Psychoville

47 Comments

1. I’ve heard about episode four. I can’t wait. Though I’ll have to.
2. Reece’s Forbidden Cabinet of Magical Delight behind you looks amazing! I’d kill to be able to have a poke around in that. And possibly go as far as a light flesh-wound simply to take pictures of it.

   Paul B
3. Eek, yeh, I know Farah Fawcetts death has obviously been totally taken over with Michael Jacksons death.

   I only heard about Michael this morning when dropping the kids off at school (didn’t have TV or out on last night); 9/11 we’d just come back from picking up a Tree to plant for our new baby, and Diana me n hubby was sat in bed (having just woken up I might add), and was listening to the radio and caught something about Diana, and I said to hubby “oh god, what has see done now!”… and then heard that she’d died!

   xx
4. Really enjoyed episode 2 last night. And agreed, the cabinet of magical goodness looks exciting!
5. I am a pretty big fan of league of gentlemen, been following psychoville on tv and i think it has promise, only 2 episodes in at the moment though! Also Derren i think you are amazing and will be seeing you on your next tour!
6. Den? Hm ..
   He seems familiar, but I’m sure I’ve never seen the guy. He reminds me of some blokes.

   I already got in touch with MJ, all is well although he has trouble seeing himself.
   The last time I saw MJ was at a press conference in london. Very shortly, I alrealy wondered about the difference in his being. The missing piece becomes clear.

   Read about MJ, Farah our angel and a Dutch or belgian tv personality/singer who killed herself, age 37. No one expected as usual. Gay.
   A chinese woman commented to my saying MJ died, did you hear: “he got 50”.
7. Spot on observation about the mundane situations we remember when these events happen – I wasn’t doing anything noteworthy when I found out about 9/11, Diana, or Jacko, yet don’t think I’ll ever forget!
   Bring on the next episode of Psychoville! x
8. I can see Billy the doll, from the Saw franchise in there too! 🙂 I’d love to meet Reese, he seems like he has a good head on him!
9. Ah, but can you remember where you were when you found out Jade Goody had died? Surely that ranks amongst Diana and Jackson? 🙂
10. Im a huge fan of the League and have to say that even just 2 episodes in, I am hugely impressed. The Writing is spot on, the characters suitably weird and the storyline is fantastic. Glad you enjoyed it Derren, hope the shows at the Adelphi are going well!!! xxx
11. Flash bulb memories are occasionally mistake quite profoundly, I remember during psychology there was a case study of a man who remembered listening to the radio when pearl harbour occured but he claims that he was listening to a baseball game. However baseballs was out of season during the time.

    As for me I remember going down to watch tv early in the morning and watching the news about diana, oddly the memory is mostly about the feeling of the carpet I was kneeling on.

    9/11 is also my birthday I remember getting home from school and just been sent a text by my mom saying turn on the tv. I turned on just as the north towers (3 30 just got back from school) fell I stood watching for half an hour with out moving.

    To be honest I don’t think I will remember MJ’s death as a flash bulb. Think I was too tired this morning when I heard on the news and I was expected it after hearing about it last night.
12. I learned something about spiritualists. I was reading this book by someone called Mary Roach, and do you know where female mediums kept their “ectoplasm?” YOU HAVE NO IDEA BUT HOLY CRAP IT IS TERRIBLE. I can’t even tell you. It’s too wrong.
13. Her death has been overshadowed but then my friend died yesterday too and nobody gives a shit about that. She was essentially an actor while MJ was an icon of an era, comparable only to the greats like Elvis and The Beatles.

    It definitely reminded me of when Diana died but not of Sept 11. In fact Sept 11 reminded me that we all went a bit too far with Diana when in fact she was just one person and that there’s so much more going on in the world. My brother-in-law from Israel was woken early today to be told and was confused when the news was just about MJ as he was expecting to be told that Israel had used a nuclear weapon or the likes.
14. I am loving Psychoville, & yet slightly confused by it at the same time!

    When 9-11 happened I was in the yorkshire dales with my dad.

    I remember the day of Diana’s funeral, I took my dogs for a walk down the main shopping street in Grimsby & didn’t see another human being. I was throwing a tennis ball for the dogs in the middle of the road!

    XX
15. Hmmm, I have Psychoville recorded but I’m a bit afraid to watch it… still haven’t forgiven the League of Gentleman for the ‘You’re my wife now’ character who literally gave me nightmares for months!!! (I’m a complete scaredy cat)

    I heard about MJ’s death this morning on my alarm clock radio… and I thought I’d dreamt it until I got to work…

    Another one I’ll always remember is the Omagh bomb in ’98, I was in Dublin shopping and heard it on the radio in a shop… people just stopped in their tracks and went silent to listen, we were literally glued to the news for the rest of the day and couldn’t believe what had happened… its true what you say,
    ‘Those moments are somehow inextricably linked to mundane surroundings, as if everything becomes a little heightened at those times’
    The contrast between being somewhere familiar and trying to process something so shocking is so disconcerting that it stays with you very clearly.
16. Thanks – Two of my favourite people in one pic 🙂 I’m guessing Reece took it, nice work! Here I was, bored at work, an I thought i’d pop on and read your blog as it always makes me chuckle – a little light refereshment after lunch. Anyway your right, the most momentous things always happens when I’m doing the most mundane things but I guess that’s the law of averages working their stuff…
17. Yep, I felt a tad sorry for Farrah Fawcett. I guess she wouldn’t be aware of it, but it’s still a bit of a bummer to have your obituary obliterated by a bigger celebrity death.
    The one which always sticks in my head was Mel “What’s up Doc” Blanc, the hugely talented voice artist behind roughly 80% of the Looney Tunes characters. He voiced Bugs, Daffy, Sylvester, Tweety, the later Porky pigs… if it was Warner bros it had his voice in it.
    He had the misfortune to die on the same day as Sir Lawrence Olivier.
    Olivier got round the clock news coverage, Mel Blanc got relegated to one 5 minute slot at the end of John Craven’s newsround (that’s a kids news programme for those who don’t live in the UK).
    On the plus side, he did get an obituary from none other than Rolf Harris, so it could’ve been worse!
    Little known Mel Blanc fact… when he voiced bugs he had to use a real carrot for the performance as nothing else had the same crunch. He was also allergic to carrots. He had to have a bucket and a glass of water ready after each take! Now that’s suffering for your art.
    I think we should give Farrah Fawcett a decent send off too! She’s with the ‘angels’ now 😉
18. Glad you got your wish to watch the series with Reece. 🙂 Yes, us Leaguers are loving it! Please tell him so next time you see him.

    I can’t seem to believe Michael is dead. I dont think it’s anything to do with him being God-like or anything. I think it’s more to do with the fact that it was so unexpected. Although he was a God of music in my opinion. It’s very sad. I never had any experience of Farah but of course that is sad too.
19. BTW loving Psychoville too, it’s even more addictive than “The League of Gentlemen”.
20. Quote: “I remember the day of Diana’s funeral, I took my dogs for a walk down the main shopping street in Grimsby & didn’t see another human being. I was throwing a tennis ball for the dogs in the middle of the road!”

    My god, you were in Grimsby? I’m so sorry, that must have made the whole thing seem so much worse.

    (joke)
21. I’m enjoying Psychoville although we’re only on episode two Derren. I guess it helps to have friends in the right places! I’m also participating in the ‘ Psychoville Experience’ on the website. So far, so good. I have answered the first question. Will look forward to episode four.

    I heard about Michael Jackson late last night on a TV programme and checked online for more details. I remember hearing about Diana’s and John Lennon’s deaths on the radio and was trying to finish a psychology essay for my Open University course on 9/11. At the start of the day I was really stressed about the essay because it was due to be finished that day and I only had half of it finished but it just seemed so insignificant when I turned on the TV to have a break and saw what was happening.

    I’ll be in London in a few weeks and will be catching the ‘Enigma’ show. Hope it is going well and getting good reviews.

    Lots of love

    xx
22. Those ‘i remember where i was when’ moments are called flashbulb memories!!! yay i learnt something at school/uni!!!
    And tis tres sad about all the death, i found out on Facebook last night, major shockeroo, bit mean that no-one seems to care as much about Farrah.
23. here’s a good explanation of where ectoplasm was kept, along with some inneresting pictures. eeuu.

    http://www.prairieghosts.com/ectoplasm.html
24. Yeah, i remember these moments as well…pretty daunting…

    But,…are the psychoville series on DVD?…Have to take a look at it!
25. Wow, what a photo. My two very favourite men 🙂 I would love to have been a fly on the wall at Reece’s to hear the conversations…

    Loving Psychoville even more now after episode 2… cannot wait a week to see the next one!!
26. Wow, this is like a proper blog post, I mean when most famous people blog and its all like “Oh I went to dinner with the queen and then we went backstage at blahblah and then we went partying and got a load of free stuff and people were shouting my name… etc” and all the readers of the blog are left feeling incredibly jealous of their amazingly exciting lives and how famous they are. But its nice to know famous people go round to their mates houses with junk food to watch tv too, and its not just us little people who do that. ;D
    Not that I’m assuming you’re not incredibly exciting too of course.
27. That is a lovely photo, I agree.

    I was up late last night watching Trick Or Treat on C4 when I learnt about Michael Jackson’s death. It sort of renders you a little numb cos you can’t quite believe it and yet you know it’s true (I remember also feeling like that when I learnt of River Phoenix’s death).
    It’s strange cos my Mum once said something years ago about MJ that has always stuck in my head and that was that she couldn’t for some reason ever see him becoming an old man…..

    I wasn’t doing anything special when Diana died. I just remember being woken up on a Sunday morning by my brother downstairs and hearing him saying something to someone about Dodi dying as well. I shot up, flicked the TV onto Ceefax and learnt that Diana had been killed as well as Dodi. I just could not believe it.

    I was a bit young to remember Elvis and Lennon dying, but along with the shock of anyone being taken before their time comes the legacy they leave behind. And I’m not just talking about famous persons either. We all leave something of ourselves and our lives behind us when we die, just some of us make a bigger mark than others.

    Yes, I recall Sept 11th with shame on my part cos I flicked the news on, saw something which I didn’t really take in and turned it off again. It was only later when I was about to view something else on tv and I wondered why the news was still on, that I realised what had happened.
    But probably the July bombings in London I recall with more clarity cos I was at work when someone heard the news coming through on the radio. And as the day went on, what we heard on that radio seemed to get worse and worse.
    As I work in a government building, after both these atrocities, my workplace was like fort knox!

    Try to keep smiling 🙂

    LC x
28. Mary Roach must have had spacious “wizards sleeves ” thats all I can say !!
    Roll on episode 3.
    Missed the Enigma tour ,sadly disappointed but work is work …will catch next
    Regards Mark
29. How can anything top League of Gentlemen, it’s a league of it’s own – Nope, sorry, it can’t, but I’m sure Psychoville is excellent in it’s own right.
30. Reece’s magic room! *sigh*
31. The mythical magic room! Derren, you are one lucky chap 😉
32. Heart breaking news about Michael Jackson 🙁
    It’s an end of era 🙁

    I was working at the Canary Wharf tower when I heard of 9/11.. Working on the 40th floor..There was PA announcement requesting that everyone to evacuate the building immediatly. I didnt even know about the attacks on the WTC until we all got outside and saw it on the big screen..

    And princess Diana, I heard the news of her death when I was watching the news on the plane flying back to London.
33. Oh bugger, why can’t Psychoville air here? Can’t wait to see all of it 🙂
34. I’d just watched Trick or Treat when I heard about Jacko – it came on the news afterwards!
35. ‘Psychoville’ is fantastic so far, very intriguing. I wonder if the bidding war between DB and RS was inspiration for the ‘Sisters Of eBay’…!
36. MJ’s death will not be a flashbulb for me.
    But Diana’s I found out a little late. My husband were on our honeymoon. We hadn’t turned on the TV or radio for about three days and were a bit baffled at first as to what had happened.

    I was cleaning up breakfast dishes when I heard about 9/11. I was listening to the radio and the first reports were very sketchy. I turned on the TV to see if I could get something more clear, just in time to see the second plane hit. I watched for while, but I had to tear myself away because it was trash day. While walking the trash down to the road I was thinking, “Oh my God. We are under attack. What is going to happen next?” I lived outside Norfolk, Virginia, the US’s biggest naval base, so I was a little concerned. I was also grateful we were so far out in the suburbs that we wouldn’t be affected if there was a local hit.

    When I walked in from taking out the trash, I immediately heard that the Pentagon had been hit. D.C. was not far north of where we lived. After that I was just glued to the TV, and in shock, of course, when the towers fell.
37. I came home to see 9/11 on the news and scoffed at it thinking it was one of those crappy disaster movies, i felt a bit bad when my brother told me it was real.
38. I was quite small when Elvis died, but I remember saying to my mum “does that mean we don’t have to listen to him any more?”
    I’d just moved to Canada when Diana died, I was in an almost empty flat (my furniture hadn’t arrived and my husband was away working) and I didn’t know a soul there. I was channel surfing late at night and almost every channel was Diana. I missed the whole UK outpouring of grief, it’s hard to imagine what that was like.
    On 9-11 my partner & I were working at a Saga Insurance call centre (one of the low points of our life!) and they put the news on the screens in the corner. We could only watch with no volume while still trying to sell insurance on the phone. After a while the call queue started to drop from about 400 down to nothing. It was absolutely surreal.

    And MJ? I was so excited about going to see Enigma the next day that I really didn’t pay much attention!
    Derren – you were fabulous. It would have been worth it even if we’d had to spend the night stranded at Charing Cross station, which came very close to happening! Thanks for a great night 😀 xx
39. oh yes,it must be nice to be derren brown…us mortals have to wait a week at a time to catch up with psychoville-yeah,it’s great stuff,indeed.
    As for the jackson demise…the real and ubertalented,ahead of his time,singer/songwriter jackson died years ago-what died yesterday was just a shell(and a pretty shoddy one at that).
    I won’t be mourning him-i never knew the guy,but i will still admire his work.
40. Nice facebook styley pic 🙂 Looking good.

    I’ve missed the first episodes of Psychoville. Will have to catch up somehow. Maybe pop round to Mr Shearsmiths..like you do. :-p

    Diana- I was woken up by my radio alarm clock playing classical music. As this was Radio 1, it struck me as strange and it was nice music so I left it on. When it finished the presenter came on with a voice of death and updated listeners just tuning in with the news. I then went downstairs to tell my parents who put the TV on. Not sure why I had my alarm set as it was a weekend and I was a lazy teenager.
    9/11 – I was at my then place of work. Someone put a TV on and we gathered round. A customer then made a complaint to the manager that the staff were skiving.

    Jackson- 5.30am, in our kitchen making sandwiches from the radio. Uri Geller was on commenting on it. Took a while for him to say the name. Have to say i felt quite shocked. Whatever his personal life he was a talented man.

    xx
41. “making sandwiches from the radio” ? lol.

    I was making sandwiches. I found out by turning the radio on.

    See how much sense you can make when you use punctuation and sentences.

    x
42. I was settling down to watch Family Guy when the news broke about MJ.
    His heart attack was reported before the episode and his death immediately after. Funny to think one episode of Family Guy can be the difference between life and death.
43. @Mike, cheeky bitch!!

    I live in Grimsby & met Derren here too!!

    Humph!! Sulking Face!! 🙁

    @Lady Claire, I work in a government building too, security go scranny for days when something happens!

    XX
44. Derren… How about coming over to mine to watch the entire Series 4 of House? x
    Bring biscuits… 😉
45. Saw the show at the Adelphi on Thursday. Fantastic. Your aim was unerring x
46. I surely remember where I was, when I first heard about Michael – I was at the backseat of famous London taxi, first time of my life, and just arrived to the country to see Derrens show.
    What a association – Michaels dead and Derrens show. Will stay at my head forever I think.
    But show was amazing and and Derren and his crew after the show at the stagedoor where the nicest persons I’ve met.
    Thank you all!
47. Hi There talking of Michael did you know Derren that he was a fan of yours apparently!!!

    i found out a few years back when my dad was browsing his wap on his new phone it said in an article from some american newspaper or something that Michael was hoping to have a housewarming party in his new place (not long after he left Neverland) and he apparently said one of the people he’d most love to invite would be Derren Brown 🙂

    i’ve always know Michael loved magic & know he’s spent a lot of time here in the uk (even living here for many months) so I was always curious as to whether or not he’d seen you & If he liked you

    And it seem he did 🙂

    the man had good taste huh!!! 😀

    how does that feel by the way knowing the biggest star on the planet was a fan of yours???

    i’d be stunned I tell you!!!

    I’d love to hear what you think