Does anyone know if this has been released yet? I had heard an early December release and have yet to hear anything at all on this?

Hocus Pocus had it listed as pre-order, it's now listed as a normal item so I guess it's in stock.

Odd that for this long awaited and anticipated project, that there is no hype or any reviews yet. I've seen the one promotional clip, and expected more would start popping up but as of yet I've seen nothing. It seems to have been released Dec. 8th but that's about all I've heard about it.

They have been released, mine are on their way. I'll post some thoughts when I have had a chance to watch them.

It is very good, although I find it hard to be objective as I was at the recording and near wet myself laughing..
I have no connection with Alakazam or John, but the routines played extremely well indeed. Obviously this must be mainly down to John's delivery.
The explanations are very clear (and amusing).
John Archer is rather like Matthew Wright (in my opinion) in that you can see the skill and experience regarding pace, timing, unique presentation style etc, so the performances are educational / inspirational as well as fun to watch...
I guess the main difficulty for many who would use the routines is to put your own spin on the effect.

As I am biased (perception clouded by excessive laughter!), I'll wait for others to review, but for mentalists / magicians who work parlour / stand up, I think this could provide both strong ideas and routines.

Charlie

I guess I will just have to seek a review copy and post my review and thoughts. I've been anxiously awaiting this for well over a year, and knowing John Archer I'm confident that this will not disappoint.

Does anyone think these effects are better than the first DVD?

I am probably not the guy to give a super detailed review of Further Education but here are my thoughts:

The bank night method John calls Blank Night is worth the price of the DVD set. If you perform a bank night routine this is the method to use. Plus, his routine with the names on the envelopes killed.

John's Seven Keys to Baldplate routine called Soundbox is brilliant as well. I originally became familiar with this unique routine by watching John's Magic Castle youtube video and fell in love with the routine. I was very happy he has released it on the DVD. I normally like to come up with my own routines but I can't pass this one up.

Finally, I enjoyed his Comedy Killer effect. This is based on the famous Kolossal Killer by Kenton Knepper. John explored this on his first DVD set, Education Archer with the effect called Komedy Killer and expands on it here.

These three effects are the one's which resonated with me. Any one of these three is worth the price. Add in six more effects and this set is well worth it. Plus if you already own Educating Archer, purchasing this set is a no-brainer.

Mike

I'll provide a review when I receive this, which should withing the next couple of days.

Being a huge John Archer fan, it may be slightly biased, but I do use his material.

Big a fan of Bank Night, I'm excited !

Glad to see his Bank Nite is on this.

I agreed with Mike. Archer is resourceful, funny, and creative, but at the same time his tricks are all practical. He mocks his DVD audience at one point "my little DVD watcher amateur magicians watching this at home with a sandwich," but he knows the crowd he's playing to (excuse me while I scrape the crumbs off my keyboard . . .). In other words, he knows how to offer entertaining and original material, and yet "keep it real" without going into a whole genealogy of sleights and shuffles and who did what first and whose move is named after whom. He's always got an original perspective and unique take. He even makes otherwise mundane card tricks interesting.

I liked Blank Night (his bank night routine) and Soundbox (his Seven Keys to Baldplate), as well as his card trick where the couple match cards (clever, simple move makes it all possible). A question, though, for any Café Archer fan willing to PM me: I tried to look up the type of lock Archer most highly recommends for this Soundbox trick, and could not find it anywhere. Anyone got a link? Thanks.

Some of the stuff was "filler," and I didn't quite find this as good as Educating Archer. For example, I thought that repeating his Kolossal Killer routine (here called Comedy Killer) on the pretext that it was different because he was using envelopes instead of wallets for a stage version, was not overly compelling. Also, we could have done without a few of the jokes about Peter Nardi (the DVD's "straight man") which are funny the first time, but waste time if you want to rewind to review tricks, etc.

And Archer took aim at his fellow British "Brat Pack" sardonic magician Mel Mellers, whose DVD cottage industry has stretched a disk or two beyond Archer's (but who's counting . . . besides Archer, who seems painfully aware that he's in a duel to the death by audience clothing insult with another sharp-tongued parlour diva, even if Archer is safe as the magical everyman to Mellers' highbrow snob). He knows who his competition is, and he's right. Mellers is also really funny (but borderline cruel, the way he mocks his audience volunteers). But to me Archer is the original smug magical bloke, and he was in fine form.

In summary, you can learn a lot from this guy about craft, style and character, as well as about how to do tricks in simple and unpretentious ways, even if you can imagine him mocking you from the sidelines as you try meticulously to master his feigned non-chalance and highly practiced faux-unrehearsed spontaneity. He's brilliant, even if he has to try a little harder on this DVD because he had enough material for another "hit or two" but also had to fill a whole B side also. I give this one a solid 9 out of 10 for Archer's abundant perspiration if nothing else (Educating Archer was a 10, and Mel Mellers probably also has more 10 material, although Archer works harder for his kidney pies; he delivers 9 material with 10 determination - let this slight taunt be motivation for Archer's next DVD; may he pull out all the stops for that one, lest Mellers ignore him and not reply to Archer's call-out in his next DVD . . .).

To throw up a few hackneyed cliches of the kind Archer seems to derride, this DVD is full of material that packs flat and plays big, and for workers, even. But, as John Archer might himself say, couch potatoes - his other fan base - can enjoy it too. Will somebody pass the mustard?

Got the info on the lock from the DVD, thanks. I think I can make a variation on that trick work, and assuming I can, that will be two pieces from the DVD (also the bank nite routine) I'll use. That is a lot. It is a very good DVD.

Since several people had the same question and the answer does not reveal any secrets (just a trick seller), the link for the lock is
The reference is to

http://www.loxandkeys.com/supalok.html

It sounds like "Super Lock," which is what I looked up . . . Pricey, but I hear it's the real deal . . .

I understand from another helpful Café member that Stevens Magic in US has a cheaper version which may be similar, called Correct Lock.

http://www.stevensmagic.com/index.php?ma......s_id=902

Correct Lock is what I am using for this routine and it works just fine. May not be as elegant as Supalok but it's what I already have.

Mike

Well Done John for 'fooling' Penn & Teller and entertaining the audience with his Blank Night routine on UK TV tonight.
A great performance.

Ditto. Well done to all the guys on the show. A credit to British magic.

John

Having received the DVD I can say I correctly guessed the envelope method.

I just got this today, and I've watched most of it. John Archer is definitely one of my favorite performers now. His approach to every trick comes from a unique angle, and he finds real motivation for effects in a way not many magicians even try for. Consider his great presentation for Kolossal Killer. Even though this routine was on Educating Archer, I did appreciate this stage verison, if for nothing else than the explanation of how to construct the envelope, which is useful knowledge even if you don't do this routine.

The most impressive item for me was Soundbox. The 7 Keys effect is such a challenge to motivate, but John finds an approach that works perfectly for him. Now, owners of the DVD, imagine how stunned I was to find out that John's presentation involves a certain 'characteristic' of his that I just happen to share exactly. I don't want to be anymore specific, but those who have watched it will understand.

Blank Night is the cleverest presentation and method for Bank Night I've come across. However, you should take John's advice in the DVD and find your own 'words'. In the past, I've performed the Bank Night routine taught in Max Maven's Videomind series, but John's method is more elegant, deceptive and clean. And it seems really easy to do.

The rest of the stage material is fine but not earth-shattering. The two-person card routine is nice, but not particularly exciting. One Lucky Number is fun at some points but drags on (even John admits in the explanation that the performance was not his best). However, the method for Starstruck is very intriguing, and the idea for the prediction in Stick With It is brilliant. Both of these effects really got me thinking.

John's close-up, or table-hopping, set is very good too. I love his idea for bookending the act, which leaves the spectator with a killer revelation after you've already moved on to the next table. And much like Nana's Box in Educating Archer, the most baffling demonstration of mentalism on the DVD is not explained- Streetwise.

Overall, a very impressive DVD set, and I highly recommend it.

I forgot to mention it in my last post, but did anyone notice how John slips up at the end of Comedy Killer in a way in which it is difficult to recover? But he handles it as well as one can- with a smile and a small joke while correcting the mistake.

Which size supalok are people using?