Derren Brown – The Guilt Trip: Tonight at 9pm Ch4

123 Comments

1. i really think that anyone calling this episode or indeed any episode of the ‘experiments’ series unethical must be blissfully unaware of the reality of psychological experiments!
2. Does anyone else think it’s us who are being tricked? It all goes a little too smoothly.
3. I think the comments about inconsistencies in the show – the police station with everyone waiting, aren’t inconsistencies. Derren is tricking the hero AND he’s tricking us the TV audience. That last part where they all start to panic because Jodie wanders away, was set up to make a better story for the audience. Derren admits as much at the beginning of every show. It’s a part of the misdirection. The ending had been carefully crafted, I’m sure they had all the actors on standby to arrive exactly where they needed to be. It’s TV. Read DB’s earlier post about claims he does or doesn’t make.
4. I have watched derrens show for years now and i am never dissapointed. Last nights show was very clever, I felt for jodie at the end but i love what derren has done because now i imagine that jody will be feeling alot lighter in life . It is so interesting what we can be pushed to do . Just want to say well done derren your amazing.
5. I also think that Jodie had been subtly, unconsciously primed, to let part of him know that he was involved in an elaborate set-up. I don’t think we see these elements, except for maybe a few. For example he’s interviewed thoroughly by DB, told he’s rejected, then out of the blue gets invited to speak in a country house – odd. Everyone’s surname is a colour (wierd). Tim Minchin appears. He starts seeing strange things. The plot of an Agatha Christie starts to play out etc etc etc. At all of these stages some tiny part of him must have been unconsciously thinking “hmm… I wonder if this has anything to do with DB”.
   That’s not a criticism by the way – I just think it changes how you view the ethics of the situation.
   Plus DB picked someone who pulled at our heartstrings.
6. Great Show Derren – I thought it was perfectly ethical, you put the bloke straight afterwards, unlike religions/cults and abusive partners, so it was therefore super-ethical in that the show will hopefully get people thinking about the subject and not falling for the guilt trip or original sin type scams.
7. Woah! That was sooooo mean! :O Good though. Surprised he took it so well…. :/ Can’t wait for the next one….the final one 🙁 sob!
8. DO you think this only happens in a tv show?

   This is happening day in day out all over the world.

   There are people posting on this site that really should pull their heads out of the sand. Wake up and recognise from what you have seen that it is happening or may happen to you.

   Learn the lesson that this show is promoting and I thank Derren for having the balls to show us how suggestible WE are.
9. As the survivor of a cult I find these shows really informative. They help me to understand that what happened to me was not unique but most people, finding themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time can be drawn in and controlled. Each of these experiments has helped me to put another peice of the jigsaw together and I am stronger for it. Thank you Derren.
10. Great show Derren! enjoyed it as much as the ‘Assassin’ episode. This episode reminded me of the film ‘The Truman show’, watching over someone when they believe it to be real but everyone is acting. Really liked the way the subtle changes were made such as the items of clothing and laughed when the meals were being swapped. It goes to show how much we subconsciously take in our environment without realising it.
    I agree with the comments above that although it may be seen as unethical, obviously great care is taken when selecting the perfect candidate before carryin out these experiemnts.

    Bring on Episode 4!
11. Well done. Uncomfortable to watch but watch it I did. I think Jody will be just fine, what a nice guy! Loved the Tim/c**t part. Great entertainment and very interesting. Roll on next week 🙂
12. I was accused of something I didnt do as a kid and ‘confessed’ out of pressure so I know how it feels to an extent. It was interesting and informative, but at the same time I can’t believe you would do something like that to someone for entertainment. You were lucky he didn’t jump out of a window.
13. Hasn’t Derren had enough of identifying and torturing the weak-minded? Let’s see him take on an intellectual equal for a change. It would make for a more entertaining ending: Jodi locks himself in his ensuite bathroom for two hours / Derren’s crew kick the door in / find him unconscious with an empty pack of paracetamol / when the ambulance arrives Jodi jumps up and twats Derren over the head with a stomach-pump screaming “Do you feel guilty now? DO YOU, YOU EVIL LITTLE FRIGGER?”

    I did enjoy it, though. I’m not being sarcastic when I say that it’s nice to see a primetime TV show that’s indisputably less ethical than the hardcore S&M porn I’m addicted to.
14. been crafty enough long enough to avoid getting caught, so i’ve never really developed much a sense of guilt. that whole “because i can” thing, i suppose.

    realization brought to by this episode, not a thought i’d ever had prior.
15. Vary intarasting show.

    Sitting and watching this I couldn’t help thinking of the Game Show episode. Being told that Jody was a nice guy increased the guilt some of us felt watching. I kind of reversal of the previous week’s show where the audience were led to believe that the ‘victim’ was a bad person. Were we duped into believing that Jody was the ‘nicest guy you could meet’? By watching this are we very different from the audience in the Game Show? They were making decisions as to what happens but Channel 4 only make these programmes if they get good viewing figures and can sell some advertising.
16. Absolutely fantastic!Great scripting, music…everthyng! Great job Derren!
    See you in the theater in Milton Keynes in February!
    Luca
17. Absolutely loved The Guilt Trip. It brought back some old childhood memories when I was constantly told by priests and nuns that I was born with ‘mortal sin’ on my soul. As a small child the guilt I felt and the confusion as to what exactly I’d done to receive this ‘mortal sin’ was incredibly hard to bear. That guilt stayed with me for years but eventually I broke away from the restraints of Catholicism and discovered that if you want to believe in God/higher power it’s your own personal choice. Glad Jody enjoyed the experience and I would have taken his place in an instance if I had the courage to write in and appear on one of your shows. Great stuff. Looking forward to next weeks programme as hubby and I love a little flutter on the gee gee’s
18. Just to reassure all the people out there with complaints, if you check Twitter, Jody actually watched The Experiment WITH Derren, and is not on the brink of suicide. Now please give it a rest!
19. Like many of you have already mentioned, this is highly unethical in every sense. It’s mental torture and there’s a high risk of trauma for a person that’s being deceived under these circumstances.

    With that said, I would like to point out to everybody that is credulous enough, that this could never, and would never be approved to be produced and broadcasted if it was for real. Just imagine all the implications; if Derrens judgement of Jody’s mental stabilty would’ve been wrong, if Jody did something unexpected (like totally panicking and hurting himself in some way), if the memory of his experience later would cause him to have psychological problems etcetera. There are so many possible outcomes in a chain of such unexpected events.

    It’s is highly unlikely that this show is for real.
20. The Guilt Trip was absolutely fantastic. It will be remembered as one of DB’s best programmes. I found it absolutely captivating.
21. Great show, really powerful (especially the last few scenes). Some people have commented that perhaps there’s more to these shows in some way… I wonder if part of this experiment is to test our own sense of guilt? I.e. the fact that we’re told a number of times that he’s a nice guy, etc and we feel a little bad for enjoying the show when he’s clearly in distress, etc. Perhaps it’s designed for us to question our own sense of ethics and guilt. Either way, a great show. I personally feel the people who are saying ‘it’s unethical’ are missing the point slightly; it’s an experiment highlight guilt and ethics in the first place – surely this should be seen as a good thing? After all, what’s more effective – a doc on ethics, or a show which actually makes you understand/appreciate them?
22. It’s Amazing!!!! To me, you do a public service showing how the human being really is. Exciting.
23. You really rammed him with psychosis there..