Dennis Farina - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

jets4life · 10-08-2019, 06:11 AM

Did anyone enjoy the revamped Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina in the late 2000's? I could not stand it. Maybe Robert Stack spoiled me, or maybe it was the fact that the show did not feature new cases, but I could not really sit through the later UM version.

In retrospect, when Unsolved Mysteries had originally left NBC in 1997, it would have been a godsend if the show had moved to A&E and had Bill Curtis as the host. IMO, Curtis was the only one who would have made an excellent replacement to Stack.

In fact, by the end of the Unsolved Mysteries run on a major network, Curtis was the best True Crime narrator in the game, as Stack's voice and health in the late 90s were not as great as a decade earlier. This is especially evident when Lifetime TV did a UM relaunch in 2001-02.

What is everyone's thoughts of having Curtis do the show beginning in 1998?

Mike82 · 10-08-2019, 10:44 AM

Bill Curtis certainly is a great choice but I personally think so was Dennis Farina. If they actually slowed the episodes down and not rehashed the exact same old cases word for word the show might have done well. There is also the fact that it was not advertised anywhere and I only heard about it because I am a hardcore fan.

I tried watching the Farina episodes with a fresh and open mind and they really aren't as bad as everyone in this board seems to think. Too bad they ruined what could have been an amazing relaunch with the ridiculous gimmicks like the NASA call centre and the random words splashed across the screen.

Steve_uk · 10-08-2019, 01:18 PM

I preferred the longer 48 Hours format concentrating on one case for a length of time rather than what appeared to be dealing with cases in a rushed manner over a sixty-minute period with little time to digest all facts.

GDAWG · 10-09-2019, 01:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve_uk

I preferred the longer 48 Hours format concentrating on one case for a length of time rather than what appeared to be dealing with cases in a rushed manner over a sixty-minute period with little time to digest all facts.

I like the longer format too. A few months ago, 48 Hours did a case that was featured on Unsolved Mysteries: the Jody Huisentruit Case. UM rushed through the case while 48 Hours went into detail about the case, including listing the potential suspects, something UM never did when covering the same case.

Steve_uk · 10-09-2019, 03:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GDAWG

I like the longer format too. A few months ago, 48 Hours did a case that was featured on Unsolved Mysteries: the Jody Huisentruit Case. UM rushed through the case while 48 Hours went into detail about the case, including listing the potential suspects, something UM never did when covering the same case.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/find-jodi-huisentruit/

jets4life · 10-09-2019, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve_uk

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/find-jodi-huisentruit/

?

Steve_uk · 10-09-2019, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jets4life

?

I know it's not strictly on topic but I was wanting to illustrate the difference in format between the two shows.

PracTz · 10-09-2019, 12:32 PM

Sorry but I didn't like the Farina episodes. He seemed like a nice enough person but alas displayed all the personality of a dial tone while hosting the episodes. Perhaps I'd been spoiled by Robert Stack's empathetic passionate narration and he was a tough act to follow but I could barely make it through even one or two of the late Mr. Farina's episodes (and it didn't help that they often left out the YEARS re the timelines of said mysteries happening).

TheCars1986 · 10-09-2019, 02:45 PM

I didn't mind the Farina episodes because they aired some segments that never made it on any of the Lifetime reruns. It was also the first time I ever saw the entire Tony Miller Final Appeal segment.

Steve1990 · 10-25-2019, 11:50 AM

It was a cheap lazy remake Farina was literally narrating word for word what Stack said in the original.

xxxxmattxxxx69 · 10-27-2019, 08:30 PM

Farina didn't do a bad job with what he was given. However production was terrible. Google maps were way overused. Timestamps were constantly erased. Hair and clothing and cars you could tell were outdated.

The relaunch was also on a network that was geared more towards men so the rock music was terrible.

Farina was no where near as good as Stack but none of the above butchers were his fault

PracTz · 10-27-2019, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxxxmattxxxx69

Farina didn't do a bad job with what he was given. However production was terrible. Google maps were way overused. Timestamps were constantly erased. Hair and clothing and cars you could tell were outdated.

The relaunch was also on a network that was geared more towards men so the rock music was terrible.

Farina was no where near as good as Stack but none of the above butchers were his fault

Yeah all the above butchering wasn't his fault , but him narrating the stuff as though he was reading aloud a phone book with all the emotion of a dial tone WAS his fault!

Omar the Satanist · 10-27-2019, 08:57 PM

Steve1990 nailed it.

I don’t have strong feelings about Farina one way or the other, but those episodes were just garbage. It was almost like an insult to the original. Bill Curtis wouldn’t have been much better in my opinion; good as he was, he wasn’t right for UM.

sdb4884 · 10-27-2019, 11:08 PM

Never a fan of his work even before the abysmal remake.

WoodBooger · 10-29-2019, 10:48 AM

I didn't like it because of the use of googlemaps and the theme sounded someone dropping a pot lid on the kitchen floor.

10-08-2019, 06:11 AM	#1
jets4life Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 02, 2009 Location: canada Posts: 366	Dennis Farina Did anyone enjoy the revamped Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina in the late 2000's? I could not stand it. Maybe Robert Stack spoiled me, or maybe it was the fact that the show did not feature new cases, but I could not really sit through the later UM version. In retrospect, when Unsolved Mysteries had originally left NBC in 1997, it would have been a godsend if the show had moved to A&E and had Bill Curtis as the host. IMO, Curtis was the only one who would have made an excellent replacement to Stack. In fact, by the end of the Unsolved Mysteries run on a major network, Curtis was the best True Crime narrator in the game, as Stack's voice and health in the late 90s were not as great as a decade earlier. This is especially evident when Lifetime TV did a UM relaunch in 2001-02. What is everyone's thoughts of having Curtis do the show beginning in 1998?

10-08-2019, 10:44 AM	#2
Mike82 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 19, 2017 Posts: 294	Bill Curtis certainly is a great choice but I personally think so was Dennis Farina. If they actually slowed the episodes down and not rehashed the exact same old cases word for word the show might have done well. There is also the fact that it was not advertised anywhere and I only heard about it because I am a hardcore fan. I tried watching the Farina episodes with a fresh and open mind and they really aren't as bad as everyone in this board seems to think. Too bad they ruined what could have been an amazing relaunch with the ridiculous gimmicks like the NASA call centre and the random words splashed across the screen.

10-08-2019, 01:18 PM	#3
Steve_uk Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Jun 29, 2012 Location: Manchester UK Posts: 5,803	I preferred the longer 48 Hours format concentrating on one case for a length of time rather than what appeared to be dealing with cases in a rushed manner over a sixty-minute period with little time to digest all facts.

10-09-2019, 12:32 PM	#8
PracTz Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 14, 2002 Location: United States of America [Happily Living in the 20th Century] Posts: 2,711	Sorry but I didn't like the Farina episodes. He seemed like a nice enough person but alas displayed all the personality of a dial tone while hosting the episodes. Perhaps I'd been spoiled by Robert Stack's empathetic passionate narration and he was a tough act to follow but I could barely make it through even one or two of the late Mr. Farina's episodes (and it didn't help that they often left out the YEARS re the timelines of said mysteries happening).

10-09-2019, 02:45 PM	#9
TheCars1986 #VLSKMS Forum Fanatic Join Date: Nov 22, 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 8,606	I didn't mind the Farina episodes because they aired some segments that never made it on any of the Lifetime reruns. It was also the first time I ever saw the entire Tony Miller Final Appeal segment.

10-25-2019, 11:50 AM	#10
Steve1990 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 27, 2014 Location: Cleveland Ohio Posts: 43	It was a cheap lazy remake Farina was literally narrating word for word what Stack said in the original.

10-27-2019, 08:30 PM	#11
xxxxmattxxxx69 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Feb 12, 2010 Location: MA Posts: 398	Farina didn't do a bad job with what he was given. However production was terrible. Google maps were way overused. Timestamps were constantly erased. Hair and clothing and cars you could tell were outdated. The relaunch was also on a network that was geared more towards men so the rock music was terrible. Farina was no where near as good as Stack but none of the above butchers were his fault

10-27-2019, 08:57 PM	#13
Omar the Satanist Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 17, 2019 Posts: 69	Steve1990 nailed it. I don’t have strong feelings about Farina one way or the other, but those episodes were just garbage. It was almost like an insult to the original. Bill Curtis wouldn’t have been much better in my opinion; good as he was, he wasn’t right for UM.

10-27-2019, 11:08 PM	#14
sdb4884 UM Meme Guy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 01, 2008 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 1,234	Never a fan of his work even before the abysmal remake.

10-29-2019, 10:48 AM	#15
WoodBooger Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jul 21, 2019 Location: In the woods Posts: 48	I didn't like it because of the use of googlemaps and the theme sounded someone dropping a pot lid on the kitchen floor.