Derren Brown: The System

This is a very poor attempt to try and turn a simple 10 minute trick into a story. The acting is terrible, and you are treated as if you are stupid, with stuff being told to us, then the subject pretending to be told by Derren to make it look like its real. The whole idea behind it is flawed, that every person would check their email and respond in 24 hours, and then no question their telephone being anonymously 'tipped', along with the persistent pretence that its all 'real' makes you feel like you are being taken for a ride, and they must think you are stupid to believe it.

The whole thing could easily be explained and demonstrated in 10 minutes, and should be a large part of an episode with other stuff, just like Derrens series 'Trick of the mind'. Instead you are forced to sit there through a painful 40 minutes of acting that is stretched over an completely unbelievable story, that presumes you must be an idiot and will believe it.

I am a great fan of Derrens work, a large number of which are very cleverly faked or with actors, but also with a lot of psychological brilliance, but this programme does not mask it one bit, making it all just tiresome and insulting to watch.