Things about UM you've changed your opinion or perception on with time?

[Oldschooler81]

When I first got heavily into the show in 1993-'95 I liked it for the same reasons I always have, but time can change your perception too, especially since I was a kid. I was a deep thinker and kind of a geek even then, lol... but one difference is that I tended to take what more people said at face value without questioning it as much (unless it was someone like Mark Nichols - who I always thought was at the very least a jerk and probably guilty too).

Perfect example - one of my favorite cases is Roger Dean. Back then I was positive he didn't have anything to do with what ended up in his death since I just assumed he was an upper class middle aged family man and a nice guy, according to his wife and daughter.

I still think he probably was for the most part, but I now realize him withdrawing money into a personal bank account behind his wife's back does look a teeny bit suspicious. I don't think the guy was a criminal or anything, and it's a tragedy that he ended up being murdered (no matter what the situation), but I guess I also realize there's sometimes more to people than meets the eye. Like stuff DJ and Tammi might've not realized.

[justins5256]

I have similar feelings about trusting people more when I was younger. For example, I used to believe a lot of the "Final Appeals" where the people said they were innocent of a crime, but now I think a lot of them were probably guilty. Same deal with the ever popular "wife disappears/turns up dead and husband knows nothing" type cases. I probably believed the husband like 99% of the time because he was interviewed on UM and said he was innocent.

I also believed a lot of the ghost/UFO/paranormal witnesses/claimants too. A lot (though not all) of that seems laughable now. Heck, I even wrote to Bob Oechsler after seeing the infamous Guardian case and bought a copy of the unedited footage. I believed in it wholeheartedly. The "UFO" in the video turned out to be a pickup truck with some creepy lighting and a strobe light attachment.

[Clockworkhigh]

Yeah just the same thing pretty much. The suspects who denied any involvement in the killings. I believed Larry Gibson a long time ago. As time goes on you look into things a little bit more and scratch the surface

[MegtheEgg86]

In "husband-wife" type cases such as Marilu Geri, Dottie Caylor, Christi Nichols, etc., I was always ready to jump on the wife's "side" of the matter when I was younger. (As an aside, I've always wondered if this is a function of social conditioning--years of being subtlely lead by our media and culture to believe that all men are generally liars and are intrinsically hostile towards women. It's an interesting notion to ponder.) While there are many I still haven't changed my conclusions on (the reasoning oftentimes has, though), there are quite a few in which I've done complete "180s." The Dottie Caylor case is a prime example, actually. I honestly don't feel Jule was responsible for his wife's disappearance, although I definitely used to.

I was also more apt to believe "stretch" theories: the "49ER HUGS" plate notion in the Dick Hansen case, the Zodiac-Unabomber "link", and of course all the UFO stories.

[Oldschooler81]

Glad I wasn't the only one, lol. I think the show presented some ideas or theories on how something might've happened, but it wasn't the only ideas either.

Good point Meg - in alot of ways I still kinda think the same way about the husband/wife cases. Strangely enough it was UM stories about women like Marie Hilley or Maria Armstrong (not entirely her fault, but probably from not taking her medication, she went off the deep end) that made me realize anyone could potentially be dangerous. Although guys are still more often like that statistically.

P.S. Wouldn't it be funny if there'd ever been an Update on one of the ghost or ufo or treasure stories! ;) Somewhere along the way, I realized that would never happen, so that's when I started being more critical of it (although some of it I believe, like the missing time segment).

[youngUMfan]

I guess for me, I believe in most of the cases profiled on unsolved mysteries since I was eight or ten when I watched those cases.

Only after I discovered this message board did my perception about how UM profiled its cases changes with time.

However, I do believe that the low-toned music and its feel of creepiness made me more gullible of what happened during those segments. My feeling is like being forced to believe the events are true because the events (along with Stack's voice) creeps me so much.

In fact, after watching some of the cases, I would actually sit on the bus going to school and discuss those cases with one of my friends. Other people on the bus were staring at us for our geek discussions. They didn't know how some discussion could draw us in for a long time. I remember one example was the case of the two girls missing from that trailer in Oklahoma. My friend and I were discussing how the girls could be missing without a trace, since they can't drive yet. He said something to the effect that the fire on the trailer had to be set after the crime took place. Why that is I forgot.

[crystaldawn]

Most of us were pretty young when UM first aired so I think at that age you mainly just enjoy it because it scares you or is entertaining. I always found the missing person cases so interesting and enjoyed theorizing on what may have happened to these poor people. The older you get I think you more realize what type of great service this show did. It not only entertained and intrigued its viewers but it also captured a lot of fugitives, found some missing persons, gave the police leads to hopefully solve cases and very positively affected peoples lives in reuniting many families and friends. How many shows can say that?