All this talk of SpikeTV contacting various people for case updates got me thinking. What if Lifetime did the same thing back in the early nineties when they acquired the series? Certain family members/victims/police departments/whoever could have requested that their segments not be rerun.

I think we've talked this one to death, but personally I think it is much more complex than that. If the purpose to go on UM is to find criminals so that the victim's families can be at more peace, then why stop airing the segment? They should want as much exposure as possible.

One theory: back in the 50's and 60's, the typical hour of television programming had approximately 8-10 minutes of commericals. Now it is around 20. Sad, but true. I've noticed that most shows being rerun on cable have significant edits. With UM, they have the added problem of making room for updates, so they have to trim even more. They probably figured it was easier to remove entire segments than butcher every segment on the show.

Yeah I think wiseguy has the most reasonable explanation here - The updates really cut down the show length wise in syndication which is still kinda what bugs me about the modern UM coming to SPIKE that they are essentially going to be compact versions of the segments we all know and love and we are gonna be able to spot whats missing.

I don't think the general public will mind but I think a lot of us are gonna be slagging off the show come September (or whenever it debuts).

I think its a combination of both. I don't think Lifetime left out entire segments due to making room for commercials though. We've seen how they have no problem butchering a segment up to accommodate that. I do think that some of the segments they deemed too violent to air. The most disturbing segments I've ever seen on Lifetime are "Debby", Ellenders and Roxann Jeeves and her son and it just so happens none of those ever aired on Lifetime (to my knowledge). I don't think thats just a coincidence. I do think that there are some people who have probably requested UM no longer air their stories for whatever reason. Donovan Jacobs (interviewed in the Doyle Wheeler segment) threatened to or did sue UM and his segment seemed to disappear after that. That was probably suggested by the legal dept. if the case was ongoing.

Keeping with the topic, I'm curious how SpikeTV has chosen which segments they're reairing from the original UM. They want them more "male oriented" (whatever that means) so does that mean they'll take the most violent cases? Wouldn't that be something if we see UM segments on the new UM that Lifetime didn't air?

I think its a combination of both. I don't think Lifetime left out entire segments due to making room for commercials though. We've seen how they have no problem butchering a segment up to accommodate that. I do think that some of the segments they deemed too violent to air. The most disturbing segments I've ever seen on Lifetime are "Debby", Ellenders and Roxann Jeeves and her son and it just so happens none of those ever aired on Lifetime (to my knowledge). I don't think thats just a coincidence. I do think that there are some people who have probably requested UM no longer air their stories for whatever reason. Donovan Jacobs (interviewed in the Doyle Wheeler segment) threatened to or did sue UM and his segment seemed to disappear after that. That was probably suggested by the legal dept. if the case was ongoing.

Keeping with the topic, I'm curious how SpikeTV has chosen which segments they're reairing from the original UM. They want them more "male oriented" (whatever that means) so does that mean they'll take the most violent cases? Wouldn't that be something if we see UM segments on the new UM that Lifetime didn't air?

What were those segments about?

Even if a certain victim or police department did not want a particular case aired, there's a good chance that the criminal(s) are wreaking havoc elsewhere, so that's another reason why I don't believe that all of the missing segments stemmed from family members/police officials not wanting the case re-aired.

A perfect example of that would be the Bonnie Wilder case. Unfortunately, the segment was removed from the rotation due to the department store that was mentioned in the segment requesting not to air said segment. However, we can be reasonably certain that Bonnie was perpretating her scam somewhere else in the country.

If I was in charge of editing, I would not want to butcher segments. Rather I would remove segments from episodes and place those segments in a 'hodgepodge' episode.

What were those segments about?

The Ellender case, I believe, was the one about the unusual disappearance of hundreds and hundreds of yellow airplanes from Hanger 18 at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

What were those segments about?

The Ellender segment was about a young couple brutally murdered in their home while they baby was left nearby unharmed. Police ascertain satan worshippers killed them and possibly partied in their house afterwards. The person arrested soon after for the murders killed himself in prison. Roxann Jeeves and her 5 year old son Kristopher were both brutally shot & murdered out in a field in Texas. The crime happened a few days before Christmas and they were murdered on Kristopher's birthday. :( (The man responsible was captured many years later and convicted). "Debby" was a woman who was raped and beated by an unknown assailant. Police found her wandering naked and she had apparently been shot in the face as well. So all very disturbing segments.

Oh yea JS I remember that Ellender segment quite well...:lol: