"Solid" DVD by Hugo LeClercq and Kevin Parker
Suggested Retail USD$24.95
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 1 Out of 10

"Solid", a DVD by Hugo LeClercq and Kevin Parker, is an old idea lifted low by a simply terrible presentational hook, resulting in something that shouldn't be tossed aside but thrown violently into the garbage.

Yes, that's harsh. And "Solid" deserves every word of it. This is not just an example of what happens when amateurs release a single-trick disc to make a quick buck out of an idea that better belongs in a magazine somewhere; this is an example of what happens when the buck is all-important and getting it is all that matters.

Here's the effect: the performer borrows a necklace and borrows a pull-tab (yes, borrows a pull-tab; I can't make this stuff up, folks), then proceeds to link the pull tab onto the necklace, with everything examinable at the end.

Okay, first thing's first. This idea is old. It is not new at all and don't go into this thinking it is. In fact, Bob Solari had a version of this ("Ring Rapture") for sale that used a finger ring for the link and looked marvelous (so marvelous, I did it for about a year before finally retiring it) -- that was about five years ago as I recall. Solari, as he often does, updated things a bit with one piece of this, but the majority of the work was ancient then and is ancient now. Forget about anything being new here.

Second, think about this for a minute. You borrow a necklace. Borrow. As in, willing receive from a spectator. A necklace. A piece of jewelry the spectator paid good money for and to which, likely, they will have some kind of sentimental attachment.

You then take it and attach a piece of trash to it.

Yeah, nothing spells "repeat business" or "customer satisfaction" or "high entertainment value" like putting garbage on somebody's jewelry. Here's an idea: somebody come up with "wedding-ring-to-five-year-old-lemon" quick; it'd make a great follow-up to this one.

Okay, so you know how I feel about this one. I'll leave off the completely non-existent production values or Parker's horrible instruction and just let the trick speak for itself.

Folks, this bad, 'bout as bad as it gets. Give it a pass.

"Solid" DVD by Hugo LeClercq and Kevin Parker
In a Blink: 1 Out of 10

Material: 1
An old trick done really badly. Yeah, that sums up this one nicely.

Practicality: 1
Borrow a necklace, a piece of personal jewelry, then attach a piece of garbage to it. I wouldn't try that one at a paying gig anytime soon. For that matter, you couldn't pay me to do it anywhere.

Quality of Production: 1
A single camera that's horribly out of focus and sound that comes straight from a well somewhere. There are no production values here, in other words.

Quality of Instruction: 1
Parker teaches the routine and does a simply pathetic job. Between the stuttering and the babbling on and on, it's painful to watch.

Presentation: 1
There isn't one, making this as much a bad puzzle as a horrible trick.


Shane

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