I was very lucky to have been in the Oprah audience and see David break the record. Here are just a few comments regardng the event. When we entered the studio, the first thing you noticed was that the temperature was very cold. We were informed the studio temp was lowered to help David lower his own body temp before entereing the tank. In the show warm up it was explained to us just how dangerous this attempt at the record really is and that it was not a "magic trick". Then they had everyone in the audience raise their hand and hold their breath. When your breath ran out, you lowered your hand. One woman made it to the 2 minute mark, but that was it. Most people never made it past 30 seconds or so. From the time the show began and David entered the tank, the tension was thick. You could hear a pin drop and during the commercial breaks Oprah would try to make jokes about how quiet everyone was being. Nervous laughter scattered the crowd and you felt the tension release just a little, only to build again once we were back on the air (this was broadcast live in the Chicago market). I am not sure if the tension came across in the braodcast or not, but in the studio everyone was very tense and really into it. When David released his feet and floated to the top of the tank at about the 16 minute mark, people began to cheer him on. As the 16:32 mark past and the record was broken the woman in front of me was pleading to "get him out!" It was very exciting to watch the clock and see it move to over 17 minutes.
We also had a view of the heart monitor screen the whole time and that was fascinating as the heart rate angle played up to make the story even more compelling.
Listening to the comments of the people on the way out of the studio, I think David and his people should be proud. The comments all comfirmed that the drama was good and the show a sucess. For me, it was a great morning watching a master showman.
(Thank you Holly for getting me the reservations and puting up with nonsense.)

I wasn't sure if he was going to be able to make it there in the last moments. It was amazing to see :) One of the best things he's attempted so far. If you go to the Oprah site you can see some footage of the attempt as well. There's a link to it on my blog post:

http://www.onlinemagicclub.com/2008/04/30/david...

woooo! wooo! yea I knew he could do it!!

That is great. I am glad he did not almost die again. That would be bad for his new special :)

Good for him! But this'll teach me to check iTricks before I watch the show. It's just starting here now. Although, now I can make and win side bets...