In the past few weeks, mentalist Derren Brown's been pulling in audiences by apparently predicting the lottery, sticking viewers to their seats and 'projecting' psychic images into people's minds. In the last of his Events, Brown last night attempted to predict where the ball would land on a casino roulette wheel. Using £5000 borrowed from a London resident he'd hypnotised a week before, he went to an undisclosed location (filmed using secret cameras), and what appeared to be a live broadcast placed his bet.
The entire show had been leading up to this moment; Brown appeared to predict the speed of cars on the motorway in the presence of Tim Westwood. He could guess where a bouncing squash ball would land with pinpoint accuracy.
So when, in the final minutes of last nights show, Derren placed his chips swiftly and decisively on one number in the anonymous casino, the outcome seemed inevitable - the smug Londoner would win £175,000, and Derren would retain his crown as the country's creepiest necromancer.
And then something strange happened. As the roulette wheel clattered to a halt, the ball landed 'one out'; Brown, and Smug Londoner, had lost.
In one of the most sudden, anticlimactic and unexpected conclusions to a magic show ever, Derren Brown failed to pull off his stunt, wrapping up the proceedings with a muffled 'Sorry. Don't hate me.'
So what are we to make of it? Was it a didactic 'you can't beat the system' message to would-be gamblers everywhere? Was it an attempt by Brown to curry favour with the Casino industry that, if his blog is to be believed, despise his very presence? Or is it what it appeared: a right balls up?
Brown's been quiet last night, apart from the admission that he was 'still reeling' from the incident, again posted on his blog.
Whatever was going on behind the scenes, it made a refreshing change from the predictable fodder normally seen in magic shows, and few other illusionists would dare to screw up in such a public fashion. It's the equivalent of David Copperfield attempting to walk through the Great Wall of China and breaking his nose, which thinking about it would have been hilarious too.
