I remember seeing the first ever Derren Brown: Mind Control special back in 2001 and being totally taken in by his explanations about what he was doing. And I think that it was the believability of his act that made Derren Brown so famous. The magic, as he put it, played to people’s intelligence and was attempting, rather than to hide the secrets to instead just make them believable and interesting. Given that we British are a generally cynical bunch, this brand of pseudoscientific magic was a breath of fresh air after a period of magic being thought of as cheesy.
The first three specials were must-see TV: compelling, interesting and addictive. A cult following was inevitable.
As a magician and somebody who knew what was going on 90% of the time, I was always interested to hear what other people had to say about Derren Brown. I would always listen in to conversations in the queue outside the theatre before a live show and it was as clear as day: the psychological aspect of the show was what made it so popular. People believed.
This credibility was first put under threat after a one off special called The Heist, which was in my opinion neither entertaining nor exciting. It also seemed to stretch the premise of what Derren claims he does, to something quite unrealistic.
Then a couple of weeks ago there was the lottery stunt. The stunt itself was good and had it been left well alone, I think it would have been fine. People knew it must be a trick. They would think that, and it would end there. But proposing to explain how he did it? Could he possibly tell the mundane truth? Not our Derren. The explanation, as usual, would be some seemingly complex method fusing magic, suggestion, psychology, misdirection and showmanship…oh, and “deep maths” (whatever that is).
