The Magician // All 21 Episodes Plus TV Movie Pilot

Great !!! I've not seen this since the 1970's as a kid and only had vague memories of enjoying it at the time , so thought I'd take the chance ! Picture quality is not Blu Ray but much better than I was expecting , really enjoyable to see this again ! Bill Bixby is great , pity the show didn't run into more seasons.

A tv gem from the 1970s . Great quality dvd arrived ahead of time and exactly as advertised great service and delivery.

I like this series very much and it was a joy to catch up with again after 50 years. The box set was a bit plain no extra and did arrive a day late, but more than well come. The communication from the seller was great Many Thank S

So happy that could still buy this on DVD, for those of us who are a certain age and can remember this programme and Bill who is just not remembered for only being the Hulk but his other TV appreases such as My Favoriate Martin and the Courtship or Eddys Father, and of course The Magician. Though I must admit looking at the DVDs have noticed that they only ever showed the first series and not the second on TV, honestly prefered the first series, so sadly could see why this series only lasted two outings - a real shame, still lovely to watch and to listen to the theme tune again, and sad that he left us so young - an all round perfomer - Bill you are missed!

This is a little known gem of the early 1970s US detective genre, with the added quirk that Bill Bixby's character (Tony Blake) is a famous magician (Bixby, apparently a keen amateur magician, performed his own tricks on screen). I remember watching the series in the UK in about 1975, I think. It has an intriguing and interesting premise and holds your attention with its twists and turns. Blake lives (initially) on a private Boeing 720 jet and drives a white Corvette Stingray which fits in the jet via a rear ramp! In later episodes he lives at The Magic Castle club, a real magic club in LA. Many well known faces to look out for & locations such as the Pike amusement park & Queen Mary in Long Beach. The picture quality is surprisingly good considering its age. Recommended.

Absolutely brilliant! Totally forgot about this gem of a TV show. Remember watching this back in the 70s with mum and dad. What a great detective show a magician is the detective Bill Bixby is absolutely brilliant I paid£44 and have no regrets at all. Their is no swearing blood and gore just brilliant scripts and acting and phenomenal stunts no CGI back then. Some episodes are a bit grainy but still very watchable and sound quality is pretty good and definitely better than the original airing. The case state ntc but it does play on pal region 2 I have been using the disc's on my PS4. A great magician detective family friendly series you can watch with your children grandchildren and tell them how great the 70s was. Going to a magical theme restaurant with a live magical performance show WOW!

I liked every episode. There was one episode once I found out an important clue to the trick I knew how it was done due to the fact an episode of Jonathan Creek did the very same trick years later. So that ruined it a tiny bit, but not altogether. It is a shame the series did not last very long, I am guessing they ran out of magic tricks and stories to tell.

WROTE A REVIEW BEFORE WATCHING ITEM, THE SERIES CONTAINS FOUR DISCS. PUT INTO TWO WALLETS, WITH A PARTITION TO FIT TWO DISCS IN ONE SLEEVE, IN MY OPINION, THE BOX WAS DEEP ENOUGH TO DO THIS SEPARATELY, CHEAP COST CUTTING MEASURE, MAKES IT HARD TO SLIDE DVDS IN AND OUT, PICTURE QUALITY IS JUST OK, THE FIRST DISC IS THE WORSE, BUT NOT QUITE V.H.S STANDARD, JUST NOT AS SHARP AS THE OTHER THREE. YOU WILL SEE CAST AND CREW MEMBERS, FROM CLASSIC SHOWS, THAT WERE FAVOURITES. TONY BLAKE IS BANNER, WITHOUT THE HULK, WITH PLOTS, THAT SHOW COULD HAVE USED, YOU CAN SPOT THE REVAMP, IN EFFORT, TO TRY AND SAVE SHOW, THE FORMAT CHANGES ON THE LAST TWO DISCS. BILL BIXBY IS HIGHLY WATCHABLE AND GREATLY MISSED.

BOTTOM LINE: A fun whodunit series that uses the interesting plot device of magician hero to help differentiate itself from the glut of TV crime solvers airing at the time. THE MAGICIAN is engaging, entertaining and at the center of it all, star Bill Bixby anchors the mystical proceedings as prestidigitator extraordinaire Tony Blake; exuding a smooth charming confidence. The episodes themselves look & sound okay. My magical tophat is off to the sorcerers at CBS & VEI for pulling this obscure rabbit out of their hat. 5 sleuthing slight-of-hand STARS! THOUGHTS: As a kid I somehow missed this show when it aired originally. Odd, since I loved magic (what young boy doesn't?) and admired Bill Bixby, fresh off his starring role in the wonderful Courtship of Eddie's Father. Why this show didn't last longer I cannot understand. It has a clever sense of fun and plays to Bixby's acting strengths, (plus, as an amateur magician, Bixby did all of his own illusions, which is really pretty cool). There are plenty of 'name' guest stars to be on the lookout for, which ups the value of this set for the curious. My main gripe about the series was the odd decision to re-tool the established format halfway through the season; it's like the producers sensed that their audience was disappearing, so they tried a little hocus-pocus in an attempt to salvage/renew viewer interest. Multi-millionaire & master illusionist Tony Blake, who lives aboard his own private jumbo jet(!), was changed to a working magician who now lives above a magic-themed nightclub and becomes inadvertently involved (or consulted) to help solve perplexing crimes that baffle traditional law enforcement investigation. The producers also jettisoned Tony's friends from the first half (Keene Curtis & Todd Crespi) and introduce a new confidant/helper (Joseph Sirola) for him in the second half. Not as strange (but still regrettable), Tony's good friend, pilot and co-crime solver Jerry Anderson, (Jim Watkins), eventually disappears altogether - and without any help from Tony! What's worse, is that none of these jarring changes were EVER explained. Odd. Still, if you enjoy any of the other cop & detective shows of the 70's, (and there are a wealth of both), then you'll likely enjoy THE MAGICIAN, too. After all... it's mystery, magic and Bill Bixby! Honestly, what more could you want?!? THE DVD's: A nice, 4-disc set from VEI. The discs are enclosed in a single compact snapcase. The cover art insert sheet is reversible, with episode titles, info and a brief plot synopsis for each of the 21 episodes printed on the inside. The clear plastic allows you to read through it, but the discs obscure most of the data, so you'll either have to remove them or take out the insert to read the info. The shows themselves look alright, considering there was no restoration done to them. Then again, this series probably didn't see the light of day very often after its initial run due to the limited number of episodes, so the source prints were still probably in decent shape. Please be advised that there is some slight 'smudging' (I don't know what else to call it), which occurs throughout all of the episodes; almost like the lens on the camera being used in the remastering process had a slight smear on it, causing a thin horizontal section (usually right around the middle 1/3 of the screen) to be slightly out of focus. Somewhat annoying but by no means a deal-breaker, and in the end it was worth buying this set just so I could finally watch the complete series. It's a fun little show. Such a shame that it didn't last longer than a single season. How nice it is now to be able to own it in its entirety. THE MAGICIAN comes strongly recommended for magic buffs, mystery lovers and fans of Bill Bixby.

I am a rabid Corvette fan, and have owned at least one, for the last 40 years. I also loved MAGIC! So put the 2 together, with Bill Bixby, and a JET, and I was in 73-74 Heaven. I was only 12/13. I hunted for this series, to be on TV again, but never saw it. I ended up buying 2 pirate sets, from a fellow in PA. In case one wore out. FINALLY...45 years later, I could buy the actual box set. Just want to say thanks to VEI, for making this guy feel like a kid again. My Corvette/Magic love, has never left me, and now I have my show to watch. The quality is as good as can be expected. I just wish Bill was still here with us.

I watched this show on TV as a kid and loved it. I was so happy to see it now on DVD. All the episodes and the Pilot movie are included and the quality is excellent. I’m very happy with my purchase.

Alte Kriminalserie aus den Jahren 1973 - 1974. Alles in englischer Sprache, keine Untertitel.

For personal use - thanks to Florida USA for sending it out - once I started searching for it! I enjoy watching Bill Bixby - Thanks for facilitating this service!