To Catch a Predator/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Catharsis Factor: The whole appeal of the show is seeing sex offenders getting humiliated and arrested while on the prowl for minors.
  • Follow The Leader: A lot of independently-run copies have sprung up in the wake of this show, each more controversial than the last since the copycats are more often than not far more reckless and a lot less professional than Chris Hansen. And keep in mind, To Catch a Predator was already controversial thanks to a number of cases Perverted Justice mishandled.
  • Memetic Badass: No sex offender is safe from Chris Hansen. Ever.
  • Memetic Molester: Thanks to his bad acting, overly childish behavior, and the fact that he's an obvious adult posing as a young child, the decoy from the Jesse Velez sting is known for creeping audiences out more than the actual predator.
  • Memetic Mutation: "Why don't you have a seat over there?"
    • Jeff Stacy and his bizarre voice, which has been compared to a chain-smoking Mickey Mouse, Winnie-the-Pooh, and Marge Simpson, sometimes all at once. Just as memetic are a few of his justifications for the lewd messages he sent to the decoy: "It's a question!" "What's wrong with that?!"
    • In a similar boat is Calvin Lee Greer, a.k.a the "No Pickle Predator" who rose to infamy thanks to the way his deep voice slips into a Goofy-style cadence when being arrested. "Oh lord!"
  • Narm: The NBC staffers readings verbatim from the chat logs between the decoy and predator, with voices ranging from deadpan or disinterested, all the way to overly excited.
    • From its successor "Hansen vs Predator", we have the decoy from the Jesse Velez sting who is quite clearly a thirty year old man posing as a thirteen year old and doing a very poor job at it. Him referring to his family as "Me, my mommy, and my daddy" is infamous for how it just adds another layer to the hilariously uncomfortable atmosphere by having the man talk like a five year old boy.
  • Paranoia Fuel: "To Catch A Predator" definitely makes people think twice about soliciting sex online.
  • What an Idiot!: The To Catch a Predator series make it a point to highlight predators who come to the traps despite having seen the specials before.
    • Special mention goes to the ones that get caught twice. And yes, that is plural.
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