talkmagic.co.uk

I apologise in advance because this is an odd question.

I have come up with new patter and a slight handling variation of an effect. What I'd like to know is whose trick I've adapted. The bare bones of the effect are as follows:

The magician asks a spectator to take a card. They return it anyway in the pack. The magician then cuts the pack. The magician then removes a Time Travel device from his pocket, puts it on the deck and says they will endeavour to send the spectator's card backwards in time. The deck is spread and the spectator's card has aged considerably.

(There are a couple of other handlings where the spectator can look through and see that it is the only 2 of Hearts (say) in the deck, but so far no one has wanted to look.)

The patter I use is quite jokey, talking about science fiction etc, and the Time Travel device I use is a Tardis (a keyring which emits the dematerialisation sound - I bought it for this effect honest!!).

(This is a very simple trick I know that, I'm sure everyone here knows how it's done...)

What has gone down well is the jokey patter and the prop, everyone - bar none - loves the Tardis!

But whose trick is it? It's a bit like Chicago Opener/Red Hot Mamma (without the second revelation), but I'm sure it's like a different one too.

Has anyone got any ideas? Is it just a variation of Chicago Opener?

Many thanks in advance.

I cant help you with the trick, but, I'd just like to say that the tardis is a very nice touch, really cool infact.

(Damn now i want one, for the effect of course )

Just one thing though...

If you send the card back in time, why does it age? Has it aged having returned from several years in another time?

MagicBell wrote:Just one thing though...

If you send the card back in time, why does it age? Has it aged having returned from several years in another time?

Yes, that's pretty much it. It's "been around" longer than the others.

Thing is though, things age forwards, not backwards.

For the card to become older than its fellows, you have to send it forward in time; sending it backwards, would result in - firstly - loss of printing, then square-cut corners, and finally a load of sawdust....which would be quite a nice effect in itself

You could do the effect using the WOW gimmick as the time machine although the back of the card would be seen upon entering the WOW gimmick. Nice idea I suppose.

Can't help you with the origins though. It could be taken in many directions, you could force a card on them, get them to draw a bird on the card, travel back in time, turn over the card & it now has an egg drawn on instead.

Russ
www.smartmagic.co.uk

robstanley1 wrote:Thing is though, things age forwards, not backwards.

For the card to become older than its fellows, you have to send it forward in time; sending it backwards, would result in - firstly - loss of printing, then square-cut corners, and finally a load of sawdust....which would be quite a nice effect in itself

Rob, yes, you're quite right! No ones said anything because they've just being going "wow" over the Tardis... That's what everyone remembers I'm sure.

I suppose the other Doctor Who theme I could do is use a Dalek to exterminate the middle of their card. Anything to get lots of Doctor Who merchandise huh!


Russ

That's a nice idea too!

Thanks.

heronjester wrote:Anything to get lots of Doctor Who merchandise huh!

Right there with you - no excuses needed (says the man with a full-size Dalek in his bedroom! )

heronjester wrote:

robstanley1 wrote:Thing is though, things age forwards, not backwards.

For the card to become older than its fellows, you have to send it forward in time; sending it backwards, would result in - firstly - loss of printing, then square-cut corners, and finally a load of sawdust....which would be quite a nice effect in itself

Rob, yes, you're quite right! No ones said anything because they've just being going "wow" over the Tardis... That's what everyone remembers I'm sure.

Yes and no.

It's like the episode 'Blink'. People were sent back in time, and then had to live out their lifespan from the 1960s (say). By the time they reached the 2000s again, they were old.

If the card is sent back in time, then has to 'live' through a few decades in order to be back in the pack for the revelation, it makes sense that the card would look older; it has been around much longer.

If you sent the card into the future, it wouldn't be in the deck any more.

Part-Timer wrote:

heronjester wrote:

robstanley1 wrote:Thing is though, things age forwards, not backwards.

For the card to become older than its fellows, you have to send it forward in time; sending it backwards, would result in - firstly - loss of printing, then square-cut corners, and finally a load of sawdust....which would be quite a nice effect in itself

Rob, yes, you're quite right! No ones said anything because they've just being going "wow" over the Tardis... That's what everyone remembers I'm sure.

Yes and no.

It's like the episode 'Blink'. People were sent back in time, and then had to live out their lifespan from the 1960s (say). By the time they reached the 2000s again, they were old.

If the card is sent back in time, then has to 'live' through a few decades in order to be back in the pack for the revelation, it makes sense that the card would look older; it has been around much longer.

If you sent the card into the future, it wouldn't be in the deck any more.

Ah yes - but in Blink, the victims of the Weeping Angels were sent back in time 'protectively'.

If they'd have been sent back through 'raw' time, as it were, they'd have regressed in age, and so would have aged 'normally' by the time they returned to the here and now.

I s'pose we could explain it by introducing a couple of Weeping Angel action figures into the routine, but I'm sure it'd just confuse the specs even more

Well my brain has just imploaded, it's like the time I watched Back To The Future 1, 2 & 3 in one sitting & tried to work out the logistics of time travel.

robstanley1 wrote:Ah yes - but in Blink, the victims of the Weeping Angels were sent back in time 'protectively'.

That's the way most people would think of time travel working, as in 'The Time Machine' or 'Doctor Who' itself. I suspect that might be why no one has ever questioned the presentation (or more likely, they were too amazed by an excellent performance).

If you see an old-looking card, you think it has been around a long time (i.e. it has come from the past). I agree that this doesn't necessarily fit in logically with the presentation (as your suggestion does), but past=old to most people.

Going back to the original question. I believe this is just variation on theme and finding the originator is going to be quite a task, I do remember years and then some more years back there was an effect where you took from you pocket a circuit board with little LEDS and it made a few bleeps and blips and odd things would happen to the card. I think it made the rounds once as it was probably ripped off, and then ripped off again, then magic dealers got ahold of it and realized for very little work they could make their own and make a lot of money off of it. But then magicians such as yourself got wise and realized they could do the same thing. So its not on the market and the original creator is probably long since passed.

bmat wrote: So its not on the market and the original creator is probably long since passed.

That's propoganda - the Weeping Angels got him

bmat

Thank you for your reply. It would be nice to know whose trick it was a variation of, but never mind.

rob

Don't do that. I nearly spat water all over my computer!