OK. I know this has been discussed quite a bit since the new Unsolved Mysteries started airing about 2 and a half years ago on Spike TV. We all know how bad it is. Dennis Farina is awful. The music is awful. The editing is awful. The graphics are awful. It's just awful on all levels.

I haven't seen it on Spike much anymore, but I know they are airing these Spike episodes on Lifetime during the mid-afternoon in the weekdays.

Can someone please explain to me why they just can't air the Pre-2002 episodes? I'm so baffled as to why they stopped. It seems like they've thrown so much money away trying to make this show "modern" when everything about the show reeks late 80's-early 90's (which makes it so awesome) and the original broadcasts were epic!

Likely because some higher-up at Cosgrove/Meurer thought it was a good idea, and would generate more interest in the show.

Now that they've invested the money in "modernizing" it, they're going to run with it rather than admit it was a poor choice and bring the originals back.

I've said it before; they should have realized that the UM fan base likes the show largely for nostalgic reasons and that we didn't want it re-vamped. If it's not broken, don't fix it.

I was thinking the other day....perhaps it was cheaper to use Farina than to re air the Stack episodes because his heirs wanted to much money to use those episodes?

I agree, the 'new' UM is not the same as the old one. I watched a Farina case on You Tube the other day and couldn't get into it. It was classic in the late 1980s/early 90s. There was something about the show that made it epic (and awesomely creepy) then. The creepiness just isn't there anymore. I don't know if I could regularly watch the new one. The music makes it sound like every other generic true crime/CSI show on the air these days. Maybe not all of them, but AMW comes to mind. I was never a big fan of America's Most Wanted, just something about it. That's what the Farina episodes remind me of.

Others may differ though.

I think why I love 1987-1994/1995 UM so much is because even though a lot of it was dramatized and over-the-top at times in their recreations, it focused so much on the actual people and their personalities/characters. The testimonials and interviews brought different perspectives. The detail and storytelling within each episode, hell, even every segment, felt like a rollercoaster ride at times. Robert Stack was the absolute icing on the cake. His narration took well-written words and turned them into his own and make you hang onto to every sentence he said. At times he would make you terrified, even with a positive update to a case, and at times felt like the comforting elder in a very tough situation.

God I miss this show. It made me sick watching today on Lifetime how awful UM is now.

I wish Stack was still around!

I wouldn't say I like the new ones better than the old ones but one thing I do like is that all the editing and all that gay music has made it a HELL of a lot less scary. I would not have been able to get back to UM again if it weren't for this new revamping. The difference is really astounding. Even when I rewatch the same cases that I caught on the new Lifetime one on YouTube when it was w/ Stack, I get scared as ****.

I do miss Robert Stack a lot though. He was awesome in UM.

OK. I know this has been discussed quite a bit since the new Unsolved Mysteries started airing about 2 and a half years ago on Spike TV. We all know how bad it is. Dennis Farina is awful. The music is awful. The editing is awful. The graphics are awful. It's just awful on all levels.

I haven't seen it on Spike much anymore, but I know they are airing these Spike episodes on Lifetime during the mid-afternoon in the weekdays.

Can someone please explain to me why they just can't air the Pre-2002 episodes? I'm so baffled as to why they stopped. It seems like they've thrown so much money away trying to make this show "modern" when everything about the show reeks late 80's-early 90's (which makes it so awesome) and the original broadcasts were epic!

I think you answered your own question right there. They put a lot of money into re-editing the show (hiring Farina, re-editing segments, chasing down updates) that they aren't going to throw that all away to go back to the original broadcasts. Besides even if they did they would have to invest even more time and money to re-edit those to include the new updates they researched and tacked onto the segments a few years back.

As to why they went with the new format initially? My best guess would be is SPIKE offered them a new contract to take the show on but only if it was modernized/updated. It's possible that SPIKE was not interested in syndicating UM as it stood prior to being revamped.

Finally with all due respect the episodes as aired by "Lifetime" before the Spike revamp actually weren't any great shakes. Like most people I became familiar with the show via the Lifetime syndications but you'd be surprised how heavily edited the Lifetime broadcasts were. Were they better than what is currently being aired? Certainly but that being said I'm not in a real hurry to see them restored either.

Another thing to consider, they may be contractually obligated to Farina to air the new episodes for X amount of time. It's possible that syndication royalties were built into his contract that require the airing of these episodes or none at all.

Ok my question is, are there really any new episodes? Because all I have seen are old episodes with Farina talking instead of Stack. So what new episodes are we talking about?

Ok my question is, are there really any new episodes? Because all I have seen are old episodes with Farina talking instead of Stack. So what new episodes are we talking about?

No. The show is not currently in production. So, unless the re-edited episodes can be counted as new episodes, there aren't any.

I'm willing to bet that if the Farina episodes were all new segments, it would be a much better show. Watching the Farina shows is like watching a cover band perform; just not quite the same as the original.

I really don't understand why the producers of the show chose to simply air older segments on the Farina show. There are so many new unsolved cases that are being left unsolved and forgotten.

If it was money that prevented them from making new segments, then it would have simply made more sense to just continue airing the Stack episodes and use the good ol' Lifetime "text screen" updates.

Also- it's like Thomas Wolfe said- "you can't go home again".

We look back on the originals as being better, but we remember them from what our mindset was back then, or even as a childhood remembrance. We might see them far differently if we saw those same ones today.

It's like a few years ago, I had a few favorite movies from back in the 70s. I had never been able to find them on video. I finally found them on ebay from overseas. I bought them and when I sat down to watch them, I actually thought they were kinda cheesy.....not nearly as good as I had originally thought.

I can only see three good things about the Farina hosted episodes:

1. It's still UM.
2. They do provide updates to older cases that were updated after Stack passed away.
3. They at least re-air the lesser known segments (Glen Consagra is one I never saw before Farina) that were never broadcast on Lifetime.

Everything else sucks.

Glen Consagra is one I never saw before Farina

Guilty or innocent?

Guilty or innocent?

Innocent.

I don't like the new guy at all. I love being scared by unsolved mysteries. I use to watch it during the day when it was on life time and it would make me shake. I don't understand why they changed it. They could have added updates to old cases with out changing the entire format.

I just watched an episode on Lifetime, with Dennis Farina. It was the Orange Sock Murder case, as I posted in another topic. I then watched the original episode with Robert Stack on Youtube. The EXACT same words are used in the Farina version, as the Stack version. I mean come on, they can't even re-word the episodes or anything? Is money this much of an issue? The original episodes are awesome, everyone agrees to that. In my opinion, I think if the original Robert Stack episodes started to re-air on Lifetime, (and the Dennis Farina episodes were discontinued) a lot more people would be interested in watching them. Even if people have already seen the original Stack episodes several times, they probably haven't seen them in 5+ years. Most people have forgotten the episodes, and would love to see them again. There is nothing like the original, and I'm not just talking about Unsolved Mysteries either. I think I speak for a lot of people here.

Obviously the Stack episodes are way better, but in a way them airing these Farina versions on Lifetime mean people are interesting and watching the show, and some UM is better than no UM.

Obviously the Stack episodes are way better, but in a way them airing these Farina versions on Lifetime mean people are interesting and watching the show, and some UM is better than no UM.


I agree with the statement some UM is better than no UM. I would still hope for a full DVD set of the original Stack airings...hopefully we can show them enough interest

Innocent.

I think one of the bigger problems is his story. I have watched the case probably a hundred times and his story of what supposedly happened just sounds so contrived. While not impossible, it sounds like the kind of tale one would come up with if they were forced to admit being present on the scene while a crime was being committed, yet also explain how they were not a party to the action, if that makes any sense.

Then he denied being on the spoilbank. He said in the UM interview that he was afraid that the real killers would figure out he was a witness and come after him. Just how would they know? His own testimony doesn't implicate anyone in the crime, and even if it did, I doubt the police would disclose to potential suspects that Glen ratted them out.

He had a motive, means and opportunity to commit the crime. He also pleaded guilty. While I understand his argument about not wanting to get the death penalty, the prosecution must have had some pretty damning evidence against him if his attorneys thought there was zero chance of acquittal and his best bet was to make that plea.

The only question I have about this case is did he act alone? He was intoxicated and the combined weight of the bodies and boat engine and anchor were in excess of 300 pounds. I doubt he could have handled all that weight by himself. For that and other reasons, I think there were at least two parties involved in this crime.

I do find it unusual that the police didn't question this and possibly look into other suspects or scenarios. Along those lines, maybe the investigation wasn't thorough and they figured they had a convenient suspect in Glen, so the cops went the distance with it.

Even if that is the case, I still think Glen knew more than he was telling. At best, I could see him not pulling the trigger, but helping somebody else (possibly "Ted") cover up the crime.

I think one of the bigger problems is his story. I have watched the case probably a hundred times and his story of what supposedly happened just sounds so contrived. While not impossible, it sounds like the kind of tale one would come up with if they were forced to admit being present on the scene while a crime was being committed, yet also explain how they were not a party to the action, if that makes any sense.

Then he denied being on the spoilbank. He said in the UM interview that he was afraid that the real killers would figure out he was a witness and come after him. Just how would they know? His own testimony doesn't implicate anyone in the crime, and even if it did, I doubt the police would disclose to potential suspects that Glen ratted them out.

He had a motive, means and opportunity to commit the crime. He also pleaded guilty. While I understand his argument about not wanting to get the death penalty, the prosecution must have had some pretty damning evidence against him if his attorneys thought there was zero chance of acquittal and his best bet was to make that plea.

The only question I have about this case is did he act alone? He was intoxicated and the combined weight of the bodies and boat engine and anchor were in excess of 300 pounds. I doubt he could have handled all that weight by himself. For that and other reasons, I think there were at least two parties involved in this crime.

I do find it unusual that the police didn't question this and possibly look into other suspects or scenarios. Along those lines, maybe the investigation wasn't thorough and they figured they had a convenient suspect in Glen, so the cops went the distance with it.

Even if that is the case, I still think Glen knew more than he was telling. At best, I could see him not pulling the trigger, but helping somebody else (possibly "Ted") cover up the crime.

The lady who came forward and said she was present when others murdered Glenn's friends is what convinced me of his innocence. Unless she was seeking some sort of attention by coming forward, I don't see any reason why she would be lying.

The lady who came forward and said she was present when others murdered Glenn's friends is what convinced me of his innocence. Unless she was seeking some sort of attention by coming forward, I don't see any reason why she would be lying.

I have not seen the Spike "redux" so I don't know if they mentioned this but, she was a schizophrenic who changed her story six times and finally recanted the entire thing. I didn't think she was credible.

There is also this article...

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YB8MAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0l0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5654,567738&dq=glenn+consagra&hl=en

His defense filed a motion for post conviction relief on the basis of his claims of innocence and then withdrew it without giving a reason but cited attorney client privilege. Seems like an unusual move.

I have not seen the Spike "redux" so I don't know if they mentioned this but, she was a schizophrenic who changed her story six times and finally recanted the entire thing. I didn't think she was credible.

There is also this article...

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YB8MAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0l0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5654,567738&dq=glenn+consagra&hl=en

His defense filed a motion for post conviction relief on the basis of his claims of innocence and then withdrew it without giving a reason but cited attorney client privilege. Seems like an unusual move.

I still don't see how he got the boat, anchor and bodies to the shore all by himself? He had to have had help.

I still don't see how he got the boat, anchor and bodies to the shore all by himself? He had to have had help.

I agree and I think the whole case stinks and wreaks of sloppy investigation. The UM segment made a good case for their being multiple parties involved in covering up the murders. However, the police never brought in the accomplices and the prosecution can't adequately explain how Glen pulled this off himself.

Unfortunately for Glen, the evidence was such that the investigation focused on him exclusively, and he was forced to plead out.

Although I still feel that Glen had a hand in the murders, at this point, we'll probably never know what roles everyone - Glen, "Donna", "Ted" truly played.

I know that HBO purchased the rights to Unsolved Mysteries back in 2007...does anyone know when that contract is up?

I'm assuming since they pulled the plug on the show (since I don't think any "new" episodes of aired since 2010 and it is now just in syndication on LifeTime) or adding new cases to the "new" Unsolved Mysteries that they've essentially given up on it.

It seems like it's only airing twice a day on late afternoons on LifeTime. I haven't seen it on Spike in months. I'm wondering if at some point there's a chance a reboot of the old episodes airing could take place.

I know that HBO purchased the rights to Unsolved Mysteries back in 2007...does anyone know when that contract is up?

I'm assuming since they pulled the plug on the show (since I don't think any "new" episodes of aired since 2010 and it is now just in syndication on LifeTime) or adding new cases to the "new" Unsolved Mysteries that they've essentially given up on it.

It seems like it's only airing twice a day on late afternoons on LifeTime. I haven't seen it on Spike in months. I'm wondering if at some point there's a chance a reboot of the old episodes airing could take place.

Unfortunately, I think the chances of the old (Stack hosted) episodes returning probably isn't good. I would imagine that Cosgrove spent a lot of money on the new re-edits with Farina and probably want to get more "mileage" out of them, so to speak. Notice how the show is coming back in some other markets (like Australia) but it's the new Farina version.