Initially, Blake used his Boeing 720 jetliner (named "The Spirit") as a base of operations; it was outfitted as a mobile residence ("It's like any other mobile home, only faster.") with live-in pilot Jerry Anderson (Jim Watkins). Blake drove a white Chevrolet Corvette with custom license plates ("SPIRIT") and, for its time, an exotic feature: a car phone. Blake frequently received assistance from acerbic columnist Max Pomeroy (Keene Curtis), and Max's brilliant son Dennis (Todd Crespi), who uses a wheelchair. Midway through the program's run, the idea of the airplane was dropped and Blake took up residence in a posh apartment at The Magic Castle, a real club devoted to magic acts in Los Angeles, California. At the same time, the supporting cast of the show was replaced with a new, single character, Dominick (Joseph Sirola), a somewhat comical sidekick. No explanation for the changes was given in the series. Jerry continued to make occasional minor appearances (and Watkins and Curtis retained places in the opening credits) and Tony recruited Jerry and Max together for one further case in the new format. "The Magician" finished in the Nielsen ratings for the 1973-1974 TV Season with a 16.9 Average Audience. It was rated #52 out of #81 shows for that season.