Shark Bytes

I only remember this show vaguely (I was only eight...) but I remember Bill Bixby in it. I've always loved his work. I would love to have this series come out on DVD so that I could see what it is that I saw all those years ago that made this show stick in the back of my mind among all those weird little things that we remember from many many years ago.

I do recall being kind of disappointed when Bixby turned up on the Incredible Hulk. Not the kind of role I had wanted to see him in, really.

There was several things that went wrong for the series.. There was a writers strike and then there was a gas shortage (thats why the plane was dropped they thought it was bad to see someone flying all over when there was no gas) I still think it was a GREAT series and wish it would come to DVD!

I adore Bill Bixby, but this show never caught on with me. I don't really know why; it's not that it's "bad", but I guess it's just not as interesting as some of his other work. But I think I would have been bored out of my mind had any lesser actor been playing Tony Blake (I agree with someone down below...Blake was a better fit than Dorian). But damn, nice car he had. That was the best part of the show.

I liked this show a great deal. It wasn't on very long, but I do remember it fondly because I am a huge Bill Bixby fan. Unfortunately, Bixby died several years ago.

Bixby actually learned most of the magic stunts and sleights and performed them himself. His teacher, and sometimes co-star, was none other than former Magician of the Year, and Magic Castle alumnus, Mark Wilson. If you are a student of magic, Mark Wilson's book is priceless. You can't go wrong purchasing this gem, either the giant very expensive one, or the tiny condensed one.

I agree that the move to the Castle was a mistake. (You also lost the cool black pilot and got a dopy old guy who thought the magic was real!) I personly stopped watching after an episode where the exposed a stage illusion and showed Bixby's "unconsicous" form being switch for a dummy. I also saw an episode that looked like it was a leftover "Banacek" script! I've seen clips of "The Magician" on YouTube, it doesn't age well.

Isn't it strange what the mind blocks out after a period of time. I would have said he was always in the jet...but reading all the rest of the comments I see I had forgotten that little tidbit of info. As to the name change I guess I was blinded by his great looks and ignored how the name of his character changed. As everyone has said it was a great premise him fighting crime, doing majic tricks yet he never showed how they were done. I always thought he was a class act.

When Bill Bixby's character moved from living in that cool plane to living in the magic mansion

When he moved to the Magic Castle, and they forgot that he's supposed to be using magic to fight crime and help the innocent. Instead, they just went with him doing big stage illusions at the Magic Castle and fighting crooks by throwing playing cards.

Wasn't on long enough to jump, in part - but a great job turned in by (I was later to find out) amateur magician Bill Bixby. Tom Arnold pointed out that (besides this show and "Goodnight, Beantown") that Bill Bixby starred in three hit television shows -0 and how many have done that?

This show was very inventive and used a lot of actual sleight of hand taught to and learned by Bill Bixby. As to the person who posted the question about Bixby's character's name changing from the pilot to the series--you are right. The character's name in the pilot was Anthony Dorian. When the series began, the name had suddenly become Anthony Blake (which I think was the better name anyway).

When Tony Blake moved from the jumbo jet (think Airforce-1 light) to the magic castle. No longer was he quite as mysterious and ******. Before, he could fly to just about anywhere, and then drive that 'vette named Spirit out of the jet. Way cool! Come to think of it, the jet was called Spirit too. I believe that the magician's last name was changed to Blake in the (too short) series. It was something else in the pilot.