Sat 07 Jul 2007More tricks than treatsTVReview:Magic and reality don't mix well. That's
the fundamental flaw in the BBC's otherwise engaging new children's
reality show, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, where 14 youngsters learn
magic folklore, Latin spells, card tricks and chemistry - and
compete for the chance to become the "real" Harry Potter.If the kids were secretly hoping for something on a par with
shifting staircases, talking portraits, headless ghosts and the
like, they'd have been sadly disappointed. What they got instead
was a slightly decrepit English boarding school - think low-rent
Hogwarts: mullioned windows, peeling walls, the odd candlestick -
and a few fancy card tricks demonstrated for them by a pasty fellow
called Mr Knight. Nothing to blow their little socks off, then. But
the lack of whiz-bang-pop magic didn't seem to bother the small
sorcerees, who were more concerned with the absence of personal
grooming facilities on the premises. Rebecca was suffering from
hair-straightener separation anxiety, while Joe felt the lack of
hair gel keenly. "Ma hair has to be spot-on perfick," the little
narcissist moaned. Get thee to Big Brother, Joe, you can't be a
real wizard if you're obsessed with styling products.