"Time and Space" DVD by Justin Miller
Suggested Retail USD$30.00
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 6 Out of 10

"Time and Space", a DVD by Justin Miller, is a neat idea and looks good, but a weak presentation and some practicality issues make this one strictly for special occasions and special performers.

"Time and Space" is an interesting effect, reminiscent of Brother John Hamman's "My Signed Card". In Miller's plot, a playing card is brought out of the pocket and placed on the table, face down. No one knows what this mystery card is except for the performer. A deck is brought out and a card selected and signed by a spectator. The two Jokers are removed from the deck and the unknown card placed between them. The signed card is then placed in the middle of the deck and shown to be the signed card right up until the deck is squared. Now the magic happens. First, the deck is counted, face up, onto the table, one by one. The selected card is gone. Next, the card between the two Jokers is turned over: it's the spectator's signed card. For the climax, the two Jokers and the signed card are placed into the spectator's hands and the three cards "fuse" together into a single card: with two overlapping Jokers on one sided and the signed card on the other.

Does that seem odd to you, that climax? At all? See, it does to me. In fact, the illogical nature of it drives me bonkers. Miller's presentation tries to make it all logical, but his line or two doesn't work that well for me. It seems tacked on, something neat to do just because it's neat to do. In short, though, the logic that was present in Miller's "X Marks The Spot" is missing here; this one just doesn't make sense to me.

If that were the only problem with "Time and Space", it would still be a worthwhile effect for just about everyone. Presentational glitches abound in marketed magic and, as pros, we're expected -- required, actually -- to work around them. But "Time and Space" has other issues.

Perhaps the most annoying is the need for "refills"... quickly. With the "Time and Space" DVD, you are supplied with six of the gaffed card you need for the routine. It should be obvious by the description above that you're going to burn through one every performance. That means you're either going to opt for using adhesive stickers (which I always found as tacky -- no pun intended) or buying refills (available in packs of 20 from Miller's website) at a pretty good clip if you do this one often.

But then again you probably won't be doing this one often anyway. The reset is not quick and easy here; you'll need to make a jaunt out of the room to get this one ready to go again. Also the deck isn't available for use with other routines easily; you'll be adding things or ditching things to keep just one deck in use for anything else other than "Time and Space". You can, though, do this one sitting or standing, though a table makes things much easier for you.

The biggest problem, though, lies in the presentation. There is just one too many things that don't feel right here and, at times, don't play right. Other than the previously mentioned climax problem, there's the card used for the climax. Rather than looking "fused", it can strike one too many spectators as looking like a tool: "Oh, so that's how you did it" is the phrase that will come to their minds and mouths. (to be fair, and spectators being spectators, I seriously doubt any would have a clue as to what's going on, but that doesn't really matter -- once they've been given an excuse to lead themselves to a solution, they will take it). This is, of course, not good.

Then there's the plot itself. If the spectators aren't held in rapt attention, it becomes confusing quickly. After my first attempts at performing this one, I found myself recapping things all the way from the start to right before the revelation of the signed card just to make sure everyone understood how things are (meaning: how we want them to think things are). Irritating? Sure. But solvable.

Unfortunately, not all of the problems with "Time and Space" are as easily addressed. Can they be? Sure, most of them can (especially the presentational ones), but you'll be putting in a lot of brainpower to solve one or two of them. Whether that work is worth it is entirely up to you. If it seems to be, if the plot grabs you, then you're one of the "special performers" I mentioned at the beginning of this review and the situations you perform it in will certainly be those "special occasions".

For myself, if I were going to stick to the theme, I'd just continue to do Hamman's (or one of the other flavors out there) and put "Time and Space" on the back burner, something to tinker with when I'm in the mood.

In the end, "Time and Space" is good, but flawed, and your willingness to overcome those flaws dictates if it's right for you. For most, it won't be.

"Time and Space" DVD by Justin Miller
In a Blink: 6 Out of 10

Material: 6
It's an above average routine to be sure, but suffers from a confusing plot and a method that really makes this a one-shot deal. You also are given only enough gaffs to do this one six times before you order "refills", so you're either going to resort to stickers or throwing more money at this one quickly.

Practicality: 5
The reset is what hurts here: it's involved and you'll be making a trip to the bathroom in order to repeat this. But then again, with the cost of the refills thrown in, you may not want to repeat this one but hold it out for special situations and special audiences. Other than that, you can do this one stand-up and strolling with relative ease. The deck is pretty much out of play, though; you'll need to add and ditch things to keep the deck easy to use with other routines.

Quality of Production: 10
Another Kozmo production, another example of perfect production values.

Quality of Instruction: 10
Miller does a great job of teaching his routine, covering the bases almost to the point of going into too much detail. You'll have no problem learning the routine.

Presentation: 3
The presentation is weak, but salvageable. The appearance of the "fused card" (which is another presentational problem) seems tacked on, thrown into the mix. Solve that and you've got a much stronger presentation and a stronger routine.


Shane

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