May 2006 Archives

7:30 p.m. In approximately 30 minutes magician David Blaine's special "Drowned Alive" will begin. For those not familiar with his latest stunt, you might want to read up.

7:39 p.m. Entertainment Tonight is on... Other Blaine resources: AP story before stunt; Blaine's official web site and blog; 2003 interview; Wikipedia page

7:57 p.m. Finally the ET credits are rolling. The action begins after this commercial break!

8:00 It's starting!!

8:01 Doctor: lack of oxygen can ruin your brain. Props from Evel Knievel.

Warp up from host with sweeping crane shots of sphere.

Blaine narration: How long can we really survive without air? Video of baby in the water. Blaine reveals he was the kid who tried to stay underwater longer than his friends. Stunt inspired by Houdini.

8:03 Montage of people visiting David's aquarium, including Chris Rock, Run, Courtney Cox.

8:05 Blaine: everything I've been doing for the last two years comes down to this point right now.

8:06 First commercial break. Wow... this is going to be a two-hour special. Fortunately it's going to include clips of him doing street magic, which I find more interesting than his endurance stunts, anyway.

8:09 And we're back.. ESPN's Stuart Scott is the host. Water is .9% salt to reduce risks of medical complications. Medical tent is nearby. 127 experts monitoring Blaine's conditions throughout week.

Dr. Murat Gunel, of Yale, says blaine as lost 20 percent of body fluid. He has suffered from liver failure abnormal liver function. Gunel on record advising against stunt. Risk of stroke.

8:11 Review of Blaine's stunts. Buried alive at age 26. Emotional moment coming out of coffin.. "that's when I realized this is what i want to do with my life forever."

Frozen in ice stunt... "I was certain that I was dead."

Vertigo... 35 hours on a pole. Blaine: I like to see people wonder.

Above the below... in a box over river Thames. Overwhelming to see such a turnout when stunt was ending. "this one almost did me in."

8:16 Stuart Scott: Start holding your breath and we'll tell you long you made it during the commercial break... (holding breath)

8:17 I made it to the Wendy's commercial.

Aside: His delivery is very deadpan. He'd make a terrible history professor: His students would all fall asleep.

8:21 And we're back. Scott: Just under four minutes since commercial break started. Someone's beside the sphere coaching Blaine on breathing technique. "In from the diaphragm... nice slow exhalation... relax from the toes..." Guy has coached world champion freedivers.

Diver: Blaine does not have ideal body type. Muscle mass means more oxygen needed. Nutrition and sleep will make it harder.

Flashback: Blaine has to lose 40 pounds before stunt... exercise montage. Six pack becoming more defined.

Breathing exercises: Breathe for a minute, hold for five minutes. cycle includes only 12 minutes of breathing for an hour.

Yay!! Street magic time! Guy pics a card. His phone rings... he opens his phone, it says 9 of diamonds is the caller. "that's really creepy"

8:27 Back to Lincoln Center... David's personal trainer: David needed to reprogram diet, exercise -- end result "A good looking body with a sick engine inside." Not sure if that's "sick" as in "that 720 mute grab was so sick!" or "he's sick in the head for trying this stunt." Commercial.

8:32 Spectator has created a snowglobe of Blaine in his "snowglobe"

Champion Diver: explains "packing" breaths.

Blaine does magic at a max. security prison with over 5,000 inmates. "I came here to see how some people live with the extremes of confinement."

Inmate thinks of card... picks queen out of deck. "that's not my card" david: look at what the queen is holding... inmate turns away in disbelief.

Blaine bends bars on prison door. "Ain't nobody can bend them bars," says inmate. (I wonder who's going to pay to have those fixed.) Inmate: "David Blaine is real."

Blaine is in vegas... banned from gambling all over town. Grabs two hot women and brings them to roulette table. They pick a five-set pattern: black black red black red... start with David's $200, "Happy Birthday" to brunette, who walks away with the $3200.

Stuart Scott: Gambling with chips is one thing, but now Blaine is "gambling with his life." Commercial break. After break Blaine will speak from within the aqua-bubble.

8:44 Blaine's personal physician: been with David for all stunts... Is very concerned.

Emergency plan: Divers will jump in if David Blaine blacks out.

Blaine interviews Aaron Rolston who cut his arm off after being trapped in a canyon. Interview takes place in snowy rocky mountains... Blaine wearing black t-shirt while snow falls. Blaine to Rolston, "To me, you're an incredible magic man."

Blaine meets Kneivel, calls him "Greatest daredevil of 20th century." Knievel to Blaine: "Your're a daredevil." Blaine attempts breath hold in front of Knievel lying on couch. Blaine's mouth changes color, he's shaking by the time the 5 minutes is up.

Back to LC... Stuart Scott: We can hold our breath longer in water. Checking in with doctors: Liver function is still abnormal (not failure as mentioned earlier).

8:56 Blaine narration: "When you're mind starts to go, it's the scariest thing in the world." eyes open, but having nightmares... "Somethings not right in your brain... truly the most horrific experience."

Scott: It's almost go time. Blaine has been in sphere for 176 hours.

Flashback to training (Scott: "Don't try any of this at home.")... Blaine; "I wanted to put myself in the most extreme situation... along with 27 sharks." Clips of blaine swimming with sharks in what looks like the Tennessee aquarium.

Tricks time: Blaine biting through, eating glass in a casino. Glass has piece missing, blaine shows empty mouth. Asks bystander girl to open mouth, pulls her teeth out!! Then puts them in is mouth and "spits" them back into her her mouth. "This dude is unbelievable... This guy is the real deal."

Walks up to kids with his shoes untied... flicks his foot around until shoes are tied. They're New Balance(!!). Then he teaches kids the trick. A couple of them get it. It involves a kick, flick, snap and turn, but I'm obeying Stuart Scott and not trying this at home.

Back to LC: Blaine comes to surface, pokes his head out of water... Returns to sphere... time to put on the chains. Blaine has been underwater continuously longer than anyone ever.

NYPD officer enters sphere to wrap Blaine in chains and handcuffs. Cuffs will be in 8 different points.

Doctors worried chains will strip skin of his hands, hense the gloves. Commercial. 50 minutes to go.

9:11 Scott: David wants everyone to know he appreciates all the support from crowd. Current world record for holding breath is 8:58.

Flashback: Blaine training with Navy SEALs. specialize in pain and disorientation, "my two greatest challenges for this event."

D.I.: "Let's go magic man! Just snap your fingers and you'll be there!" "Pain is nothing but a cancer, cut it out of your mind."

Blaine sits in ocean with "swim buddy" (a piece of driftwood) and sings, "I seen fire and I seen rain..."

Back to L.C... Scott: Blaine having trouble standing up under weight of chains. Doctor: water could cause skin damage and nerve damage... may lose dexterity.

Diver: Blaine "eats" sports drinks, water. Commercial. 40 minutes to go.

9:21 Commercial for Lost... looking forward to this week's episode. Can you believe what happened last week? (please avoid posting spoilers in the comments.)

9:22 Back at L.C.: "Developing story." Weight of chains have created havoc. Blaine now pulling himself downward to the bottom with the chains. Will take more energy because he's using his muscles. Scott: "Again, this not something you should ever try at home."

Freediving segment: Freediver goes down to 500 feet, balloon on sled fails to inflate. Woman dies after 8 minutes underwater.

Flashback: Blaine explains stunt: "I will put every part of my body to sleep... Then I go through the alphabet naming friends and family members for each letter." By the time he gets to F, he will be 3 minutes in. "Minute 6, my body becomes a warzone." "The urge to breathe can only be described in the context of torture." "in my dreams I can live underwater forever."

Back to L.C... Scott: Moments way from breath hold. Commercial.

9:34 Back... Buffet of emergency medications ready nearby. Ambulance on standby. Doctor: Airbubbles will indicate Blaine losing concsiousness. Commercial (already?).

9:39 One of the big stories on the local 11 o'clock news is a coyote capture.

9:40 Back... count is almost ready to begin... trainer is coaching final relaxed breaths. "nice and relaxed... Close your eyes and focus."

9:42 Clock begins!

9:43 30 seconds in... he hasn't started working on the chains yet. Stuart Scott calls for quiet from the crowd.

9:44 1:45 in. Still hasn't started on chains. Trainer: "nice and easy... You can pull this off."

9:45 Choiral music is playing in the background. 3 minutes.

9:46 4 minutes. David Blaine slowly begins moving.

9:47 5 minutes. He's moving.. wait.. I think he has a key for the handcuffs!!

9:50 7 minutes... handcuffs are free, working on ankles. He's freaking out it. Divers are in!!

9:50 Divers let him out... his lips were the darkest shade of purple I've ever seen.

9:52 Staff gives him oxygen. Blaine waves to crowd. Helpers pull him out of tank so he can sit up.

9:53 Crowd chanting "David" as he his wrapped in towels.

9:54 Blaine's first words: "I am humbled so much by the support of everybody from New York City and from all over the world (crowd cheers). This was a very difficult week, but you all made it fly by with your strong spirit, your energy... I thank you all and I love you all."

Official time: 7:08.

9:56 Blaine climbs down ladder with just a little bit of help, reaches ground. Standing under his own power. Scott compares him to astronauts returning from orbit (I'm not sure that's an entirely accurate comparison).

9:59 The gloves are off. Blaine says his hands are numb... credits are rolling. His hands are white and VERY wrinkly. And fade out.