Penn & Teller: Fool Us (2011–…): Season 7, Episode 2 - Teller vs. Penn - full transcript
[jazz music]
♪ ♪
[applause]
- From the Penn & Teller Theater
at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas,
here's our host,
Alyson Hannigan!
[cheers and applause]
♪ ♪
- Welcome to "Fool Us."
I don't think anyone's ever
compared Las Vegas to Camelot,
but every year magicians make
the pilgrimage here
to try and pull off
the holy grail of magic...
To do a trick good enough
to fool true magic royalty...
Our very own
King Arthur and Merlin,
Penn and Teller!
[cheers and applause]
♪ ♪
Don't forget... anyone who fools
Penn and Teller
gets the prestigious
"Fool Us" trophy
and a trip back to Vegas
to perform with Penn and Teller.
Here's our first
potential fooler.
[upbeat music]
- The main reason I do magic
is simply for the reactions.
I have a TV show
called "Tricked."
It's a hidden-camera show
where people don't know
I'm actually a magician.
Chicken salad? - Yeah.
- So, for example,
I could, like, a clerk
at a sandwich shop,
and somebody would order,
like, a chicken sub
and a live chicken comes out.
- [gasps] Are you kidding me?
- Just... [imitates explosion]
- This is the coolest thing
that has ever happened to me
in my entire life.
- I like to melt
people's brains.
A whole brain trust of
magicians actually helped me
create the trick
you're gonna see tonight...
A squad of illusionists
specifically to fool
Penn and Teller.
So watch out.
We're coming for you.
If I do stump them,
I want to do it in a way
that'll make them respect me.
No red herrings,
no weird moves to make
them think something else...
I want to be
an honorable fooler.
[cheers and applause]
- Please welcome the manic
magic of Eric LeClerc.
- [screams]
Yeah!
Whoo! What's up, everybody?
Whoo!
Look, Mom, I made it to Vegas!
This is for all the other moms.
And some dads.
You know,
when I heard I was gonna be
on "Penn & Teller: Fool Us,"
I nearly shipped myself,
because it's cheaper
than plane tickets.
And...
No, ship, ship myself,
like, in a box... shipping.
In a box.
I realize that is a dad joke.
I'm allowed one,
even though I don't have kids.
Whoo! Big win! [applause]
That gets applause?
I'm into it. I'm into it!
[applause continues]
Hi.
Ladies and gentlemen,
our experiment today
is gonna require
the use of an assistant.
And who do we have here?
- Fabian.
- Fabian, everybody!
[cheers and applause]
Fabian, think of this.
One in 52...
Those are the odds
that most magicians use
to prove their magical powers.
Somebody picks a card,
they put it back in the deck
after signing it.
Amongst 51 other possibilities,
the magician
always finds the card.
Pretty amazing.
Pretty good odds.
- Yes, sir.
- But not good enough
for "Penn & Teller: Fool Us."
Today my odds of success
aren't going to be one in 52,
but rather one in 26,497
Styrofoam packing peanuts.
Four hundred and six...
Four hundred and seven...
Seventy-two...
There's just a lot.
There's a lot
of packing peanuts.
Your honors,
may I approach the bench?
[upbeat music]
- Oh, this is great.
- Oh, before I do,
nobody has a peanut allergy?
- I d... [laughs]
- Okay.
Teller, I'd like you
to please go ahead.
Pick a peanut, any peanut.
That's great. And with this pen,
I'd like you to write
your favorite amendment
from the Bill of Rights
on the peanut.
Just initial both sides,
is fine.
Thank you. While they do that,
Fabian, you and I
are going to mix this box.
We're gonna lift it in the air.
We shake it like this.
You can go like this, too.
Like that.
- Oh.
- Great. Place it down.
Thank you very much.
You can have a seat.
Teller, how is that
packing peanut going?
Perfect.
I don't want to touch it
with my hands.
♪ ♪
It is now time to reunite
our poor lone packing peanut
with its friends and family.
♪ ♪
Bye, little buddy.
All right, Fabian,
here's the fun part.
Let's mix this box up.
Go ahead.
You can close your flap.
That's great.
How about now, Fabian?
Are you having fun?
- A lot.
- Yeah, a lot now.
That's great.
Okay, so take your right hand.
Place it on top just like this.
We're gonna lift the box up,
and now's our time to shine.
Go ahead. Shake it, Fabian.
Shake it
like your mama gave you.
Come on. Put your back into it.
Like this, Fabian. - Oh.
- Put your back into it.
Your back into... like this...
Upside down, upside down.
Yeah. - Okay.
[laughter]
- Thank you very much.
Fabian, behind you,
you will find rollers
with industrial-strength glue.
- Uh-huh.
- I'd like you to go ahead
and dip the rollers
into the glue.
♪ ♪
Perfect.
Here's the fun part.
You're going to douse me
in that glue.
Let me show you how.
Just like this.
♪ ♪
[audience oohs]
♪ ♪
Fabian, can you do my back?
Just rub it in like sunscreen,
Fabian, yeah.
You get in there.
You get in there.
All the nooks
and crannies, buddy.
Needless to say, my parents
are very proud
of my life choices.
[laughter]
All right, Fabian,
here's what's gonna happen.
I'm gonna blindfold myself...
and jump in that box.
Ugh.
Fabian, for right now,
you can go and have a seat.
When I jump in the box,
the audience will join you,
the nice countdown
from 20 to one.
You're gonna start it for them.
Everybody, Fabian...
[cheers and applause]
[exhales sharply]
[chuckles]
Here we go.
All: 20, 19, 18,
17, 16, 15, 14,
13, 12, 11,
ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five, four,
three, two, one.
[cheers and applause]
[drumroll]
[rim shot]
[audience murmuring]
[gulps]
[cheers and applause]
[laughter]
- Eric LeClerc!
[cheers and applause continue]
Nice to air-meet you.
This is a messy act to practice.
- Yeah. I mean, you guys have
people here to clean this up.
- No, I know, but at your house.
- Yeah.
- Like, do you practice
at your house
will all these peanuts?
- I did practice this.
It was a big mess.
Worth it, though.
- Yes.
- Yeah.
- Well, let's see
if the boys went nuts
trying to solve your trick.
Boys?
- What a great routine.
- Thank you.
- You know, we've been trying
for, what, 30 years,
to come up with a really good
needle-in-a-haystack routine
and using a little bit...
Although not as well
as you did...
A little bit of that premise,
needle in a haystack...
- Right.
- Finding something impossible.
- Yes.
- It's really, really good.
And it's also great
to see someone
who really understands
what this show is about.
- Thank you so much.
- The show is called "Fool Us."
But the real reason
for this show
is for people to come on
and do fabulous,
original magic...
[applause]
And be funny and entertaining
every step of the way.
I have to ask you a question.
Teller thought you had
some sort of container.
We're not
gonna describe it exactly,
but some sort of jar
or something
that you carefully placed
the hero in,
and I thought I remembered it
actually fluttering down.
But did you place it...
Was it carefully placed?
- It was let go
at about right here.
Just...
- Okay, well, like I said, Eric,
the important part of the show
is to do a really entertaining,
wonderful piece
of innovative magic
that the whole audience loves,
and the part of the show
that doesn't matter
nearly as much
is the fact that you fooled us.
- Yeah!
[cheers and applause]
Can I shake your hand?
- Really great job.
Really great.
- Oh, I was so scared you
were gonna hug me.
[cheers and applause continue]
Yay!
Whoo! Eric LeClerc!
- Oh, my God.
- Thank you!
Whoo-hoo!
I thought Penn and Teller
knew every trick in the book,
but looks like
they skipped a page.
We'll let them
study up during the break.
Stay close.
[cheers and applause]
[jazz music]
[cheers and applause]
- Welcome back.
If you're just joining us,
you missed Penn and Teller
getting fooled.
Maybe you can see it
happen again with our next act.
- I started doing magic
to get girls.
As a teenager,
I was bedeviled by insecurity,
and I wondered what would make
the opposite sex admire me.
Then a friend of mine
made a toothpick disappear,
and it totally freaked me out.
He showed me the method,
and it seemed doable.
Playing around
with illusions changed me.
To perform takes confidence,
so I had to find some inside me.
I tried out for "Fool Us"
because I met a famous magician,
and he told me that I wasn't
good enough to be on the show.
So I worked hard
on an original illusion,
and, amazingly...
I'm here.
I'm still
terribly afraid at times.
I constantly move
between joy and self-doubt.
Which will win out?
[chuckles]
I guess we're about to see.
Tonight on "Fool Us," I will
hurl myself into the abyss,
and hopefully my magic
will catch me.
[applause]
- Here with a randomly
pre-selected host of the show
is Dev Sherman!
[cheers and applause]
- I feel like
I'm standing in a dream...
an absolutely incredible dream.
I can't believe that
I get to show a magic trick
in front of two of the greatest
magicians alive.
I can't... I can't believe it.
- Aw.
- [laughs]
[cheers and applause]
I never thought
that I was actually good enough
to be here.
Never. [dramatic tone]
- That's because
you're not good enough.
You're just an average,
ordinary magician.
Look at your suit.
There's a stain
on your pocket square.
- [sighs] Sorry about that.
That's the voice
of my inner critic.
Um, he gets really
annoying and loud,
especially when
I'm about to do magic, right?
And sometimes... Hold on.
If I just...
do that.
No more stain. - Ahh.
- Thank you.
Yeah, sometimes
I can't keep him quiet.
So what I do is I draw.
- Oh.
- I draw symbols
that have a magical effect
on me, right?
First I draw waves.
Let me show you.
Let me show you what I draw.
First, I draw waves.
Can you see that?
Yeah, perfect.
[exhales sharply]
Waves because they remind me
to breathe, right?
Like, they rise and fall.
They remind me to breathe in...
[inhales deeply]
- [breathing deeply]
- And breathe out.
[exhales deeply]
- Oh.
- [laughs]
That's fine. - Okay.
- It calms me down, right?
And then we draw a fish hook.
[exhales sharply] Fish hook.
- Oh.
- A fish hook
signifies strength
and determination.
So every time I draw it,
I feel stronger
and more determined.
- Okay.
- And then finally
I draw the lotus.
The lotus... [exhales sharply]
Signifies purity.
[exhales sharply]
Purity because it grows
in these dark, dirty,
muddy conditions,
but it blooms
into this beautiful flower.
So it makes me feel like,
even though my inner critic
is clearly not very nice to me,
I can still do
beautiful magic...
like this.
So we have one,
two, three, four cards,
and one of them
has symbols on them.
But if I wave...
This printed to two cards.
If I wave again...
now they're on three.
And one more time...
One, two, three, four.
Every card.
One, two, three...
[dramatic tone]
- That's not beautiful magic.
It's only four cards.
- Let's do more, then.
Let's do more.
Why not, right?
If not four, then more.
Right, all it takes,
all I have to do...
is spread, take one of these,
do a fancy thing,
and wave.
Do you want to wave as well?
- Hey.
- Very magical.
- Nice.
- Good job. [laughs]
All right, everybody,
breathe in.
[inhales deeply]
[exhales deeply]
- Wow!
[cheers and applause]
- Let's try...
Let's try one more thing.
Can you make a cup
with your hands?
All right, see,
if I give the symbols...
It doesn't work every time,
but if I give
the symbols a rub...
they come off.
Give them a shake.
Shake them in your hands.
Shake them. Yeah, nice.
Good shaking. Well done.
All right, so you've got
the symbols in your hand,
and I have a few more cards
without any symbols on them.
Right? Have a look
and just name any one of these.
- Uh, five of diamonds.
- Five of diamonds?
Perfect, all right.
Think about the fish hook.
With strength and determination,
throw the symbols
onto the five of diamonds.
One, two, three.
[magical whoosh]
[exhales sharply]
Only one card.
Only one card
has the symbols on them.
And you named a specific card.
What was it,
the five of diamonds?
- Mm-hmm.
- And you just named it, right?
- Just named it.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- The five of...
[dramatic tone] - I told you.
I told you you couldn't do it.
You don't belong here.
- [panting]
[sighs]
Five of diamonds?
Five of diamonds.
- Wow.
[cheers and applause]
Dev Sherman,
ladies and gentlemen!
Wow.
Aw. I don't think
you should ever listen
to that voice again.
- Okay, thank you.
- I was really touched
by how excited you are
to perform
in front of Penn and Teller.
- Yeah, I didn't ever imagine
I'd be here.
My God, I can't believe it,
so... I still can't believe it.
[both laughing]
- So what is your favorite
performance ever,
besides this one?
- Oh, okay.
So, when I was in university,
I went to Nepal
with a bunch of other students,
and I started showing magic
to, like, a few kids
over there, and they loved it.
And I couldn't speak
a word of theirs,
and they couldn't speak, like,
a word of mine... of my language.
And yet everyone loved it.
Everyone reacted.
It was a really
special performance.
- Oh, I can only imagine.
- Yeah.
- All right, it's time
to find out if Penn and Teller
know how you did your trick.
- All right, great.
- Hey, Dev.
- Hi.
- Boy, really nice.
You did that thing
we love in magic
where you do three sections
that look like
they're the same subject,
same plot, same ideas,
but totally different methods,
and that's always
a really good way to fool.
- Yeah.
- And there's a...
I think you are familiar
with our good friends
Count Elmsley...
- Oh, yeah, absolutely.
- I think you've heard of him.
And Señor Asconio,
I think you've also...
- Yeah, I know him as well.
- You probably...
Two of our friends
you've bumped into
now and again.
- Lovely people.
- And there was a symmetry
to your act and the way
things were laid out
that was really beautiful,
the way it comes back in,
and the idea of the inner
critic was very good.
You're very rough on yourself
with the inner critic.
- [laughs]
- But then it was
a smooth performance
all the way through.
- Cool, thank you.
- Really, really, really nice
and a really nice idea.
And we hope in all of that
that we gave you enough
slid in there.
I don't want to give away...
- Oh, yeah, totally.
- Oh, good, good, good.
- Absolutely.
- So you didn't fool them.
- Nah, I didn't fool them.
- Oh, well, thank you so much.
Dev Sherman!
- Thank you.
[cheers and applause]
- Up next, Penn and Teller
take on more magic tricks.
And later, Penn and Teller
perform one of their very own.
Stick around.
[applause]
[jazz music]
[cheers and applause]
- Welcome back.
It's time
for another amazing magician.
Take a look.
[laughs]
[cheers and applause]
Please welcome Conan Liu!
[cheers and applause]
- Hello, guys.
My name is Conan Liu,
and I'm from China.
Growing up,
my dad always tells me,
"A cup of tea a day
keeps the doctor away."
China's tea
is very good for health
because it's originated
from the natural tea leaves.
But modern people
will also mix in...
a tea bag,
which is convenient
and portable.
Alyson,
do you want to check it out?
- Sure.
- Ladies and gentlemen, Alyson!
- Oh, thanks.
- Hello, Alyson.
- Hi.
- Give it a touch.
- Does it... does it...
- Yeah?
It feels like
a real tea bag, right?
- Absolutely.
- And I'm gonna
go back to it later.
I'm gonna place it right here.
You know what, Alyson?
To make a cup of tea,
we'll need a container,
which is...
a teapot.
- Oh.
- Clear and clean.
Can you do me a favor, Alyson?
Show your right hand like this.
And hold it like this.
- Okay.
- Firmly, and don't move.
And you know what?
We'll also need some
purified drinking water.
- Oh.
- [laughs]
And... Just be careful.
I'm gonna pour the water
into the teapot like this.
- Okay.
- And...
All right, let's give it a try.
Can you tilt it a little?
Yeah.
Okay, it's water, right?
- Yes.
- It's water, okay.
Tastes good.
And check this out...
The tea bag...
Watch.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Whoa!
[applause]
- Alyson, you know what?
I will take this for you.
This is for you.
It looks like tea.
You can smell it.
Does it smell like tea? - Yes.
- It smells like tea.
You can take a sip.
Is it tea? - Yes, it's good tea.
- It is tea!
Ladies and gentlemen, Alyson!
- That's amazing!
[cheers and applause]
- Thank you, but that's just
a gift for Alyson.
I still have a gift
for everybody here,
including Penn and Teller,
my heroes.
You know what?
Tonight I'm gonna show you
the real essence
of Chinese tea culture
with this branch of...
tea leaves.
Check this out. Follow me.
♪ ♪
I'm gonna place
this branch of tea leaves
onto the table like this.
As you can see,
there's nothing above,
nothing beneath,
nothing anywhere.
Check this out.
Ladies and gentlemen,
this is gonna be
where the real magic happens.
Watch.
♪ ♪
Go!
♪ ♪
Ladies and gentlemen, meet
my new friend, the tea girl...
Nikki!
[cheers and applause]
- Conan Liu!
- Wow.
- That was wonderful.
- Thank you.
- And really good tea.
- [laughs] both: Thank you.
- So tell me about this trick.
- We have been working on this
for the last three months.
- That seems short.
- It's very hard,
but the good thing is that
I have done
a lot of TV shows in China,
and that's
a kind of advantage for me.
But this
is my first time to appear
on the U.S. television.
- Oh.
Welcome to "Fool Us."
[applause] - Thank you.
- Thank you for coming.
And you do a lot of magic
on social media.
- Yeah, I do a lot.
You have to get your audience
from social media,
not just from TV.
- Ah. Well, I'm gonna
have to start following you.
- [laughs]
- Okay.
Let's find out if you fooled
Penn and Teller.
- Oh, my goodness, Conan.
That was just beautiful,
just beautiful.
Really, really great
and simple and stark
and did not look
at all magic prop-y.
To people at home,
probably the appearance
of the person
at the end was the mind-blower.
And that was beautiful
and perfect and wonderful...
but didn't fool us that deeply.
- Yeah.
- It's that teapot.
Man, turning that into tea
was incredible.
Not that big a deal
if Alyson couldn't smell it
and drink it and taste it.
Lot of poisonous ways
to do that.
[laughter]
Which... - Now you tell me.
- Right.
And I'll tell you on this one,
it's another one
of those situations
where it's a two-person act,
and I was convinced
that it was somehow
a gimmick teapot.
I did not know how,
but I thought you'd done
something with the teapot,
and Teller is the one
that was steadfast
in saying that the teapot
was completely innocent.
And I will tell you,
because I want to give away
as little as possible,
that in comedy, timing,
they say, is everything.
In magic,
and especially in this trick,
timing really was everything.
Timing is your misdirection.
Timing is your surprise.
Timing is everything.
And you had
that timing with just...
like a snap of a finger.
It was just amazing and perfect.
And if you just know
what I'm talking
about on the timing,
maybe we're okay...
We think we've got it.
- Do you...
- I think
I may need more details.
- Okay,
why don't we go to the judges?
They are in Alyson's ear.
- All right, they know how
all the tricks are done.
- Okay.
- And they know everything
that Penn and Teller say.
- Uh-huh.
- And they're telling me that...
you did not fool
Penn and Teller.
- But it's my great pleasure.
- Aw.
- You were great.
- But you were so wonderful.
Conan Liu!
[cheers and applause]
Thank you!
Penn and Teller will attempt
to figure out another trick
before performing
one of their own,
all coming up after this.
[cheers and applause]
[jazz music]
[cheers and applause]
- Welcome back.
Let's meet
our next potential fooler.
- I'm Ruben Vilagrand,
and I come from Spain.
I live in Europe.
My audience speaks
many languages
because they came from many,
many different countries.
Myself, I speak English,
French, and Spanish.
But when you do
a gag in English,
the French people,
they were like, "Huh?
I don't get it." [laughs]
And then the Spanish people
were like...
I don't want to use words
because it breaks
the rhythm of my show.
So I started to mime my magic,
and everybody can understand
at the same time.
By doing mime, my magic
became really powerful.
And I can perform
all over the world
in any language.
[crack] Ow.
For ten years
performing this trick,
I fool every magician,
but will I fool Penn and Teller?
Who knows? [laughs]
[cheers and applause]
- Please welcome Spanish
sorcerer Ruben Vilagrand!
[cheers and applause]
[quirky music]
♪ ♪
[laughter]
♪ ♪
[audience oohs]
♪ ♪
[metal rattling]
[audience oohs]
♪ ♪
[audience groans]
♪ ♪
[laughter]
♪ ♪
[laughter]
♪ ♪
[cheers and applause]
Ruben Vilagrand!
Ah!
Hi! - Hi!
- So you know Teller does
a trick sort of like this.
Is that extra pressure on you?
- It is because
he is performing this trick
before I was born.
- Oh. [laughter]
[groans]
So did this trick
take a long time to prepare?
- Actually, yeah, it took me
a couple of years to create
because the technique
is totally new.
- So it's new.
Then maybe you will fool them.
[laughter] Aw.
All right, shall we see
if Penn and Teller
swallowed the hook?
[squeals]
- That was great.
That was great, man.
A lot of... as you know,
a lot of great, great magicians
have done the East Indian trick
of swallowing needles.
Some of the greatest
magicians in history...
Of course, Harry Houdini,
and then if we want to build
above Harry Houdini...
Teller... - Aw.
- Swallowed the needles.
But fish hooks
is a really good idea.
It also seems like you can't do
the move with those
that you did.
[laughs]
It really...
The way the geometry works
makes it much more deceptive
with fish hooks,
not more deceptive than you,
of course.
I wouldn't say that,
but more deceptive than other
people doing the needles.
That was great.
So we know
how the needles is done,
and we can map that
onto the fish hooks.
Now, this is part of this thing
where the show
gets rather esoteric
because what we care about
is not what everybody else
watching the show
will care about.
They care about, whoa,
Ruben swallowed fish hooks,
swallowed thread,
brought the fish hooks up
on the thread.
Wow, that was something.
And, of course,
that is something,
but our problem
is all with the thread.
We thought swallowing the thread
was the really hard part.
There's a part there with
the thread that does not fit
in the way that we knew
this is done normally.
That was the part
that blew our minds.
And that made us think,
"What do you need
to go fishing?"
Well, you need
very unfashionable pants,
and you need boots,
and then you need
a rod and a reel.
You need all those things
to go fishing.
And as soon
as we thought about this
with the fish hooks and fishing,
we thought we might
have a slight inkling
as to how you did
the part of the trick
that blew our minds,
which was how you took it
right onto that reel of thread,
the spool of thread. - Yep.
[laughter]
[applause]
- Well, I guess
you didn't fool them,
but you certainly
entertained them.
- Thank you!
- Thank you, Ruben Vilagrand!
[cheers and applause]
Don't go anywhere,
because if you do,
you'll miss
something spectacular.
More "Fool Us" in a moment.
[cheers and applause]
[jazz music]
[cheers and applause]
- Welcome back to "Fool Us."
We've got something
very special for you up next.
This magician normally performs
as part of a magic duo,
but tonight
he thought it would be fun
to surprise his partner
by performing alone.
Ladies and gentlemen,
give it up for Penn Jillette!
[cheers and applause] - Me?
Well, I-I do happen to have
a deck of cards.
Uh, I...
I happen to have
a deck of card...
I guess I could give it a try
to fool you.
Just kind of one-on-one.
Would you like that?
Why don't you come up here
and have a sit-down right here?
Would you, please? And I'm...
[applause]
Have yourself... have yourself
a seat right there.
I have a deck of cards
right here,
and I'm gonna do
a couple things.
This shuffle
is for the people at home.
And this cut
is for the people at home.
But you, what I'd like you
to do is now very carefully...
Follow the directions
very carefully.
Just give those cards
a cut wherever you want
and then complete the cut.
And then complete the cut.
Now, here's what I'm gonna do...
It's a little procedural
on this, okay?
I'm gonna take the cards
that you just cut,
and I'm gonna turn my back.
And I really won't look
at anything.
I'll spread them out like this.
And then just take one card,
look at it yourself,
Don't show it to anyone.
Memorize it,
put it in your vest pocket,
the left vest pocket.
And then gather them up again
nice and cleanly.
And give them one cut
and complete the cut.
And when you've done that,
give me a couple knocks there.
Oh, good, good, good.
Now, what you're gonna do
is you're gonna take
your jacket off, please.
Take your jacket off.
And then you're gonna lay
that jacket
right over my hands here.
This way, just like that.
Now, I'll tell you the premise
of this trick right now, okay?
The premise of this trick
is based on exaggeration.
You know that
I exaggerate an awful lot.
I exaggerate
more than anybody in the world.
So I'm kind of rounding up
our experiences on this show
because you are the brains
of the outfit.
As a matter of fact,
with everything we do,
you're always right.
And that means therefore,
I am...
always wrong.
So I'm telling you
right up front, Teller.
I'm gonna tell you
right to your face.
This trick
will go wrong.
It really will.
It's gonna wrong.
It's not gonna go well.
But so perfectly
wrong...
that I might
fool you.
Now, you've got one card.
It's either black or red.
There's no magic in that.
And I am gonna take
and show you one card.
Now, if you were doing this,
the card that I showed you
would match the color
of the card you have.
But I do everything wrong.
So, when I pull this card out
and show it to you like this,
and I see that
that's a black card,
that means,
because I'm always wrong,
that you picked a red card,
is that right?
You picked a red card.
So that is
the wrong color.
And this is
the wrong suit.
So I know
it's a heart or a diamond.
Now, you would pull out
the suit that matched yours.
But I don't do that.
I do everything wrong,
so that's a heart,
which means
you have picked a diamond.
Now, to see if it's a face card
or a number card,
I do this.
And that shows me
that it is a number card
'cause that's a face card,
'cause I'm doing
everything wrong, Teller.
Everything wrong. [laughter]
Now, this one tells me
if it's odd or even.
And I see that that's even,
so I know that your card is odd.
Is that correct?
And I know it's not
any of these odd cards,
ace, three, five, nine.
So you have picked
the seven of diamonds.
Is that correct?
Picked the seven of diamonds.
Pull out the seven of diamonds,
and show it to the audience.
Show it
to the audience triumphantly.
The seven of diamonds.
Now you're gonna go over there,
and you're gonna sit down,
and you're gonna do this alone.
It's just me versus you,
one-on-one.
Mano a mano, Penn versus Teller.
But you need a mouthpiece.
You need someone
to speak for you.
So we are gonna have
a mutual friend of ours,
Piff the Magic Dragon,
a friend to us all.
Now Piff will sit in my seat,
and Piff will do
the talking for you.
Good luck.
- Penn Jillette, everyone!
[cheers and applause]
Well, that was very impressive.
- Well, thank you, thank you.
- How long
have you been doing magic?
- Uh... [laughter]
I've been doing magic
for about 45 years.
- Okay, all right.
- Since I met Teller.
- So still relatively new.
- Yeah. [laughter]
- This is such a surprise
for Teller.
Did you see his face?
- Teller had no idea.
- No clue.
- Teller just thought
we were doing an extra fooler.
- So, technically,
you've already fooled him.
- If nothing else,
I think we may not
have fooled him,
but we certainly surprised him.
- Definitely. I think if you
don't get the trophy,
you at least deserve a plaque.
- I deserve some sort of plaque.
- Right. Yeah.
Oh, are you ready already?
- We are ready.
- [gasps]
- Okay.
- I'm ready.
- Here we go.
- Let's go to Piff and see
if Teller knows
how you did your trick.
- All right.
Well, Teller has given it
his best shot,
and he says that Penn has
completely fooled him, so...
- Well, thank you so much.
Let's bring down the...
[laughter]
- I feel like
that's not what happened.
- Is that not correct?
I think
I might've misunderstood.
Hang on a second.
Can you just run that
by me one more time?
Just whisper...
Just one more time.
He says, "Fool me once,
shame on you."
[Alyson laughs]
That's it, just shame on you.
[laughter]
Teller also said to me
that Piff and Teller
has a much stronger ring to it.
[mutters]
- But if nothing else, Teller,
I did surprise you, didn't I?
- He says,
"No, he knew it all along."
[laughter]
- Piff, thank you so much.
Thank you
for being in my corner,
but I believe
that we have to do this
very specially, just one-on-one.
Teller, come up here.
We'll have a little discussion
right here
in front of everybody.
Okay, what do you got?
We never... Teller knew nothing
about this till we did this.
It really was
a complete surprise.
We pretended we were just
shooting a regular fooler,
and there's
no precedent for this,
and Teller thinks
that I half-fooled him
and maybe
we bring down the trophy
and split it in half.
What do you think?
Can we bring down the trophy?
- Yeah!
[cheers and applause]
- You can hold that.
And we share
that trophy together.
- Aw.
[cheers and applause continue]
We all just witnessed
Penn versus Teller.
Penn even found a way to earn
a fooler trophy on his own show.
Come back next week
for the reunion
of Penn and Teller
and more amazing magic.
We'll see you soon.
[cheers and applause continue]
♪ ♪
[applause]
- From the Penn & Teller Theater
at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas,
here's our host,
Alyson Hannigan!
[cheers and applause]
♪ ♪
- Welcome to "Fool Us."
I don't think anyone's ever
compared Las Vegas to Camelot,
but every year magicians make
the pilgrimage here
to try and pull off
the holy grail of magic...
To do a trick good enough
to fool true magic royalty...
Our very own
King Arthur and Merlin,
Penn and Teller!
[cheers and applause]
♪ ♪
Don't forget... anyone who fools
Penn and Teller
gets the prestigious
"Fool Us" trophy
and a trip back to Vegas
to perform with Penn and Teller.
Here's our first
potential fooler.
[upbeat music]
- The main reason I do magic
is simply for the reactions.
I have a TV show
called "Tricked."
It's a hidden-camera show
where people don't know
I'm actually a magician.
Chicken salad? - Yeah.
- So, for example,
I could, like, a clerk
at a sandwich shop,
and somebody would order,
like, a chicken sub
and a live chicken comes out.
- [gasps] Are you kidding me?
- Just... [imitates explosion]
- This is the coolest thing
that has ever happened to me
in my entire life.
- I like to melt
people's brains.
A whole brain trust of
magicians actually helped me
create the trick
you're gonna see tonight...
A squad of illusionists
specifically to fool
Penn and Teller.
So watch out.
We're coming for you.
If I do stump them,
I want to do it in a way
that'll make them respect me.
No red herrings,
no weird moves to make
them think something else...
I want to be
an honorable fooler.
[cheers and applause]
- Please welcome the manic
magic of Eric LeClerc.
- [screams]
Yeah!
Whoo! What's up, everybody?
Whoo!
Look, Mom, I made it to Vegas!
This is for all the other moms.
And some dads.
You know,
when I heard I was gonna be
on "Penn & Teller: Fool Us,"
I nearly shipped myself,
because it's cheaper
than plane tickets.
And...
No, ship, ship myself,
like, in a box... shipping.
In a box.
I realize that is a dad joke.
I'm allowed one,
even though I don't have kids.
Whoo! Big win! [applause]
That gets applause?
I'm into it. I'm into it!
[applause continues]
Hi.
Ladies and gentlemen,
our experiment today
is gonna require
the use of an assistant.
And who do we have here?
- Fabian.
- Fabian, everybody!
[cheers and applause]
Fabian, think of this.
One in 52...
Those are the odds
that most magicians use
to prove their magical powers.
Somebody picks a card,
they put it back in the deck
after signing it.
Amongst 51 other possibilities,
the magician
always finds the card.
Pretty amazing.
Pretty good odds.
- Yes, sir.
- But not good enough
for "Penn & Teller: Fool Us."
Today my odds of success
aren't going to be one in 52,
but rather one in 26,497
Styrofoam packing peanuts.
Four hundred and six...
Four hundred and seven...
Seventy-two...
There's just a lot.
There's a lot
of packing peanuts.
Your honors,
may I approach the bench?
[upbeat music]
- Oh, this is great.
- Oh, before I do,
nobody has a peanut allergy?
- I d... [laughs]
- Okay.
Teller, I'd like you
to please go ahead.
Pick a peanut, any peanut.
That's great. And with this pen,
I'd like you to write
your favorite amendment
from the Bill of Rights
on the peanut.
Just initial both sides,
is fine.
Thank you. While they do that,
Fabian, you and I
are going to mix this box.
We're gonna lift it in the air.
We shake it like this.
You can go like this, too.
Like that.
- Oh.
- Great. Place it down.
Thank you very much.
You can have a seat.
Teller, how is that
packing peanut going?
Perfect.
I don't want to touch it
with my hands.
♪ ♪
It is now time to reunite
our poor lone packing peanut
with its friends and family.
♪ ♪
Bye, little buddy.
All right, Fabian,
here's the fun part.
Let's mix this box up.
Go ahead.
You can close your flap.
That's great.
How about now, Fabian?
Are you having fun?
- A lot.
- Yeah, a lot now.
That's great.
Okay, so take your right hand.
Place it on top just like this.
We're gonna lift the box up,
and now's our time to shine.
Go ahead. Shake it, Fabian.
Shake it
like your mama gave you.
Come on. Put your back into it.
Like this, Fabian. - Oh.
- Put your back into it.
Your back into... like this...
Upside down, upside down.
Yeah. - Okay.
[laughter]
- Thank you very much.
Fabian, behind you,
you will find rollers
with industrial-strength glue.
- Uh-huh.
- I'd like you to go ahead
and dip the rollers
into the glue.
♪ ♪
Perfect.
Here's the fun part.
You're going to douse me
in that glue.
Let me show you how.
Just like this.
♪ ♪
[audience oohs]
♪ ♪
Fabian, can you do my back?
Just rub it in like sunscreen,
Fabian, yeah.
You get in there.
You get in there.
All the nooks
and crannies, buddy.
Needless to say, my parents
are very proud
of my life choices.
[laughter]
All right, Fabian,
here's what's gonna happen.
I'm gonna blindfold myself...
and jump in that box.
Ugh.
Fabian, for right now,
you can go and have a seat.
When I jump in the box,
the audience will join you,
the nice countdown
from 20 to one.
You're gonna start it for them.
Everybody, Fabian...
[cheers and applause]
[exhales sharply]
[chuckles]
Here we go.
All: 20, 19, 18,
17, 16, 15, 14,
13, 12, 11,
ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five, four,
three, two, one.
[cheers and applause]
[drumroll]
[rim shot]
[audience murmuring]
[gulps]
[cheers and applause]
[laughter]
- Eric LeClerc!
[cheers and applause continue]
Nice to air-meet you.
This is a messy act to practice.
- Yeah. I mean, you guys have
people here to clean this up.
- No, I know, but at your house.
- Yeah.
- Like, do you practice
at your house
will all these peanuts?
- I did practice this.
It was a big mess.
Worth it, though.
- Yes.
- Yeah.
- Well, let's see
if the boys went nuts
trying to solve your trick.
Boys?
- What a great routine.
- Thank you.
- You know, we've been trying
for, what, 30 years,
to come up with a really good
needle-in-a-haystack routine
and using a little bit...
Although not as well
as you did...
A little bit of that premise,
needle in a haystack...
- Right.
- Finding something impossible.
- Yes.
- It's really, really good.
And it's also great
to see someone
who really understands
what this show is about.
- Thank you so much.
- The show is called "Fool Us."
But the real reason
for this show
is for people to come on
and do fabulous,
original magic...
[applause]
And be funny and entertaining
every step of the way.
I have to ask you a question.
Teller thought you had
some sort of container.
We're not
gonna describe it exactly,
but some sort of jar
or something
that you carefully placed
the hero in,
and I thought I remembered it
actually fluttering down.
But did you place it...
Was it carefully placed?
- It was let go
at about right here.
Just...
- Okay, well, like I said, Eric,
the important part of the show
is to do a really entertaining,
wonderful piece
of innovative magic
that the whole audience loves,
and the part of the show
that doesn't matter
nearly as much
is the fact that you fooled us.
- Yeah!
[cheers and applause]
Can I shake your hand?
- Really great job.
Really great.
- Oh, I was so scared you
were gonna hug me.
[cheers and applause continue]
Yay!
Whoo! Eric LeClerc!
- Oh, my God.
- Thank you!
Whoo-hoo!
I thought Penn and Teller
knew every trick in the book,
but looks like
they skipped a page.
We'll let them
study up during the break.
Stay close.
[cheers and applause]
[jazz music]
[cheers and applause]
- Welcome back.
If you're just joining us,
you missed Penn and Teller
getting fooled.
Maybe you can see it
happen again with our next act.
- I started doing magic
to get girls.
As a teenager,
I was bedeviled by insecurity,
and I wondered what would make
the opposite sex admire me.
Then a friend of mine
made a toothpick disappear,
and it totally freaked me out.
He showed me the method,
and it seemed doable.
Playing around
with illusions changed me.
To perform takes confidence,
so I had to find some inside me.
I tried out for "Fool Us"
because I met a famous magician,
and he told me that I wasn't
good enough to be on the show.
So I worked hard
on an original illusion,
and, amazingly...
I'm here.
I'm still
terribly afraid at times.
I constantly move
between joy and self-doubt.
Which will win out?
[chuckles]
I guess we're about to see.
Tonight on "Fool Us," I will
hurl myself into the abyss,
and hopefully my magic
will catch me.
[applause]
- Here with a randomly
pre-selected host of the show
is Dev Sherman!
[cheers and applause]
- I feel like
I'm standing in a dream...
an absolutely incredible dream.
I can't believe that
I get to show a magic trick
in front of two of the greatest
magicians alive.
I can't... I can't believe it.
- Aw.
- [laughs]
[cheers and applause]
I never thought
that I was actually good enough
to be here.
Never. [dramatic tone]
- That's because
you're not good enough.
You're just an average,
ordinary magician.
Look at your suit.
There's a stain
on your pocket square.
- [sighs] Sorry about that.
That's the voice
of my inner critic.
Um, he gets really
annoying and loud,
especially when
I'm about to do magic, right?
And sometimes... Hold on.
If I just...
do that.
No more stain. - Ahh.
- Thank you.
Yeah, sometimes
I can't keep him quiet.
So what I do is I draw.
- Oh.
- I draw symbols
that have a magical effect
on me, right?
First I draw waves.
Let me show you.
Let me show you what I draw.
First, I draw waves.
Can you see that?
Yeah, perfect.
[exhales sharply]
Waves because they remind me
to breathe, right?
Like, they rise and fall.
They remind me to breathe in...
[inhales deeply]
- [breathing deeply]
- And breathe out.
[exhales deeply]
- Oh.
- [laughs]
That's fine. - Okay.
- It calms me down, right?
And then we draw a fish hook.
[exhales sharply] Fish hook.
- Oh.
- A fish hook
signifies strength
and determination.
So every time I draw it,
I feel stronger
and more determined.
- Okay.
- And then finally
I draw the lotus.
The lotus... [exhales sharply]
Signifies purity.
[exhales sharply]
Purity because it grows
in these dark, dirty,
muddy conditions,
but it blooms
into this beautiful flower.
So it makes me feel like,
even though my inner critic
is clearly not very nice to me,
I can still do
beautiful magic...
like this.
So we have one,
two, three, four cards,
and one of them
has symbols on them.
But if I wave...
This printed to two cards.
If I wave again...
now they're on three.
And one more time...
One, two, three, four.
Every card.
One, two, three...
[dramatic tone]
- That's not beautiful magic.
It's only four cards.
- Let's do more, then.
Let's do more.
Why not, right?
If not four, then more.
Right, all it takes,
all I have to do...
is spread, take one of these,
do a fancy thing,
and wave.
Do you want to wave as well?
- Hey.
- Very magical.
- Nice.
- Good job. [laughs]
All right, everybody,
breathe in.
[inhales deeply]
[exhales deeply]
- Wow!
[cheers and applause]
- Let's try...
Let's try one more thing.
Can you make a cup
with your hands?
All right, see,
if I give the symbols...
It doesn't work every time,
but if I give
the symbols a rub...
they come off.
Give them a shake.
Shake them in your hands.
Shake them. Yeah, nice.
Good shaking. Well done.
All right, so you've got
the symbols in your hand,
and I have a few more cards
without any symbols on them.
Right? Have a look
and just name any one of these.
- Uh, five of diamonds.
- Five of diamonds?
Perfect, all right.
Think about the fish hook.
With strength and determination,
throw the symbols
onto the five of diamonds.
One, two, three.
[magical whoosh]
[exhales sharply]
Only one card.
Only one card
has the symbols on them.
And you named a specific card.
What was it,
the five of diamonds?
- Mm-hmm.
- And you just named it, right?
- Just named it.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- The five of...
[dramatic tone] - I told you.
I told you you couldn't do it.
You don't belong here.
- [panting]
[sighs]
Five of diamonds?
Five of diamonds.
- Wow.
[cheers and applause]
Dev Sherman,
ladies and gentlemen!
Wow.
Aw. I don't think
you should ever listen
to that voice again.
- Okay, thank you.
- I was really touched
by how excited you are
to perform
in front of Penn and Teller.
- Yeah, I didn't ever imagine
I'd be here.
My God, I can't believe it,
so... I still can't believe it.
[both laughing]
- So what is your favorite
performance ever,
besides this one?
- Oh, okay.
So, when I was in university,
I went to Nepal
with a bunch of other students,
and I started showing magic
to, like, a few kids
over there, and they loved it.
And I couldn't speak
a word of theirs,
and they couldn't speak, like,
a word of mine... of my language.
And yet everyone loved it.
Everyone reacted.
It was a really
special performance.
- Oh, I can only imagine.
- Yeah.
- All right, it's time
to find out if Penn and Teller
know how you did your trick.
- All right, great.
- Hey, Dev.
- Hi.
- Boy, really nice.
You did that thing
we love in magic
where you do three sections
that look like
they're the same subject,
same plot, same ideas,
but totally different methods,
and that's always
a really good way to fool.
- Yeah.
- And there's a...
I think you are familiar
with our good friends
Count Elmsley...
- Oh, yeah, absolutely.
- I think you've heard of him.
And Señor Asconio,
I think you've also...
- Yeah, I know him as well.
- You probably...
Two of our friends
you've bumped into
now and again.
- Lovely people.
- And there was a symmetry
to your act and the way
things were laid out
that was really beautiful,
the way it comes back in,
and the idea of the inner
critic was very good.
You're very rough on yourself
with the inner critic.
- [laughs]
- But then it was
a smooth performance
all the way through.
- Cool, thank you.
- Really, really, really nice
and a really nice idea.
And we hope in all of that
that we gave you enough
slid in there.
I don't want to give away...
- Oh, yeah, totally.
- Oh, good, good, good.
- Absolutely.
- So you didn't fool them.
- Nah, I didn't fool them.
- Oh, well, thank you so much.
Dev Sherman!
- Thank you.
[cheers and applause]
- Up next, Penn and Teller
take on more magic tricks.
And later, Penn and Teller
perform one of their very own.
Stick around.
[applause]
[jazz music]
[cheers and applause]
- Welcome back.
It's time
for another amazing magician.
Take a look.
[laughs]
[cheers and applause]
Please welcome Conan Liu!
[cheers and applause]
- Hello, guys.
My name is Conan Liu,
and I'm from China.
Growing up,
my dad always tells me,
"A cup of tea a day
keeps the doctor away."
China's tea
is very good for health
because it's originated
from the natural tea leaves.
But modern people
will also mix in...
a tea bag,
which is convenient
and portable.
Alyson,
do you want to check it out?
- Sure.
- Ladies and gentlemen, Alyson!
- Oh, thanks.
- Hello, Alyson.
- Hi.
- Give it a touch.
- Does it... does it...
- Yeah?
It feels like
a real tea bag, right?
- Absolutely.
- And I'm gonna
go back to it later.
I'm gonna place it right here.
You know what, Alyson?
To make a cup of tea,
we'll need a container,
which is...
a teapot.
- Oh.
- Clear and clean.
Can you do me a favor, Alyson?
Show your right hand like this.
And hold it like this.
- Okay.
- Firmly, and don't move.
And you know what?
We'll also need some
purified drinking water.
- Oh.
- [laughs]
And... Just be careful.
I'm gonna pour the water
into the teapot like this.
- Okay.
- And...
All right, let's give it a try.
Can you tilt it a little?
Yeah.
Okay, it's water, right?
- Yes.
- It's water, okay.
Tastes good.
And check this out...
The tea bag...
Watch.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Whoa!
[applause]
- Alyson, you know what?
I will take this for you.
This is for you.
It looks like tea.
You can smell it.
Does it smell like tea? - Yes.
- It smells like tea.
You can take a sip.
Is it tea? - Yes, it's good tea.
- It is tea!
Ladies and gentlemen, Alyson!
- That's amazing!
[cheers and applause]
- Thank you, but that's just
a gift for Alyson.
I still have a gift
for everybody here,
including Penn and Teller,
my heroes.
You know what?
Tonight I'm gonna show you
the real essence
of Chinese tea culture
with this branch of...
tea leaves.
Check this out. Follow me.
♪ ♪
I'm gonna place
this branch of tea leaves
onto the table like this.
As you can see,
there's nothing above,
nothing beneath,
nothing anywhere.
Check this out.
Ladies and gentlemen,
this is gonna be
where the real magic happens.
Watch.
♪ ♪
Go!
♪ ♪
Ladies and gentlemen, meet
my new friend, the tea girl...
Nikki!
[cheers and applause]
- Conan Liu!
- Wow.
- That was wonderful.
- Thank you.
- And really good tea.
- [laughs] both: Thank you.
- So tell me about this trick.
- We have been working on this
for the last three months.
- That seems short.
- It's very hard,
but the good thing is that
I have done
a lot of TV shows in China,
and that's
a kind of advantage for me.
But this
is my first time to appear
on the U.S. television.
- Oh.
Welcome to "Fool Us."
[applause] - Thank you.
- Thank you for coming.
And you do a lot of magic
on social media.
- Yeah, I do a lot.
You have to get your audience
from social media,
not just from TV.
- Ah. Well, I'm gonna
have to start following you.
- [laughs]
- Okay.
Let's find out if you fooled
Penn and Teller.
- Oh, my goodness, Conan.
That was just beautiful,
just beautiful.
Really, really great
and simple and stark
and did not look
at all magic prop-y.
To people at home,
probably the appearance
of the person
at the end was the mind-blower.
And that was beautiful
and perfect and wonderful...
but didn't fool us that deeply.
- Yeah.
- It's that teapot.
Man, turning that into tea
was incredible.
Not that big a deal
if Alyson couldn't smell it
and drink it and taste it.
Lot of poisonous ways
to do that.
[laughter]
Which... - Now you tell me.
- Right.
And I'll tell you on this one,
it's another one
of those situations
where it's a two-person act,
and I was convinced
that it was somehow
a gimmick teapot.
I did not know how,
but I thought you'd done
something with the teapot,
and Teller is the one
that was steadfast
in saying that the teapot
was completely innocent.
And I will tell you,
because I want to give away
as little as possible,
that in comedy, timing,
they say, is everything.
In magic,
and especially in this trick,
timing really was everything.
Timing is your misdirection.
Timing is your surprise.
Timing is everything.
And you had
that timing with just...
like a snap of a finger.
It was just amazing and perfect.
And if you just know
what I'm talking
about on the timing,
maybe we're okay...
We think we've got it.
- Do you...
- I think
I may need more details.
- Okay,
why don't we go to the judges?
They are in Alyson's ear.
- All right, they know how
all the tricks are done.
- Okay.
- And they know everything
that Penn and Teller say.
- Uh-huh.
- And they're telling me that...
you did not fool
Penn and Teller.
- But it's my great pleasure.
- Aw.
- You were great.
- But you were so wonderful.
Conan Liu!
[cheers and applause]
Thank you!
Penn and Teller will attempt
to figure out another trick
before performing
one of their own,
all coming up after this.
[cheers and applause]
[jazz music]
[cheers and applause]
- Welcome back.
Let's meet
our next potential fooler.
- I'm Ruben Vilagrand,
and I come from Spain.
I live in Europe.
My audience speaks
many languages
because they came from many,
many different countries.
Myself, I speak English,
French, and Spanish.
But when you do
a gag in English,
the French people,
they were like, "Huh?
I don't get it." [laughs]
And then the Spanish people
were like...
I don't want to use words
because it breaks
the rhythm of my show.
So I started to mime my magic,
and everybody can understand
at the same time.
By doing mime, my magic
became really powerful.
And I can perform
all over the world
in any language.
[crack] Ow.
For ten years
performing this trick,
I fool every magician,
but will I fool Penn and Teller?
Who knows? [laughs]
[cheers and applause]
- Please welcome Spanish
sorcerer Ruben Vilagrand!
[cheers and applause]
[quirky music]
♪ ♪
[laughter]
♪ ♪
[audience oohs]
♪ ♪
[metal rattling]
[audience oohs]
♪ ♪
[audience groans]
♪ ♪
[laughter]
♪ ♪
[laughter]
♪ ♪
[cheers and applause]
Ruben Vilagrand!
Ah!
Hi! - Hi!
- So you know Teller does
a trick sort of like this.
Is that extra pressure on you?
- It is because
he is performing this trick
before I was born.
- Oh. [laughter]
[groans]
So did this trick
take a long time to prepare?
- Actually, yeah, it took me
a couple of years to create
because the technique
is totally new.
- So it's new.
Then maybe you will fool them.
[laughter] Aw.
All right, shall we see
if Penn and Teller
swallowed the hook?
[squeals]
- That was great.
That was great, man.
A lot of... as you know,
a lot of great, great magicians
have done the East Indian trick
of swallowing needles.
Some of the greatest
magicians in history...
Of course, Harry Houdini,
and then if we want to build
above Harry Houdini...
Teller... - Aw.
- Swallowed the needles.
But fish hooks
is a really good idea.
It also seems like you can't do
the move with those
that you did.
[laughs]
It really...
The way the geometry works
makes it much more deceptive
with fish hooks,
not more deceptive than you,
of course.
I wouldn't say that,
but more deceptive than other
people doing the needles.
That was great.
So we know
how the needles is done,
and we can map that
onto the fish hooks.
Now, this is part of this thing
where the show
gets rather esoteric
because what we care about
is not what everybody else
watching the show
will care about.
They care about, whoa,
Ruben swallowed fish hooks,
swallowed thread,
brought the fish hooks up
on the thread.
Wow, that was something.
And, of course,
that is something,
but our problem
is all with the thread.
We thought swallowing the thread
was the really hard part.
There's a part there with
the thread that does not fit
in the way that we knew
this is done normally.
That was the part
that blew our minds.
And that made us think,
"What do you need
to go fishing?"
Well, you need
very unfashionable pants,
and you need boots,
and then you need
a rod and a reel.
You need all those things
to go fishing.
And as soon
as we thought about this
with the fish hooks and fishing,
we thought we might
have a slight inkling
as to how you did
the part of the trick
that blew our minds,
which was how you took it
right onto that reel of thread,
the spool of thread. - Yep.
[laughter]
[applause]
- Well, I guess
you didn't fool them,
but you certainly
entertained them.
- Thank you!
- Thank you, Ruben Vilagrand!
[cheers and applause]
Don't go anywhere,
because if you do,
you'll miss
something spectacular.
More "Fool Us" in a moment.
[cheers and applause]
[jazz music]
[cheers and applause]
- Welcome back to "Fool Us."
We've got something
very special for you up next.
This magician normally performs
as part of a magic duo,
but tonight
he thought it would be fun
to surprise his partner
by performing alone.
Ladies and gentlemen,
give it up for Penn Jillette!
[cheers and applause] - Me?
Well, I-I do happen to have
a deck of cards.
Uh, I...
I happen to have
a deck of card...
I guess I could give it a try
to fool you.
Just kind of one-on-one.
Would you like that?
Why don't you come up here
and have a sit-down right here?
Would you, please? And I'm...
[applause]
Have yourself... have yourself
a seat right there.
I have a deck of cards
right here,
and I'm gonna do
a couple things.
This shuffle
is for the people at home.
And this cut
is for the people at home.
But you, what I'd like you
to do is now very carefully...
Follow the directions
very carefully.
Just give those cards
a cut wherever you want
and then complete the cut.
And then complete the cut.
Now, here's what I'm gonna do...
It's a little procedural
on this, okay?
I'm gonna take the cards
that you just cut,
and I'm gonna turn my back.
And I really won't look
at anything.
I'll spread them out like this.
And then just take one card,
look at it yourself,
Don't show it to anyone.
Memorize it,
put it in your vest pocket,
the left vest pocket.
And then gather them up again
nice and cleanly.
And give them one cut
and complete the cut.
And when you've done that,
give me a couple knocks there.
Oh, good, good, good.
Now, what you're gonna do
is you're gonna take
your jacket off, please.
Take your jacket off.
And then you're gonna lay
that jacket
right over my hands here.
This way, just like that.
Now, I'll tell you the premise
of this trick right now, okay?
The premise of this trick
is based on exaggeration.
You know that
I exaggerate an awful lot.
I exaggerate
more than anybody in the world.
So I'm kind of rounding up
our experiences on this show
because you are the brains
of the outfit.
As a matter of fact,
with everything we do,
you're always right.
And that means therefore,
I am...
always wrong.
So I'm telling you
right up front, Teller.
I'm gonna tell you
right to your face.
This trick
will go wrong.
It really will.
It's gonna wrong.
It's not gonna go well.
But so perfectly
wrong...
that I might
fool you.
Now, you've got one card.
It's either black or red.
There's no magic in that.
And I am gonna take
and show you one card.
Now, if you were doing this,
the card that I showed you
would match the color
of the card you have.
But I do everything wrong.
So, when I pull this card out
and show it to you like this,
and I see that
that's a black card,
that means,
because I'm always wrong,
that you picked a red card,
is that right?
You picked a red card.
So that is
the wrong color.
And this is
the wrong suit.
So I know
it's a heart or a diamond.
Now, you would pull out
the suit that matched yours.
But I don't do that.
I do everything wrong,
so that's a heart,
which means
you have picked a diamond.
Now, to see if it's a face card
or a number card,
I do this.
And that shows me
that it is a number card
'cause that's a face card,
'cause I'm doing
everything wrong, Teller.
Everything wrong. [laughter]
Now, this one tells me
if it's odd or even.
And I see that that's even,
so I know that your card is odd.
Is that correct?
And I know it's not
any of these odd cards,
ace, three, five, nine.
So you have picked
the seven of diamonds.
Is that correct?
Picked the seven of diamonds.
Pull out the seven of diamonds,
and show it to the audience.
Show it
to the audience triumphantly.
The seven of diamonds.
Now you're gonna go over there,
and you're gonna sit down,
and you're gonna do this alone.
It's just me versus you,
one-on-one.
Mano a mano, Penn versus Teller.
But you need a mouthpiece.
You need someone
to speak for you.
So we are gonna have
a mutual friend of ours,
Piff the Magic Dragon,
a friend to us all.
Now Piff will sit in my seat,
and Piff will do
the talking for you.
Good luck.
- Penn Jillette, everyone!
[cheers and applause]
Well, that was very impressive.
- Well, thank you, thank you.
- How long
have you been doing magic?
- Uh... [laughter]
I've been doing magic
for about 45 years.
- Okay, all right.
- Since I met Teller.
- So still relatively new.
- Yeah. [laughter]
- This is such a surprise
for Teller.
Did you see his face?
- Teller had no idea.
- No clue.
- Teller just thought
we were doing an extra fooler.
- So, technically,
you've already fooled him.
- If nothing else,
I think we may not
have fooled him,
but we certainly surprised him.
- Definitely. I think if you
don't get the trophy,
you at least deserve a plaque.
- I deserve some sort of plaque.
- Right. Yeah.
Oh, are you ready already?
- We are ready.
- [gasps]
- Okay.
- I'm ready.
- Here we go.
- Let's go to Piff and see
if Teller knows
how you did your trick.
- All right.
Well, Teller has given it
his best shot,
and he says that Penn has
completely fooled him, so...
- Well, thank you so much.
Let's bring down the...
[laughter]
- I feel like
that's not what happened.
- Is that not correct?
I think
I might've misunderstood.
Hang on a second.
Can you just run that
by me one more time?
Just whisper...
Just one more time.
He says, "Fool me once,
shame on you."
[Alyson laughs]
That's it, just shame on you.
[laughter]
Teller also said to me
that Piff and Teller
has a much stronger ring to it.
[mutters]
- But if nothing else, Teller,
I did surprise you, didn't I?
- He says,
"No, he knew it all along."
[laughter]
- Piff, thank you so much.
Thank you
for being in my corner,
but I believe
that we have to do this
very specially, just one-on-one.
Teller, come up here.
We'll have a little discussion
right here
in front of everybody.
Okay, what do you got?
We never... Teller knew nothing
about this till we did this.
It really was
a complete surprise.
We pretended we were just
shooting a regular fooler,
and there's
no precedent for this,
and Teller thinks
that I half-fooled him
and maybe
we bring down the trophy
and split it in half.
What do you think?
Can we bring down the trophy?
- Yeah!
[cheers and applause]
- You can hold that.
And we share
that trophy together.
- Aw.
[cheers and applause continue]
We all just witnessed
Penn versus Teller.
Penn even found a way to earn
a fooler trophy on his own show.
Come back next week
for the reunion
of Penn and Teller
and more amazing magic.
We'll see you soon.
[cheers and applause continue]