My deal with Criss isn't that he uses stooges or actors in practically everything he does. It's the fact that he uses his undeserved success to feed his already larger-than-life ego.
I have to agree that that's the same reason I don't like Criss. The whole Ego thing just kills me. Although I do watch his show sometimes, I look at it as a sort of learning experience, you have to admit that the guy is a showman. He's good to learn from when you see how he controls an audience and builds up a trick.
I always sit after the show and think of all the tricks he did that were stooged or camera tricks, then I try to think of a way to accomplish them without stooges or camera tricks. His ideas that are fake can sometimes be made real, which I'm not going to expose yet.
But, he does have a HUGE ego. Has anyone read his book Mindfreak: Secret Revelations? I bought it and read it hoping that it was going to be about magic. About performing magic, some magic tricks, thoughts on magic, etc. Started reading it, there are a couple of stupid beginner tricks at the back of the book, and the rest of the book is about him. I can't tell you how many times he talked about how he accomplished this, pulled through this situation when most people wouldn't have, did this or that because he's so strong, etc. It really just got annoying. Anyway, I've had my say. He isn't a great magician skill wise, but he's a great entertainer and showman, and his ideas are pretty cool. We should learn from them. Peace!
Tyler
P.S. If in of this was hard to read, then I'm sorry, it's late so I'm probably not making much sense.