Today I signed an online petition urging David Copperfield to return to television with a new special. As much as I enjoyed his specials from the Vanishing Airplane to the Statue of Liberty and others, his last special -- eight years ago -- left me flat.

For one thing, it was proclaimed as magic in the round, but I know that the Laser illusion for one cannot be performed surrounded. For that reason, I believe David was using a few camera tricks to enhance some of his illusions for the TV audience. Criss Angel and David Blaine have taken that concept to the extreme, and magic on TV has lost almost all credibility.

As I tell my students, the illusion is what the magician seems to do. Magic is the feeling that is created in the minds of our audiences. For wonder to be generated, for the feeling of magic to be transmitted, the audience must believe they are seeing something that's both real and impossible. Camera tricks and video effects destroy that sense of reality, and what you get is an entertaining program (perhaps), on the same level as Star Wars or Indiana Jones. There are amazing images, but no magical experience.

It's no surprise that the golden age of magic on TV was when all specials included the disclaimer: "Everything you are seeing tonight is exactly what you would see if you were in our live audience."

David Copperfield has the ability and the name recognition to bring back the wonder. I hope he does soon.