Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Penn & Teller Invade Homes With Magic

John Martin New York Times Syndicate

Penn Gillette is one of the most obnoxious people in show business. Make that, on the planet.

But he and his partner Teller are sleight-of-hand geniuses who break all the rules. They’re masters of the “big” trick, too. And that makes their magic specially hard to resist.

In “Penn & Teller’s Home Invasion Magic” (ABC at 10) they’re in rare form, taking their show on the road to malls, schools, beaches, restaurants and private homes.

The show begins with a card trick - the biggest you’ll ever see, as the boys use forklifts to shuffle a deck of sheet-metal cards weighing 27 pounds each. Stick around, the hour gets much better.

Teller performs “psychic surgery” on a volunteer at a mall who probably is having bad dreams; Penn & Teller comically demonstrate the freezing qualities of liquid nitrogen to amazed students and expose the secret behind the old cup-and-ball routine.

More fun comes when the magicians teach viewers a simple card trick, getting an assist from Drew Carey and his “The Drew Carey Show” co-stars, Kathy Kinney and Christa Miller.

Wait ‘til you see the finale - a cliff-hanger that may not be resolved until Penn & Teller’s next special. I told you they break all the rules.

Highlights

“Cosby,” CBS at 8: Hilton (Bill Cosby) attempts to help Griffin (Doug E. Doug) overcome his fear of flying by booking a flight on a tiny plane. It becomes a ride of true terror when the pilot konks out. William Shatner guest stars as a crazed fellow passenger.

“Everybody Loves Raymond,” CBS at 8:30: Raymond and Debra (Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton) fight like cats and dogs when they collaborate on a children’s book - mainly because Raymond turns it into a competition.

“Football,” ABC at 6: San Francisco (8-1) takes on Philadelphia (4-5).

“Caroline in the City,” NBC at 9: Harriet Sansom Harris (“Union Square,” “Frasier”) guest stars as Annie’s (Amy Pietz) former singing teacher, who shows up unaware that her star pupil is no longer in the cast of “Cats.” This is one of those farces where Caroline (Lea Thompson) and Annie go to comic extremes trying to maintain the ruse she’s still in the show.

“Cybill,” CBS at 9: This series has been stretching for laughs lately. This time, Cybill and Maryann (Cybill Shepherd, Christine Baranski) travel to London to replace Cybill’s pilfered head at Madame Tussaud’s wax museum. Paula Poundstone guest stars as the obsessed fan that lifted the head.

“Ally McBeal,” FOX at 9: Billy (Gil Bellows) finally concedes he’s not over Ally (Calista Flockhart). Now what do they do about it? Sandra Bernhard appears as a lawyer named Caroline Poop.

“Brooklyn South,” CBS at 10: Roussakoff and Villanueva (Michael DeLuise, Adam Rodriguez) are witnesses when fellow officers beat a gay couple.

Cable Calls

“Convictions” (1997), LIF at 9: Blair Brown stars as the mother of a murdered son who decides to deal with her consuming anger by meeting with the man (Cameron Bancroft) who, 10 years earlier, was convicted of the killing. Her prison visits incur the wrath of her mother and four surviving sons, but she finds her peace. Though slow-moving, especially early on, Brown’s performance lifts the story, which is based on an actual event.

“Masters of Fantasy: Paul Verhoeven,” SCI at 11:30: The director of “Robocop,” “Total Recall” and “Showgirls” is profiled with a good part of the half-hour devoted to a discussion of his upcoming sci-fi feature, “Starship Troopers.”

Talk Time

“Tonight,” NBC at 11:35: Drew Carey (“The Drew Carey Show”), bug splat expert Mark Hostetler and actress Bai Ling.

“Late Show With David Letterman,” CBS at 11:35: Actor Wesley Snipes, tennis star Martina Hingis and singer Naomi Judd.

“Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher,” ABC at 12:05 a.m.: Musician Darius Rucker, Penn Jillette, Gerry Spence and Laura San Giacomo.

“The Late Late Show With Tom Snyder,” CBS at 12:35 a.m.: ABC News correspondent Cokie Roberts and author Anne Rice.

“Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” NBC at 12:35 a.m.: Actor Jay Mohr, actor Charles Dutton and comedian Dom Irrera. Repeat.