"Whiplash" DVD by Stephen Tucker
Suggested Retail USD$40.00
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

"Whiplash". the latest DVD by Stephen Tucker, is another fine collection of what can best be called magical oddities... and in the realm of magic, that's about the highest compliment you can pay a creator.

Tucker deserves it, too. These pieces seem so blasted familiar to anyone that's been around for more than a minute but then, in typical Tucker-esque style, you get the rug pulled out from under you, your head wallops the hard floor of impossibility, and you lay there with your mouth open, pondering just which piece you're going to learn first.

Not hype, folks. Tucker is just that damned good and this DVD is Tucker at his most diabolic, most devilish, most flatly cunning. Let me get into some details and you'll see what I mean.

The leading effect is "Jumping Jack Flash". Okay, now this gimmick has been around in one form or the other for decades. It's seen a revival of sorts, what with "new technological" improvements and all, but it's still pretty much the same thing. Until Tucker got hold of it. Now, the deck oh-so-slowly cuts itself to the chosen card (as you can expect), and then the next chosen card shoots out of the deck like Hades itself was chasing after it. Now, I've been using this thing for a couple of decades; no way was I expecting what Tucker did with it. This one goes straight into my act, period. Oh, and the gimmick is supplied with the disc.

"Paragon Monte" was the next one going out the door with me. This is the old "chase the queen" thing, with the cards glued together, but twisted around on itself. In Tucker's variation, another paperclip is used to actually mark where the spectator should put theirs to "win". Unfortunately, it never works out right. At the end, the two paper clips are each placed on the losing cards, but when the cards are flipped over, the clips have both moved to the winning card. This is one you'll do for yourself just to enjoy it; your audiences will get a kick out of it... and that's saying the least I can about this one.

"Three-Fly Fo Fum"... Oh, how I was ready to ignore this! I mean, come on, guys -- the three-fly plot is quickly becoming (oh, shoot, already has become) the metallic version of "Twisting the Aces": everybody has a version and they're pretty much all the same. But this is Stephen Tucker, and his take is gorgeous. There's a gimmick involved, and it's stretching things to call it a gimmick, but it's laying around the house right now and it's not a shell. The handling here is clean, the appearance simply startling... okay, so this is another one I'm going to do a lot.

"Avalanche" will get a good run, too. A "mental magic" kinda of thing using a blank deck that has the performer revealing a card only thought of (with no forces, no problems repeating with different cards, and no gimmicks or gaffs other than the blank deck itself). This one is a beauty, pure and simple.

Why don't I just cut this short and say that, with all these simply powerful routines, my act is seriously in danger of being nothing more than an homage to Tucker? From his "Signed Coin In Bottle" (minus the usual suspected gaff), to his "Incredible" take on Jim Steinmeyer's "Nine Card Problem", and on to "Stroll On" (Did he really create a hilarious chop cup routine out of a roll-on deodorant? Why, yes he did!) and the other routines on this disc, it's hard not to just cave in and do everything and this disc and let your reputation grow from Tucker's roots.

Yeah, it's all just that good.

Okay, so what about drawbacks? Well, this is Stephen Tucker so that means gaffs and gimmicks galore. If you're a purist, someone who shuns each and every gimmick and gaff that are part and parcel to others, then this is definitely not the disc for you. For the rest of us, the magic Tucker wrings out of some of the simplest little things (and a couple that aren't so simple, but easy enough to make) is worth a little extra trouble with arts and crafts and carrying "that certain something" around for a while.

I can't praise "Whiplash" enough. This is Tucker at his audience-entertaining, magician-frying best, with enough weird little commercial effects to knock even the most jaded of our number for a loop.

Let's just call this one "highly recommended" and leave it at that.

"Whiplash" DVD by Stephen Tucker
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

Material: 10
This is Stephen Tucker we're talking about here; did you honestly think he'd get anything but a "ten"? This is one of magic's more prolific, most diabolical thinkers and this disc just goes to prove it. Tucker is hitting his stride here, making this one to treasure.

Practicality: 10
It varies with the effect, of course, but other than the use of gimmicks and gaffs (make that "expert use") these are practical, real-world routines with little holding them back from most performing venues.

Quality of Production: 10
This is put together by Dave Forrest and the gang at Full 52. Their high production standards show here, with great video, audio, and navigation.

Quality of Instruction: 10
Tucker does a fantastic job of teaching his material, leaving nothing out. Simply excellent work here.

Presentation: 10
Tucker's magic, generally off the beaten path, is entertaining with either jaw-dropping visuals or stunning climaxes. Throw in a decent amount of audience interaction and you're looking at some great stuff here.

Shane

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