3 out of 5

Created by: Katherine Mills (presumably…)

KATHERINE MILLS IS NOT THE FEMALE DERREN BROWN or so she’s said in an interview released as ‘Mind Games’ was airing.  And it’s true enough – Mills has a different presentation style and a bit more of a direct focus on manipulation versus Derren’s street-magic era of occasionally malicious trickery – but structurally, the episodes of this 4-part series will absolutely bring back thoughts of Brown’s ‘Trick of the Mind,’ and thus comparing the performers side-by-side.  I realize I’ve now been watching Darren for years and so Mills’ particular breed of sleight-of-psychology might be old hat to me, but even so – Brown has her beat in terms of presence.  Katherine does do some really fascinating half-explained tricks on her series, and as she leans her narrative moments toward her interest in psychology, it means she can afford to set up experiments that are a bit more clinical but still produce “how’d she do that?” results, however, her unobtrusive presence, calm manner of speaking, and arms-at-her-sides stance just don’t scream showman.  You’re not immediately entranced, just hanging in there because you know the tell-tale signs of what you’re in for and so suspect it’ll be worth a view.  Assuming things were shot in chronological order, I did feel she got more confident as things went on (and the horribly showy editing of the first couple episodes toned down), but it’s not just that some of her tricks harken back to Derren, it’s that she doesn’t have enough presence as a performer (yet) to completely dismiss your memories of him.

However, I have missed missed missed the up-close version of mind-fuckery, and Mills definitely presented enough new spins on the style to fill up the show’s 4 hours of runtime, so here’s hoping she’ll continue to grow as a showman and we’ll get a followup series soon enough.