Derren Brown's "The assassin" C4 9PM

ziedth

Anybody see the trailer for this yet?

I'm a big DB fan. I think he has come into his own over the last couple of years with his documentaries but his "magic" is always at the very least entertainIng.

From what I gather the idea of tonights first show (there are four "experiments") is trying to show is it possible to hypnotise someone without them knowing and brainwash them to become an assassin. Word is that the final scene is a set-up to see does the subject shoot a celebrity.

Anyway, could be worth a look if you have an hour to kill tonight.

H8GHOTI

ziedth wrote: »

Anyway, could be worth a look if you have an hour to kill tonight.

Did you mean that? :pac:

Thanks for the heads up. I didn't hear anything about it.

Noo

ziedth wrote: »

Anyway, could be worth a look if you have an hour to kill tonight.

Weh hey!

ziedth

H8GHOTI wrote: »

Did you mean that? :pac:.

Sadly, I did not

Wertz

He needs to redeem himself after that "afraid to fly/fly a plane/stick the hypnotised guy in a simulator" thing last year.
His stage stuff and audience manipulation is much better IMO.

Shooting celebrities is always going to attract a viewing from me though. Hope it's a return to form...

human repellent

Hopefully it's jordon and its a loaded gun.

Popcorn and a coke, perfect night.

Busi_Girl08

Is Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood going to feature I wonder? :pac:

Doodah7

Depending on the "celebrity", I wouldn't necessarily need to be hypnotised to pop a cap in their ass...

Busi_Girl08

Here we go.

IvaBigWun

Brown's earlier TV shows when he first started were excellent but he was exposed with the National Lottery one, the Casino one that "went wrong" was dodgy and the plane one Im still 50/50 on.

So far so soso.

take everything

I'm feeling sorry for poor oul' Chris.
Also, anyone remember that couch trick Derren did a few years ago. That was very disappointing.

horgan_p

somnambulism is a very very beautiful thing.
I've come across people as good at going into trance as him (I'm a hypnotist).
This is all very believable. Class to see it being tested like this.

evolving_doors

IvaBigWun wrote: »

Brown's earlier TV shows when he first started were excellent but he was exposed with the National Lottery one, the Casino one that "went wrong" was dodgy and the plane one Im still 50/50 on.

So far so soso.

Ya the Plane one was good but in a touchy feely kind of way,,, (cue Elbow music at the end), I wonder what ever happened to that guy, did he ever get in to the police force, especially after showing he was wayyyy to susceptible to suggestion,, (not to mention those dodgy shoes he used to wear)

Getting someone to think they are flying a plane is one thing,, but getting someone to think they are to assassinate a famous person is definitely a step up.. The Sirhan Sirhan analogy is excellent too

Suppose he cant be doing slight of hand parlour tricks forever....

Whips that Irish guys ass any day, (Keith Duffy!!)

TheMilkyPirate

That was quite amazing tbh.

Imagine that poor man who was jailed for killing Robert Kennedy could actually be innocent and telling the truth

Busi_Girl08

That was really well done. Loved the PIN (I flinched every time someone called it a 'PIN number' :mad:) and the shoe. :pac:

One thing that irked me a little

The audience is meant to be a mix of people in on the stunt and people who weren't, and yet absolutley NOONE reacted or showed any concern when Stephen Fry was supposedly shot on stage?

Hmm....

mike65

Busi_Girl08, that was intriguing, I suspect its people thinking oh because that's [insert name here] something's going on or its sheer dumb-struck shock.

I hope all the "cues" were well and truly wiped from the subjects mind!.

Wertz

Honestly didn't think he was going to go the distance. I've read alot about the MK ultra experiments and already believed the phenomenon was possible but wasn't sure Brown was going to be able to reproduce it (and all that that entails)... as for the crowd in the theatre not reacting; it's a theatre...you half expect odd things to happen. No screaming or reaction from where the gunshot came from and Brown was on the stage in seconds.

With these things I always wonder what happens to the participants later... that one in the plane thing where he had the guy rob the shop...this where he has someone shoot someone...that has to have psychological repercussions.

Anyway, good show and a return to form for Brown IMO...and it leaves a lot of possibilities wide open. Doubt it'll be getting Sirhan past the parole board anytime soon though...

watched this on +1

Not Stephen Fry!!

FouxDaFaFa

I really like Derren Brown and love these experiment shows. I know he gets a lot of slack for "faking" things and misleading people and occasionally the shows don't work but what is refreshing is that he is honest about that and always makes it clear that it might not actually work.

It was funny, I listened to the full premise of the show and it was only when I heard the target was

Stephen Fry

that I was like "That's CRAZY! You're mad!". :pac: No problem with it beforehand.

Really fascinating and scary to watch. I know the conspiracy theorists will have a field-day with it.

ziedth

As I said in the OP I'm a big fan of Brown and his TV shows, even his poor TV shows were watchable. If yu haven't seen his documentaries try and track them down. His last one exposing faith healing was a great watch.

anyway, I really enjoyed it last night. I also like Steven Fry so that was a bonus. I tend to take these kind of things at face value so I like to assume that he wasn't playing along.

If i was there when Fry got shot, even in a theatre, I would have been scrambled over two seats by the time he hit the floor. maybe they didn't know exactly but was told that there was a surprise or something. I just can't believe there wasn't even a scream.

Busi_Girl08

ziedth wrote: »

If i was there when Fry got shot, even in a theatre, I would have been scrambled over two seats by the time he hit the floor. maybe they didn't know exactly but was told that there was a surprise or something. I just can't believe there wasn't even a scream

That's what annoyed me too. Even if they said there was a surprise, woulda you really just sure around calmly waiting for Derren Brown to appear and point out the guy slumped in his seat?

All in all it was a really good show. Much better than that Hero disaster anyway.

I think there must be some form of psychology that goes with being in a theater - where you always expect something weird to happen. Tommy Cooper slumped forward and died during an act and everybody cheered and joked and laughed, thinking it was part of the performance. Had it been in the street, then people probably would have reacted differently.

Had Derren Brown not popped out after a few seconds, then people would probably have started to freak out.

Wertz

You'd expect the pademonium to start where the shots came from...a scramble by the gunman for the exit, screams from nearby seats...that's what spreads panic, not seeing the guy on stage collapse with bloodied shirt.

The only thing that got me about the whole thing is where Brown's assistant gave the mark the weapon, tells him it's loaded and he needs to carry it around to give to Derren later ...at that point alarm bells have to be ringing...kind of like when the guy in the fear of flying thing is told he has to fly somewhere. I know the marks are suggestible (by Brown's choice) but they come across as downright gullible...although maybe that comes down to the phenomenon of an order from authority (where someone you assume to be in authority through a uniform or manner/tone of voice can convince you to do something outside of the norm)...

Anyway analysing it too much perhaps...still a good hour of TV. I wonder if RTÉ have some form of broadcast hypnosis going on that convince people to tune in the LLS every friday evening...

FouxDaFaFa

Wertz wrote: »

You'd expect the pademonium to start where the shots came from...a scramble by the gunman for the exit, screams from nearby seats...that's what spreads panic, not seeing the guy on stage collapse with bloodied shirt.

It was mentioned in the programme that the people surrounding him in the balcony thing were all medics and firearms experts (and the actress in the polka dot dress) keeping an eye on things. So they were all instructed not to react.

As for the guy not copping when he was given the gun, it's possible he thought they were doing more target practise. Derren has done stunts with guns before too, so it's understandable he would not have immediately made the leap to "Oh, I have to shoot someone".

I thought it was well done and look forward to the next one.

Busi_Girl08

Anyway analysing it too much perhaps...still a good hour of TV. I wonder if RTÉ have some form of broadcast hypnosis going on that convince people to tune in the LLS every friday evening...

The Angelus?

Wertz

FouxDaFaFa wrote: »

It was mentioned in the programme that the people surrounding him in the balcony thing were all medics and firearms experts (and the actress in the polka dot dress) keeping an eye on things. So they were all instructed not to react.

As for the guy not copping when he was given the gun, it's possible he thought they were doing more target practise. Derren has done stunts with guns before too, so it's understandable he would not have immediately made the leap to "Oh, I have to shoot someone".

I thought it was well done and look forward to the next one.

Oh I know he was surrounded by those who were in on it...that's my point. He was also positioned to the back and above the main crowd in a private box. That's why the rest of the audience didn't react....initial shock but lack of screams and panic from where the shots came from...also most people hearing an actual gunshot won't know what they've heard... Brown came out to Fry within 10 seconds and that stemmed any other panic.

My point on the gun thing is he was given it in the theatre...if you're thinking logically you think well why aren't they keeping the gun at the range and even more about why they've given it to you loaded. The legal implications alone in our H&S obsessed society has to stir up a little doubt about the motives.
Like I say I'm reading into it too much (and I'm not trying to say that it was or wasn't set up in any way), but these scenarios always have a weak point.

Busi_Girl08 wrote: »

The Angelus?

*twilight zone music*

I think it has something to do with the fact that Derren does invest so much time and effort into each one of his experiments. In this, he spent months with the mark, gaining his trust so when the gun was given, he probably thought nothing of it.

FouxDaFaFa

Sorry Wertz, I misread your earlier comment.
I agree with you about the gun, most of us would logically be like "why are you giving this to ME?". I think the conspirational tone the guy who gave him the gun used helped though, it was a bit of a "I know this is mad but will you do me a favour and give it to Derren" vibe more than a deadly serious one.

Wertz

Yeah that's a good point too... like he wanted to feck off somewhere else on the sly and gave the mark the gun to give to Brown instead of doing it himself.

To get away from critique of the show, anyone here been to a live hypnotists show or been under the spell?
Never have myself, but years back myself and a friend were out the front of his house...his next door neighbour pulled up outside in a taxi and jumped out in a panic looking for her teddy bear (!)...she was wild eyed and had pupils dilated like someone on E or acid...she then ran off up the street, leaving us puzzled. A few min later her sister and cousin pulled up in another taxi looking for her...they said she'd been one on of a group brought up on stage for a hypnotists show and they went off looking for her.
when we met her the next day she didn't recall any of this and thought we were winding her up.
The subject is fascinating but I'm not sure I'd have these guys delving into my head like that...even Brown.

FouxDaFaFa

I went to a live hypnotist with a group of friends a few years ago and, similarly to Derren, he did a kind of mini-test at the start on the whole audience to see who he would use. It had absolutely no effect on me and some others but a lot of people responded well and he took a few of my friends up on stage. He did the very dramatic "collapsing" moment on them, he would touch them on the forehead and they immediately fell to the ground. I found it quite disturbing to be honest, particularly as he was doing a crap job of catching them.

He didn't make them do anything too serious, really just playing up the comedy. They said they felt really relaxed afterwards, like they'd just had a power nap.

I find it very interesting but the idea of being hypnotised myself does not appeal to me, possibly why I did not respond to the hypnotist.

ziedth

I was really interested in how Derren was explaining the process at the start of the show. Like the girl who couldn't pull apart her hands and all he had to do was throw her a ball.

Giruilla

Great show, but find the finale hard to believe... something definitely doesn't add up. derren is very quick to cut the guy off when he is explaining what happened afterwards.

Departed

When he was shown the video of himself shooting Fry the video included the woman in the polka dot dress... but he did not go into a trance then why?

evolving_doors

Departed wrote: »

When he was shown the video of himself shooting Fry the video included the woman in the polka dot dress... but he did not go into a trance then why?

presume he would have been debriefed after to avoid such occurances.

Departed

Armelodie wrote: »

presume he would have been debriefed after to avoid such occurances.

I think the debriefing was after that though. I also think deep down he was aware that a hypnotist was not going to do anything or have him do anything dangerous or illagal and if he did DB would be ultimately responsible
This book describes similar experiments in the army