What true crime shows remind you of Unsolved Mysteries and why?

[Corky Kneivel]

MY BAD - I didn't notice I wasn't supposed to link to a site that shall not be named. Apologies.

Originally Posted by Corky Kneivel

This YouTube channel is fantastic, features mostly unknown but severely mysterious cases from a specific region, has a great narrator/host and competently edited photos of pertinent places & articles. It doesn't do reenactments but I will take what it does many times over than most YT true crime fare that uses random stock photography and video while Ai reads wiki articles. Big props to Mysterious WV

https://www.youtube.com/@MysteriousWV

Also the UK Crimewatch from 1984 to like mid 90s is a SERIOUS contender for Unsolved Mysteries. It's all crime based so no sci-fi, medical woo, or religious hoo-hah segments. I've probably watched these as much as the original UM run

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrzX...jXxdh7qk80jlhC

[ogapogadots]

Kane, are you able to give an example?

I always thought AMW had a similar setup to UM where it had like 4 segments and also in a 1 hour time frame. Despite AMW being all true crime though vs UM having a better variety! I like watching mini-segments instead of a 1 hour long boring murder case. (It's even worse when the friday or saturday night special, like Dateline or 48 Hours or 20/20, is 2 hours long for just 1 true crime topic! HBO's "Autopsy" reminded me of UM but sometimes it was more gory and a female voice over instead of Stack.

Originally Posted by Kane

When you watch other true crime shows in addition to Unsolved Mysteries, sooner or later there will be ones that remind you of UM. To the forum members reading this: What true crime programs remind you of UM and why?

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

Originally Posted by Reconvene

Rescue 911 wasn't exactly a true crime show but did have some crime segments. The show's format and reenactments were basically identical to UM though I don't find the stories nearly as interesting.

That’s probably the show that most closely resembles UM along with AMW. I think it has a lot to do with the timeframe that the shows were released. For whatever reason I never feared watching rescue 911 or even AMW like I did watching UM when I was younger. I think UM did a much better job filming and capturing the re-enactments.

[Mike82]

Originally Posted by Reconvene

Rescue 911 wasn't exactly a true crime show but did have some crime segments. The show's format and reenactments were basically identical to UM though I don't find the stories nearly as interesting.

Probably my second favourite show of all time next to UM and while close, the show that most closely resembled UM was a small Canadian show hosted by Al Waxman called Missing Treasures. It was about child abductions only but was remarkably similar to UM in every day, albeit with a much lower budget. They even did cases featured on UM such as Charles Horvath.


I doubt many people, even Canadians have any memory of this show: it's even hard to find on a certain popular video sharing website. The case of Kimberley McAndrew certainly scared the life out of me more than any UM episode.

[Kane]

Originally Posted by ogapogadots

Kane, are you able to give an example?

I always thought AMW had a similar setup to UM where it had like 4 segments and also in a 1 hour time frame. Despite AMW being all true crime though vs UM having a better variety! I like watching mini-segments instead of a 1 hour long boring murder case. (It's even worse when the friday or saturday night special, like Dateline or 48 Hours or 20/20, is 2 hours long for just 1 true crime topic! HBO's "Autopsy" reminded me of UM but sometimes it was more gory and a female voice over instead of Stack.

Hi, Ogapogadots. When I asked members what true crime show(s) remind them of UM, I was suggesting any variety of things that served as reminders.
Examples may include: production values, similar techniques, the atmosphere of the series, or how the dramatizations are filmed.

I named Unusual Suspects as a true crime series that reminds me of UM, in part because of the dramatic atmosphere. But another factor was the dramatizations; some of dramatizations depicted in Unusual Suspects used certain techniques, such as lighting, that had a throwback look and feel to it, which reminded me of the early episodes of UM.

I share your consensus about multiple segments per 1-hour installment. I am partial to that format for shows like AMW and UM. Some may call it "outdated" or "old-fashioned", but I call it tried and true. And that method has worked well for TV magazines for many years; in fact, I see UM as the 60 Minutes of true crime programs.

One criminal case per hour-long episode can get boring, especially since they can be long-winded and require some filler to accommodate the 1-hour length. But be thankful that Forensic Files is a half-hour series instead of one-hour. That way, each FF episode has less filler and more focus on the relevant details.

[sharonite]

I just thought of another show that reminded me of UM.

In the mid ‘00s I remember watching a late-night syndicated program called “Missing” hosted by Alex Paen. Each half-hour episode profiled about 20 missing persons cases; the vast majority of these were obviously either parental abductees or runaways, but there would always be a few that were less easily explained. At the end of each episode, the photos of all of the profiled people would be shown again in a fast “roll call” not unlike a UM special alert. (Many of these roll calls can be viewed on the show’s official channel, usamissingtv.) There would also be safety tips geared at kids.

Between the late hour of airing, the unsettling music, and the sadness of the cases, this show—which, again, was supposedly *for kids*—always nerved me out.

[dynoguy88]

Originally Posted by DALLASTEXAN!!

That’s probably the show that most closely resembles UM along with AMW. I think it has a lot to do with the timeframe that the shows were released. For whatever reason I never feared watching rescue 911 or even AMW like I did watching UM when I was younger. I think UM did a much better job filming and capturing the re-enactments.

I remember watching Rescue 911 back in the day. Only one time did a segment scare the hell out of me. A woman woke up in the middle of the night, knew it was her ex husband breaking in her house, called 911 and while on the phone, he appeared at her bedroom door and shot her. As a little kid seeing that, I actually went to my mom in tears afterwards.

You’re right about the filming. 911’s re-enactments looked extremely cheap compared to UM’s quality. I’m assuming UM must have had a much bigger budget to work with. It was a good show but I never became obsessed with it to the level of UM. Although, it was kind of nice that all of 911’s stories had happy endings.

[StackTime]

For me, it was an 80s/90s thing (for context). UM was supreme. Rescue 911 was up there, with the freakin terrifying theme music and established celebrity host, similar to UM in those regards. AMW was high on the list too, because of the content, and the element of both re-enactments, and, a tip phone line.

Forensic Files (the original Peter Thomas series) came later and joined the group. Distinct narration voice, vivid re-enactments, and so on. I would put it at second behind UM.

[Killarney Rose]

This isn’t a true crime show but I really wanted to add it to the post. Over the weekend we discovered a series on Freevee through Prime called It’s a Miracle. It’s from the late 90s-early 2000s. It reminds me of a cross between UM and Rescue 911. I’ve seen several episodes on this show that were featured on both of those shows.

[MediaHoarder]

Certain shows remind me of a certain type of Unsolved Mysteries Segment, but no show reminds me of all of them.

In Search of... (Syndicated)
Narrated by Leonard Nimoy since Rod Serling had died before production started, In Search Of... mostly overlaps with the paranormal/cryptid/ufo/lost treasure/historical mysteries side of UM.

Sightings (Fox)
Overlapped with UM in its broadcast history. Also covered UFO/paranormal/cryptid/etc. Being on Fox, it was definitely more of a sensationalized format than UM.

UFO Files (History Channel)
Subject matter is self explanatory. Unique in that it had a variety of narrators which sometimes show up in other shows where you wouldn't expect them.

History's Mysteries/In Search of History (History Channel)
Presented by Arthur Kent with David Ackroyd narrating. Covered mostly historical mysteries with some UFOs/paranormal/etc.

Forensic Files (Cable)
Narrated by the late great Peter Thomas, Forensic files only reminds me of UM in the reenactment format and narration. The fact that all the cases (with a few exceptions) are solved gives a very different feel than UM. Mostly homicides with a few other crimes and the occasional medical mystery in the early seasons.

Conspiracy? (History Channel)
Arguably the best of these, though it suffered from a short run. Tom Kane narrates and comes the closest to the feel of Robert Stack of these. The mix of reenactments, interviews, and narration has a UM feel to it. All episodes explore topics that could easily have been (and in several cases were) UM segments.

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

Originally Posted by dynoguy88

I remember watching Rescue 911 back in the day. Only one time did a segment scare the hell out of me. A woman woke up in the middle of the night, knew it was her ex husband breaking in her house, called 911 and while on the phone, he appeared at her bedroom door and shot her. As a little kid seeing that, I actually went to my mom in tears afterwards.

You’re right about the filming. 911’s re-enactments looked extremely cheap compared to UM’s quality. I’m assuming UM must have had a much bigger budget to work with. It was a good show but I never became obsessed with it to the level of UM. Although, it was kind of nice that all of 911’s stories had happy endings.

Good point about the positive endings on rescue 911. Some of the segments make me tear up for happiness as well to see the positive side of human kindness. I think that is what enabled me to watch it as a young kid. I went back and watched rescue 911 a couple of years ago online and there were a fair amount of segments that are very horrific, one of them was a home invasion in Arlington, TX not far from where I once lived. That would have ruined me had I seen that as a child. I was actually watching it with my adult child and she asked me how the hell i could watch that as a kid. some of them were with my parents who probably should have told me to turn it off..

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

Originally Posted by Killarney Rose

This isn’t a true crime show but I really wanted to add it to the post. Over the weekend we discovered a series on Freevee through Prime called It’s a Miracle. It’s from the late 90s-early 2000s. It reminds me of a cross between UM and Rescue 911. I’ve seen several episodes on this show that were featured on both of those shows.

oh I will be checking that out then

[Perhaps It's You]

Originally Posted by Corky Kneivel

Also the UK Crimewatch from 1984 to like mid 90s is a SERIOUS contender for Unsolved Mysteries. It's all crime based so no sci-fi, medical woo, or religious hoo-hah segments. I've probably watched these as much as the original UM run

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrzX...jXxdh7qk80jlhC

Ditto I've been binging all episodes of Crimewatch UK since '84 on that great playlist, and is an excellent show.
I wish I knew German so I could get into Aktenzeichen XY... ungelöst, the granddaddy of them all.

[Gelatinous Goo]

I'll give this one a try, but I admittedly have a lot of issues watching British shows outside of things in the comedy genre. The accents make everything sound so prim and proper and frankly, cranks the boredom level up to the point that I doze off. And the constant geographical references to places I'm completely unfamiliar with contributes to my general disinterest. Good for any of you who can get past these things.

The one thing that I initially found so surprising watching British crime documentaries is how many absolutely disgusting urban areas there are. Most North Americans don't tend to envision the UK as being a complete dump, even if only in small areas, but some of the locations I've seen make the worst American ghettos look good!

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

Originally Posted by Gelatinous Goo

I'll give this one a try, but I admittedly have a lot of issues watching British shows outside of things in the comedy genre. The accents make everything sound so prim and proper and frankly, cranks the boredom level up to the point that I doze off. And the constant geographical references to places I'm completely unfamiliar with contributes to my general disinterest. Good for any of you who can get past these things.

The one thing that I initially found so surprising watching British crime documentaries is how many absolutely disgusting urban areas there are. Most North Americans don't tend to envision the UK as being a complete dump, even if only in small areas, but some of the locations I've seen make the worst American ghettos look good!

I am watching crime watch UK and it does have a lot of similarities with UM. I also think UM can be used as a sleep aid because of Stack's voice and the presentation of the interviews. Personally I found UM helped raise my level of curiosity of geography and crime watch UK would do the same. I lived in the UK for 3 years so I find it easy to watch and recognize locations of the larger towns and most counties. as for the ghettos I don't fully agree, but they do have some interesting areas. where I lived in Suffolk, one of my British friends said that their county was the Kentucky of the UK, their words not mine. I found that most brits have a better understanding of American geography than we do their country. And world geography in general.

I did visit a mechanic shop there once with a friend and it was one of the trashiest places that I've ever seen in my life. If you've seen the movie Snatch, it's worse than the trailer parks that they show, and that is a British movie that fueled stereotypes. Also one of my friends had his BMW stolen from his front yard while he was at home. We had a stabbing murder about 15 minutes away from where I lived in a park, to my knowledge it was never solved. I was also there during the Arianna Grande concert in Manchester. That was probably the most horrifying thing that happened when I was there. That said, in general I felt a lot safer in the UK than I do in the USA.