Aagh! We've got COC sign!

>>> You can tell he's the star because they hold his credit onscreen for one frame longer than anyone else's. Or maybe they're crediting that tree...

found good taking on evil

>>> "It's a revolutionary premise we feel will breathe new life into dramatic storytelling," commented UPN president Derek Coleslaw.

with the fate of mankind in the middle!

>>> Namely, cancellation after a single episode. People just weren't interested in seeing a 300-pound wrestler cavort like Frankie Muniz.

Judy Sloane delves into her box of

>>> -- Kleenex and tries to focus on the money she's raking in for staying awake through this drek.

tricks and pulls out a feature...

>>> I maintain it's a bug.

Grand Magician Simon Magus must find his replacement before he dies -

>>> Because really, what use is a dead replacement? About the same as a third-rate magazine writer who hasn't quite mastered the pronoun, I suppose.

the survival of the human race depends on it. This intriguing premise

>>> We're not morons, Judy.

sets the stage for UPN's movie Death by Magic.

>>> Yep, the whole thing was filmed on a single freakin' stage. It's one of two things "Death by Magic" has in common with classic episodes of "Playhouse 90," the other being that both productions employed cameras.

"At first glance, the world of Death by Magic seems utterly contemporary" acknowledges the film's producer, Bennett Cohen

>>> "...but that's when Charlie shows up onscreen in a period silk bonnet."

"but, when you cut a little deeper, you find it's also the world of the eternal,

>>> "We gave Dick Clark a cameo."

of ancient rituals...

>>> "He does the Twist."

A world where magic is real. The new Grand Magician must take over from Simon and lead all the good magicians through the next thousand years."

>>> Just picture the pitch meetings for this 7>:-#. "There's this Grand Magician they find on a street corner who has to lead all the GOOD magicians for a thousand years. No, really, it's a cutting political allegory."

Enter Michael Devane, a street conjuror making his living

>>> Hey, for Charlie that'd be a step up.

in the seaside resort of Newton, USA.

>>> Then again, what goes up must come down.

"There are a number of prophecies that point Simon to where and who the next Magician will be," comments Cohen.

>>> "Hey, zero IS a number!"

"But they're prophecies that both good and evil are hip to,

>>> "Whoa, dig that Dick Clark! This be one swiiiingin' UPN movie of the week, hep cats!"

drawing both forces to the arena and creating a race as to who will get to Michael first."

>>> "It's hockey meets 'Now and Again.' Go with it!"

When Charlie O'Connell was approached about the role of Michael, he agreed before they could say 'abracadabra!'

>>> They'd just watched his audition tape... and tried EVERYTHING else to make the pain disappear.

"I guess I pulled a little magic trick at the audition and got the role," he laughs.

>>> "It's weird, though... I still don't remember how the rabbit got INTO my ass to begin with!"

"As soon as I arrived in Sydney, Australia, where we shot the film

>>> editor, whose work proceeded to improve immeasurably

, they hired a magician called Kristo the Amazing to teach me

>>> ...how to wrap large structures in aluminum foil. No, that isn't it...

the magic tricks I needed to do. As a little kid, I always loved getting tricks

>>> from the male prostitutes hanging out

at the magic store, but nowhere near the amount of tricks that I had to do in this thing."

>>> "My lips are still sore. >:-#"

Cohen knew immediately that O'Connell, who co-starred with his brother Jerry for one season on Sliders, was perfect for the role.

>>> "We knew the street conjuror had to be played by someone who'd never landed a job on his own merits in his lifetime."

"Peter Firth (who plays Simon)

>>> Day in, day out. His record is 1,395 correctly coloured button pushes in a row.

and Charlie give wonderful, charismatic likeable

>>> Yes, they ARE technically able to be liked. Then again, so are feta cheese and Neil Diamond.

performances. Charlie feels like a young Keanu Reeves in this."

>>> The funny thing is, that's what Sliders fans have been saying all along!

O'Connell says "As a kid I did judo and karate, and I'm still pretty flexible.

>>> No kidding. I could never flail HALF that far...

This movie is like The Matrix

>>> In that it features a cameo by the film's writers as window washers. The difference is that the Matrix cameo was filmed with their knowledge...

and, in a sense, we give them a good run with the special effects.

>>> Special effects: the only way Charlie O'Connell will EVER achieve a "good run."

The hardest trick for me was a scene where I walk

>>> No surprise there!

across a building on a tightrope.

>>> Speaking of tight rope, who's up for "thanking" COC for all the joy he's given Sliders fans?

I was pretty proud of myself. I did it well, and I was never in a circus!"

>>> Charlie has made a habit of tacking this non sequitur assertion to the end of every third sentence. He wouldn't be hiding something, would he?

Magic plays an active and crucial role in the movie

>>> "The role of Hamlet will be played tonight by magic."

as Cohen explains. "It plays as an element of faith, and as an element of battle.

>>> Hydrogen and radium, respectively.

There's a lot of Jackie Chan hand-to-hand action in it.

>>> The climactic arm-wrestling championship sequence remains the director's personal favourite.

A kind of supernatural martial arts.

>>> On the next "Tossing Over (One's Shoulder)" with John Edward!

Evil has this fire-like power that the Magicians throw, but they don't stick out their hands -

>>> "Charlie doesn't so much stick out his hands as just generally twig out... then he leaves for the nearest Magic Supply branch. Of course, if he had his equipment trunk with him, he wooden't have to..."

it's burning in their eyes."

>>> Evil magician: "DAMN this hay fever!"

When Michael is first approached by Simon,

>>> he's flattered... maybe even a little curious.

he refuses to believe in his awesome destiny.

>>> Bill & Ted VI: Bill and Ted's Awesome Destiny! Roger Ebert says, "Keanu Reeves reminds me of an aged Charlie O'Connell."

"I run from it," says O'Connell.

>>> NOOOO!

"But, I'm the last chance.

>>> Oh, gee. And here I assumed you'd be humanity's first line of defence...

If it's not me, then it's no one

>>> (who would probably deliver a more energetic performance.)

and evil will reign for a thousand years.

>>> Thanks for the weather report, Beelzebub.

I'm the only one who can see the magic.

>>> "So... that's what the infrared goggles are for?" "No, uhhh, Kari makes me wear those. The snowshoes were, uh, my idea, though."

It's a matter of facing that I'm the one

>>> In that case, good luck killing Jet Li, Duckboy.

and coming to terms with it..."

>>> Terms of Endearment III, starring Charlie O'Connell as Shirley MacLaine's latest beau!

COC <grinning vapidly>: ...
AURORA: Do you have any reaction at all to my telling you I love you?
COC <grinning vapidly>: ...