Derren Brown Investigates: Exclusive Review

[Mr. Jon Donnis]

Derren Brown is back on our screens on the 10th of May on Channel 4 with his brand new show. And yours truly has managed to have a sneak peek at the show, and I will share my thoughts on it here.

Firstly the official blurb from Ch4
In this brand new series, Derren Brown is hitting the road to see if some of the extraordinary claims that are out there are real.

During the hour, Derren Brown travels to Liverpool to investigate the world of Joe Power, a psychic medium who claims he can communicate with the dead. Joe alleges that one of the many he’s made contact with, is Liverpool’s own, John Lennon.

In today’s Britain, many people turn to psychics for comfort but anyone can be a medium without having a licence. They just have to show that they can communicate with the dead. The claims that Joe Power makes are large scale and quite serious. Derren hopes to be blown away by Joe and experience firsthand all that he can’t explain on this extraordinary, unexpected and a little bit argumentative journey…

Click Here to read my exclusive review

[theminx]

Jon, I am so looking forward to this program, I just wonder what others thoughts will be on the show? will you be doing anything on BP in unison with the show?

[Ma'amJo]

I've set my Sky to autoview and series link - can't be too careful!

[farsideofthemoon]

This might even surpass the Mannion documentary for hilariousness.

[theminx]

Farside let it show that this is all bunkum

[fluffet]

I must say up until the final 30 seconds of the show, I did feel like something was missing, a final nail in the coffin so to speak, I just wanted more, and in classic Derren fashion we get it, with something of a twist. I wont spoil it, but it is a classic.

Now i'm even more intrigued as if I hadn't already booked some quality time with my Sky box for this series im now switching off the phone , the doorbell and telling the world Im washing my hair that night

[Mr. Jon Donnis]

My favourite part of the show which i did not mention in my review is when Joe is reading for members of Hollyoaks.

After a couple of readings Joe challenges Derren to give a reading.
He does and performs very well, at the end of Derrens reading Joe pipes in as if to cement his proof as a real psychic, but he goes one step too far and really screws up, which Derren pushes him on.

It is proper cringeworthy stuff for any Joe fans, and you will be pissing yoruself.

It is good to see how Joe will flip the moment he fucks up or realises he has come out of something looking bad.

[lester]

Strangely enough for this TV "performance" I did not get an email (as I am on his list) from the delighteful Claudine Hope (his manager).

Clearly this must be an "oversight" as she has always bombarded me with emails when he has been on telly before.

Think that we will now see the real Joe Powerless and what a complete deluded gormless idiot he really is. The more people that see this program the better. Hope any remaining shows he does just bomb out completely.

Lester

[Mr. Jon Donnis]

Yes i think that Joe will hope people dont see this show, but alas they will.
I await his official response and how he tries to dig himself out of it

[bujin]

Well, I watched it last night and thought it was very good. For the most part, Derren Brown was non-threatening in his approach, always pointing out that there's a possibility that Joe could really be speaking with the dead, but showing how it's possible to replicate his "abilities" using tricks.

I liked how Brown and Richard Wiseman highlighted a few cold reading tricks and showed clips of Joe using them in his stage show.

And Joe, particularly his responses later on in the show, appeared to me not as someone who genuinely believes he has these abilities, but as someone who knows he is being dishonest - especially with his reaction to Brown challenging him on seeing the Hollyoaks lady getting out of the Mini car that he miraculously "divined" during the reading...

[Mr. Jon Donnis]

I liked how Joe responded when Derren asked if he was a fake.

Just the other day on Frank Skinners Opiniated they had some psychology professor, experton lying in the audience, and he pointed out how someone very good at lying will try and over compensate by staring you in the eye, keeping very still and not blinking etc.

It was exactly what Power did!

[Ma'amJo]

I saw that too, love Frank Skinner.

How aggressive is Joe Power? He showed himself to be a nasty piece of work, as well as a Grade-A conman.

[Mr. Jon Donnis]

The good thing is anyone searching google for him, will find BadPsychics!! and all multitude of skeptical sites exposing him

[bujin]

Like this one:

www.merseysideskeptics.org.uk/2009/06/psychic-joe-power-and-the-two-man-mob/

[tautriadelta]

Quote of the show..."I deal in facts"

[Ma'amJo]

He's a bit angry today on his website news page, too. Unsurprisingly.

[fluffet]

The "Google" effect has clearly commenced from the second the show went out, this site was down for a short while under the sheer deluge of people trying to get on no doubt led here by the search engines
A quick look at the readometer here alone and you'll see just how much interest the show actually got which is heartening.

[romany]

missjo, I agree. The one thing that struck me about Joe Power most, not having seen him before, is how aggressive an individual he is. I thought Derren Brown came out of it as being the mature, rational individual in comparison (which of course he is) and I admired the way he refused to lower himself to Joe's defensive/aggressive level and managed to remain calm, cool and collected throughout.

I found Joe Power excruciating to watch as he tried to worm his way out of situations and was appalled at how he tried to make that lady, 'Ros' almost bear responsibility for his inability to deliver, as it were.

Was also impressed with how both Brown and Wiseman allowed for the possibility of supernatural explanations without being patronising or sarcastic. It struck me that in this show, they were the grown ups and Joe was most definitely the child with the tantrums. And that is entirely his own fault, no one else's!

Modified for typos!

[Ma'amJo]

I feel the same, romany. I'd never seen him before either, and my first impression is that he was a sneaky little thug. He's got such an evil stare, he's quite threatening when he's on the defensive. Like you, I was appalled at how he treated 'Ros' - he looked like he wanted to swing for her, he was practically frothing at the mouth with contempt!

Derren was the model of restraint and managed to get his points/questions across without ever being rude or confrontational - unlike Mr Power.

[bujin]

He is also prone to saying the most stupid things on the defensive too, as the Mersey Skeptics article shows - where he says most sceptics are probably paedophiles!