Thursday night, after the Poland, TV3 premiered Choose a card, the new magic show hosted by illusionist Pere Rafart. An opening caption warned viewers: "In this show, we won't be using camera tricks or a noisy audience." This announcement was appreciated, because art should have its own ethics. But it also seemed like a subtle dig at some other magic show broadcast on the same network, making it clear that, sometimes, the spectacular nature of a trick doesn't depend solely on the magician's talent. Well played.
The show kicked off at El Rey de la Magia, one of the country's most iconic shops and the oldest in the sector. In fact, the two stars of the show are the people who run it. Pere Rafart is always accompanied by his accomplice and partner Pau Martínez, who also acts as his driver. Choose a card It doesn't have any camera tricks or a buzzing audience, but it does have a great comedy routine. Right at the start, the illusionist would enter the shop and pretend to be surprised to find the television cameras inside. They would fake a buzz from their colleague because, in this way, the show would serve as training for the World Magic Championships and they would be able to receive advice from all kinds of experts. As usual, the theatrics and so much justification of the narrative are a disaster. The viewer sees it as an implausible performance, and the comedy slows down the pace and forces them to explain each movement. Furthermore, this idea of advising the protagonist goes against its prestige: instead of telling the viewer that they are watching one of the best illusionists in the country, you are conveying the idea that they are in the presence of an apprentice who needs to be advised by the first thing they find to get ahead. It's true that Rafart seeks more of a relatable, humble, and down-home humor, in the style of Màgic Andreu, than the sophisticated arrogance of the Magician of Pop. But on television, a star must not only be one, but also appear to be one. The route through Catalonia in a van, devoid of much sense or logic, seems to be the excuse to sell the show to TV3 and fulfill the territory. The jokes are bad. It uses the network's repertoire of famous local spots, typical and clichéd. The production doesn't quite know how to neatly show close-up magic. Although the way the magic is shown is honest, there are tricks where the viewer sees it the worst, for example with the signature on the small cannonball. You have to believe it, yes, but they don't show it to you. And yet the show plays on this idea of transparency, showing the cameras and filming equipment during its broadcast. On the other hand, either the sound system isn't optimal or Pere Rafart is often hard to understand. Either he speaks too quickly or he doesn't vocalize. The show has good intentions, but it's tiresome. There are too many transitions up and down, too much verbiage, and not enough magic. The viewer's ability to get excited in this type of format works by accumulation and intensity, and Choose a card does not sustain the viewer's capacity to marvel.
