The Magician

A character becomes interested in magic and demonstrates their skills for the rest of the gang. Usually they're not very good at it. Often someone gets sawed in half.

ALF

Appearances

• Car 54, Where Are You?: Season 1, episode 15, "Christmas at the 53rd" (1961). At the annual 53rd precinct Christmas party, Lucille's brother, Al, and his wife, Rose, perform a comically inept magic act.
• The Patty Duke Show: Season 1, episode 34, "The Little Dictator" (1964). Patty is clearly jealous when Cathy is chosen to be student principal for a week, so Cathy lets her take over. While Patty is trying to teach a class, the students get rowdy, and Richard stands up and performs his new magic routine he's been talking about for the whole episode.
• The Munsters: Season 1, episode 34, "Munster the Magnificent" (1965). Herman decides to learn magic to perform on Talent Night at Eddie's school, and his clumsy act is a hit with everyone but Lily and Grandpa.
• Gilligan's Island: Season 1, episode 33, "It's Magic" (1965). When Gilligan and Skipper find an old box of magic tricks in the lagoon, Ginger reveals that she used to be a magician's assistant, and she puts on a magic show for the other castaways. For her grand finale, she makes Gilligan disappear, but she can't make him reappear.
• The Bob Newhart Show: Season 4, episode 19, "My Boy Guillermo" (1976). When Howard gets a free magic kit, Bob becomes obsessed with it and forces Emily and Howard to watch his juvenile magic tricks.
• Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman: Season 2, episode 131 (1977). As part of the GGG telethon, George and Martha put on a magic act called "The Magic Shumways," but Martha's so nervous about George sawing her in half that she stops the act halfway through.
• It's a Living: Season 3, episode 8, "The Prom Show" (1985). A prom is being held at the restaurant, and Dot has taken it upon herself to make sure it runs smoothly. When the musical act doesn't show up, Howard offers to do his magic act. Dot refuses to let Howard perform, so he starts doing tricks in the kitchen to convince her, and he accidentally handcuffs Cassie to a shelf.
• The Golden Girls: Season 3, episode 6, "Letter to Gorbachev" (1987). Sophia is trying her hand at magic so she can perform in a talent show at "the center" (whatever that is). She practices by taking Dorothy's watch and smashing it, then asking if her card was the ace of spades.
• Newhart: Season 6, episode 14, "A Friendship That Will Last a Lunchtime" (1988). Larry, Darryl, and Darryl decide to become magicians as a way to entice customers into the Minuteman Café. To practice their act, they attempt to saw Dick in half, but as Larry lowers the saw, Dick asks him if he's "done this trick before," and Larry replies, "There's a trick?"
• ALF: Season 3, episode 12, "Do You Believe in Magic?" (1988). Willie gives Alf his old magic kit, and Alf keeps inflicting his shoddy attempts at magic tricks on the Tanner family.
• The Larry Sanders Show: Season 2, episode 8, "Artie's Gone" (1993). Artie can't make it to work, and Hank thinks he might have to stretch during the show, so he starts practicing his "sleight of hand" from his cruise ship days.
• Dream On: Season 5, episode 9, "Those Who Can't, Edit" (1994). Toby gets interested in magic and keeps interrupting Martin at work to attempt (and fail at) tricks.
• The Nanny: Season 1, episode 22, "I Don't Remember Mama" (1994). Fran and Gracie are trying to decide what to do for the talent portion of the mother-daughter beauty pageant. Gracie rehearses a magic act with Fran as her assistant, and when she attempts to saw Fran in half, Fran gets trapped in the box.
• 3rd Rock from the Sun: Season 2, episode 8, "World's Greatest Dick" (1996). Harry learns how to do impressive magic tricks and tries to demonstrate them to the rest of the family, but they're too wrapped up in their own shit to notice.
• Spin City: Season 2, episode 22, "The Lady or the Tiger" (1998). Mike dates a magician named Kaari, and she tries to move the relationship along way too quickly, and Mike breaks up with her while she's doing her act and cutting Paul in half. She storms off, leaving Paul in two pieces.
• Just Shoot Me!: Season 3, episode 19, "Maya's Nude Photos" (1999). Jack is enamored by Nina's new assistant because he does magic tricks, and Finch feels left out, so he tries to learn magic to get Jack's attention back on him.
• 3rd Rock from the Sun: Season 6, episode 10, "There's No Business Like Dick Business" (2001). After assisting a magician in the park, Dick decides to become a magician himself, and Sally joins him as his assistant. They start performing at a local club and become a big success, but soon some resentment brews between them and they turn on each other.
• My Name is Earl: Season 1, episode 13, "Stole P's HD Cart" (2006). At Earl Jr.'s birthday party, Crabman puts ona magic show to entertain the kids. After he guesses the card Randy picked five or six times, Randy admits he thought Crabman asked him to pick a color.
• The Goldbergs: Season 3, episode 19 "Matic is Real" (2016). Adam is enthralled by David Copperfield and decides to learn magic to impress girls, but the only way he can get his mom to buy him expensive tricks is to let her be part of the act, and in true Beverly fashion, she ruins it.