I had a couple of reasons for watching Derren Brown last night. My friend Rob was on the show and I wanted to see what silly things he’d get up to. I’m also looking to find reasons why Derren Brown is not a wizard. He’s so unbelievably spooky and the “how does he do it?” drama of his shows never fails to entertain. Find out what he got my friend to do and what the rest of the show was like after the jump.

Related: TV Review – Derren Brown: Something Wicked This Way Comes | TV Review – Derren Brown: Trick or Treat

Looking quite nervous on stage, Rob called his Dad with the ruse that he’d just left Derren Brown and the show “Evening of Wonders” was rubbish. Then he made his Dad say some three digit numbers to show him a trick. Rob’s Dad said what appeared to be all of the wrong ones – Derren was looking for a three digit number that he wrote on a great big blackboard on stage. Rob’s Dad tried twice and still didn’t get it right.

So Rob was looking quite silly, and the trick didn’t work and everyone had a bit of a giggle. Rob did get to keep Derren’s tenner though. BUT! But! That Derren Brown is a sneaky chappy and the trick wasn’t over! Rob looked at the tenner to see the words “I will make him say this number” with an arrow pointing to the six digit serial number. The exact same six digits that Rob’s Dad said. Genius.

This was the highlight of the show for me (and would have been even if my mate hadn’t been on it). But he also managed to guess questions that people wanted answers to, despite claiming to think he has no psychic ability. None. How else could he have guessed that someone was deciding whether or not to shave his scrotum? Although why you’d admit that on TV is beyond me.

There was a not very spooky table moving part that annoyed me. (In fact, I went to make tea it was that dull.) I just don’t buy into spooks moving things about. Even if Derren Brown is behind it, it just doesn’t work for me.

But the rest of the show was full of trickery and humour. (Why is it when Derren Brown makes wanking jokes are they funny?) I love Derren Brown and was pretty impressed that the stage show translated so well onto the telly. Everything was a complete surprise, and he actually predicted the whole outcome of the show. Everything in the show he’d already predicted and scribbled it down on what became the spookiest piece of paper ever.

See? How is this man not a wizard in a well-cut suit? This stuff is solid TV gold.