Does Phenomenon Conjure Up Buzz?
October 29th, 2007
by 
Mentalist Criss Angel and psychic Uri Geller joined forces Wednesday in the debut performance of NBC’s newest reality spectacle, “Phenomenon.” The two entertainers play masters of the ceremony and judges as 10 contestants compete to prove themselves the “next great mentalist.” Simon Cowell, eat your heart out.
TV Tracker dubbed the show’s ratings “disappointing,” but buzz revealed something else. After the episode aired, searches for the program flashed upwards 432%. Uri Geller, enemy to spoons everywhere, saw a 170% surge in Search. But the aging trickster lacks clanking neckwear, highlighted tresses, and any popularity with the kids. His buzz was nothing compared to his co-host’s.
Driven almost entirely by females under the age of 17, lookups for the “mystifier” Angel, his pictures, and his solo show on A&E surged. Other queries—for his videos, his magic secrets, his MySpace pictures, and his biography—also picked up. Our favorite: “how to levitate like criss angel.” Don’t try that at home, girls.
One commenter on the NBC message boards predicted that the ratings will drop off after the first episode. Maybe the buzz will, too. But even if “Phenomenon” proves a bust, we have a hunch that Mr. Angel will always be in searchers’ good graces.
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