Was it mere coincidence that the golden age of television magic shows always included the disclaimer about "The magic you will see tonight is performed in front of a live audience with no camera tricks"?. We all saw at home exactly what we would see if we were in the theater with them.
 
Criss Angel may be able to astound, thrill, and move a theater audience, but when he uses blatant camera tricks on his TV show, I as a magic enthusiast am fully switched off. I don't know want to be impressed with, because I don't know what his audience truly saw. David Blaine provoked a similar reaction in me when he either used stooges or TV-magic camera setups in his specials. It just didn't seem real anymore, if I can use that term for a magic show.
 
The principles of stage magic are well-known, and easily discovered by anyone in a trip to the library. But that doesn't mean people don't want to believe when they watch a magician. I think the problem with using video and camera tricks on TV magic specials is that it turns the camera from an observer into an integral tool in the illusion, and because there are no limits anymore for video effects, where is the wonder? A magician can levitate across the Grand Canyon and never leave the studio; where's the fun in watching that?
 
You can have Criss Angel if you like him. I prefer seeing Copperfield appear in an elevator or slice an assistant lengthwise, or Penn & Teller's bullet catch, even. The camera ought to be the eyes of the audience, and that's all.