My initial impression of the new UM after one episode

PROS:
1. Wonderful to hear the theme tune back
2. The Stack easter egg in the titles :clap::clap:
3. High production values
4. Intriguing choice of case
5. Sensible production choices - the part in the first episode where they discuss the trajectory of a body being thrown from the roof could easily have resulted in confusion to the viewer...the use of highlighted diagrams and on-screen aids made it crystal clear what everyone was talking about.
6. No lost loves! :p

Cons
1. Basically, it felt like an episode of 48 Hours without the inevitable ending where the husband or wife is found guilty by a jury. To remedy this, producers should address:

a) No host. Yes, you cannot replace Stack, but the producers don't have to try - there is no requirement for a host to be a white male. A host makes it special and forms more of a personal bond with the viewer.
b) The format. The story dragged at parts and could have been told more economically (a host helps here) - did we really need the descriptions of finding the body? You can then do two stories per episode


Anyway, we will see how the rest of the series pans out.

BTW - am I the only one who found the journalist from WBAL to be unduly jovial when she talked about Rivera's death ?

I enjoyed the first 4 episodes that I have seen. I guess if given the option, I'd rather have a host. If i was UM i would have tried for the main host of Disappeared. He has name/voice value and would have been welcome IMO.

Of course the show can't be the same. Robert Stack is dead and the original format can't work for the most part in 2020. But would anyone really prefer not to have it? Having a new incarnation and new cases to discuss is bad how?

Dateline or 48 Hours wishes they were producing content of this quality. I personally don't see the comparison, aside from one story per episode.

I enjoyed the new format a lot more than I thought I was going to. I didn't mind the lack of a host because for the most part the families explained their tragedies better than any for-rent presenter ever could have. The reason the Rey Rivera story is popping like it has been is directly because of the new expanded format, and the viewer forming the bond with the family members telling the story. And not even Robert Stack would have been able to narrate the Lena Chapin episode better than Brandi Chapin. That one just straight up broke me.


I did find some elements lagged but I don't think that came down to the lack of a narrator. I felt it came down to a lack of information the show was giving out. It felt like the show was a lot more cautious this time around of potential lawsuits and didn't really present a lot of theories or even happenings unless they directly proved to be true. The Alonzo Brooks episode suffered particularly from this IMO. Like, what was said? Who said what? What was looked into with these people? All we got was a vague "they lawyered up and didn't have to take lie detector tests" so the whole episode becomes about a search for a body and not really about the mystery itself.


I'll close out by encouraging everyone to at least play the UFO episode or the French episode. I personally found the UFO one fun and there were some old-school UM characters in there that I got a kick out of, but in terms of renewals it's a bad metric if people don't watch every episode. Let it play while you're doing the dishes or something but at least let it play :lol:

Imagine taking a picture of the UM title in the show and then figuring out it was Robert Stack hours later. Yeah, that happened!

Well, the show definitely had a great start. Although, to be honest, I didn't finish the UFO one as I was bored 10-15 mins in.

The no host thing does blow, but nobody can fill Robert Stack's shoes. They've tried and I think they've come to terms with it.

I know it's controversial and different but I really do believe they should've tried a CG version of him with voice and all. The tech is there. That could've been outrageously awesome and probably clinched it in a creepy, yet UM way. Except not let him do the ghost stories because he hated those in real life out of respect. I do respect the dead, but I just think it would've been mind boggingly effective for the show.

Format could be better too as pacing means a lot more in an hour long show than a 15 min segments.

I am FLOORED by how well this was done. I am only one episode in (Rey Rivera) and cannot wait to see more. What an outstanding job Shawn Levy and Netflix did on this. I got chills during the intro and at the ending credits when I heard the theme! I hope to god this is well-received and we get more seasons!

haven't watched it yet but it feels weird there is no host. The host usually helps explain things and fill in the gaps

UM always played around with the sequencing of how they presented a story - actually, an underrated part of its effectiveness - but while I have enjoyed the first two episodes and am glad to see it back, felt the second one it was a little strained how long they withheld the Major piece of information in the case, and this issue speaks to the limitations of trying to stretch one case to an hour.

I could actually get the whole one case per episode deal, but since it’s Netflix anyway, I don’t think they should feel married to the one episode = one hour format. Tell as much story as there is, be that a half hour, an hour, or 43 minutes.

I weighed in on another thread but I do agree with your assessment.

I think they should have gone with a host as well. ID does this (or used to do it) on some shows. My favorite was Darin Kavinoky. I like having a host. I also miss having more than one segment. I guess having more segments would make a host make more sense.

That said, what I don't like is that this feels no different than any of the ID shows I watch. Yes, the production values are good, and it beats shows on ID that seem cheap, but the overall feel just is nothing exceptional to me. If they had slipped this in on ID on a Thursday night I would only have been caught off guard hearing the theme song again. Other than that it's a completely different thing.

Regardless, I will still watch it, and I hope it does well.

A definite pro is a great new UM name - Pistol Black

The thing I don’t see mentioned too much if at all is that most of the other series “like” this that are out there always have the story solved at the end. For some reason networks are terrified of having a documentary true crime series where the cases aren’t solved. I know some of the 48 Hours and such do this but most series insist on having resolution to the story. I get that people want conclusions, but to me, that was part of what made UM so great was it invited viewers, if they didn’t have clues to submit to help solve the case, it at least left you thinking, wondering and discussing the case to try to come up with a theory.

I actually don’t watch a ton of true crime shows because nearly all of them are already solved. I want the mystery. I want to think about it. And then of course I want to eventually hear that it’s solved after some time has passed. Can’t let these things go on forever.

Disappeared and America’s Most Wanted were pretty much the only other shows I’m aware of that did unsolved cases primarily. Regardless of format, UM is back with new unsolved cases that we can hopefully see resolutions to in the coming months/years.

A definite pro is a great new UM name - Pistol Black

Lol.

Yep. Sounds like Coffee Black from the movie Semi-Pro.

I'd like to hear more creepy music and see more reenactments - although there was a bit of that with the actor playing Xavier DuPont de Ligonnès walking around from hotel to hotel, staring at the surveillance camera, etc.

Three episodes in, this is very good storytelling.

As someone who is not particularly fond of true crime tv shows, I am very pleasantly surprised.
Not only this reboot doesn't suck, but it's actually quite good.

I'm looking forward to see what they have done / can do with UFOs and paranormal cases.

Things they never should have removed:
Multiple segments
Re-enactments
Host
The original theme song

The host gives us a connection to the show. They could have let the fans vote on who the host should be that would have been cool and interactive to involve the fans in this way. We know RS cannot be replaced but they could have got someone like Dennis Haysbert (Allstate man) with a commanding voice to start this new era.

The multiple segments is what made UM so unique and must see TV you got a gumbo of everything in each episode.

The reenactments take you inside the story and really draws the viewers in. Huge mistake to take them away.

The original theme song is so iconic that you cannot give us a sample and piano thinking it will suffice. This was probably the biggest mistake made.


I also feel the name should have been something different like The Return of Unsolved Mysteries or Unsolved Mysteries: Resurrected.

I am highly disappointed and couldn't get past episode 3 I am done.

This review explains how I feel:

https://www.indiewire.com/2020/07/unsolved-mysteries-netflix-reboot-1202235240/

Dennis definitely would’ve been a good narrator for the Netflix version of the show.

I enjoyed it, love the production value, and the theme song is on point.

That being said, I agree with the host situation, as it feels very much like Disappeared, etc (insert most talking head crime shows). The only connection I can feel is the theme music. I also agree about things being drug out to fill the time spot, they retread and go into a lot of useless talk as filler. Maybe 2 different cases per episode would have been better. One thing I wish they would have done was maybe sprinkle more music through the episode, and maybe the re-enactments could have been a little more like the originals, without a interview over them most of the time?

It's a true crime show, with amazing production. I'll watch it regardless.

A definite pro is a great new UM name - Pistol Black

He made a couple of references to football practice. He had better have played QB otherwise that name was wasted.

He made a couple of references to football practice. He had better have played QB otherwise that name was wasted.

Hahaha! So true... "Pistol Black in the pocket, he looks left, he looks right, and fires a bullet to the back of the endzone... TOUCHDOWN! Bang, bang -- That was a 45-caliber throw by Pistol!" :lol:

I love love LOVE the new theme and opening sequence.

I am only one episode in, but I thought the production was very well done. I didn't miss having a narrator-- I thought the show did a good job of having the various folks do the narration for them. It was effective.

Can't wait to watch more! I'm trying to pace myself since there are only 6 episodes thus far.

I was wary of no host, but I think the story pretty much tells itself through the family interviews. The production values were amazing and I liked the cases, even the French one. That made me very sad along with the Lena Chapin one.

I'd even enjoyed the UFO one and I usually hated those segments.

I think this is a great remake and I want more!

Things they never should have removed:
Multiple segments
Re-enactments
Host
The original theme song

The host gives us a connection to the show. They could have let the fans vote on who the host should be that would have been cool and interactive to involve the fans in this way. We know RS cannot be replaced but they could have got someone like Dennis Haysbert (Allstate man) with a commanding voice to start this new era.

The multiple segments is what made UM so unique and must see TV you got a gumbo of everything in each episode.

The reenactments take you inside the story and really draws the viewers in. Huge mistake to take them away.

The original theme song is so iconic that you cannot give us a sample and piano thinking it will suffice. This was probably the biggest mistake made.


I also feel the name should have been something different like The Return of Unsolved Mysteries or Unsolved Mysteries: Resurrected.

I am highly disappointed and couldn't get past episode 3 I am done.

This review explains how I feel:

https://www.indiewire.com/2020/07/unsolved-mysteries-netflix-reboot-1202235240/

I don't mind one story. It gives the story more detail they normally would not get. As I have said before, there have been cases that were on Unsolved Mysteries that have been featured on Dateline or 48 Hours in the last year that go into greater detail than Unsolved Mysteries ever did. Last year, 48 Hours did the Jody Husentruit Case and even mentioned potential suspects. Dateline did the Bonnie Haim case last year and the Lisa Zeigert case earlier this year, going into more detail than Unsolved would have had.

I will interested on how they handle any updates. Will It just be graphics or will a reporter type handle it . Maybe the lead narrator such as Rey’s wife or Pistol ��

The shows needs a narrator to keep the show moving and provide transitions. My mind wandered and it failed to keep me engaged with the cases.

Would you all watch an edited episode where all of Stack's narration and scenes were removed?

They should have called the show something else; it's not UM to me.

Pros
Great Intro/Outro music, graphics aren’t bad ether
Selection of cases were good, all intriguing
Quality of overall production-much, much better than generic ID shows
Awesome to finally have new cases to discuss
Cons
Lack of narrator, makes things seem slower and more drug out in my opinion
Hopefully the next volume will feature at least one other type of crime, robbery, kidnapping, a celeb case, etc...
I wanted more reenactments
More music throughout

Overall: One case per episode is fine for Netflix, although 2 would have been nice maybe a crime paired with a ufo or ghost. This is much better than any ID network show, and in some ways better than 48/Dateline, as we still get true unsolved mysteries. It’s not extremely similar to the old UM but the premise is the same, a chance to help solve a mystery paired with unknown supernatural segments. I will definitely continue watching and judging by UM’s #1 spot on Netflix I think we will get many more seasons. UM practically has a monopoly on unsolved cases and Netflix viewers love documentaries, this could be a great pairing.

I'm halfway through the new series, and I'm enjoying it so far. Besides the rendition of the intro/ending theme music, it doesn't quite feel like UM (how could it, though, to be fair?), but I like what they've done so far. I'm especially pleased they included Robert Stack in the intro as a tribute.

I may be in the minority, but I like there not being a host. I was worried there would be an Investigation Discovery vibe (like their non-Disappeared shows with over the top reenactments, bad music, etc.), but the production value is really good.

Ive gotten through 2 episodes so far. I can't really say anything negative other than the times have changed and doing it the way they did in 1990 is not going to work anymore. Perhaps that is the reason the show ended in the first place.

I love the musical opening and the tribute to RS in that ghostly/creepy manner. I like the music that they use in the production. I like that the people are still telling their story which was central to the show. Having a host would never work because they would never fill RS' shoes. Great choices in the end for me. I hope that the 6 episodes were a trial for them to gauge the public's interest. With the #1 rating I'm very hopeful that more will come.

Ive gotten through 2 episodes so far. I can't really say anything negative other than the times have changed and doing it the way they did in 1990 is not going to work anymore. Perhaps that is the reason the show ended in the first place.


Agreed. I get why they chose not to go with a narrator, and think the narrative style works now. However, I do miss a host: someone to only introduce the episode, and wrap up at the end. Plus the excessive use of on-screen captions isn't ideal for accessibility.

Very good case selection so far, it looks great, and there's just enough of the original UM soul there for me to see it as a legit reboot to UM.

Several have mentioned similarities to Disappeared (which I really like BTW) and I recognize the similarities, but I think UM is superior across the board. Much better production values, better episode variety, and more interesting. And thus far, it doesn't feel as narratively manipulative as Dateline or 48 Hours.

Of course I'd love it to be closer to the original format, but that's not realistic in 2020. I'm fairly convinced this is the next best thing.