Anybody know what would happen if somebody pulled a weapon on Scare Tactics?

Question

Well...if a victim on Scare Tactics pulled a gun, or knife in self defense (if a crazy guy killed an actor, and to defend himself he shoots the crazy guy actor). What would happen? Law suit against the victim, or what? If the actor died, who's fault would it be? What would happen?

Answer 1

They would Not air that episode for sure... I've thought about that myself cause if some psycho was after me, i'd pick something up and hit him. but that's why they never take the jokes too far, that's why they are so short lol.

Answer 2

I often wondered this myself.  It's a good question.

Assuming the "mark" had acted in proper self-defense according to that individual state's judicial rules, they would probably not be convicted at trial of murder.  However, there would be lawsuits aplenty to go around:  Family of actor sues mark, mark sues production company for putting them in that position, family sues production company, etc.

The production team seems to take many precautions against this.  For instance, I'm guessing they probably do a little bit of background check work on the "mark," such as if they have a criminal record or if they are a registered owner of a handgun or concealed carry permit.  That eliminates a lot of the risk right there.  They also probably ask the friends who are setting them up if they are known to be paranoid or violent, or if they have a tendency to carry weapons.

Some of the prank setups seem to be arranged a certain way for safety too.  When an actor is a direct "threat," they tend to avoid getting too close to the "mark" or at least try to keep things short before the reveal.

I heard that in an early episode, they had a hitchhiker with a severed head in a bag.  The "mark" apparently freaked and I think they got in a fist fight in the car.