Avis des utilisateurs

I remember this story and miniseries from back when. This had such promise as a revisit .. but having the actors read the interviews was borderline unbearable to watch. The story is so powerful in itself,and this show is done quite well... but the reading like an audition was somewhat embarrassing to see.

I think many of the low reviews for this are coming from people who expected something different than what this is trying to do. I think this series is trying to piece together how Steven Stayner's kidnapping and return along with the media attention had a psychological effect on Cary Stayner and possibly led him to become a murderer.

I think the psychological aspects of this incident and how the family was impacted are where the director wants the viewer's attention. We see this in how Kay Stayner describes her husband's opposition to therapy for Steven. The 1989 made for TV movie mentioned in this also alludes to the extra attention given Steven and seemingly taken form Cary. I also think that having the actors from that movie reading the scripted lines was an artistic move. Many are saying it is pretentious but the actual people aren't available to speak for themselves.

I remember both news stories, but did not put them together - because ... I just didn't.

All families have tragedies, but this family has incredible ones.

There are lots of complaints about how it was done and what what was left out. There's always someone complaining!!

I thought it was overwhelming enough as it is!

It's heavy and unreal. To think that a family could endure what it has is incredible. I am exhausted.

Captive Audience is the story of Steven Stayner who was abducted at a young age only to return to his family years later. This story was made into a two part series titled "I know my first name is Steven' though it was loosely added to.

This documentary goes over the tragedies that continue to fall the Stayner family even upon Steven's return, that included his older brother turning out to be a serial killer.

This documentary is heart breaking and captivating.

To learn what this kid went through and his own heroic act to save another child, is mind blowing.

To see how the media dogged him and his family upon his return and into the future is heart breaking.

This documentary is well worth a watch.

I've ripped on Hulu before, this one they got right.

Great storytelling of a tragic family. Producers did an excellent job of focusing on the important pieces. This is a family that goes from one traumatizing blow to the next. My deepest sympathy. I particularly liked having actors who portrayed the subjects in film reading the lines. Very well done it.

One avanue I didn't see explored was the tragic end to Steve. Any connection? They never really go into detail about how Steve died? Is it related to Cory? Was it random? I would genuinely like to know.

One critique... The modern day Geppetto calling himself a "mitigation expert" added very little.

Why did you do the documentary like this, have you not watched any true crime Docs before, "inviting the actors" to read the interviews and flashing from family and friends back to the actors was completely unnecessary. Just tell the story and let the interviewees speak their thoughts and stories. NOTHING else is needed!!

I know the case. It is so tragic and it feels weird to give a rating. But for years I tried to find more recent interviews with Kay and other family members so this series provided some kind of closure for me. Kay seems like an incredibly strong woman and I can't imagine the tragedy of her 'true' life. When she said true stories rarely have happy endings my heart broke. My review is simply to say that I was happy to see the family and to know that they did survive.

As far as all the negative reviews about the having scenes from the old tv movie and the actors reading old interviews, so for me it made perfect sense. Steven's 2 children are quoted as saying they thought the move WAS their dad and that is where they got all their impressions and information because nobody talked to them about their actual dad. I thought weaving the fictional movie into this documentary was pitch perfect, because that is the actual reality. They did a great job on reminding us what was real and what was fictionalized for those of us that watched the movie when it came out and thought the movie was the true story. I wish the best that life can offer to Steven's family, they have been through so much. Kay is an inspiration on what it means to persevere.

Sadly, if it can happen, it does happen...but so much to one family is heartbreaking. I certainly don't pretend to know the whole truth. I was very young when the initial crime happened. Remember watching "I Know my First Name is Steven" when I was older. By the time the second crime happened I was into my 20's and don't recall it at all! What I hope is that this documentary told what the family wanted told and in the right way. I know they can get in an editing room and really twist some stuff. The tragedies are immense, from abduction, to rape, to murder and MANY in between, right down to the ABSOLUTELY pathetic sentencing of a child rapist.

Such an important story of a young boy who was abducted and brutally victimized for 7 years then becomes a hero saving another child and yet the pretentious director, who directed an episode of Unsolved Mysteries, spent way too much time having actors from a 1989 TV movie based on the events read from actual interviews of family members. This totally took away from the story and was obviously added as filler to make Captive Audience into a miniseries. Here's what the miniseries completely overlooks by a long shot and fails to present: Steven Stayner was a victim turned hero and should be remembered and always honored for that.

There's zero new information. There's zero insight. There's zero reason to re-tell either story. And having the actors read from Steven and Cary's interviews?? Why?? This was just a horrible attempt by Hulu to be edgy. The ONLY redeeming part was seeing, and hearing from Steven's wife, daughter and son... but even they didn't shed any new light on their Dad's story, which they admit they can barely remember... and definitely didn't shed any light on Cary, who they didn't know at all.

This wasn't the best true crime documentary but it gave us a look at a real family that survived hellish circumstances only to be hit one more time with a media avalanche and another tragedy. I saw the made for TV movie and I finally heard from the family that they weren't portrayed in the most accurate light but they were happy their story was told. Most people know who Steven is and what Cary did but I don't think anyone can really know what the impact of those events had on the members of the family. I see what the director asked the actors who portrayed Steven and Cary to step in and read excerpts from the interviews. It's a little off-putting at first but with the absence of those key people it keeps the viewer involved in the story instead of cutting to a still picture of the individual. I feel this could have been more involved but I asked away with a deep respect for Mrs. Staynor and her strength.

Lots of old footage and interviews. Very interesting. Yes actors read for Steven and Cary. But for reasons they can't read themselves ! I remember the story in 1980, back then there were few publicized kidnappings. When Steven returned it was a miracle but life wasn't so easy for him afterwards.

Instead of a straight up true crime documentary, which this story warrants, the director decided to make a mashup of news footage form 1972, interviews from 2022 and for reasons that are beyond me, extensive footage of the late 1980s made for TV mini-series. I cannot for the life of me figure how they thought the addition of the mini-series footage or act outs from the aged actors added anything to this narrative. I struggled through the first episode baffling at this choice. This is a poorly directed doc.

The fact that they have actors from the movie, reading their old lines, is unnecessary and frankly? It's gross.

I won't watch the rest. It's a strange way to tell the stories of these people. If you're going to make more, please rethink this method.

I knew very little about the Steven Stayner case, so I thought they did a great job in Episode #1. It was extremely intense and interesting to watch, and I looked forward to the next 2 episodes. Episode #2 was basically the aftermath of Steven coming home, and tied up a few other loose ends. It was decent enough. Episode #3 was about his brother Cary. This should have been a very interesting episode. Instead it was a bore. I almost nodded off during it.

A cheap poorly made documentary about how cheap and poorly made documentaries from the 80's. 1/3 of the "documentary" is clips of I Know My Name is Steven, 1/3 is having the lead actors from the TV movie read transcripts and a 1/3 bland exploitive interviews with the family.