SPOILERS BELOW
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I watched this not knowing what it was about, as, I didn't even see the title, just turned the TV on! However, if you know Derren, and/or if you know the title, which you probably do as you are here, then, you pretty much know what is the order of the day here.
This is not a movie, so, typical spoilers do not come into it. That said, it is hard to review a show like this without giving something away, so, stop reading now, watch the show, then see if you agree with me.
The premise is that faith-healing is a load of hog-wash. The show goes to great depths to make it clear that this is not a faith question, in fact, quite the opposite; they entrust a believer to do their 'dirty work'. Ultimately, this makes sense, as it gives more credence to the show. Also, from a pragmatic point of view, I imagine these 'healers' do more damage to the church than good.
OK, so the show, typical Derren, insomuch as an initial interview process. However, this is slightly different as the true intent of this is not given to the participants. The eventual candidate is OK. He has reservations about duping people, but, that is the nature of the mission. However, when it comes to duping an agency, which is essentially a decent Texan civilian, the team decide that is not acceptable, as it could affect his livelihood. For me, that was a nice touch. Derren highlights some of the industry tricks that these people use. Again, nothing clever, but these people are great showmen. This show basically highlights how these 'healers' prey on the vulnerable, naive, and not-so-clever. There is one part – Huge Spoiler Alert – where it shows the 'healer' guessing people's names, and possibly their ailment. Yet 2 hours earlier, they had filled in a card detailing their name, address, ailments etc. Very sad if you ask me!
I have a mixed opinion of the ending. A certain amount of awareness is served, but, to a very small audience. I believe that the people who will watch this show are the people who are already aware. The people who need to see this show will probably never see it. They will only see what they want to see. But, still, a good TV show, underlining some of the things many of us already knew, but providing more detail. Also, the bit about the leg-size increase is invaluable watching. And the candidate successfully pulls this off too (pardon the pun).
Or, maybe I am wrong; maybe Derren is the devil incarnate.
============
I watched this not knowing what it was about, as, I didn't even see the title, just turned the TV on! However, if you know Derren, and/or if you know the title, which you probably do as you are here, then, you pretty much know what is the order of the day here.
This is not a movie, so, typical spoilers do not come into it. That said, it is hard to review a show like this without giving something away, so, stop reading now, watch the show, then see if you agree with me.
The premise is that faith-healing is a load of hog-wash. The show goes to great depths to make it clear that this is not a faith question, in fact, quite the opposite; they entrust a believer to do their 'dirty work'. Ultimately, this makes sense, as it gives more credence to the show. Also, from a pragmatic point of view, I imagine these 'healers' do more damage to the church than good.
OK, so the show, typical Derren, insomuch as an initial interview process. However, this is slightly different as the true intent of this is not given to the participants. The eventual candidate is OK. He has reservations about duping people, but, that is the nature of the mission. However, when it comes to duping an agency, which is essentially a decent Texan civilian, the team decide that is not acceptable, as it could affect his livelihood. For me, that was a nice touch. Derren highlights some of the industry tricks that these people use. Again, nothing clever, but these people are great showmen. This show basically highlights how these 'healers' prey on the vulnerable, naive, and not-so-clever. There is one part – Huge Spoiler Alert – where it shows the 'healer' guessing people's names, and possibly their ailment. Yet 2 hours earlier, they had filled in a card detailing their name, address, ailments etc. Very sad if you ask me!
I have a mixed opinion of the ending. A certain amount of awareness is served, but, to a very small audience. I believe that the people who will watch this show are the people who are already aware. The people who need to see this show will probably never see it. They will only see what they want to see. But, still, a good TV show, underlining some of the things many of us already knew, but providing more detail. Also, the bit about the leg-size increase is invaluable watching. And the candidate successfully pulls this off too (pardon the pun).
Or, maybe I am wrong; maybe Derren is the devil incarnate.