What Derren Didn't Show
There was missing footage from last night's 'How To Predict The Lottery' with Derren Brown. And it's a shame. There is, out there, somewhere, a film of Derren Brown on an open top bus supposedly shot on Oxford Street last Christmas. (The Christmas lights and tinsel decorations suggest it probably was genuine footage. And the children had the un-fake-able look of being truly excited about the ever-nearing prospect of a visit from Santa Claus. You just would not look that excited in August. Probably). In the film Derren begins to walk down the bus aisle until he is flanked by six children. He then raises each child's hands skywards to reveal they are holding a lottery ball. What was on them? The numbers from Wednesday's lottery of course. This footage was shown to the studio audience during his explanation of the third method - 'Fix The Machine' - but was cut from the show that went out on Channel 4.
As I say, I believe this footage is genuine - Derren blogged about himself being on a bus last November, saying "Currently in the middle of filming on an open top bus around Oxford St under the Christmas lights (not pictured). Tried something I hope will pay off in a year or so. Could be quite exciting". Whether the numbers on the balls are genuine, however, I just don't know. Tricks of the camera and all that. But that's irrelevant. What I want to know is why it wasn't shown? This would have made the show brilliant instead of the anti-climax I felt it was. The natural assumption is that Derren and/or Channel 4 'lost their nerve', which of course makes you think he actually rigged the result. And no one is going to convince me that that is not seriously cool thing to believe. Or maybe they genuinely lost their nerve because he had rigged the lottery and showing the footage wouldn't have done him any favours if it resulted in an investigation. Or maybe it wasn't shown because he wanted those from the studio audience, who actually saw this footage, to write about it and keep the Derren Brown mystery rolling. He's good like that.
I hope the footage is shown at some stage though. Not just for my sake, or yours, but for Derren's. He looks a little bit stupid holding up a snowflake at the end of this trailer now. A snowflake that surely points to the footage shot under the Christmas lights. Or, as everyone else seems to believe, it just points to the frozen screen theory. (Which may have happened. Too).
NB: The above photo is from a blog post Derren made on 12th August 2009.
