Houdini: Sounds like a great new idea. No wait, wasn't there a show like that once before? Wasn't it called "Opportunity Knocks"?
Bring back Hughie that's what I say. Well, resurrect him first of course.

Peter Kessler: Ah, Hughie. Did you know that a New Zealand producer once copied 'Opportunity Knocks' in every detail (even including the clapometer), and Hughie sued for breach of copyright?

Hughie lost the case, even though the NZ version was a blatant steal. The reason he lost was that copyright in spoken or written material only exists if the actual script is copied word for word. Outrageous!

John Mcdonald: Peter, I know that you will be sympathetic to this post from what I have already read from your own posts. I love all magic but I especially love magicians that present magic artistically and really generate a sense of wonder in the audience. People who come to mind include, Rene Lavand, Michael Vincent, Tommy Wonder, Darwin Ortiz, Ricky Jay amongst many others. There are great performers out there.

My question to someone on this inside of these discussions - Why is it so difficult to get a magic programme that seeks to display these performers talents and display magic artistically?

Peter Kessler: What I most wanted to do with Stuff the White Rabbit was create the feeling in the audience that close-up magic is an art form that can be enjoyed and appreciated as such. In some ways I think the term 'magic' is a hindrance to the popularity of the form. Close-up isn't magic at all, and I think it's immature to try and pretend that it is. It's a display of skill and, at its best, beauty.

The performers you mention are amongst my favourites. Many of them have enjoyed success on TV, but I intend to press for more.

John Mcdonald: Thanks for all the great work that you do for magic. Best wishes in magic

MagicSamX: In your opinion Peter, who would you say was the best TV Magician, not in skill as a Magician but purely as a person with ability to perform for the camera and adapt what may normally be an easy stage show into the realms of television?

Sorry, waffled that question a little.

Peter Kessler: Of those devising material specifically for their own TV shows, I think Penn and Teller were and are outstanding, playing with the demands of TV and letting you know it too.

Recording a stage act for TV is a totally different ball game, and I found some performers much harder to adapt than others. For example, David Williamson, so infectiously brilliant live, was really hard to catch on camera because he works so much off the live audience. Also, he's running around so much that, when viewed through the camera, he can seem a bit out of control. Another, less well-known, performer that I invited to take part in STWR was Martin Bigpig. His act was so physical that, even though the audience loved him, it just didn't make sense on TV.

On the other hand, the more sedentary acts like Mullica, Sadowitz, Chris Power, had no trouble working to their very best effect in my series, as we could really concentrate on how to shoot the minutiae of their tricks.