It was 1905 and Houdini was performing in Germany for the Kaiser and his court.

For the big finale Houdini asked the Kaiser to let him have a sharpshooter from the army and one came down to the stage and was shown a target, given a gun and at Houdini's request shot and it was a bullseye.

Then Houdini stood in front of the target and told the officer to shoot at him and he would catch the bullet between his teeth.

Horrified, the officer turned to the Kaiser to see what to do, but the Kaiser said go ahead.

Houdini's assistant brought the bullet, let the officer handle it, before ramming it in the barrel.

Tension built as the officer reluctantly aimed at Houdini's head.

The shot was made and Houdini removed the bullet from his mouth.

Then we were shown how it was done, and I'm not telling.

Watch the first part of the series on iView.

Of course, Houdini was known more as an escapologist, but it wasn't such fun watching how he managed to free himself from his chains.

The bullet in the mouth and the bells ringing in the Tsar's court performance was far more interesting.

Adrien Brody plays Houdini very well indeed, and except for one totally unbelievable sub-plot, it was a very good program.

According to the story, Houdini agreed to spy for the US and British Governments while he was on his European tour.

I haven't a clue whether he was a spy or not, but the British Government's request was ridiculous.

During his act he is trapped in a safe on the Adelphi stage and has to escape within the time needed before all oxygen disappeared.

The British wanted him to do his escape, dash out and run over the roofs to the nearby German embassy, open the ambassador's safe, find the Schlieffen plan, and bring it back.

With many complications he managed it and handed over the Schlieffen plan to the Brits, although not a lot of good that would do them as although there was a Schlieffen plan, it was just a vague idea in 1905 and certainly would not have helped the British.

However apart from that it's great show and it's worth watching the second half next Tuesday.