Derren Brown Plays Russian Roulette Live was probably the most controversial of the performer's TV specials, which is saying a lot. On its original transmission in 2003 it was watched by over 3.3 million viewers, with many of them no doubt tuning in out of a sort of morbid curiosity: was this famous magician really going to run the risk of blowing his brains out on live television? It certainly seemed that way. The show was broadcast at an undisclosed location, supposedly in Jersey, due to laws in mainland Britain restricting the firing of live rounds. Senior British police officers condemned it, worried it might inspire copycat games. Of course, when it came down to it, this was all just another classic example of Brown's mastery of misdirection and manipulating his audience. As it happens, after getting a rigorously tested member of the public to load the revolver with a single bullet, Brown ended up firing it at a sandbag to his side rather than at his head. Which is handy, since the bullet was loaded in the first chamber. Since the show aired, people have constantly asked whether the bullet was real, or if the gun had been loaded with a blank; Brown responded, "The frustrating and kind of ironic part of it was that even if it had been a blank that wouldn't have made it any less dangerous. You shoot a blank next to your head and it will still kill you." So, regardless of whether the bullets were or not, the threat of Brown dying was certainly real.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
