S01.E06: Poking the Bear

[MarkHB]

Quote

A pair of fugitives creates an online ruse to throw the Hunters off their trail. Also, the Hunters close in on a fugitive team after obtaining surveillance footage identifying their last location.

[NYGirl]

Wow.  Just wow.  I can't believe David and Emily got caught.  I'm wondering now who's going to win now.  I am doubtful that Steve and English will because we didn't spend much time with them.

i wish the teams would stop "poking the bear" so to speak.  There was no reason to have all those people call Griff.  You don't realize you are creating a trail.

[Skyfall]

If David wasn't panicking he would've gotten off the main highway and ditched that SUV.

I also wish they had gone back to the gated community, that seemed like it would've bought them some time at least.

[Tabasco Cat]

7 minutes ago, Skyfall said:

I also wish they had gone back to the gated community, that seemed like it would've bought them some time at least.

Andy Denhart's article from today reveals a few more rules of the game nobody knew about until now. 'You can't go back to the same place twice' is one of them. I was also wondering why David and Emiley discussed the gated community but changed their minds. I thought maybe the guy on the phone blew them off after saying he'd call David back.

David said at one point that they had 4 narrow escapes. I only remember 2: getting out of the gated community in the trunk of a car and last week when they got lucky that there were 2 houses with the same street address at the lake.

In the end, I didn't want them to win and I'm glad they got caught. They were a little too cocky and Emiley said something a few episodes ago about praying every night to not get caught which I found somewhat shallow. I also wanted the hunters to wave Emiley's desk calendar in front of their faces.

Prediction: In the finale, Steven and English get caught while the other teams both make it to the end and win the $250,000.

[Cassye1021]

The show didn't tape forme tonight.  Does anyone know where I can watch for free?   Thanks.  

[Skyfall]

7 minutes ago, Cassye1021 said:

The show didn't tape forme tonight.  Does anyone know where I can watch for free?   Thanks.  

Should be able to watch on demand and/or the CBS app tomorrow.

[Maggie Mae]

Random question...but in future seasons, won't the teams know about the license tag scanners on the highways? Could they alter their tags or disguise with some dirt? I'm guessing there is probably a rule against breaking the law so altering the tag is probably out. Otherwise, we are not going to see any highway scenes!

[Cassye1021]

48 minutes ago, Skyfall said:

Should be able to watch on demand and/or the CBS app tomorrow.

Thanks.  I wasn't sure if CBS still charges.  I will check it out.

[GaT]

How did they get the recording of Emily talking to her mother?

[Nashville]

12 minutes ago, GaT said:

How did they get the recording of Emily talking to her mother?

I expect hunters had their faux-taps on the phones of first-circle-contacts (which would include immediate family) since five minutes into the exercise.

[Quilt Fairy]

3 hours ago, Maggie Mae said:

but in future seasons

No, just no.

[Bryce Lynch]

I can't believe the mosque caretaker ratted out the Muslim guys, during Ramadan, no less.  If it weren't for the camera crews following the fugitives and hunters around, I would guess it was because he thought they really must be bad guys, and he was being a good citizen.  But the camera crews make it obvious it is some sort of reality show.  I hope they find a way to escape.

David and Emiley should have tried to get at least briefly out of sight before bailing and chosen a spot where they could get to woods or other cover more quickly.  Of course the camera crew following behind would have helped the hunters spot whichever one they followed.

I call BS on the Hunters guessing Rebecca out of the thousands of classmates English had at UNC.  

The guys placing the Craigslist ads was pointless and could end up getting them caught.

It seems like CCTV and license plate scanners are by far the most effective tools for the hunters.  Staying off the main roads, switching cars and staying as far off the grid as possible seem like keys for future seasons.  

[Lakebum]

3 hours ago, Tabasco Cat said:

Andy Denhart's article from today reveals a few more rules of the game nobody knew about until now. 'You can't go back to the same place twice' is one of them. I was also wondering why David and Emiley discussed the gated community but changed their minds. I thought maybe the guy on the phone blew them off after saying he'd call David back.

David said at one point that they had 4 narrow escapes. I only remember 2: getting out of the gated community in the trunk of a car and last week when they got lucky that there were 2 houses with the same street address at the lake.

In the end, I didn't want them to win and I'm glad they got caught. They were a little too cocky and Emiley said something a few episodes ago about praying every night to not get caught which I found somewhat shallow. I also wanted the hunters to wave Emiley's desk calendar in front of their faces.

Prediction: In the finale, Steven and English get caught while the other teams both make it to the end and win the $250,000.

The articles states that producers can make up new rules on the spot, as the game progresses. What a crock, and what a total misrepresentation of the show. 

[Mystery]

I was mad enough tonight when the hunters said, basically, "We're not doing a traffic stop." No shit, because YOU ARE NOT LAW ENFORCEMENT.

But reading that they can change the rules at any time? That's it. I don't care who wins. Not only am I not watching, I'm deleting it from my Tivo so it doesn't record and give them a ratings point. 

[Tabasco Cat]

6 hours ago, Maggie Mae said:

Random question...but in future seasons, won't the teams know about the license tag scanners on the highways? Could they alter their tags or disguise with some dirt? I'm guessing there is probably a rule against breaking the law so altering the tag is probably out. Otherwise, we are not going to see any highway scenes!

There has to be a rule that they can't break any real laws, like messing around with the license plates on the vehicle they're in. Staying off highways with license plate readers is probably a good idea for future contestants. Do those things work at night?

[Bryce Lynch]

4 hours ago, Lakebum said:

The articles states that producers can make up new rules on the spot, as the game progresses. What a crock, and what a total misrepresentation of the show. 

That was a very interesting article and explains a lot.  Without us knowing the basic rules, it is impossible to know if a team is being smart or stupid.

I now understand why the contestants move so often, why they don't get more cash and gifts from helpers and why helpers let the hunters search their homes.

The hunters certainly are given advantages that real law enforcement would not have.

On the flip side, the fugitives do have some advantages that real life fugitives would not have:

1) The win after 28 days.  In real life you just can't run out the clock you would be on the run forever.

2) The $250,000 prize money could be used to reward helpers, making the rules limiting help make more sense.

3) In real life law enforcement would have much more leverage to get helpers to talk as they would be breaking the law by helping fugitives and lying to law enforcement about it.

4) In real life, the hunters would have local law enforcement to help them.  They would give them a lot more eyes and ears and they could call them to get to any known locations of the fugitives much more quickly than the hunter teams.

I understand that it would be impossible to be true to real life, but the producers should be way more transparent about the rules and how law enforcement tactics are simulated.  Most of the time they don't even tell us how many days the fugitives have been on the run.

[TeapotWakeen]

I was looking for how many days "on the run" David and Emily were before they got caught? Did they ever show that on the screen? They did pretty prominently for others they "captured"

[loki567]

I wouldn't be shocked if David and Emily were actually caught reasonably early in the proceedings and their story was stretched out longest because it was the most interesting. Anybody with some time on their hands might want to go back to check what was the first day on the calendar versus when the calendar had them at Blaze's. 

I agree that Lee/Hilmar and Aarif/Immad are probably winning. The hunters haven't seemed close to Lee/Hilmar at all and I'm going to assume those guys are smart enough to have a workaround the IP address situation. Aarif/Immad have seemed comfortably one step ahead so they're probably going to make it. And the Kings will be the sacrificial lambs as I imagine the producers want to jerk off the hunters one more time and give them a capture in the finale so the hunters can share a high five as they keep America safe from the middle age couple. 

[Wings]

This will never see another season.  Advertising for people to apply does not mean they got a green light.  

This show is stupid.  That's all I got. 

[piequinn35]

They stayed on the highway because of the gas issue, instead of going to back roads that will take them longer going to Alabama, wait did they withdraw all the money they have? 

Sam will be the demise of Aarif and Immad, IP address will be the demise of the Wolves.

English and husband I would guess will win because who will guess that they are hiding at English's friend's friend's brother's house.

Edited February 23, 2017 by piequinn35

[Mystery]

"Who would guess...." The hunters don't need to guess, they seem to be having things handed to them. 

We speculated early on that friends and family would have given the hunters permission to examine their phone and social media records. But the guy who drove Aarif and Immad was a stranger, so how would they get HIS records? Even in the pretend world of the hunters, that seems pretty bogus. At the very least, it seems like it should have taken a long time for them to get Sam Huff's information from those records. 

The whole show is a crock. 

[Wouldofshouldof]

16 hours ago, NYGirl said:

There was no reason to have all those people call Griff.  You don't realize you are creating a trail.

What I thought they were doing at first, and what would have been a better diversionary tactic:  In the Craigslist ads, use one of the huntee's phone numbers, from their original phone that they'd be too smart to actually still be using.  That way the hunters would have all these calls going to the huntee's phone that they would need to chase down.  Giving out the hunter's number didn't cause any delay/diversion, and as was stated, actually left a trail.

[UncleChuck]

Was I the only one a bit confused that the Muslims, trying to devoutly observe the Ramadan fast, were holed up with a guy whose business is barbecuing pork?  The guy had pictures of pigs everywhere, and his website was all about his pork barbecue.  What did he feed the fugitive guys when they broke fast after dark?  They said it was "delicious".

[Puffaroo]

Aw, MAN... I was really rooting for David and Emiley. 

I'll watch this edition to the end just to see who wins, but after that I'm out.  The hunters are way too full of themselves and obviously have some horrendously unfair advantages.

[Pazlovejoy]

They're giving us this instead of The Amazing Race? What a travesty. This show is hard to watch because it makes me fume. They seem to have edited it so that you can't get a feel for the sequence of events and the "hunters" have godlike omniscience. 

[Skyfall]

18 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

No, just no.

Sorry but the ratings have been solid and consistent at 1.2. It's coming back for sure for next winter to gap the season's of survivor.

17 hours ago, Mystery said:

I was mad enough tonight when the hunters said, basically, "We're not doing a traffic stop." No shit, because YOU ARE NOT LAW ENFORCEMENT.

But reading that they can change the rules at any time? That's it. I don't care who wins. Not only am I not watching, I'm deleting it from my Tivo so it doesn't record and give them a ratings point. 

Unless you are a rated household, you watching or not watching doesn't matter.

[Skyfall]

9 hours ago, wings707 said:

This will never see another season.  Advertising for people to apply does not mean they got a green light.  

This show is stupid.  That's all I got. 

It's pulling consistent and decent ratings. As a winter gap show or even a summer show it'll be back.

1 hour ago, Pazlovejoy said:

They're giving us this instead of The Amazing Race? What a travesty. This show is hard to watch because it makes me fume. They seem to have edited it so that you can't get a feel for the sequence of events and the "hunters" have godlike omniscience. 

TAR is coming back soon.

[TeapotWakeen]

If you hate-watch Hunted, mourn its lost potential, and are waiting for Survivor... check out MTV's "Stranded with a Million Dollars." I'm only going on the first episode, but it seems like a fair game with some interesting game-play potentials.

[Wings]

5 minutes ago, TeapotWakeen said:

If you hate-watch Hunted, mourn its lost potential, and are waiting for Survivor... check out MTV's "Stranded with a Million Dollars." I'm only going on the first episode, but it seems like a fair game with some interesting game-play potentials.

Thanks.  I just put it on my DVR.

[Christina]

I actually watched this episode, fumed the entire time, and had a bunch of negative comments about how clearly manipulated it was along with being poorly edited, but the thread was still locked. I have since decided that I should be mad at myself for watching since I already knew how fake it was, and be mad at myself for getting mad at the woman who hasn't changed her clothes in weeks sitting in the bullpen and saying, "I really think it's the UNC connection" like it's not filmed after the fact and they already knew that information or laughing at the behavioralist going on and on about how David was feeling at that moment when none of that seemed true. 

I watch crap that I know is crap and I expect to be crap when I watch it, but this show treats me as stupid, is completely rigged, not just a little rigged, utterly and completely fixed, the Hunters are horrible actors and some seem to be horrible people. I wish I was a Nielsen viewer so I could affect the outcome of their ratings, but I'm not going to watch anymore and will try to keep myself from their Facebook page so I don't feel the need to tell them how insulted I am as a viewer.

[SVNBob]

On 2/23/2017 at 0:43 AM, Lakebum said:

The articles states that producers can make up new rules on the spot, as the game progresses.

They introduced a new rule in the opening of this episode.   According to this rule, not only do the fugitives have to not get caught for the 28 days, but they also have to "select an extraction method (pictured was a seaplane extraction)" and then "escape the hunt zone."

I'd give them the benefit of the doubt on this one and assume it was a rule in place the entire time, but we hadn't heard since it's an endgame rule.  But none of the post-game interviews have said anything about it, so who knows.

[Nashville]

22 hours ago, Tabasco Cat said:

There has to be a rule that they can't break any real laws, like messing around with the license plates on the vehicle they're in. Staying off highways with license plate readers is probably a good idea for future contestants. Do those things work at night?

Yep - the cameras are infrared-equipped.

And there are things you can do to defeat the plate-readers; semi-transparent mylar foil or polarized tinting over the license plate are a couple of oldie-but-goodies.  Troopers will put throw you under the jail if they catch it, though.

[loki567]

The UK version does the same, "have to escape on a plane," thing so it's not something that was created last minute by the USA producers. And having watched season one of Hunted UK, it makes for a much more thrilling conclusion that the teams just sitting around in somebody's house waiting for the clock to tick down. It's still possible if the hunters find out the airport in time that they can stop the plane and catch everybody. I can only imagine the teeth-gnashing that will occur in this forum if that happens, lol.  

I am curious if the show gets renewed or not. It's averaging about 5 and a half million viewers an episode. Not bad for any other network but CBS has different standards. The Amazing Race might be close to cancellation and it does better numbers. But it also might have a higher production cost so I don't know. 

[SVNBob]

55 minutes ago, loki567 said:

The UK version does the same, "have to escape on a plane," thing so it's not something that was created last minute by the USA producers.

Fair enough.  But as I said, this penultimate episode seemed to be the first time this particular rule had been stated as being part of this version of the show.  Which just adds further criticism to how the entire production has been handled, mostly in regard to the rules.

58 minutes ago, loki567 said:

The Amazing Race might be close to cancellation and it does better numbers. But it also might have a higher production cost so I don't know. 

Multiple teams in multiple countries around the world competing simultaneously with one team guaranteed to win the prize, vs. multiple teams that can be started at production's whim in a limited area of one country, with no guarantee of any winner for a prize half the size.  TAR definitely has the higher production cost.

[Wings]

6 hours ago, Nashville said:

Yep - the cameras are infrared-equipped.

And there are things you can do to defeat the plate-readers; semi-transparent mylar foil or polarized tinting over the license plate are a couple of oldie-but-goodies.  Troopers will put throw you under the jail if they catch it, though.

Okay then, that would be called a hiccup, now wouldn't it?  

[walnutqueen]

I'd hazard a wild guess that many of those numbers are comprised of hate-watchers. 

[waving feather]

This show would be more tolerable if it just shows the hunters chasing the contestants and less of the fake war room. I have had enough of pompous psychoanalysis to last a lifetime. And hunters, stop taking yourselves so damn seriously. It's a game show for goodness sake. That's what I like the wolves. They treat it as such and doesn't sweat the small things.

Edited February 24, 2017 by waving feather

[Wings]

9 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

I'd hazard a wild guess that many of those numbers are comprised of hate-watchers. 

If you are talking about the 5 million viewers, they are like us.  We got hooked thinking the idea pretty nifty, became irritated (we were duped) but it was too late to stop because we have to see who wins.  Plus Survivor and TAR haven't started yet.  

[walnutqueen]

3 minutes ago, wings707 said:

If you are talking about the 5 million viewers, they are like us.  We got hooked thinking the idea pretty nifty, became irritated (we were duped) but it was too late to stop because we have to see who wins.  Plus Survivor and TAR haven't started yet.  

Yuppers.   I hated this from Episoode #1, but am a hapless completionist.   ;-)

 

Plus, y'all make it so much more bearable ... sooooo, Thanks? I think?!?

[walnutqueen]

23 hours ago, TeapotWakeen said:

If you hate-watch Hunted, mourn its lost potential, and are waiting for Survivor... check out MTV's "Stranded with a Million Dollars." I'm only going on the first episode, but it seems like a fair game with some interesting game-play potentials.

Don't make me hate you!  ;-)

 

23 hours ago, wings707 said:

Thanks.  I just put it on my DVR.

Me, too.  I am WEAK, I tell you - WEAK!  heh

[Tabasco Cat]

Going back to David and Emiley's demise, it would have been nice to see them go out with a bang. If they were passing by an area where they knew a few people they could have organized a couple of friends to pick up their trail at an intersection somewhere off the interstate. Get between them and the hunters at a stop sign or traffic light and run interference by slowing down to 20 mph or so, blocking the hunters while David and Emiley put some distance between them. That's about the only thing I can think of that would have a real chance of working. Probably very difficult to pull off though, trying to coordinate friends in multiple locations to rendevous at a specific meet-up point.

[teo47]

54 minutes ago, Tabasco Cat said:

Going back to David and Emiley's demise, it would have been nice to see them go out with a bang. If they were passing by an area where they knew a few people they could have organized a couple of friends to pick up their trail at an intersection somewhere off the interstate. Get between them and the hunters at a stop sign or traffic light and run interference by slowing down to 20 mph or so, blocking the hunters while David and Emiley put some distance between them. That's about the only thing I can think of that would have a real chance of working. Probably very difficult to pull off though, trying to coordinate friends in multiple locations to rendevous at a specific meet-up point.

I am thinking the best thing for them to have done would have been to get off the highway as soon as they noticed the hunters and drive randomly around for as long as they could trying to lose them - maybe the hunters would eventually get stuck at a red light or behind slow moving traffic and they could have gotten away or ditched the car and escaped on foot.  The keep going to Alabama and head into a deserted sports park strategy was doomed to fail, although as always with this show we don't know how much of what was shown on TV was what actually happened, and how much was filmed afterwards to replicate the chase and capture for TV to make it look good.

[terxav]

I wonder, if the size of the vehicle David and Emily were driving led to their downfall. The gas mileage on a large SUV woykd burn through cash rather quickly.   of course the big question was how much did Emily's calendar have to do with their success.  I noticed in this episode , where in earlier episodes they harped on having the calendar,  this episode they act as if it was brilliant team work that allowed them to capture Emily and David.  Also what about texting?  Or setting up new email accounts on gmail and yahoo having messages be passed by logging into the account and looking at drafts.  I liked the first few episodes until the overwhelming resources of the hunters made the game seem stacked against the players.  When you have 14 experts in the command center and multiple field teams while keeping a travel zone of three states is really restrictive.

[basiltherat]

Sorry, I don't think it would be LEGAL for a stupid game show to have people driving recklessly on a public highway.  There's enough danger in normal driving, without adding fuel to the fire.  Here in Chicago, people SHOOT at other people on the highway every week.

I really thought that Show would leave David/Emiley until the last episode.  Since its highly edited and reconstructed, just give us a through-narrative for them with a dramatic ending.  Who is going to be the last standing -- English and the non-scary Stephen King?!  That would be a very lame ending indeed.

[Lakebum]

On 2/23/2017 at 2:08 PM, UncleChuck said:

Was I the only one a bit confused that the Muslims, trying to devoutly observe the Ramadan fast, were holed up with a guy whose business is barbecuing pork?  The guy had pictures of pigs everywhere, and his website was all about his pork barbecue.  What did he feed the fugitive guys when they broke fast after dark?  They said it was "delicious".

Any respectable BBQ joint in the south is going to also serve a variety of sides, including corn, green beans, fried okra, baked beans, slaw, potato salad, macaroni salad, Brunswick stew, french fries, potato chips, corn bread, white bread (just trying to name some things off the top of my head from two of the popular BBQ places in my hometown...)

[hurrrz]

On 2/23/2017 at 11:35 PM, Nashville said:

Yep - the cameras are infrared-equipped.

And there are things you can do to defeat the plate-readers; semi-transparent mylar foil or polarized tinting over the license plate are a couple of oldie-but-goodies.  Troopers will put throw you under the jail if they catch it, though.

Couldn't you just put up a paper dealer plate on your car? 

[Wings]

15 minutes ago, hurrrz said:

Couldn't you just put up a paper dealer plate on your car? 

A dealer would never agree to that.  They insure those cars and I am assuming there are restrictions on how far the vehicles can be driven away from the dealership and certainly not across the state line. 

Edited February 27, 2017 by wings707

[Lamb18]

The way English and Stephen are wandering around, they should make cardboard signs saying "Please help me . . etc." and sit on a traffic island at the left turn signal. They can go from intersection to intersection.