Derek Acorah Challenges Derren Brown To A Duel

Derren Brown has had run-ins with self-proclaimed psychic Derek Acorah before, and if Acorah has his way, the two will meet again.

In the wake of the Derren Brown Investigates series, in which Derren debunked various psychic types, Acorah has challenged DB to to a televised duel. According to the Daily Star, Acorah said (May 30, 2010):

"If Derren asked me to appear on his Channel 4 show, I would. But he won't because he knows he wouldn't be able to prove what I do is wrong. True mediumship is not false."

While it would be nice to see Derren soundly defeat Acorah on television, I'm afraid the resulting publicity might actually help Acorah, as it apparently has done for Joe Powers.

Joe Power: Life After “Derren Brown Investigates”

To my television-viewing eyes, self-proclaimed psychic Joe Power was thoroughly debunked on the recent “Derren Brown Investigates” program. So, is his career over as a result? Is he throwing in the psychic towel? The answer might surprise you…

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Did "Derren Brown Investigates" Change Your Mind About Psychics?

The recent "Derren Brown Investigates" series was designed, obviously, to convince people that psychics are all frauds. I happen to agree with that sentiment, but I also recognize the futility of trying to change anyone's mind about anything.

I was amused, therefore, to read a June 5th article in the Aberdeen Press and Journal [I would provide a link but I can't find it online] that describes an episode of the show, and then states:

"I would love to see Derren Brown come up against a genuine psychic some day, but since he seems to hand pick the most outrageous charlatans he can find, you don't have to be a fortune teller to know it's never going to happen."

I'm afraid that Derren's effort to reveal psychics as fakes, while entertaining, is probably not changing very many minds. Those who believe real psychics exist will always just claim that DB is cherry-picking his victims. The show is entertaining, though, which I guess is the point.

Derren Brown Is Coming To America

Why hasn't Derren Brown made it big in America? He’s a household name in the UK, but if you ask Americans about him you just get blank stares in return.

Here is some exciting news: Derren Brown is planning to break into the American market. In a recent interview with the Big Issue in Scotland, we learned that Derren Brown is...

[Click for full article].

Title and Release Date of Derren Brown's Autobiography

Amazon UK has a product page for the audiobook version of Derren Brown's forthcoming autobiography.

If the Amazon page is accurate, the book is called "Confessions of a Conjuror" and will be released in audiobook format on October 14, 2010. I assume the print version will come out on that date, too, but I suppose it could be earlier.

In a recent interview, DB said he was putting the finishing touches on his autobiography, so the claims of the Amazon page seem credible. Here's hoping that we will, in fact, be reading the finished product four and a half months from now.

Ideas for Fresh Derren Brown Material

This past week, Derren Brown's most recent series ("Derren Brown Investigates") ended. Derren was good as usual, but the main idea of the series -- exposing fake psychics -- was not new territory for him.

So I started thinking about fresh new ideas for Derren Brown shows. Here are my top choices:

1. Derren's Big Challenge. Here, Derren is dropped off in an unfamiliar city (e.g., Fresno, California) with no ID and no money. He has to make his way to a distant city (e.g., New York City) by a specific deadline (e.g., ten days), using his hypnotist/magician/etc. skills. This would generate a lot of publicity, give DB opportunities to demonstrate many different skills, and potentially be quite entertaining.

2. Reality TV. Derren could become a contestant on an American reality TV show that requires contestants to outwit each other (Survivor would be best). This option would (a) put DB in a setting where no one knows who he is and (b) introduce him to millions of potential new fans. Plus, I think he could use his persuasion techniques to win the show.

3. Ask Derren Brown. In this concept, viewers and fans submit requests to DB, to see if he can fulfill them. For example, someone might write in, "Make my brother-in-law stop smoking." Then DB would travel to the person's town and use his skills to accomplish the task. While this might be less glamorous than his usual celebrity-laden shows, I think it would make the audience feel more connected to him.

Do you have other (better) ideas? Feel free to share them in the comment section below.