Comments on: Trailer: Derren Brown – The Gameshow – 28th Oct

By: David

David — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 08:53:29 +0000

What I don’t understand is why it was necessary for Kris to be authentic (i.e. not an actor) for the experiment to work. Since the Remote Control audience were the subject of the experiment, why was it necessary to cause Kris suffering? An actor would have also made the experiment easier to control. (There are so many ‘what ifs – what if Kris had left the bar after being threatened by so many people; what if he’d fled the police and been hit by a car; what if he’d assaulted the actor shopkeeper?). Kris’ suffering also makes Derren Brown culpable, whether or not it served the ‘higher purpose’ of an experiment. My theory is that Kris was, in fact, an actor, and this was disguised for our entertainment.

By: yvonne

yvonne — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 19:23:07 +0000

hello. ive just watched ‘the gameshow’ . the whole concept was good , though it didnt touch on the shame of the baying mob and how they actually felt, as it could of been used to educate much more. the reality show and the bullying aspects are something i stopped watching long ago. having been bullied and witnessed it, i have researched it and am known for my advocacy for the underdog in life. one thing i cannot seem to get out of my mind is that derren said that the percentage of the audience voting for the bad stuff to happen was only around 60%. that left 40% who didnt favour this treatment of someone, yet not once did i see an audience member looking unhappy. i can say, without a single doubt in my head, that if i had been there, i would of made a stand about the treatment of this guy

By: Stew

Stew — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:22:44 +0000

This is one of the most thought provoking programs I have seen on TV in a long time, it was truly shocking. Sadly I have no difficulty in believing that it is all true. The concept of mob mentality is fairly well documented and very well demonstrated in the media; the London riots/looting over seemingly nothing and the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by otherwise well disciplined and trained British/US soldiers for instance, however where it is less well documented is in the school classrooms, university halls, work places and so forth where mob mentality leads to bullying. Rarely does the apparent lack of conscious get realised, it took a real shock in this instance a car crash for morality to be re-discovered.

Well done Derren for stomaching it and producing such a fascinating episode

By: Berber Anna

Berber Anna — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 13:14:30 +0000

Steve: Not legally an intrusion, he has a live-in girlfriend who gave them the keys and was in on it — supposedly she gave permission to film also, and maybe even conveniently placed that bat (which prompted the ‘smash the tv’ cries, which I’m sure was the plan all along). As long as one resident gives permission to film, and the subject later gives permission to air, there’s nothing legally wrong about it.

By: Jackie

Jackie — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 23:03:54 +0000

This audience must have been actors, fair enough the first prank maybe people would have chosen but once it got really nasty I don’t believe over 60% of them would have carried it on!! It upset me, I have always enjoyed DB but not this time!

By: Steve JJ

Steve JJ — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 22:26:25 +0000

Derren claimed that everything was real and unfaked.
I can’t believe that the flat was real, I suspect it must have been a mock-up, ie faked, what with the blank internet history and the handily placed baseball bat. If it wasn’t a mock-up, this was unacceptable intrusion.
The head-cam was stupid, there was obviously another camera in the room.
The final shots in “the flat” were not convincing either, because there was a camera filming the victim’s reaction, which again would be wrong.
The “accident” was an obvious fake, yes it really was, I said as much to her indoors, but she was away with the fairies.
A nice coup de theatre, but not entirely convincing.
The lack of audience response was deafening, but you’re never quite sure what you are seeing with Mr. Brown.

By: Martin

Martin — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 22:12:27 +0000

Powerful and scary stuff. Amazing how quickly things spiral out of control. One question though Derren, why didn’t you announce the pecentage for the final kidnap vote?

By: Jake

Jake — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:51:58 +0000

Really enjoyed the program tonight, at first it was nice and light-hearted, and as a viewer I found the bottom pinching and shoplifting accusation quite funny, but after the police were called things took a really sour turn. It was amazing to see how quickly this normal, everyday people descended into really quite cruel and unkind people. When they started shouting out to the ‘producer’ to smash the TV I was genuinely shocked. There was no way for them to see his reaction and there was no humour in the situation anyway. Really appalling.

It was interesting to note how they all reacted once the stuntman got hit by the car. It suddenly stopped being a game to them, and they quickly realised how they had been behaving and what they had seemingly just caused.

By: ben fay

ben fay — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:34:14 +0000

i didnt like it simply because of how obvios it was, i figured it out half way through, it just shows how predictable you guys are. this show was predictable to, i hope the series gets better

By: Ruth

Ruth — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:27:37 +0000

Appalling programme, nasty concept. Usually I’m a big fan of Derren Browns, but not tonight.