So if the show starts airing new episodes and decides to replace Farina, who would be a good fit for the show?

The show would probably not attract A-list names, so I am providing a few lesser-known actors as possible options:

- James Cromwell (Best known as George H.W. Bush in W.)

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- Jonathan Frakes (Best known as Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation)

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- Vincent Curatola (Best known as Johny Sack on The Sopranos)

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- John Slattery (Best known as Roger Sterling on Mad Men)

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- Dan Hedaya (Best known as Sgt. Jeff Rabin in The Usual Suspects)

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- Powers Boothe (Best known as Haig in Nixon (1995))

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Keith David would be perfect, IMO. He seems similar to Stack, yet has his own distinctive creepy voice.

How about Sam Waterson or Chris Noth (of Law & Order fame)?

How about Stephen McHattie, he has the right voice

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Powers Boothe (Best known as Haig in Nixon (1995))

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I would consider Powers Boothe to be best known for playing Jim Jones in The Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones. He did win a best actor Emmy for his performance.

I think Dennis Haysbert could be a good host.

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I like the ideas of Dennis Haysbert, Keith David and especially Powers Boothe. All have the right voices and demeanor for the part.

Keith David is a good choice. I also like the idea of having Bill Curtis do it.

Although unlikely he will accept the job, I think Bill Kurtis would be the best fit, his voice is so scary, he would be a perfect fit.

my pick would be Mitch Pileggi.

- Dan Hedaya (Best known as Sgt. Jeff Rabin in The Usual Suspects)

His character of Nick Tortelli on the sitcom "Cheers" is burned into my brain. I don't think I could ever take him seriously as a host for UM :lol:

How about Stephen McHattie, he has the right voice

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Only if he says "It's a faaaaaaaaake" after a mystery.

Sorry, that's a bit of Star Trek Deep Space 9 humor there. ;)

Mike Rowe

Peter Thomas, the one who narrates "Forensic Files". He's got the right voice. That show is already creepy, so he's a great fit.

I've often thought Bill Curtis would be the best. He has an equally creepy voice, and good narration skills. Not to mention experience on Cold Case Files.

While no one can ever replace RS in my heart, Bill Curtis is an excellent host. I still get chills thinking about episodes of Cold Case Files and American Justice I should not have watched at age 12 that he narrated.

Eh, Bill Kurtis never did it for me. He has a great voice, but I always found his narrations to be rather hokey and forced.

Dennis Farina really isn't that bad--it just seems like he's reading off of a teleprompter that's set at too slow a pace to match his cadence.

How about a female host? CCH Pounder would do a great job--I love her voice. Another natural for the job would be Carolyn McCormick (primarily a theater actress, but you might remember her from her recurring role as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet on Law & Order). She reads audiobooks as a side gig, so you can hear samples of her narrations here: http://www.carolynmccormick.com/

While no one can ever replace RS in my heart, Bill Curtis is an excellent host. I still get chills thinking about episodes of Cold Case Files and American Justice I should not have watched at age 12 that he narrated.
I agree 100%. Curtis's voice sends chills down my spine and cold case files is definetly up there with UM in creepiness. The real victim photographs stick in your Brain forever along with the music on the show. Even the intro music wants you to go lock your doors and hide!

Curtis is older, looks creepy, and it would fit him well to be in a trench coat in the foggy night.

i dont know if he would ever do it, but how about joe pesci? Has the voice, the mannerisms and can i don't know, probably do it?

Just to add, Lance Henriksen would be a great host. He reminds me a bit of Stack, yet he is distinctive.

What would folks think of Tukufu Zuberi as a host?

What would folks think of Tukufu Zuberi as a host?

I never would have thought of him, but I personally think he would be wonderful. He's articulate, engaging, and his voice would be spot-on.

Actually, I think that's the best suggestion so far myself.

I was watching History Detectives the other night and it dawned on me. Also, Tukufu Zuberi is possibly the most fun name to say EVER.

I would vote for any of these hosts from 48 Hours: Maureen Maher, Erin Moriarty, Troy Roberts, and Richard Schlesinger.

Maureen Maher would IMO, be the best choice from this pool because she gets immersed in the cases and gets you immersed in them too; much like Robert Stack did on UM.

Aphrodite Jones would be a good host too.

Morgan Freeman?

Now there's a voice that I wouldn't get tired of.

But yeah, I think Bill Curtis would be great.

Morgan Freeman?

He's got a great voice for narration. I watched some of the Into the Wormhole science program and thought he was a good choice for that.

I always see him as "god" from Bruce Almighty though, lol. Oh, and he was really good in RED, the Bruce Willis action movie. Loved that too.

I've mentioned this in the past, but I think Stacy Keach would be perfect for this. He's currently narrating American Greed on CNBC and hosted a syndicated show called "Missing: Reward" back in the eighties. Gary Sinese might be a good fit as well. He has a reputation of being a really decent guy (very dedicated to veterans issues) and CSI New York won't be returning to CBS this fall.

I've mentioned this in the past, but I think Stacy Keach would be perfect for this. He's currently narrating American Greed on CNBC and hosted a syndicated show called "Missing: Reward" back in the eighties. Gary Sinese might be a good fit as well. He has a reputation of being a really decent guy (very dedicated to veterans issues) and CSI New York won't be returning to CBS this fall.

I would love to see Lt. Dan hosting UM! :)

He's got a great voice for narration. I watched some of the Into the Wormhole science program and thought he was a good choice for that.

I always see him as "god" from Bruce Almighty though, lol. Oh, and he was really good in RED, the Bruce Willis action movie. Loved that too.

The quote that goes through my head all the time is the Family Guy clip:


"Ever since I was a little boy, people have enjoyed the sound of my voice. And I figured you either get busy talkin or you get busy dyin'. The work is really quite easy. Why even right now I'm just sitting in a chair, sipping some tea and reading from a script. The wall is covered in something that resembles egg crates except they're soft and spongy, like a twinkie...like a twinkie." :lol:

lol that IS funny! :lol:

I have to defend Farina. He isn't the problem at all IMO. It is the music/titles/camera movements that hurt the new segments. If they were to have properly remixed original UM music and some titles/camera work in the spirit of the older episodes, he would work just fine.

We might like the old Stack segments based on nostalgia, but alot of them now have outdated information (see: Leah Roberts and the Mike Reimer/Tube Sock Killer segments) and would be of limited help in actually helping to solve the cases. Stack, as great as he was, has been dead for 10 years. If we want to see new UM, we just need to hope the producers will wise up and make future episodes in the same vein as the classic episodes we all like that would nevertheless remain helpful to investigators. There are alot of recent cold cases I'd like to see on the show, too. We won't be able to resurrect Stack from the grave to voice those.

Although unlikely he will accept the job, I think Bill Kurtis would be the best fit, his voice is so scary, he would be a perfect fit.

Top pick, I think he's amazing. AND he narrated Anchorman, need I say more?

my pick would be Mitch Pileggi.

Not a bad choice either.

I can't hate on Farina either. Since the only way to bring back the show was with a new host, I was okay with that choice rather than having no UM at all. Although, I would like to see a comprehensive original set of DVDs made available for purchase, ideally with updates.

My main complaint with what they did to the "new" UM was all those silly graphics, zooming google map images, rock music, fast cut editing, and basically giving it the MTV treatment. My memory may be horrible, buy my attention span is just fine and I'd prefer the show to not be an assault on my eyes and ears. All that was just too distracting from the content of the segments, imo.

I'd be okay with the show today as it is, if they would just change one thing...


HOW ABOUT SOME NEW STORIES?!


If I want to rehash the stuff Stack narrated originally, I'll watch those episodes.

If I want to rehash the stuff Stack narrated originally, I'll watch those episodes.

That was kind of weird to just have Farina following the exact same script. Since they changed so many other aspects of the show, you'd think they would have freshened up the content of what Farina was narrating.

For a second, I was thinking that maybe TPTB thought changing the script would be a turn off for fans who've followed the show for years, but nah... that can't be it. They don't seem to care what the fans think. :(

Keith Morrison from Dateline he has a really creepy voice. I think he would be good.

Keith Morrison from Dateline he has a really creepy voice. I think he would be good.

Oh God, I know some people like Keith Morrison, but will literally NOT watch a show to avoid his over the top, fake-ass, drama-queen voice! To me, he is so annoying, the most annoying person of anyone ever on TV.

I agree with the thoughts on the Farina episodes....the fact that they aren't new, the fast editing, the google map crap, everything. Those episodes are sooo AMW (which isn't a bad thing, it just isn't an UM thing, either).

Bill Kurtis would make a good host, I mean I certainly can't think of anyone better at this point. I just wish he was a bit creepier.

Bill Kurtis would be good to, I forgot about him.

gilbert godfree

I can't hate on Farina either. Since the only way to bring back the show was with a new host, I was okay with that choice rather than having no UM at all. Although, I would like to see a comprehensive original set of DVDs made available for purchase, ideally with updates.

My main complaint with what they did to the "new" UM was all those silly graphics, zooming google map images, rock music, fast cut editing, and basically giving it the MTV treatment. My memory may be horrible, buy my attention span is just fine and I'd prefer the show to not be an assault on my eyes and ears. All that was just too distracting from the content of the segments, imo.

This, exactly.

I don't understand why they don't just show the Stack shows, with a text screen for updates like they did many times. I know Stack is gone but still. You are so right about it looking like it was made for MTV. As for dvd's I wish.

Tony Todd is my choice,he has a great voice for narrating a show like UM

Morgan Freeman.

I would consider Powers Boothe to be best known for playing Jim Jones in The Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones. He did win a best actor Emmy for his performance.

yes sir. you hit this one out of the park (and so did boothe). the man pretty much was jim jones in that film.

gilbert godfree

We want people to be sympathetic to the cases, not run screaming.

Why not Christopher Walker from Disappeared? He has a creepy voice, and it works well with the creepy music of Disappeared.

Why not Christopher Walker from Disappeared? He has a creepy voice, and it works well with the creepy music of Disappeared.

I misread this as "Why not Christopher Walken?"

Needless to say, I was petrified. :)

I misread this as "Why not Christopher Walken?"

Needless to say, I was petrified. :)"For every mystery, there is someone, somewhere, who knows, y'know, the truth... Perhaps!... that someone is watching... Perhaps!... it's you."

how about a hologram of robert stack to host a 3d version of unsolved mysteries?

how about a hologram of robert stack to host a 3d version of unsolved mysteries?

How creepy would a 3D version of of some of the segments be?

Or, in the case of the haunted bunkbed, how hilarious? ;)

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