Just a theory, unexpectedly they pulled UM off the air, why else would they do that for? im sure the ratings are good as their is a large fan base and Spike is a popular channel.

In relation to this I was watching an old ep of UM and it was the case of Michael Francke. Now one thing that I miss about UM is the way Stack used to actually go to the location of the story or setting. In this he went to a prison as Francke was in charge of the districts' prisons, I just loved the part when he was talking that a jail door shut just behind him! it really captured the feel and location for the story!

The Google Earth thing looks ok but it's not the same feel as they used to do it.

The new telecentre is crap. They don't even need one.

I don't really think Farina is the big problem its just most everything else. The music, the host's setting, the fast paced action. It's just a little too different from the original which is bad.

Or maybe the ratings are crap because longtime fans refused to support it, warts and all, and they are cancelling it for good, NEVER to be on television EVER AGAIN IN THE HISTORY OF PLANET EARTH!

Or maybe the ratings are crap because longtime fans refused to support it, warts and all, and they are cancelling it for good, NEVER to be on television EVER AGAIN IN THE HISTORY OF PLANET EARTH!

Or it could be that!

It was mentioned in another thread that UM returns on December 1. Maybe they are findings to make the editing better or maybe they don't feel they have support.

Or maybe the ratings are crap because longtime fans refused to support it, warts and all, and they are cancelling it for good, NEVER to be on television EVER AGAIN IN THE HISTORY OF PLANET EARTH!

To be quite frank, I think the majority of the members of this forum have done one hell of a job keeping the series alive through discussion on these forums since its last incarnation. Its well know that 99.9% of the regulars on this forum are old-school UM traditionalists and most of our favorite cases range from the ones aired between 1987-1992. Thats just how it is around here, most of us can barely tolerate the late 90s-Lifetime incarnation of the show, let alone what SPIKE TV is now serving up on a daily basis.

Look I will grant you this, one thing I appreciate about SPIKE TV is they aren't pretending anymore. They aren't going through the motions trying to make a connection between the UM of old and their new revamp. They are broadcasting the same cases but want the show to have a new, fresh feel unique to their network. I get that, I understand that but the question you should ask yourself is what is the reason (besides curosity about how certain stories were editted and whatnot) that any of us should tune into the SPIKE revamp on a regular basis?

The majority of the people on these forums are diehard UM fans, we are not casual viewers of the shows. That is why in the past five years or whatever its been where we've had no new episodes of the show, we still turned up here on SO on a daily basis to continue to discuss the cases. Many of us have seem every UM segment that Lifetime has syndicated in the program's ten plus year run on that network.

Beyond that many of us are tape/dvd traders and have aquired rare segments that have never been seen since their original NBC broadcast and many of these segments (along with the Lifetime syndications) have been shared throughout the group thanks to generous traders. So what we have here for the most part on SO are a group of fans who actually have the same segments that SPIKE TV broadcasts in their collections but just in their original, more thorough, more complete versions.

In closing I'd like to offer you a comparison that might help you understand a bit better why a lot of us don't care for the revamp. Imagine for a moment you had an album by your favorite band that you got twenty years ago. Now in 2008, the album is reissued with half the tracks missing and morphed to the point where it doesn't even resemble the album you loved so much.

If given the choice would you choose to listen to the album in its original form or a reissue which doesn't really resemble the album as you once knew and loved it?

Sorry, but not supporting the revamp at all will not give them any motivation to change. To be more thorough. To add dates. They'll just pack it up and make CSI:Miami and CSI: Detroit if they haven't yet. Is that what you want?

It's too fast paced, they need to turn it into a story like the original UM did.

Sorry, but not supporting the revamp at all will not give them any motivation to change. To be more thorough. To add dates. They'll just pack it up and make CSI:Miami and CSI: Detroit if they haven't yet. Is that what you want?

I don't watch enough television to have much stock in the matter quite honestly. The advent of "complete seasons" on DVD was like manna from heaven for people like me. The popular series you can buy at your local DVD emporium while the one season wonders and rarer shows you can find via the internet.

So yeah basically I'm not invested enough in what SPIKE TV airs or doesn't air to really care much either way.

To be quite frank, I think the majority of the members of this forum have done one hell of a job keeping the series alive through discussion on these forums since its last incarnation. Its well know that 99.9% of the regulars on this forum are old-school UM traditionalists and most of our favorite cases range from the ones aired between 1987-1992. Thats just how it is around here, most of us can barely tolerate the late 90s-Lifetime incarnation of the show, let alone what SPIKE TV is now serving up on a daily basis.

Look I will grant you this, one thing I appreciate about SPIKE TV is they aren't pretending anymore. They aren't going through the motions trying to make a connection between the UM of old and their new revamp. They are broadcasting the same cases but want the show to have a new, fresh feel unique to their network. I get that, I understand that but the question you should ask yourself is what is the reason (besides curosity about how certain stories were editted and whatnot) that any of us should tune into the SPIKE revamp on a regular basis?

The majority of the people on these forums are diehard UM fans, we are not casual viewers of the shows. That is why in the past five years or whatever its been where we've had no new episodes of the show, we still turned up here on SO on a daily basis to continue to discuss the cases. Many of us have seem every UM segment that Lifetime has syndicated in the program's ten plus year run on that network.

Beyond that many of us are tape/dvd traders and have aquired rare segments that have never been seen since their original NBC broadcast and many of these segments (along with the Lifetime syndications) have been shared throughout the group thanks to generous traders. So what we have here for the most part on SO are a group of fans who actually have the same segments that SPIKE TV broadcasts in their collections but just in their original, more thorough, more complete versions.

In closing I'd like to offer you a comparison that might help you understand a bit better why a lot of us don't care for the revamp. Imagine for a moment you had an album by your favorite band that you got twenty years ago. Now in 2008, the album is reissued with half the tracks missing and morphed to the point where it doesn't even resemble the album you loved so much.

If given the choice would you choose to listen to the album in its original form or a reissue which doesn't really resemble the album as you once knew and loved it?

:clap :clap :clap

What I am thinking is maybe perhaps the people at Spike are 1) Taking time off for part of the upcoming holiday season and 2) Reading the viewer responses and are tweaking UM. Not overall changes (i.e. new host...I like DF but he could use some improvement, but getting the bugs out takes time) but a few things here and there like dates on segments, editting new eps, etc. I will keep an open mind. I will still only watch it on DVR so I can cut through the crap and see the segments I want.

Or maybe the ratings are crap because longtime fans refused to support it, warts and all, and they are cancelling it for good, NEVER to be on television EVER AGAIN IN THE HISTORY OF PLANET EARTH!

we can only hope...

Perhaps the episodes we've seen are the only episodes that are completely finished?

But then, I would assume that if this were the case, Spike would re-run the episodes that we've already seen into the ground the way they appear to do with CSI.

I just find it odd that the network suddenly went from showing UM 4 hours a day to not at all.

P.S.: http://www.spike.com/blog/unsolved-mysteries/70733

I searched for "unsolved mysteries" on the Spike website and this was the first thing to pop up. :P

Some random thoughts...

The new UM was not created for the diehard fans. It was created because Spike and possibly Cosgrove saw an opportunity to squeeze a few dollars more profit out of an old franchise that had a successful run (not to mention that Lifetime's long running contract was finally up). With the popularity of so many other true crime shows, it's not too far of a stretch to think a more modern UM might do well.

The members of this site are the diehard fans but were probably not the demographic Spike was trying to reach. If Spike did care about representing the "old school" format of UM they probably would have been better off re-running the old episodes unaltered. But, I don't think the majority of Spike's viewers woluld appreciate that or watch it.

I have not watched many of the new shows but that is because I have not had reliable access to cable or Spike. If I did have access, I might still watch it. They have shown some of the rare segments, like the Dan Montecalvo case, so I wouldn't say the show is totally worthless.

...Cosgrove saw an opportunity to squeeze a few dollars more profit out of an old franchise that had a successful run...

I know this has been beaten to a pulp but here goes... :crazy:

Put out season sets... yes, it can be done if they want to... start with the seven specials and go from there if they are successful. With all the dreck being pumped out these days on DVD it cannot hurt to at least give it a shot. I'll gladly part from my hard-earned ca$h for them. :lol:

I know this has been beaten to a pulp but here goes... :crazy:

Put out season sets... yes, it can be done if they want to... start with the seven specials and go from there if they are successful. With all the dreck being pumped out these days on DVD it cannot hurt to at least give it a shot. I'll gladly part from my hard-earned ca$h for them. :lol:

Is this Jesus talking again? :)

Is this Jesus talking again? :)

;)

Seriously, why not? Why not put 'em out? Can't say that there would be any lack of demand.

I wonder if any new viewers are the SpikeTV version. I think mostly hardcore viewers are watching the show based on postings on IMDB.

I have only watched two episodes of the new "Unsolved Mysteries" -- the late afternoon/early evening scheduled time makes it extremely difficult for me to see it, because I have numerous obligations to which I must attend at the same time throughout the month.

However, my only real complaint about the new show -- yes, it's much, much different than the old show, as I expected it would be -- is Dennis Farina's narration. It seems somewhat halting and stilted; the words just don't flow naturally. It's as if they're just taking whatever he gives them during the first take and using it, whether or not it flows or sounds natural. In contrast, Robert Stack was such a smooth narrator. Has anyone else noticed this?

That said, I wish the new show all the best, and hope that it is successful. I am especially thankful for the updated stories, although a lot of them have probably already been "updated" through the research of active members of this site.

A very Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow UM fans out there!

Don't understand why they won't release it on DVD in a seasonal catalogue. Hope they do decide to sometime in the not so near future. That would be awesome.