Manhunt (2001 TV series): Difference between revisions

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Manhunt was a reality television series that aired on UPN in the summer of 2001.

The contestants on the show posed as fugitives who tried to escape actors who pretended to be bounty hunters. The one who eluded the bounty hunters the longest would receive a cash prize.

Manhunt was plagued with problems during its brief run. First, a deal collapsed with the World Wrestling Federation in which a number of their "superstars" were to be a part of the show's cast. Then, the bottom fell out when separate investigative reports by conspiracy theorist Peter Lance and game-show enthusiast Steve Beverly revealed that the show was being filmed at Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California. Manhunt had claimed to be filmed on location in Hawaii.

The program was pulled after six episodes.

Trivia

John Cena and former American Gladiator Raye "Zap" Hollitt were among the cast members.

Jim Lee is now the Chaplain at Oaks Christian High School

External links

Manhunt at IMDb
TV.com entry for show

This article about television in the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

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+'''Manhunt''' was a reality television series that aired on [[UPN]] in the summer of [[2001 in television|2001]].
+The contestants on the show posed as [[fugitives]] who tried to escape actors who pretended to be [[bounty hunters]].  The one who eluded the bounty hunters the longest would receive a cash prize.
+''Manhunt'' was plagued with problems during its brief run.  First, a deal collapsed with the [[World Wrestling Entertainment|World Wrestling Federation]] in which a number of their "superstars" were to be a part of the show's cast.  Then, the bottom fell out when separate investigative reports by [[conspiracy theorist]] [[Peter Lance]] and game-show enthusiast [[Steve Beverly]] revealed that the show was being filmed at [[Griffith Park]] in [[Los Angeles, California]].  ''Manhunt'' had claimed to be filmed on location in [[Hawaii]].
+The program was pulled after six episodes.
+==Trivia==
+[[John Cena]] and former [[American Gladiators|American Gladiator]] [[Raye Hollitt|Raye "Zap" Hollitt]] were among the cast members.
+Jim Lee is now the Chaplain at [[Oaks Christian High School]]
+==External links==
 *{{imdb title|id=0299349|title=Manhunt}}
 *[http://www.tv.com/manhunt-2001/show/18099/summary.html?q=Manhunt%202001&tag=search_results;more;0 TV.com entry for show]
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 [[Category:2001 television series debuts]]
 [[Category:2001 television series endings]]
-This fast-paced, six-week show pits 13 everyday people like hairdressers, students, and ministers against the depredations of 3 self-styled "bounty hunters," aka Big Tim, Koa, and Rain. The hunters stalk their prey through the beaches, rainforests, volcanic craters, and swamps of the island of Kauai, armed with an impressive-sounding arsenal of air-powered marker rifles, pyrotechnic grenades, and tripwires.
-To survive, the prey – er contestants, must traverse 6 booby-trapped courses while being stalked by alternating hunters who launch frontal assaults or more stealthy stalking maneuvers. And they must survive as a group, without being "marked." They have to make it to the "safe zone" by sundown. But are they home free then? Fans of "Survivor" and "Boot Camp" will appreciate yet another round of "vote off the pest," for this show also pits the remaining contestants against each other.
-The loser must then run the gauntlet of all three hunters, who try to hunt him down and shave his head.
-Controversy arose as accusations of the show being fixed were brought to the fcc
-Charges that Paramount Network TV “fixed” the UPN reality show Manhunt continue to mount. Two complaints have now been filed with the FCC, and the show’s original co-executive producer and Judge both claim the show was rigged.
-The second complaint was filed earlier this month with the FCC by a professor of broadcasting at Union University, Tennessee. Professor Steve Beverly brings forward the same charges made by former co-executive producer Bob Jaffe. The charges include re-enacting scenes, manipulating challenges, and coercing contestants by threatening to withhold prize monies. The first FCC charge was filed by contestant Jacqueline “J.K.” Kelly, who also claims that she and fellow contestants were told they wouldn’t receive any prize money until the last episode of Manhunt aired, but that “the show would never air unless we did the (fake) scenes.” All 12 of the remaining contestants reportedly took part in the reshoots.
-Jaffe and the show’s Judge, Hash Shaalan, a former Navy SEAL, who was also an Event Producer, provide the most damning evidence of fraud. Jaffe and Shaalan have stated that Paramount executives were not satisfied with the way contestants performed during the shoot on the island of Kauai. Jaffe claims that president Gary Hart and studio chairman Kerry McCluggage approached him about manipulating the gauntlets. Hart and McCluggage were concerned that these “capture-the-flag” races were too difficult and were eliminating favored contestants. Contestant Mandy Kaplan was deemed “very charismatic” by the show’s producers, and her gauntlet run was one alleged by Jaffe and Shaalan to have been manipulated in her favor. (See Episode 4, “Thinning the Herd.”
-Both Jaffe and Shaalan claim that extensive reshoots were done in Los Angeles after filming wrapped up in Hawaii. The contestants, most of whom had their heads shaved when they were eliminated, wore bandannas during the reshoots in Griffith Park. They recited scripted dialogue provided by Paramount and this footage was inserted into the original film. A disclaimer by Paramount was added after the fraud charges were filed says, “This program includes dramatic scenes intended for entertainment purposes only.”
-In perhaps the most disturbing allegation made against Paramount, Hash Shaalan, who trained both the show’s hunters and contestants, states that contestants were injured during filming and were not given any medical treatment. Two of the contestants, James McCaughley and Lucas Ford, sustained leg injuries. McCaughley has undergone knee surgery, but Ford, who has no insurance, is still injured, according to Shaalan.
-In an interview with Peter Lance of The Stingray, Shaalan states the show “wasn’t accurate at all. It was very deceiving.” His charges include that of bogus distances being stated, bonus challenges were left out, and the course of events was manipulated so that certain contestants survived to the end. “From the first voice you hear, that of the Narrator, you’re told that this was a 50 mile course when, in fact, it was about half that. When the producer flew in, they basically wreaked havoc on the process by constantly saying, ‘What if we did that? Why don’t we do this?’ A lot of times they’d just be in a huddle and one of them would run out to me during a break in the action and tell me to do something: ‘Go bring that person over here.’ Every time we went to set up a gauntlet, it would seem that we would have to appease the producers who flew in and make sure that the gauntlet suited their needs as opposed to what our feelings were at the time. ‘This gauntlet was too easy,’ or ‘That gauntlet was too hard.’ Mandy’s gauntlet was everything everybody says it is that I’m hearing. Yeah. They tried to fix it. Producer intervention shaped the outcome of the show. There’s no question about it. They took J.K. out of the game. She may very well have won that game. Jim Lee was definitely kept in the game. Now I’m not saying his accomplishments aren’t merited because he was a great warrior out there. He’s a great person. He did great things. He’s got awesome leadership ability. He also had an immunity card stuck in his backpack. It was portrayed as a random act. These were immunity cards. And the idea was to put them in the backpacks and we’ll see who has the lucky card. That person would have immunity, which meant that if he got shot, it didn’t count. But I was instructed to make sure that the envelope with the immunity card was slipped into Jim’s backpack. I was told over and over and over ‘Hash. Make absolutely sure. Do not mess this up. This is very important.’ ”
-He goes on to say that contestant J.K., who was the first to be eliminated, was physically restrained by Producer Christopher Crowe as she was attempting to go to the aid of James McCaughley, who was injured. “He basically took her out of the game, while the clock was running and it was during a very intense and important moment for the contestants as a team. He basically put her onto the ground and did this interview and during the time that elapsed, her absence created, I think, an issue with some of the other contestants. In fact, they alluded to that during their vote, citing this as a reason they were going to vote her off.” Shaalan adds, “It was stated early on that there would be no interference. One of the rules that I did impart to the contestants was that there would be absolutely no physical contact between them and the hunters and I also said that nobody in the field was going to come into play. The producers; the cameramen…they wouldn’t influence them.”
-Featured John Cena before he was in the WWE as the head hunter "Big Tim"