

- It's already hard enough
to cut in front of me,

but OK. Did it.

- Give it another cut if
you want, or you're fine?

- That's fine.
- OK.

Now, take that card you cut to...

- OK.

- and put that
one on your left side,

with the... with the... with
the face facing your butt.

- OK.
- Facing your butt.

Now, take the next card
and put it on the right side,

with the card face

facing your butt.
- OK.

- So you have one
card on your left side

and one card on your right side.

- Yes.

- And they're both
facing your butt.

OK? - Yeah.

- Now, you can bring the
cards back out, around,

and you can put them in
the box there if you like.

- OK. I hope...

- You're having more trouble
than I thought you would.

There we go.
- [laughs]

- OK, so I'll let you
have those there.

- Thanks.

- Now, you've got one
card on your left side

and one card on your right side.

Right?

Now, I'm going
to tell you just...

You went behind your back.

They were shuffled up,
went behind your back.

You cut 'em.

No one could see
what the card was.

No one could see
what the card was.

You don't even
know what the card is.

As you can see...
Turn around again.

I'm not going to
look at the markings,

if there are markings on there.

I'll look away.

But you can see
there are two cards,

and they're both facing there.

Now, I'm going to
tell you right now

that one of the cards
that is on one of your sides

is the three of diamonds.

And one of the cards
that's on one of the sides

is the queen of diamonds.

You have two diamonds.
- Oh.

- Two diamonds on your butt.
- Nice.

- One of them is the three of
diamonds and one of them the...

- Queen. -... queen of diamonds.

Now, a lot of
magicians would say,

whoa, that's the whole trick.

That's the whole trick.

I didn't see the
back or the front,

because behind
your back you cut it.

You pulled out one
card from the middle,

cut 'em, pulled out another
card from the middle.

They were shuffled.

You mixed them all
up, two cards like that.

I didn't see anything.

And I've told you one
is a three of diamonds

and one is the
queen of diamonds.

A miracle!
- Miracle.

- But I don't care.
- Oh.

- Because I'm the dumb a*s.
- [laughs]

- That's the part
of the trick that's

not as amazing as
what's about to happen.

Because I told you
at the beginning of this

that you've changed.

Because you're not only a
smart person now, Alyson,

you're also a smart a*s.
- [laughs]

- You've become a
little bit of a smart a*s.

- All right.

- And right now those
cards are facing your a*s.

- Mm-hmm.
- And one is on the left cheek

and one is on the right cheek,

but I don't know which is which.

- Yeah.
- I have no idea.

No idea.
- But you're the smart a*s.

So on the left
side, do you think

it's the three of diamonds
or the queen of diamonds?

- [sighs] 3 of diamonds.

- You think it's
the 3 of diamonds...

- 3 of diamonds.
- On the left side?

- Yeah.
- And that would be the queen

of diamonds over here.
- Yes.

- Now, what makes
you think that?

- Well, I'm just trying to get
in tune with my left cheek.

- You are?
- Yeah.

- So it's the left
cheek that told you.

- It did.

- It's the left cheek that
is the smart a*s there,

that told you that that is
the 3 of diamonds and that

is the queen of diamonds.
- Yes.

- So I could have no
way of knowing... shuffled,

cut behind your back,
no way of seeing.

And I told you that it

was the 3 of diamonds
and the queen of diamonds,

the queen of
diamonds and the 3...

I don't know which is which
because I'm a dumb a*s.

- OK.
- But you're the smart a*s.

So reach to your left cheek,
pull out that 3 of diamonds,

and show it to the camera.

Would you please?

There's the 3 of
diamonds right there.

We don't know. We don't know.

We know that you
probably got it right.

We don't know that I did.

But it'd really be a miracle
if on your right cheek

it was the queen of diamonds.

Why don't you show the
queen of diamonds to them?

♪ ♪

Alyson Hannigan, smart a*s!
- Yay!

- Smart a*s since the last
century, she's become that.

- Just 'cause I hung out
with you all these years.

- That's right. I've
tried to do that.

- Ah.

For me and Penn
and Teller over there,

and all of us at "Fool Us,"
goodnight from Las Vegas.

We'll see you soon.

[cheers and applause]

See, I knew you'd rub off on me.

- Thank you. Perfect.