Mind Games

Has Derren Brown gone too far?

Don't get me wrong, I'm thoroughly enjoying his new series (especially that bit when he somehow managed to bamboozle Simon Pegg into wanting a red BMX bike; even after he showed us how he "did it" I was still none the wiser) but there have been a couple of "did he really just do that?" moments that have made me seriously question the ethics of this show. Either that or it's a big fat con-job.

The first uncomfortable moment came during a stare-out contest in Portmeirion where Brown managed to send a bloke half-crazy with fear; he looked as if someone was disemboweling him with a pair of curling tongs. The participant was so distressed he almost punched Derren in the face!

But at least the guy had a choice, and when Derren Brown offers to stare you out then you've got to expect the unexpected.

But the poor sod who formed the centrepiece of his latest show wasn't so lucky. He casually strolls into a pub, starts to play one of those 'House of the Dead' zombie-games and the next thing you know he's trapped in a real George A. Romero nightmare with what appears to be real zombies and a real gun. Impressive? Yes. Ethical? Hmmmm.

At first you simply can't believe that Derren has managed to pull it off. He's successfully designed an arcade game that sends the player into a catatonic state (a bit like Tetris), and then he's managed to accurately reconstruct the game's surroundings a few yards down the road. Just imagine what he could do if he really put his mind to it.

The reactions of the "player" were fascinating. At first he throws down the gun and looks for a way out. Then he starts to shit himself as a zombie shuffles towards him. When faced with the inevitable he finally picks up the gun and blows the zombie away, screaming "Die! Die! DIE!" at the top of his lungs. It was very realistic, with exploding squibs and blood flying in all directions. Then more zombies appear. At one point the guy is so freaked out he starts shooting one of the zombies repeatedly at point-blank range and you can tell that he's really hurt them!

This goes on for ages until he's eventually trapped in another room. In walks Derren (who is immediately shot at!) and he puts his subject back in a catatonic state again and ships him back to the pub.

But the most disturbing aspect of all are the reactions of this poor bloke's "friends" who let all of this happen without so much as a shrug. Were they hypnotised too? Why didn't they stop it, or at least question it? Maybe it was edited out of the transmitted programme, in which case they should sue for looking like a right pair of dispassionate twats.

But it was the player I felt sorry for. He didn't have a say in it. He didn't volunteer to be placed in a living nightmare. And when he finally came out of it and he described the sensation of "playing the game" the murderous look in his eyes sent chills down my spine. If it had been me, I'd have been furious.

Either it's all a fix (in which case I want my money back) or Derren just pushed Candid Camera into the seventh circle of Hell, and it's just one more thing to feel paranoid about in this crazy world we live in.

Comments

[Paul Hayes]

It was weird wasn't it? I couldn't believe it wasn't a set-up... I do like Brown's shows usually, but I wasn't sure what to think about this one. Imagine if he'd chosen someone who turned out to be a football hooligan and gave him a right kicking when all was revealed? Is this sort of thing even legal? Mind you, there was a "Play at your own risk" notice at the start of the video game. Not sure that would cover it though!

Very, very odd. I'd hope my friends woudln't just randomly sit back and let that happen to me, although presumably they recognised Brown as "the bloke off the telly". If they didn't know who he was, imagine how much worse that would be!

[Dawn Foster-Moore]

Yes, I agree that Mr Brown was not only taking a risk for himself, but also the actors he used as the Zombies. How was he to know for sure the guy would pick up the gun and fire, instead of just laying into them? And I can't say I would have blamed the guy for doing just that.

And he could have had a weak heart t'boot!

I was almost cross eyed with amazement that his friends just went along with it without even a murmur. The only reaction from them during the whole incident was one of 'deer caught in headlights'.

It was one of those TV moments where you laugh at the beginning and think "Wow, that's brilliant!" and then by the end you're feeling dirty for having watched it at all.

[Paul Hayes]

Did you notice how Zombie-bloke was in the audience of "The Gathering" last night?

And what were those subliminal messages they kept flashing up on screen?

[Neil]

Forget!

I was going to write a review of last night's show but I can't remember a damn thing about it!

[Jim]

Apparently, the victim gave his consent, but he didn't know exactly what they were going to do to him, idiot. He probably told his friends as well.