EL MINISTERIO DEL TIEMPO - SERIES 2, EPISODE 6: TIEMPO DE MAGIA (LA 1)

[Spoiler-Free] Madrid, 1924. The Marquis of Santa Cara, introduces his son, Joaquín Argamasilla, to his friends. He wants Joaquín to demonstrate them his metapsychic powers as he pretends that his son can see through things ("the incredible man with X-Ray in his eyes").

The demonstration is convincing and Gromek, a circus impresario, wants to bring Joaquin Argamasilla to America. Except that the young man is a top agent of the Ministry, which suspects that Argamasilla wants to tell its secrets to FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.

A patrol goes undercover to meet the Marquis and his son: Amelia as a journalist, Alonso as her photograph and Pacino as... The Great Benito, a psychic. The presence of Josefa, a hairdresser, gives him the opportunity to shine with his knowledge of a criminal case from the era. The "powers" of the Great Benito allow the team to travel with Joaquín Argamasilla to New York. Some familiar adversaries are already there and the legendary magician Houdini helps Amelia, Alonso and Pacino to avoid an assasination.

Irene recovers a bit of dignity and the annoying Susanna Torres is unmasked in this brilliant episode. The story is based on a real-life 1924 controversy when Joaquín Argamasilla got the attention of Harry Houdini, who decided to expose the Spaniard as a fraud. The Great Benito/Pacino remembers a famous 1924 criminal case, the disappearance of three little girls of the Hilarión Eslava Street in Madrid. Other references include the Marx Brothers, Grease (an hilarious nod) or Mission: Impossible. The sets, visual effects and costumes are first class. The episode is directed by Paco Plaza ([Rec]).

Starring Hugo Silva (Pacino), Aura Garrido (Amelia Folch), Nacho Fresneda (Alonso de Entrerríos), Cayetana Guillén Cuervo (Irene Larra), Juan Gea (Ernesto Jiménez), Francesca Piñón (Angustias Vázquez) and Jaime Blanch (Salvador Martí). Guest starring  Miki Esparbé (Joaquín Argamasilla), Glasgow-born actor Gary Piquer as Houdini, Marcos Marín (Bennett), Rick Zingale (Gromek), Mari Carmen Sánchez (Josefa), Miguel Hermoso (J. Edgar Hoover), Mar Saura (Susanna Torres), Natalia Millán (Lola Mendieta), etc.

Created by Pablo Olivares & Javier Olivares (Victor Ros, Isabel). Produced by Cliffhanger TV, Onza Entertainment and RTVE. María Roy & Maite L. Pisonero (TVE), José María Irisarri & Gonzalo Sagardía (Onza Entertainment) and Javier Olivares (Cliffhanger TV) exec produce. Anaïs Schaff and Abigail Schaff are the content coordinators for Cliffhanger TV. Music composed by Dario González Valderrama. El Ministerio del Tiempo is distributed by Onza Distribution.

http://www.rtve.es/television/ministerio-del-tiempo/

See also:

https://www.escepticos.es/repositorio/elesceptico/articulos_pdf/ee_11/ee_11_harry_houdini:_un_capitulo_de_su_lucha_contra_el_fraude.pdf
http://www.abc.es/20110324/archivo/abci-houdini-argamasilla-201103241300.html
http://www.abc.es/espana/20150705/abci-crimen-historia-tres-ninas-201507041609.html