[jazz music]
♪ ♪
[cheers and applause]
- From the
in Las Vegas, Nevada,
here's our host,
[cheers and applause]
[jazz music]
♪ ♪
[applause]
- Welcome to "Fool Us."
Tonight's episode will look
to those familiar
Our audience and even
will be joining us virtually,
but what hasn't changed
Four of the world's
will try to fool
who are still here,
in their own theater.
The unstoppable
[applause]
[jazz music]
♪ ♪
[applause]
To win a trophy and a slot in
a magician must completely
Let's peel back the curtain
and reveal tonight's
- I was actually
when I discovered magic.
I was already a teenager,
which is actually
But that was good for me,
when magic was
and a little more street.
I was never gonna be
you know, wear prom clothes.
[twinkling]
[laughs]
I was good at magic
and when you're young,
trying to figure out.
"What am I good at?"
For me, magic was it.
I still think magic
and I think we can get that
diverse, younger performers.
I mean, I do this one trick
which is a pretty
and I looked everywhere
and I couldn't find one
They just don't make them.
I wonder why.
That's why when we do shows,
me and my friends
"The Magic Underground."
It's not dudes in top hats.
We have this
Magic should be a place where
it's happening
[applause]
- Sit back and enjoy
of Noah Sonie!
[applause]
- Thank you so much
This is literally
And I mean that.
I've been dreaming
ever since I was a college
And I know,
"Oh, a magician that has a
That's cute."
But don't get ahead
It's a degree
Now I'm a magician,
so clearly I'm putting
[laughter]
However, college was
There's actually a lot of parts
Like living down the hall
or sleeping through
or Obama being president.
[laughter]
But at the same time,
of college that I don't miss.
Like, I can guarantee you
racking up that
and I definitely don't miss
those oddly overpriced
I actually brought a few of my
Not because
but more so for the memories.
This one here is "Parks,
Yeah.
$65 for a book
And honestly, I don't even know
for a book
[laughter]
The worst part is
[laughter]
This one here...
is "Advanced Film Theory."
$88 for this one.
And this is a little tip.
If I need a textbook
maybe it wasn't a great movie.
[laughter]
But this one was by far
This is "A Study
by Julia Bradburn.
It was for my Logics
$125 for this book.
And it's not like it
or anything like that,
this is the real twist
so please, Penn, Teller,
Julia Bradburn was not just
She was also my teacher.
What kind of con
Who's about to write
charge $125 for it,
and then require an entire
every single semester?
[laughter]
But if I'm gonna spend $125
I'm gonna get my money's worth.
So, Alyson,
would you actually join me
[mid-tempo music]
Yeah.
- I hope she's watching.
[laughs]
Alyson, will you start
the pages of this book
Just break the glue
- Okay.
kind of mix 'em up too.
Kind of shuffle 'em
so you're breaking
Yeah!
- Yeah, perfect.
And Alyson,
- Yeah.
in college at California State
- Yeah.
psychology and you
of the Alpha Chi Omega
Chill, that's not weird.
It's--it's fine.
[laughs]
- And whenever you want,
give me whichever pile
♪ ♪
- You can have that one.
- Are you sure?
- You better be.
- Good, good, good.
And I really want
that I'm seriously not, like,
Like, it's really--
[mid-tempo music]
[audience oohs]
- Alyson, just like before,
break those pages
- Two piles.
And hand me whichever
Good, are you sure of this one?
♪ ♪
- Pick one page
- Hmm, one page...
- Okay.
Good.
Alyson, will you take
and hold it the long way?
- Mm-hmm.
- Other way, sideways.
And then, Alyson,
And while you rip that page,
"Take that, college."
- Take that, college.
Put both halves
Hold them the other way
And rip it again and this time
- Take that, Julia.
- And then, one last time,
put both pieces on top
Yeah, and rip it one last time.
And Alyson, this time,
"that we put on college
"the social construct
by putting a value on the
- Yeah.
- Perfect.
And then now,
those pages in front of you
and find one that has a lot
- And I keep something?
- Just one page, yep.
- Mm-kay.
There we go.
I want you to look
- Yes.
a nice, big,
Don't go for something boring
Find something exciting, and
crumple up the piece
- Mm-kay.
- You're thinking of one word
- Mm-hmm, yes.
- You can throw it
- Aww.
- Not a basketball player
- No, apparently not.
This entire time,
and a marker sitting
- Yes.
will you pick those up?
And you can uncap
- Mm-kay.
And just, nice and big,
that you're thinking of
Yeah.
- Oh, dear, dry marker.
Aw, man.
- Uh, what?
- It's just not
- Is the marker not working?
- Alyson, can I--can I see?
[mid-tempo music]
You know, it's kind
My teacher Julia
She believed that everything
That's kind of why
And of course, I didn't
but from the back, I was kind
a little bit.
She believed
She believed that you
the outcome of anything
But, as a magician, I always
I thought you kind of did have
of a say in things.
That's why I did this
♪ ♪
Alyson, inside of that marker
you might notice that instead,
there's a rolled-up
♪ ♪
You never said
You never even got
- Mm-mm.
so Penn and Teller know,
that you're thinking of?
- Brainstorm.
- Brainstorm?
- Brainstormed!
Give her a huge
[applause]
We're out here!
- Whoo!
- Noah Sonie!
Whoo-hoo!
That's so cool.
- Thank you, thank you.
- Do you really hate
- No, no, no.
I had some great
- How did you decide
- [laughs]
I was not good at a lot
And then, as a teenager,
with all of my friends
who started showing us
and it was the coolest
And so it was
We had nothing else to do,
so we just went back
And, eventually,
"I can't show you more tricks.
Can I just teach you some?"
And we were like, "Deal."
- [laughs]
And here you are now.
- Here I am now!
- So do you think magic
- Of course.
I was a really bad
before I started doing magic,
[laughs]
and I was able to talk
in classes
I started getting higher
and I was like, "Oh, it's
In fact, if any colleges
and they want to hire me,
- How much are you gonna
- [laughs]
That'll be five grand.
[laughter]
- Noah?
know how you did your trick.
- All right.
- Oh, what a great performance.
Even more than a great trick,
And it seemed so honest
Anybody that hates college
[laughter]
That was really, really good.
And when you add
to make us think
because we paid a lot for it,
that's a really
- Thank you.
And we loved your exuberance
and it's a wonderful,
And we really hope
because we'd love
The moral of this story
that you were forced
and that bugs us.
And we hope you fooled us,
but we think we've got it,
and I think I might have thrown
- Okay, did they
- I think they've got
- Aww, well,
but you sure made us laugh.
Thank you so much.
- Perfect, thank you guys!
[cheering]
[laughter]
This show can't be stopped,
but it can take quick little
"Fool Us" will be right back.
[cheers and applause]
[jazz music]
[applause]
- Thanks for coming back.
As a reward, you get to meet
[explosion]
- My playground as a child
my father built
His big fingers were too
but he still absolutely
and he shared that love
Because I'm a child
I prefer that my performances
That they melt away
just like
It's a step
to be on a TV show
But I surprise myself,
and I find that I'd quite
at this "Fool Us" game.
So Penn, Teller...
let the games begin.
[applause]
- Joining us from Sweden,
[applause]
[soft mysterious music]
♪ ♪
[applause]
[fast mysterious music]
♪ ♪
[laughter]
[soft mysterious music]
♪ ♪
[audience oohs]
[applause]
♪ ♪
[laughter]
♪ ♪
[audience gasps]
- Oh!
[soft mysterious music]
♪ ♪
[audience oohs]
[applause]
[soft mysterious music]
♪ ♪
[laughter]
[triumphant music]
♪ ♪
[audience "oohs"]
[applause]
[laughter]
[cheers and applause]
- Malin Nilsson!
Ah!
You look like you're
- This is where I store
- Did you have a magical
- Yeah, what can I say?
I've been performing
I got born into a family
- Have you ever thought
- Oh, well, the truth is,
- [laughs]
and produce your own
- I do.
Magic works very well
There are so much to work on.
You can work with your hands,
you can work with your brain,
you can write,
And for me,
who likes to jump
There's nothing you can't
and a bit of gaffer tape,
passion, and hope.
- All right, Malin.
Let's see if your
will make a "Fool Us"
- You know what?
of confetti to celebrate.
- Just in case.
- Okay, I'm keeping
- Yeah? Okay.
Come on, boys.
- Malin, you seems like
but...
in your act,
there's so many things that I
And we've now added
confetti!
- [gasps]
- I don't like performers
I don't like performers
and I do not like
But then, you start working...
and all that stuff
You have tea strainers
and everything becomes
And, all of a sudden,
I'm saying,
- [laughs]
This pains my soul...
to enjoy it.
- But that's not
We're not talking about taste,
because in theory,
you could have
that I did not
but if you fooled us,
Not yet, don't jump the gun.
- That tea strainer
is gonna give me trouble.
Teller kinda shrugged that off.
- Hmm.
- But Teller has no idea
how you got
to turn into water.
- So--so I think...
[laughter]
With all that stuff
I liked the whole act
- Yeah!
- So you've been
So get your hand in the bag...
- Five, four, three,
- Yay!
- Throw it in the air!
You fooled us!
- Yay!
- Such an amazing act.
- Congratulations, Malin!
I'm holding your trophy
Give it up for Malin Nilsson!
Yay!
[cheering]
Ahh...
Penn and Teller
Can magic lightning
Find out after the break!
[cheers and applause]
[jazz music]
[cheers and applause]
- Welcome back.
If you're just joining us,
you missed Penn and Teller
Don't worry, you might
- In the late 1960s,
doing magic to amuse,
It was a socially
and I became disenchanted.
And I didn't want to train
it's enjoyable to be tricked,
so I dropped out of magic,
and magic was done for me.
Then I heard a quote.
"Magic is the most honest
"for a magician promises
and then does so."
I realized that done right,
magic is actually honest.
And since I had
I've been a working magician
Magic can do anything.
[cheering]
- It's time for the classic
[cheering]
- Gentlemen.
Penn, Teller.
Thank you so much
Considering the nature of the
you may be glad you did.
[mysterious music]
There's a very close
between science fiction
They both rely very heavily
the flight of your imagination.
And there's a classic
called the "Invasion
based on the book
♪ ♪
But make no mistake.
This is not your father's
"Invasion of the Body
♪ ♪
The original was 1956.
♪ ♪
Black and white,
a story about aliens that
They emit these large,
six feet long
and people would start
♪ ♪
Start taking over
replacing the inhabitants.
You could always tell
because they are totally
For some strange reason, this
[laughter]
I use kings for my little
Some of them are face up,
Some asleep.
But awake or asleep,
there's nothing that
for the horror
into its midst.
So it's a soft, sultry
when suddenly,
[sci-fi warbling]
[imitates spaceship whirring]
Spaceship lands.
The pod creature
[suspenseful music]
You notice the leafy shoots?
You can almost imagine
The pod creature
and the first person
derelict, lying in the gutter.
♪ ♪
He roughs him up a bit.
In a moment, he's gone.
This guy's just asleep
They lay a pod next to him,
♪ ♪
he's one of them.
Somebody sees this happen,
Before he gets
they tap on
♪ ♪
he's gone.
This is Scarlett O'Hara.
You can tell
[blows]
"Gone with the Wind."
♪ ♪
All these movies has a drifter,
he doesn't really belong
He and his little
they're just passing
♪ ♪
But as he passes through town,
they get him
[laughter]
But they're not done.
The hero and heroine,
up until the last minute,
went in a little cave
with a river running
You remember the river?
They're tracked to the cave,
and in the morning,
♪ ♪
Gone, gone.
And that is the "Invasion
[applause]
No survivors,
no happy Hollywood endings
to shield you from this horror?
No.
♪ ♪
we win.
♪ ♪
And win, and win,
and win, and win,
and win.
[cheers and applause]
- Peter Samelson!
[cheering]
Hello.
- So you've known Penn
- I've known them since before
- Oh!
when we were--I was
at the Magic Towne House
and Teller,
he had a job that he couldn't
and he sent me out
it was a humbling experience.
They were expecting Teller
- [laughs]
Did your magic
Or theirs influence yours?
- Well, we kind of work
We've both been
But the thing that's parallel
Penn and Teller
and the work that I do is...
I'm not asking you to believe
Magic is a medium.
It is simply the way
the way that a painter
or a poet works with words.
- Okay.
Penn, Teller?
- Well, Peter, your theatrical
and you really don't do tricks.
You just tell whole stories
and whole scenes,
and it's just terrific.
And nobody has a more
where you're really
and the magic is happening
There's no sense of
it's just a sense
science fiction story.
The rising out of the book,
All those symbols and touches
unless you've been working
for as long as you have.
It's just--you're just...
of the list of best magicians,
And this is a version
- Yes.
to you in code,
to slip in little things
It's from the late '60s,
the best version
with a couple of wrinkles in it
that are really,
And you are one of the greatest
And I think that you
a wonderful, theatrical
and you know that we know...
the tricks we do.
- Absolutely.
Thank you, that's high praise,
Thank you so much.
and all deserved.
- Aww.
- The wonderful Peter Samelson!
- Thank you.
[cheers and applause]
- Coming up,
including a trick
Don't go anywhere.
[cheers and applause]
[jazz music]
[applause]
- Welcome back.
Our next magician
at confusing Penn and Teller.
Take a look.
- I was born and raised
I always wanted
but I got a weird start.
My mom taught special ed,
They taught me "juvenile
How to pick locks,
hide razor blades
I was nine!
If I hadn't switched to magic,
I might not have survived.
I realized I was on
when I did a mind reading bit,
and a woman started screaming
they had to stop the show.
I thought, "Okay,
I fooled a polygraph
That's when I knew
is an actual force.
Fooling a polygraph
Fooling Penn and Teller...
They're like human
that specialize in magic.
[applause]
- Please welcome the mental
[applause]
- In the 1940s and '50s,
subliminal messaging
amongst advertisers trying
without you even knowing it.
Most notably, you would
where they would flash
that you didn't see it
but it hit you
And you're just sitting
why you suddenly had
To this day, advertisers
trying to manipulate
and influence our decisions.
But we don't typically call it
"subliminal messaging" anymore.
We refer to it as...
social media.
[laughter]
Now this is gonna be
My challenge is to get
to make the exact choices
So if you could just
on the giant screen behind me.
And I have an experiment
each designed
Now, first, we're gonna
Now, Alyson,
is the seven colors
So the seven colors
on the screen one at a time.
I just want you to focus
and when the video stops,
just name the color
[mid-tempo music]
♪ ♪
Which stood out
- Violet.
- Violet?
Now, do you think
- Mm, no?
- Not sure, right?
Possibly, could be.
you are on the show,
- That's a good point.
That's a very good point,
Now, Teller,
the next experiment I made
Now, I believe that
That objects inspire you
So for you, I have a test
with a bunch of images that are
But since we're in Vegas,
and you're gonna have
So just focus on the next video
and when you're done,
choose the image
[mid-tempo music]
♪ ♪
What image would you like?
Tea pot?
Now, Penn,
for the last experiment,
this one is specifically for
Now, you're a very well-read
and I know that.
So for you,
for you to choose from.
Again, we're gonna up the odds
and double the amount
So just focus on the video
and choose a word
[mid-tempo music]
♪ ♪
- Penn?
Which word stood out
- Phobia.
- Phobia?
Does that feel like a free
- It did.
Okay, it's supposed
That's how subliminal
So before we started this,
Alyson, the producers
Do you have your phone handy?
- Yes.
Now, these were all
that the three of you made.
[phone ringing]
- Perfect.
Alyson, you chose
Teller, you chose the tea pot.
Right?
you chose phobia.
Hi, you've reached mentalist
Sorry I can't answer
I'm performing on Penn &
[laughter]
If this is Alyson
it's probably because
This is not so much
but more about influencing
If I did this right,
to choose the color violet.
[audience oohs]
- I also influenced Teller
to choose the tea pot.
And, miraculously,
to pick the word "phobia."
Now, if this isn't Alyson
then none of this
so just leave a message
- [laughs]
[phone beeps]
Good trick.
[cheering]
Ladies and gentlemen,
[cheering]
- Thank you so much.
That was really impressive.
- Thank you.
- What's the wildest trick
- The wildest might be
if I actually fooled
I have to say
- [laughs]
- They were my biggest
so this is a dream come
- Aww, cool.
So do you feel like
- At first, you know,
but then, when you start
and who you are,
develop your own
But then I got into mentalism
because I thought it was cool
if I could read
If I could influence them
Then I could influence someone
to hire me for a job.
- Was that a turning point
- It made me realize
that I should stick with.
That this might really
Yeah.
Let's see if the boys
- Let's see, let's find out.
- Hey, Michael.
- You know that book
that came out in the '70s?
I remember both Teller and I
That is such a, well,
- Sure.
are controlling us in that way
and flashing stuff
And every once in a while,
there comes a study
But, of course,
doing a magic trick,
and it's wonderful to use
that kind of...
hokum from the real world
as kind of a basic magic wand
A really nice performance.
I love seeing someone come out
a stool with a backdrop
and do a nice act like that.
But I have got a list of words
that I'm gonna read off to you
and I just want to see
jump out at you, particularly.
- Sure, yeah.
- Provide, bench, friend,
unlawful, recording,
foster, policy,
throw, habitat,
press, person,
punch, enjoy.
So what do you think, Michael?
Did you pick up
- I think I got your messages.
- I think you got this one,
but it's been a pleasure
- Aww.
- Well, you didn't fool them,
but you sure got into my head.
- Aw, I'm glad I did.
- Thank you, Michael Karl!
[applause]
We have one more magic act
and lucky for us,
it's our two Hall of Famers,
"Penn & Teller"
[cheering]
[jazz music]
[cheering]
- Welcome back.
To close out our show,
our living legends
for one of their friends.
Joining us virtually,
one of the stars
Kevin Pollak.
Take it away, Penn & Teller!
[applause]
- You know, Kevin,
we've seen a lot of
and seen a lot
And we've also met some
We have a friend,
one of the greatest
named Jandro.
And a few months ago,
and said, "Here's a trick
And we watched it and then
showing us how to do it.
And we learned it
for another one
So, Kevin,
- I don't see
[laughter]
- Just do our stupid
and get on with it,
- [laughs]
I'm in, as far as you know,
Los Angeles, California.
- [chuckles]
And...
I'm gonna juggle three fruits.
I'm gonna juggle an orange,
Now, I'm gonna juggle
a grapefruit, and a lemon,
but if you'd like me
to change this grapefruit
for a different grapefruit,
or this lemon
or this orange
I can do that for you.
Would you like to change
- I would not.
I trust that you've grab them
- Okay, good.
Now, Kevin, you're gonna have
between one and 10, inclusive.
Now, we'll tell you, Kevin,
plurality of people,
- Uh-huh.
and be like other people,
or you can pick one, two,
eight, nine, ten,
and be a little more original.
What number do you want, Kevin?
- 10.
Do you want to change
- Yes.
- What do you want
- Two.
Do you want to change
- I mean...
kind of, but no, I won't.
Now, do you want
- Red.
Do you want to change
- No.
- Do you want diamonds
[tropical music]
- Hearts.
You've picked
Do you want to change
- I mean, my favorite card
is the seven of spades,
but you seem to have ruled
so I'm gonna go
- Two of hearts.
- Now do you want lemon,
orange, or grapefruit, Kevin?
- [laughs]
Orange, please.
We've picked orange.
[audience "oohs"]
Now, you could have picked
the grapefruit or the lemon.
You could have picked
citrus fruit.
Now, if you picked the lemon,
I would have cut
like so.
And you would have seen
lots of citrus goodness.
And if you'd picked
I would have cut the grapefruit
and you would have seen
But you didn't.
You picked the orange.
[audience "oohs"]
And in the orange,
there is one card.
There.
Now, Kevin,
the grapefruit or the lemon,
but instead...
- You chose the orange.
- Now, you could have picked
I mean, I kind of threw
but you could have picked
You started with a 10
and you changed to a two.
- I did.
and then you said heart.
And I think...
this might be...
[audience oohs]
the two of hearts.
Is that what you said
The two of hearts?
And I'm so impressed,
a new set of steak knives.
- [laughs]
[applause]
- Whoo!
Oh.
Thanks to Kevin Pollak,
thanks to "Penn & Teller,"
and thanks to all of you
We'll see you next time.
Good night from Las Vegas.
- Thank you, Kevin.
[cheers and applause]
I'm not wearing pants.
[laughter]