Ten’s new reality competition series is an undeniably exciting television, but two chapters later, some viewers have questions about the reality of this cat and mouse game.
The show, which kicked off Sunday night with strong ratings of 619,000 viewers in the five subway capitals, is like a betting tag game, as 18 “fugitives,” competing in pairs, get into a central location with simple instruction.
They have to evade capture by HuntedThe crack team of detectives and intelligence experts, both in the field and at headquarters, will use all available surveillance technologies to capture them. Anyone still fleeing at the end of the 21 days will share a $ 100,000 prize.
The first two episodes show how far the contestants’ fingerprints give them: The Hunted researchers examine their social media to find contacts they can contact, while CCTV cameras pick them up as they run through the crowded streets of the city, often in disguise. trying to evade detection.
But some scenes seem to stretch the credulity: we see how researchers see live a clear, crystal-clear view from an ATM in a remote country while one of the contestants hastily withdraws money.
Elsewhere, investigators “hack the telematics” of a car used by contestants, to track where it’s going.
As one Twitter viewer put it: “I find it hard to believe that Channel 10 can pull live CCTV from a national ATM and telematics from a random Nissan, but it can’t put functionality on demand and rewind to Paramount +.”
Turns out there is some TV smoke and mirrors used.
An article about the show published in Sydney Morning Herald revealed how the Hunted the computer can access “live” high-definition images. It turns out that camera operators who discreetly follow each of the fugitives help with that part.
“Because producers don’t have the authority to actually request this footage, it plays during the race by having the camera operator place a Go-Pro where the closed-circuit camera would be, using a selfie stick. These images are then uploaded via WhatsApp and are available to the team at headquarters in minutes, ”he said. SMH reported.
And in an interview with TV tonight, Hunted Intelligence officer Ben Owen was quite astute when asked about the backstage machinations of the show: “I’m not sure I’ll be allowed to answer that,” being his standard answer.
But he missed a few more details.
Owen explained that the program’s CCTV deal was “replicating real life,” with investigators not just delivering images so they could easily track fugitives.
“From this footage, we can access it, but only if we are in the right place, at the right time, with the right time parameters and we confirm that there are cameras. Only then will we get this information. So again, it’s completely fair in terms of how they simulate it, “he said.
The show has lit up social media, with viewers debating what is real and what is not, and mocking the unusual measures of some contestants not to be detected:
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