After a week of suspense, build-up, and hype, David Blaine finally emerged from his water-filled acrylic sphere last night. Just before emerging, however, he was planning to break free of 150 pounds of handcuffs and chains while attempting to shatter the world record for breath holding.

Before last night, the world record for breath holding was 8 minutes, 58 seconds. As of this morning...the record is still 8 minutes, 58 seconds. Blaine didn't break the record, although he did manage to hold his breath for an impressive 7 minutes, 8 seconds. ABC dedicated 2 whole hours to the event, and, unfortunately, so did I.

The 2-hour-event was simple. First, ABC showed Blaine in his sphere in Lincoln Center surrounded by a huge crowd. It was a pretty cool staging area: with all the people, the igloo-shaped emergency hut, and all the lighting, it was kinda like a rock concert, except without singing. Next, ABC interviewed some doctors and other experts about what Blaine had endured over the previous week. Then, they cut to some highly-stylized, pre-recorded footage of him training for the event. Finally, they filled in the gaps with some flashbacks to his previous stunts, as well as some clips of his street magic.

If it hadn't been so much filler, it could've been a 30-minute special. But it really wasn't a show centered around magic or endurance; it was a show centered around selling advertising, and ABC nailed that. At one point, I swear there was a 4-minute segment of show before they cut to another commercial. In the end, ABC just dragged this thing out waaaaaaaay too long. That said, I did see a few interesting things:

1. Blaine used an Atomic T2 regulator to provide his air for the week he lived in the bubble.
2. I was fascinated by the weird people who turned out for the event, like the woman who made a sno-globe of Blaine, the crowd, and Lincoln Center. However, I have to say, Paul Kotik's crowd-analysis was far more interesting than ABC's.
3. Blaine looked really big in that bubble. Thank God for refraction.
4. Stuart Scott, the host, briefly interviewed Dr. Murat Gunel at the beginning of the show, and Gunel claimed that tests had revealed Blaine had suffered a a 20% loss in body fluid, moderate liver failure, and severe skin damage over the past 7 days. He concluded that Blaine could face brain damage, and that, upon emerging, "he might not be the same David Blaine that entered the bubble." Gosh, could Blaine talk even more slowly and monotone-ly than he already does?
5. The team of freedivers that prepped him and monitored him throughout -- Kirk Krack, Martin Stepanek, and Mandy-Rae Cruickshank -- were top-notch. They were articulate, composed, professional, and interesting.  Although Kotik had feared that their presence there would relegate their sport into "low comedy, something like professional wrestling," I think they really shined. My hat's off to them.

Of course, I was annoyed by several other things.

1. Stuart Scott has zero charisma. He didn't even try to act interested. I was happy to see that I'm not the only one who thinks that way.
2. The street magic footage was the same crappy card tricks we've all seen on any number of David Blaine specials in the past. He kept referring to his "magic." All rightee then...let's see you perform some.
3. We got to see about 6.5 seconds of behind-the-scenes footage of the pump and the equipment that monitored Blaine's vital signs. C'mon, the guy lived in a bubble for a week; let's talk about that for at least a minute. After all, that was the real stunt.
4. The build-up revolved around how Blaine would hold his breath and escape from the chains and handcuffs. I am not disappointed that Blaine was unable to hold his breath. I AM, however, extremely disappointed that we didn't get to see him escape from the handcuffs. The shot was so tight on the screen that, for all I know, Blaine had a key and just unlocked the cuffs. We didn't even get a brief close-up.

When it ended, my wife claimed the special was "pretty lame." I agree.  While I was impressed with Blaine, the medical personnel, the freedivers, and the T2, I think the producers put together a fluffy, hollow, totally underwhelming show that didn't really give the viewers what they wanted.

For his next stunt, I'd like to see Blaine give me back the 2 hours I lost last night.

Did you watch? What did you think?