in recent years. I still don't understand why they just took the old Stack episodes and replacing Stack and adding a bunch of fancy graphics was a good idea. I mean seriously, if they weren't going to do any more new stories, why didn't they just re air the Stack episodes? I bet plenty of channels would have agreed to air them and probably still air them to this day. A&E, Reelz Channel, Tru TV etc.



And why did they not think it was a good idea to produce new episodes using mysteries from 2003 and forward? Fans would have definitely been open to that idea even with a new narrator or even style.


now Unsolved Mysteries still has no stories from 2002 and onward and now all the Stack episodes that people loved are probably gone forever since any re runs or streaming releases will be the newer version!


I know this has been talked about before but I am still in utter shock at the bad decisions that were made here.

Probably Spike offered them a decent amount just to use the rights & they had little to nothing to do with the new versions. Spike wanted to 'update' them for the new era/their style of programming & any show from the 1980's/1990's is going to look somewhat dated nowadays-even more so on a testosterone filled men's channel.

I was happy to see that it was being re-aired, but I sorely missed the original segments. The way they updated the format but just recycled footage from the '80s and '90s was tacky and pointless. They basically repackaged the show for no reason, and Farina's presence was wasted.

The best thing they could have done was simply re-aired the original segments as they were shown in the '80s and '90s, and applied contemporary updates to those cases that had been solved. If they want to continue the series, I definitely think it could have an audience if they went about it right, but that would mean finding a fitting host, reintroducing the original musical theme (I honestly felt like the new theme on the Farina airings was the greatest injustice of all), and seek contemporary stories.

The thing about a series like this is that there is always new material at no cost to the producers—people go missing every day, and strange and unexplained things happen all the time. It's just a matter of finding the stories, getting permission/cooperation from family & those involved (which I think many families are willing to do for the sake of exposure), and then the actual production of the segment. From 2002 to 2016, there have been SO many publicized stories that would have been prime material for UM (Maura Murray, Natalee Hollaway, Ray Gricar, Patrick McDermott, etc., etc.). Some series such as Disappeared took the torch in giving these cases a televised platform like UM did, but UM's presence is still sorely missed in my opinion.

I would love a UM revival, as I think most of us would. I hope they'll do it someday. I don't have television, but when I was home for Christmas last month, I was up late one night at my mom's house browsing local channels, and was surprised when I stumbled on two of the Farina episodes around 1am. I of course watched them, but it just reminded how much of a missed opportunity they were.

When it first returned I watched a little of a few episodes on Spike but couldn't stand the way it was hacked up and never watched again. I have never seen Farina host.

I was happy to see that it was being re-aired, but I sorely missed the original segments. The way they updated the format but just recycled footage from the '80s and '90s was tacky and pointless. They basically repackaged the show for no reason, and Farina's presence was wasted.

The best thing they could have done was simply re-aired the original segments as they were shown in the '80s and '90s, and applied contemporary updates to those cases that had been solved. If they want to continue the series, I definitely think it could have an audience if they went about it right, but that would mean finding a fitting host, reintroducing the original musical theme (I honestly felt like the new theme on the Farina airings was the greatest injustice of all), and seek contemporary stories.

The thing about a series like this is that there is always new material at no cost to the producers—people go missing every day, and strange and unexplained things happen all the time. It's just a matter of finding the stories, getting permission/cooperation from family & those involved (which I think many families are willing to do for the sake of exposure), and then the actual production of the segment. From 2002 to 2016, there have been SO many publicized stories that would have been prime material for UM (Maura Murray, Natalee Hollaway, Ray Gricar, Patrick McDermott, etc., etc.). Some series such as Disappeared took the torch in giving these cases a televised platform like UM did, but UM's presence is still sorely missed in my opinion.

I would love a UM revival, as I think most of us would. I hope they'll do it someday. I don't have television, but when I was home for Christmas last month, I was up late one night at my mom's house browsing local channels, and was surprised when I stumbled on two of the Farina episodes around 1am. I of course watched them, but it just reminded how much of a missed opportunity they were.

That was never going to happen-simply shows with the slow storytelling/suspense/drama etc don't exist now & haven't for a long time. Spike is an adrenaline/guy channel, they were obviously looking for a cheap filler show & cut a deal to get the original episodes, cut them up & put funky music etc over the top narrated by the Crime Story guy.

It basically stripped it of the emotion/atmosphere that made it the show we all love & turned it into a show for drunks & people with no attention spans like most television these days. There was zero interest in paying anything for research or liaising with families etc or creating anything new.

When it first returned I watched a little of a few episodes on Spike but couldn't stand the way it was hacked up and never watched again.

That is understandable. Besides, it goes without saying that UM has been trivialized. They refurbished UM to make it look like a different show in order to attract a new audience and what happened? The show was met with both apathy and antipathy. It makes an MSNBC show look like a big hit.

When it first returned I watched a little of a few episodes on Spike but couldn't stand the way it was hacked up and never watched again. I have never seen Farina host.

My favorite thing was how the new Google Earth version of the show never used dates, making it seem like you were watching a recent crime. Then at the end they'd update with stuff like "killer Joe was convicted, served 30 years and was paroled and died of old age..."

Probably Spike offered them a decent amount just to use the rights & they had little to nothing to do with the new versions. Spike wanted to 'update' them for the new era/their style of programming & any show from the 1980's/1990's is going to look somewhat dated nowadays-even more so on a testosterone filled men's channel.

HBO hooked up with CM to redo UM after the Lifetime contract expired. Then they shopped it around to the networks.

I'm surprised that HBO went so low-budge with it. They must've spent their entire budget on Farina.

That is understandable. Besides, it goes without saying that UM has been trivialized. They refurbished UM to make it look like a different show in order to attract a new audience and what happened? The show was met with both apathy and antipathy. It makes an MSNBC show look like a big hit.

Absolutely. It's the old adage of "don't fix what isn't broken." There was no need to redress this series up to make it look like something else. If they had actually worked on NEW episodes and at least attempted to stay in the vein of the original, it would've been totally different.

All they did was repackage the older stories, port over footage from the eighties, and put Dennis Farina's face on it. I can't wrap my head around what kind of purpose they had in doing this. I'd honestly like to pretend it never even happened.

My favorite thing was how the new Google Earth version of the show never used dates, making it seem like you were watching a recent crime. Then at the end they'd update with stuff like "killer Joe was convicted, served 30 years and was paroled and died of old age..."

That has always annoyed me even to this day. They really went out of their way to obscure the dates, too. Just yesterday I was watching one of the Farina episodes on Lifetime, and they showed the story about the girl who could produce gold leaf out of her pores. They were showing some home video clips and they blurred out the dates. How tacky!

I've noticed that the only time they used dates was if the case happened prior to 1971. I never could understand their logic.

I'm also in the same boat as you guys. Despite that, I still tune on to the Mondays-Fridays' marathons on Lifetime. Even though I don't really look up, I'll listen to it especially if they are showing the more memorable cases.

I'm also in the same boat as you guys. Despite that, I still tune on to the Mondays-Fridays' marathons on Lifetime. Even though I don't really look up, I'll listen to it especially if they are showing the more memorable cases.


Same here. DVR is set and I watch as I do my work. Once or twice a week, I see a case that I haven't in years. I was on FB and swore whoever runs the site said they are looking for a channel to take the show. I don't know if they meant more reruns or a new show!

I just want to say that I completely agree with everybody here. The show was bastardized to pander to a rubber stamp stereotype of men or rather guys or bros as decided upon in a boardroom. Even a viewer poll would be better.

With the diversity of channels the way there is now, I suspect there is a home for the real Unsolved Mysteries someplace on TV. Bring it back as it was, show the old Stack segments in full, and put Richard Belzer or Peter Coyote in charge of new episodes.

I just want to say that I completely agree with everybody here. The show was bastardized to pander to a rubber stamp stereotype of men or rather guys or bros as decided upon in a boardroom.

"Bastardized" is a legitimate word to describe it, as well as "trivialized" (my description). And yes, I agree with the pandering part. Sadly, this is not uncommon. They changed the look and feel of the show to accommodate certain stereotypes or demographics. It demonstrates that appealing to any given demographics is a double-edged sword: it will work either to your advantage or to your disadvantage.

We knew ahead of time that the Spike version of UM wasn't going to be recognized as the same UM as before, because it was acknowledged in articles. Needless to say, the misgivings about were justified. When a show (or any product for that matter) is brought back looking different, it should always be looked upon with apprehension.


With the diversity of channels the way there is now, I suspect there is a home for the real Unsolved Mysteries someplace on TV.

I couldn't agree more, especially since cable is more grown up now than it was thirty years ago. It's just a matter of finding the right buyer, one that is interested in the show and would treat it with respect.

Cosgrove/Muerer has more issues than just allowing the horrible revamp of the show to happen. That, of course, is a tragedy.

But the bigger tragedy is their insistence, stubbornness and downright bullying nature over having any of their Robert Stack era episode content posted online, whether it's YouTube, Vimeo, Crackle or any other video related website.

They don't lose anything by having those episodes available online. And only good can come from having unsolved cold cases available for viewing because it keeps the important names out there. Online content is how the majority of people hear about any kind of news story old or new these days. Cosgrove/Muerer does not seem to care at all about that. They have been obsessively removing any of their content since the birth of YouTube.

A few years ago, I had three different YouTube accounts; One for Unsolved Mysteries, one for my favorite sports teams and one for miscellaneous stuff. And because Cosgrove/Muerer got their panties in a twist over UM being online, they reported me and as a result, all three accounts got deleted since they were all tied to the same email address. There was nothing I could do to get the content of my other two channels back.

During the brief months I had all that UM content online, I heard from several loved ones of memorable cases; the sister of Joyce McLain, the sister of Kathy Hobbs and a classmate of Norman Ladner just to name a few. All of them were extremely thankful to have these videos online. They told me themselves. Decades have gone by and they still live every day with no answers and no closure. Now I realize even with C/M's permission, some of these cold cases are a long shot to be solved but like I said before, there is nothing to lose by keeping them available online. And for them to pretty much give the middle finger to all those loved ones of victims is rather sickening.

Cosgrove/Muerer has more issues than just allowing the horrible revamp of the show to happen. That, of course, is a tragedy.

But the bigger tragedy is their insistence, stubbornness and downright bullying nature over having any of their Robert Stack era episode content posted online, whether it's YouTube, Vimeo, Crackle or any other video related website.

They don't lose anything by having those episodes available online. And only good can come from having unsolved cold cases available for viewing because it keeps the important names out there. Online content is how the majority of people hear about any kind of news story old or new these days. Cosgrove/Muerer does not seem to care at all about that. They have been obsessively removing any of their content since the birth of YouTube.

A few years ago, I had three different YouTube accounts; One for Unsolved Mysteries, one for my favorite sports teams and one for miscellaneous stuff. And because Cosgrove/Muerer got their panties in a twist over UM being online, they reported me and as a result, all three accounts got deleted since they were all tied to the same email address. There was nothing I could do to get the content of my other two channels back.

During the brief months I had all that UM content online, I heard from several loved ones of memorable cases; the sister of Joyce McLain, the sister of Kathy Hobbs and a classmate of Norman Ladner just to name a few. All of them were extremely thankful to have these videos online. They told me themselves. Decades have gone by and they still live every day with no answers and no closure. Now I realize even with C/M's permission, some of these cold cases are a long shot to be solved but like I said before, there is nothing to lose by keeping them available online. And for them to pretty much give the middle finger to all those loved ones of victims is rather sickening.
I remember because I watched all the segments again thanks to you. C/M really shot themselves in the foot by being anal about removing them online. The UM videos got a lot of comments, some good, some the usual predictable garbage, but there was an interest. By refusing them to be allowed to be seen in social media, it lessen the chances that some of these cold cases could be solved. I wish they would change their tune.

I just wish some cable channel would re-air the Stack episodes. Come on, make it happen, CM.

While it would be wonderful to see those episodes in any form at this point (as I echo the sentiments about their extreme youtube policing), rather than re-airing it on TV, I wish they would approach netflix or hulu about having them stream the episodes. With true crime content making a comeback in documentaries, podcasts, etc., I would think now would be the best time to do it. Doubt it will happen since CM seems to enjoy crushing dreams and not getting those cases out there for exposure. :(

While it would be wonderful to see those episodes in any form at this point (as I echo the sentiments about their extreme youtube policing), rather than re-airing it on TV, I wish they would approach netflix or hulu about having them stream the episodes. With true crime content making a comeback in documentaries, podcasts, etc., I would think now would be the best time to do it. Doubt it will happen since CM seems to enjoy crushing dreams and not getting those cases out there for exposure. :(



To be fair they kind of are as it still airs on Tv but for some reason they thought doing a horrible revamp of the show and burying the Robert Stack episodes was a good idea?

To be fair they kind of are as it still airs on Tv but for some reason they thought doing a horrible revamp of the show and burying the Robert Stack episodes was a good idea?
Very true. I guess I was referring to them not getting the cases out for exposure in terms of how CM has policed the Stack (maybe even Farina?) episodes so heavily online.

It is truly a shame as now would be as good a time as ever with shows like Making a Murderer piquing interest in crime and the X-Files reboot stirring both 90s nostalgia and an appetite for the creepy.

I just wish some cable channel would re-air the Stack episodes. Come on, make it happen, CM.

In that case, I seriously suggest starting a letter writing campaign. I doubt your post will be seen by C/M since they probably don't visit this site, even if they were aware of its existence. Since Lifetime still airs the show, write to them.

I feel like at this point we will probably not see the Stack episodes on TV again, if only because it's old and starting to look really dated, especially on new TVs. Casual viewers are not going to watch this relic from the 80s when they can watch shiny new crime shows on, for example, the ID Network.

I would be happy with new episodes with new cases and a new, better host, with maybe the last segment of each show being a replay of an older segment--either a story that was recently solved or a case that is still unsolved. But apparently CM has been trying to shop around a new version to networks and no one is biting (not even Lifetime)? That's the impression that their website gives.

I don't know why they don't just open a Youtube channel or something similar where they can let us watch the show and also make money on ads. I know they've claimed something about guild restrictions in the past, but they posted a segment to their Facebook page a few weeks ago.

There is clearly a demand for the Stack episodes. Look at the insane second-hand prices people are charging for the out-of-print DVDs! The DVDs aren't even that great!

I never heard of this production company apart from this particular show. Did it produce anything else? If not, then it would seem odd that the bosses would have been willing to bit the [one?] hand that fed them.

I never heard of this production company apart from this particular show. Did it produce anything else?


Yes. They produced their share of made-for-television movies, including the 1991 NBC telemovie Guilty Until Proven Innocent, starring a then-unknown Brandon Fraser. Check out the following link for the company's full resume.

http://www.imdb.com/company/co0031897/?ref_=ttco_co_1