| Created 2007..08.29; Updated 2007.09.01 |
by Robin Rowe [More
articles ]
2007.8.29
This review originally appeared in the British
Weekly. Image copyright Greg Day PR (Gary Moyes)
Rating: 4 stars ****
SCI FI Channel, Thursdays, 10-11pm PST
Brain-twister Derren Brown uses suggestion, psychology and misdirection to predict and control human behavior.
The SCI FI Channel has introduced America to the frankly deceptive mentalist Derren Brown, who’s been astounding and entertaining British Channel 4 audiences since 2000. SCI FI’s original American-produced version of Mind Control consists of six one-hour episodes. Derren Brown tells the viewer that he has no paranormal ability, that he uses no actors or stooges, that his techniques are pure trickery. That he’s frankly dishonest is part of the show’s charm. You want to figure out how he’s doing it. You won’t. Sometimes he tells. Other times he doesn’t.
Derren Brown is a charming rogue and seems to be a hypnotist. While asking directions on the street, bystanders inexplicably hand him their car keys and wallets. These people clearly don’t understand what’s happening to them, and it’s fascinating to see how befuddled they become. Brown goes further and steps into shops to buy expensive merchandise with pieces of blank paper the same size as currency. Or, at the races the teller pays out even though Brown presents a last-place ticket. Brown gives the money back.
Derren Brown plays tic-tac-toe blindfolded, accurately predicting all the moves ahead of time. He predicts, within one dollar, how much money strangers on the street have in their wallets. Other stunts are bigger and more sophisticated. Brown convinces a girl he can move her from Chopsticks to performing as a concert pianist in one week through mind control without practicing the piano. At the concert hall a week later, she plays hesitantly at first, but finishes with full concert bravado. The live audience is amazed, and it’s great television. Brown reveals afterwards that the girl was already a concert pianist, that he taught her to forget she knew how to play the piano. What makes this totally charming was that the girl had sought Brown’s help to overcome her feelings of being jaded as a pianist. To play when she didn’t know she could was both terrifying and exhilarating. It changes how she feels about her life. The ultimate message of Mind Control is that the abilities of the human mind are inspiring.
Even if you don’t care about magic, we all wish to charm people. Derren Brown uses charm and enthusiasm to elicit trust. In reaction to what a subject does, Brown often exclaims, "Fantastic!" and "Excellent!". Along with the charm of a British accent, his enthusiasm and encouragement put his subjects in a comfortable compliant frame of mind. In fact, that’s the best mood for watching Mind Control with Derren Brown. Are we being hypnotized to like the show?
Mind Control executive producers are Andrew O’Conner and manager Michael Vine of London-based Objective Productions.