A “reality” television show is being developed in Israel that has to be about the biggest misnomer I’ve ever heard. You see, infamous fake “spoon bender” Uri Geller is doing a televisions show in which he seeks an “heir” to his psychic/telekinetic throne:
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – After four decades of bending spoons, halting clocks, reading minds, and penning metaphysical thrillers, Uri Geller is seeking a paranormal protege.
A reality television show being produced in Israel, where Geller grew up, will feature 10 contestants vying for the title of “heir” to the world-famous celebrity psychic.
“The format will be something like ‘American Idol’. We will keep the performances that are most riveting and amazing,” Geller told Reuters Wednesday, adding that viewers with “intuitive powers” will also be invited to call in and compete.
Geller, 59, declined to elaborate on what supernatural skills the contestants claim to have, and whether clairvoyants — who might be assumed to have an edge in predicting judges’ votes — are taking part. He described the prize, simply, as “huge.”
Oh, goody. I can hardly wait. How ridiculous can a show get? I only wish they’d pick James Randi as one of the judges. He could play the Simon Cowell role: “Really, now. That was the worst I’ve ever seen. I could tell exactly how you did it!”
Not surprisingly, Uri doesn’t seem to be that concerned about whether there are any real psychics there:
“This is not a show where people have to prove to me that they are for real,” Geller said, adding that he has no plans to retire. “I just want to be amazed.”
There’s good reason for that, given that Geller has been quite thoroughly exposed as a fraud by The Amazing Randi (includes the famous footage of Uri Geller on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson):
Any bets as to how long before this show makes it to the U.S.? Or perhaps we’ll have variants on it, with psychics like Allison DuBois seeing how well contestants can use their “psychic powers” to solve real crimes.
You know, I’d be dangerous if I were a TV producer.
