This has gotten ridiculous though.

They show Unsolved.. they pull Unsolved.. they show it... they pull it.

I couldn't take it anymore and so I emailed them... it wasn't anything particularly nasty. It was simply airing a grievance about not only the constant pulling.. but also about the chopped up segments, lack of dates and how they should have simply aired the original Stack segments.

I even suggested something like one classic Stack segment per week..

I mentioned that I would have emailed Cosgrove Meurer as well, had I known their email address.

Nothing will come out of it of course, but it sure felt good to vent about the treatment of one of my three favorite shows of all time. (along with Seinfeld and Whose Line is it Anyway?)

Wishing for Stack segments, or even dates are likely futile at this point.. but I hope they at least consider a regular time slot.

If you are a Whose Line fan, you should check to see if there is a ComedySportz in your area...it's basically Whose Line live and has been around for almost 25 years! http://comedysportz.com/

I mentioned that I would have emailed Cosgrove Meurer as well, had I known their email address.

Nothing will come out of it of course, but it sure felt good to vent about the treatment of one of my three favorite shows of all time. (along with Seinfeld and Whose Line is it Anyway?)

Don't worry about emailing them. Better yet, I would strongly advise you (and everyone else for that matter) to write to them. As I have noted before, physical letters carry more weight than emails. Not only are they more legitimate, but they also give the reader the impression that you cared enough to take the time and effort to write to them.

Here's the address:

Cosgrove-Meurer Productions
4303 Verdugo Avenue
Burbank, CA 91505

Let's also flood Spike TV with letters protesting, their mistreatment of UM. Even if all our efforts don't make the bigwigs come to their senses, then at least we tried.

Write to:

Spike
1515 Broadway
37th Floor
New York, NY 10036

You could do a whole show just on the new UM on Spike:

Segment 1 -- MISSING: What happened to the new UM?
Segment 2 -- WANTED: The executives at Spike need to answer for their UM abuse.
Segment 3 -- LOST LOVES: Thousands of fans want to be reunited with the show they love from long ago.
Segment 4 -- UNEXPLAINED DEATH: A quality program dies a horrible death. How, why, and who is responsible?
Segment 5 -- LEGENDS: Resurrection Mary. :lol:

You could do a whole show just on the new UM on Spike:

Segment 1 -- MISSING: What happened to the new UM?
Segment 2 -- WANTED: The executives at Spike need to answer for their UM abuse.
Segment 3 -- LOST LOVES: Thousands of fans want to be reunited with the show they love from long ago.
Segment 4 -- UNEXPLAINED DEATH: A quality program dies a horrible death. How, why, and who is responsible?
Segment 5 -- LEGENDS: Resurrection Mary. :lol:

LMAO I love it :D

You could do a whole show just on the new UM on Spike:

Segment 1 -- MISSING: What happened to the new UM?
Segment 2 -- WANTED: The executives at Spike need to answer for their UM abuse.
Segment 3 -- LOST LOVES: Thousands of fans want to be reunited with the show they love from long ago.
Segment 4 -- UNEXPLAINED DEATH: A quality program dies a horrible death. How, why, and who is responsible?
Segment 5 -- LEGENDS: Resurrection Mary. :lol:


You beat me to it. I had a thought along similar lines not too long ago.
Oddly enough I seem to be the only person around here who's seen the Ressurection Mary segment only once. I think everytime I noticed it was coming back on I would turn the channel for that segment.

Send that one to 'em TM! Maybe that will get their attention.

The Spike TV version of Unsolved Mysteries is a disaster. I watched about 5 episodes in a row last Monday when I was home sick, and I couldn't believe that they were simply the old Robert Stack segments, re-edited down to half their length, with new speed metal music, and Dennis Farina reading the EXACT SAME dialogue Stack had previously said.

They showed the Rick Church/Colleen Ritter case, and instead of the creepy Gary Malkin music, we get some X-Games sounding crap. It's UM for ADD!

Worst of all, they are just showing old segments? How does this make sense? Why are they showing the Rick Church case? He was captured in 1991! EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO!!! What is the point?

Farina will say, "Thanks to one of our viewers, a child killer is in jail.....", he doesn't mention that those viewers watched the show in 1989 and solved it 20 years ago. He'll say, "On a previous broadcast we showed you....", yeah, in 1993. I can't believe he's just spouting old Stack dialogue.

Essentially, what is the point of this show now? Why not just show old Stack episodes? This makes no sense.

I don't think there is a point to it now except Cosgrove Meurer need $$$. I'm guessing no one watches it anymore and I predict that they won't solve any of the open cases. What they should have done was updated the open cases with any new info and ommitted the closed cases. No one wants to see the same old cases they've seen upteen times that were solved nearly 20 years ago. Especially not in the "new and improved" sort of way.

I TiVo’d the show when it came on recently and set it to record the entire series. I watched the first three episodes that it recorded (Rae Ann Mosser’s segment, also the one about the guy framed by the El Rukins, and the kid who got ran over but his parents think he got beat to death) before I just turned it off in disgust. I don’t doubt that the ratings are abysmal for the show, but Cosgrove/Meurer and SpikeTV have only themselves to blame!

Setting aside the havoc they’re playing with scheduling, which historically can kill even the best of shows, I feel like they just destroyed the whole format and everything that made the show great. They’ve chopped up all of the recreations and added ****ty music blaring so loud you can hardly tell what’s being said. They do terrible editing with the old reenactments so that it’ll freeze on something and enlarge or fuzz out or some other atrocious visual effect. Dennis Farina stands above some random call center, probably the SpikeTV complaint center, on his stainless steel bridge of death, and does his best John Walsh impersonation.

It’s like Cosgrove/Meurer got a brand new special effects/editing software and are letting the kids play with it.

I also dislike the choice of Dennis Farina as host. I mean really the only reason they hired him is because the guys an ex-cop and he only ever plays cops or bad guys. His characters are usually designed to be annoying or offensive. Does anyone enjoy hearing his nasal delivery?

That's another thing--why is Farina in a call center? The 1-800-876-5353 number isn't what you use anymore--you go to Unsolved.com. Didn't one episode have him say, "Right here in the call center....."? Probably because it was an old Stack script.

Bah.

The ironic thing.... The number is still active.. or it was as recently as a few months ago... I called it half expecting to get some cheesy 1-800 porn number... but it was still the tip line.

If it's there, why not use it?

One of the things I called Spike out on in my email was not using the phone number and the lack of dates... it's obvious at this point that they are only showing the show for entertainment value and not to solve cases.

The sad thing is it's failing even as a form of entertainment, because we all would rather see The Stack episodes that aren't hacked into bits like these Farina ones and are much better produced.

We are the die hard fans and the ones they need to appease to keep the show on the air.

I love Kane's ideas of mailing letters.. I've seen him mention it before and it's a good idea... I think we are stuck with this format and these irregular viewing times regardless.. but it wouldn't hurt to send complaint letters to Spike and to Cosgrove Meurer

As he said, at least then we can say we tried for better treatment of the show we all love.

It's terrible, I can't bear to watch it. Like everyone has said, they've just hacked up the old cases and added crappy music and removed the scariest part: Stack's voice. That man could have talked about a peanut butter sandwich going missing, and I'd still almost pee my pants.

That man could have talked about a peanut butter sandwich going missing, and I'd still almost pee my pants.

LMAO :lol:

Because so many of these crimes are 20 years old and already solved, this is what happens when Spike shows us their redesigned program:

They show us the whole segment, tell us about the horrible crime the perp committed, how awful it was for the victim to be denied justice for years as the case went unsolved for so long, how dangerous it was that this guy was out on the streets where any one of us could be the next victim...

Then, just as you're burning with anger that this perp has gotten away with a horrible crime and you're hoping that someone has the right tip to call in to get the guy caught, Dennis Farina tells you that the case has been solved, the guy has served his time in prison, and he was released back in 2004.

That is soooooo irritating.

What i don't understand is why Cosgrove and Meurer just don;t put the old seasons on DVD. If i could get these case on HD quality, i sure as hell would buy every season!

It would be a lot more sucessful than this crappy version there showing on Spike.

I have to think they would make much more money selling the orginals on DVD than re-editing the old one's on Spike TV to an audience that doesn;t watch shows like UM.

I don't mind the already solved cases being shown like a lot of people do, if the case it interesting it doesn't bother me... just like it didn't with The Stack cases.

What is bothersome is the repeats, Spike is worse than Lifetime ever was... when they do bring the show back after it's latest hiatus.. it's always the same segments it showed before the last hiatus.

Because so many of these crimes are 20 years old and already solved, this is what happens when Spike shows us their redesigned program:

They show us the whole segment, tell us about the horrible crime the perp committed, how awful it was for the victim to be denied justice for years as the case went unsolved for so long, how dangerous it was that this guy was out on the streets where any one of us could be the next victim...

Then, just as you're burning with anger that this perp has gotten away with a horrible crime and you're hoping that someone has the right tip to call in to get the guy caught, Dennis Farina tells you that the case has been solved, the guy has served his time in prison, and he was released back in 2004.

That is soooooo irritating.

And you never know which cases are going to be solved or unsolved. Half of them have updates and half of them dont.

LOL. I like to say that the new episodes of UM are, in the words of Dr. Evil, "The Diet Coke" of UM.... Just one calorie. Not UM-enough!

In Spike's defense, though, I do like that the cases have been updated RECENTLY. From my understanding, Spike got ahold of the parties involved in the segments and tried to see if the case had made progress or if it was still cold and they included that information in their revamped version of UM.

Even if the guy was arrested and released in 2004, I appreciate knowing that they (theoretically) have been held responsible for their acts. That was something that wasn't afforded to us when Lifetime had the cases on the air.

I don't know if this has been mentioned on this thread or not but I do give them credit for unearthing some of the lost stories. It's been what 20 years since the Marilu Geri segment has been on television anywhere?

LOL. I like to say that the new episodes of UM are, in the words of Dr. Evil, "The Diet Coke" of UM.... Just one calorie. Not UM-enough!

In Spike's defense, though, I do like that the cases have been updated RECENTLY. From my understanding, Spike got ahold of the parties involved in the segments and tried to see if the case had made progress or if it was still cold and they included that information in their revamped version of UM.

Even if the guy was arrested and released in 2004, I appreciate knowing that they (theoretically) have been held responsible for their acts. That was something that wasn't afforded to us when Lifetime had the cases on the air.


LOL! That first part is funny as hell. Well done! :D

To be fair, it is actually Cosgrove-Meuer (the production company) that did all the updates. Spike just airs it. Normally I don't care about correcting little things but Spike deserves no credit for anything other than occasionally airing the new UM.

The major problem is that UM and Spike TV are a very poor match. Surely, there must be a more appropriate network for this to air on.

The major problem is that UM and Spike TV are a very poor match. Surely, there must be a more appropriate network for this to air on.

Yes there is, but A&E didn't offer as much as Spike did.

The major problem is that UM and Spike TV are a very poor match. Surely, there must be a more appropriate network for this to air on.

When their five-year deal with Spike ends in 2013, the folks at UM would be wise sell the show to another channel.

When CBS picked up the show in 1997 (after being canceled by NBC), I gave the network the benefit of the doubt. That is, until they started using UM as a "filler" series. It's worth noting that CBS and Spike have something in common (aside from airing CSI and using UM as a backup player): They are both owned by Viacom. So my advice to Cosgrove/Meurer would be to shop UM to a network that is NOT associated with Viacom. :lol:

Reducing a regularily aired TV show to a substitute is like demoting a baseball pitcher to pinch hitter. Having UM completely off the air would be bad enough, but to have it on the air for only some of the time (or occasionally) is no better.

What i don't understand is why Cosgrove and Meurer just don;t put the old seasons on DVD. If i could get these case on HD quality, i sure as hell would buy every season!

It would be a lot more sucessful than this crappy version there showing on Spike.

I have to think they would make much more money selling the orginals on DVD than re-editing the old one's on Spike TV to an audience that doesn;t watch shows like UM.

I would buy every season too. Haven't they figured out that people watching the vids on Youtube do so because they love the old episodes and it's all we have?

2+2 still equals 4 doesn't it?

Personally, I think that Dennis Farina is a fine actor. It's almost hard to blame him, for I think he is just playing the role, so to speak, and going along with the new direction of the show, i.e. trying to play John Waters in that ridiculous call-center. If the show is going to be re-formatted, he really has little choice but to play along - he'd look even sillier if he didn't.

Spike TV, on the other hand, is as mentioned before, just a terrible fit for this once-great show. It's almost surreal to think that UM was once on Lifetime, a network considered to be female-oriented, and is now on Spike, the so-called Man Channel (if you're into 24/7 gentials jokes and the like). Now, those things have their time and place, but it's kind of hard to get behind a network that shows 976 ads in the evening and Extenze commercials all day. Spike, God bless you, but stick to "1,000 Ways to Die" - you're better at enforcing stereotypes than producing quality programming.

I say that CM tries to pimp the old reruns out to Ion. Either way, I'll still get my fix on the other site.

I think people complain too much.

I much prefer the original episodes, but once Stack died, the show was done. I would have much rather have it different that to tried to be made similiar and fail badly. Now it looks like a different show and that's a better fit than if they tried to make it just like that but it endend crappy like Haunted History or something like that.

And also something I really don't get is the complaints that the show is showing too many solved cases. What gives? Would you not rather have the families get closure or justice in exchange for some seconds of wondering where the guy is? To me if I see a case and it isn't solved, it bums me out more like with William Fischer.

I think people complain too much.

I much prefer the original episodes, but once Stack died, the show was done. I would have much rather have it different that to tried to be made similiar and fail badly. Now it looks like a different show and that's a better fit than if they tried to make it just like that but it endend crappy like Haunted History or something like that.

Your argument would make a lot of sense if they were doing new episodes. But what they are doing is re-doing old episodes that had Stack that were fine to begin with.

Why not just reshow the old episodes rather than redo them?

And also something I really don't get is the complaints that the show is showing too many solved cases. What gives? Would you not rather have the families get closure or justice in exchange for some seconds of wondering where the guy is? To me if I see a case and it isn't solved, it bums me out more like with William Fischer.

1. It defeats the concept of UM to begin with...to help bring to light unsolved cases. If would make more sense from a law enforcement perspective to keep showing more of the unsolved cases so that new leads could be garnered from viewers watching them.

The more of the unsolved cases they show and the more times they show them...the greater exposure those cases can get.

2. Let's not kid ourselves here...a good reason a lot of us do watch unsolved mysteries is the thrill of the puzzle. We want those "mysterious unexplained cases" that we can argue about constantly over internet forums. ;)

I'm glad Liz Carmichael has been apprehended..but to be honest there's nothing else to talk about the case.

1. It defeats the concept of UM to begin with...to help bring to light unsolved cases. If would make more sense from a law enforcement perspective to keep showing more of the unsolved cases so that new leads could be garnered from viewers watching them.

The more of the unsolved cases they show and the more times they show them...the greater exposure those cases can get.

2. Let's not kid ourselves here...a good reason a lot of us do watch unsolved mysteries is the thrill of the puzzle. We want those "mysterious unexplained cases" that we can argue about constantly over internet forums. ;)

I'm glad Liz Carmichael has been apprehended..but to be honest there's nothing else to talk about the case.

You're contradicting yourself. The concept of UM to me is to entertain by presenting mysteries and if they can get to solved them, good. But it's not America Most Wanted and it not concentrated solely on that. So I don't think it defeats it by presenting cases that were solved.

I just think that eventhough the cases are interesting, I much rather have it spoiled but knowing they captured the crook, than thinking they are out there. Plus they are mysteries which have been described here in the spoiled case, where there isn't even a mystery of what happened. Cases like Fischer and Richard Bokledge, the suspect is clearly known and the only mystery is where he is, so I much rather have it solved than have it unsolved so it can be fodder in internet forums.

You're contradicting yourself. The concept of UM to me is to entertain by presenting mysteries and if they can get to solved them, good. But it's not America Most Wanted and it not concentrated solely on that. So I don't think it defeats it by presenting cases that were solved.

No, I am presenting two reasons for the existance and popularity of Unsolved Mysteries.

Unsolved Mysteries is both entertainment and public service. The two are not mutually exclusive.

Plus they are mysteries which have been described here in the spoiled case, where there isn't even a mystery of what happened. Cases like Fischer and Richard Bokledge, the suspect is clearly known and the only mystery is where he is, so I much rather have it solved than have it unsolved so it can be fodder in internet forums.

Forensic Files is probably a better show for you then.

There's a reason the show is called UNsolved Mysteries and not Solved Mysteries.

Although there is a warrant for Richard Bocklege for murder..he is technically innocent till proven guilty...he does have a chance to prove his innocence. Who knows perhaps his interview provides new information that comes to light pointing to a different murderer? (doubtful...but you never know in these type of cases)

Richard Bocklege is still a mystery...he's a fugitive who needs to found. Only till he is caught and a trial is performed is the case closed.

In the original run If Unsolved Mysteries presented 80% of their murder/missing cases as conclusions...the show would never have lasted as long.

The strength of this show has been the "question mark" that hovers over the majority of these cases (murder, wanted, ufo, legend, missing heirs)

If your looking for resolution and happy endings...the true crime genre is not the place to go.

Forensic Files is probably a better show for you then.

There's a reason the show is called UNsolved Mysteries and not Solved Mysteries.

Although there is a warrant for Richard Bocklege for murder..he is technically innocent till proven guilty...he does have a chance to prove his innocence. Who knows perhaps his interview provides new information that comes to light pointing to a different murderer? (doubtful...but you never know in these type of cases)

Richard Bocklege is still a mystery...he's a fugitive who needs to found. Only till he is caught and a trial is performed is the case closed.

In the original run If Unsolved Mysteries presented 80% of their murder/missing cases as conclusions...the show would never have lasted as long.

The strength of this show has been the "question mark" that hovers over the majority of these cases (murder, wanted, ufo, legend, missing heirs)

If your looking for resolution and happy endings...the true crime genre is not the place to go.

First off where did I mention that I look for resolutions and happy endings. Also don't try to suggest shows that are better suited for me. You have no idea what my likings are and you will never now. I've been a fan of UM since I was a kid and I really don't have to proove my fandom to anybody especially you.

The strenght of the show is not only the question mark but the way the mysteries were produced. My complaint is about people getting mad because some of the cases are solved. I much rather have some of the cases solved than remain unsolved especially when they are cases that the perpetrator is known. You can excuse and go after how Bockledge could be innocent (even if he basically confessed to his ex girl parents) but the fact of the matter is that there is a warrant for him and the question is only where is he hiding. That isn't much of a mystery. I much rather have those solved than to leave the possibility that there are out there just for a little drama for the internet debates. There are other cases where this isn't the case and those are better for debate anyway (Kurt Sova, Bon Jovi's manager daughter, Ellenders, just to name a few).

UM changed after Stack died. The posibility for it to come back as before was always remote but now it's nonexistant. So the cases they've shown are the only ones that remain and if they are solved, then there is no complaint in my part if they show it. I much rather be dissapointed in that they are still unsolved in cases where the perpatrator is known, that unsolved especially since as time passes, its a lot less likely that they will be solved.

I don't think the debate is whether the cases are solved or unsolved, it's the whole directing of the show. I thought the point of the show was to bring cases to the light so they can be solved? Not just show interesting stories where the perp has been caught and now released! Yeah I appreciate the update but I don't need a 15 min segment.

I am greatful the show is on the air period, but yeah DVDs would be awesome. I just wanna know why some really good cases get shown and others aren't. It's just bizarre.

You could do a whole show just on the new UM on Spike:

Segment 1 -- MISSING: What happened to the new UM?
Segment 2 -- WANTED: The executives at Spike need to answer for their UM abuse.
Segment 3 -- LOST LOVES: Thousands of fans want to be reunited with the show they love from long ago.
Segment 4 -- UNEXPLAINED DEATH: A quality program dies a horrible death. How, why, and who is responsible?
Segment 5 -- LEGENDS: Resurrection Mary. :lol:


Ha. Classic

First off where did I mention that I look for resolutions and happy endings. Also don't try to suggest shows that are better suited for me. You have no idea what my likings are and you will never now. I've been a fan of UM since I was a kid and I really don't have to proove my fandom to anybody especially you.


Your obviously upset. I apologize if I've offended you.

I think this would usually be the part where Dislimb would make one of those unique remarks he was famous for.

I just wish that the series would go to a network that will air it at a reasonable time. 1am? 2am? Really? Are reruns of CSI ALL DAY the best you can do?

I was enjoying the two hour block on Sunday mornings...but it hasn't run for the last two weeks. I notice its not even running every night anymore, at least according to my Tivo. ...very bummed...

Your obviously upset. I apologize if I've offended you.

I may have overreacted and if I did, i'm sorry. I just felt that my UM fan credentials were questioned. I have watched this show since I was a kid in the early 90's and it was on NBC and have continued being a fan of the show and just because I'm not into hating the Spike version like many people here are, that doesn't make me any less of a UM fan or a true fan of the old episodes.