He’s nothing if not persistent!

After falling somewhat short of breaking the world record for the longest time spent holding breath underwater, during his Drowned Alive special last year, Blaine finally cracked it – this time live on the Oprah show.

David Blaine in his glass bubble from the Drowned Alive special.

The record was previously set at 16 minutes and 32 seconds by Switzerland’s Peter Colat, now stands at a frankly astonishing 17 minutes and 4 seconds.

In the record attempt, Blaine was permitted to inhale pure oxygen for up to 30 minutes – though he apparently only required 23 minutes of that time.

After realising his lifelong dream, he surfaced and after a few short gulps of air, proclaimed that he felt great.

Next up for Blaine is another record attempt - staying awake for 13 days, to break the current record of 11 and a half. Guiness no longer officially recognise this record, due to it’s inherent danger.

Now that the dust has well and truly settled from the first episode, let’s take a look back and see what we can actually take away from Episode 1 of the VH1 reality show.

Sometimes – whether you’re a beginner or a professional – things go wrong. Sometimes they go a little bit wrong, but sometimes…they go A LOT wrong. There’s not much that one can do about it, as it’s simply going to happen at some point. But what we do to get over it when they *do* go wrong, now *That’s* the mark of distinction.

One of the celebrities recovered from the faliure by coming back and knocking the same effect out of the house the next time he performed it… The other came back a different way and performed it in a very much more introspective way.

Which is right? Both.

Which is right for you? Only you can say.

As for the rest, I personally found it very interesting to see the sorts of presentations (both basic and more involved) that the celebrities performed, from the simple reformation of a bill that turned out to be mis-made… To the edgy presentation of the floating dollar bill – that could *really* have ended up poorly – Kudos to C. Thomas Howell for having the nerve to put himself and his skills out there like that.

Kim Wyatt’s Card to Broken Bottle was another highlight for me, as the apprentice magician made it seem so smooth and flowing.

The judges were fair, and, for my money, right on the mark with their assesments of each celebrity.

Speaking of the judges… Although Max Maven wasn’t in the first episode, there was an extremely short clip of him, prior to the opening titles.

If anyone can name a magician who could carry off that hairstyle as well as Max, I’ll buy them a beer (Courtesy of the Kim Wyatt school of beer bottle management)

And some magician’s wax.

With Celebracadabra due to hit your TV screens April 27 (this Sunday at 9pm EDT), many of you are probably wondering what the show will be like and how it will compare to previous “TV Magic Shows.” We really think that after you see just how awesome the magic really is, it will surpass expectations. If you are really curious to know what the show has to offer, then you can check out a five-episode mini sneak peak series on the VH1 Celebra Cadabra website.

Go here to check out the others and get pumped!