TV shows that delve into the workings of the human mind, such as Brain Games or Head Games , have proven to be a hit on Indian television. Close on the success of these shows is The Mind Control Freaks on Discovery Channel. A 10-part series, the program promises to expose the human mind by examining behaviour and man’s innate willingness to be manipulated.
Alexis Conran, actor and magician, is the face of the new show.
He is well-known for his role in the BBC series The Real Hustle that completed more than 100 episodes, featuring more than 450 scams. “Magic is at the forefront of everything. Magicians were among the first to use technology, be it electricity or electro-magnets. It is something that will always be there, because people like to believe in magic,” says Conran.
In The Mind Control Freaks , Conran collaborates with Liv Boeree, a world-class poker player; Lewis Le Val, an expert in hypnosis and mentalism; and Pete Wardell, considered one of the world’s finest sleight-of-hand experts, for a show that has a fresh take on the psychology of the human mind. “This is a great and exciting show that examines people’s behaviour and forces them to put into perspective the things they take for granted,” says Conran over the phone. “The show will put people in peculiar positions and look closely at the things do and why they do them. It is both surprising and tremendously useful,” he says.
Conran further reveals that the new show is about manipulating people, forcing them to behave in illogical ways and doing things that they never imagined they ever would. “What makes this show very different is the fact that it is both entertaining and fascinating. There are no optical illusions or smokescreens like in other shows. This is about perfectly stable, regular human beings reacting in unexpected ways,” he adds.
But there is also an element of fun to the experiments on the show. “We’ve rehashed a number of experiments that were popular from the 70s and 80s and used them on our targets. They are always shocked or surprised, but come out laughing from the experiment. It’s fun to watch people struggle for those few minutes,” says Conran gleefully.
Conran is a trained magician and an expert on card cheating, who has turned scamming into an entertaining art form. He is a noted speaker on security and risk, and speaks on the threats posed to businesses and advices on the cleverest ways to protect against fraudsters in the real and virtual world.
The Mind Control Freaks will air on Discovery Channel, at from July 21, Monday to Friday at 8 pm
