Segments that have not aged well...

[tvscript124]

Originally Posted by flytrapp

Yeah, it's grand....if I have the lights on! Major spooky-ass sketch!
The first time I saw the McGowan segment the composite of Sam scared me super bad.....and it's still pretty freaky to this day!

Calling "Sam" the guy in drag is an insult to people who do drag. That definitely didn't age well.

[tvscript124]

All of the segments where there was a teenage girl and an older boyfriend. Jerry Strickland and Missy Munday, Randall Utterback and Denise, Jenny Pratt and her boyfriend. Grooming that was glossed over.

[MediaHoarder]

Originally Posted by tvscript124

All of the segments where there was a teenage girl and an older boyfriend. Jerry Strickland and Missy Munday, Randall Utterback and Denise, Jenny Pratt and her boyfriend. Grooming that was glossed over.

Denise was an adult so I would not put that case in with the others.

[sharonite]

I've mentioned this elsewhere, but I think the level of detail in most of the parental/family abduction segments was gratuitous. They should have been aired as special alerts without re-enactments, and the reunions—which typically involved traumatized minors—shouldn't have been filmed.

[MediaHoarder]

Originally Posted by sharonite

I've mentioned this elsewhere, but I think the level of detail in most of the parental/family abduction segments was gratuitous. They should have been aired as special alerts without re-enactments, and the reunions—which typically involved traumatized minors—shouldn't have been filmed.

The reenactments are necessary to tell the story and get people interested. Especially in something like a custody dispute, where I suspect many people are less apt to take notice or action.

I don't see any harm in showing the reunions either, its a happy moment, not a sad one. I seriously doubt the kids even realized a TV crew was there (and let's be honest, most kids would be stoked about being on TV).

[tvscript124]

Originally Posted by MediaHoarder

Denise was an adult so I would not put that case in with the others.

My bad, sorry.

[dynoguy88]

Originally Posted by MediaHoarder

Denise was an adult so I would not put that case in with the others.

Barely an adult. She was 17 when they met at a party after her senior prom. Why a 31 year old is hanging out at party of 17 and 18 year olds is anyone’s guess. But it’s not good.

[MediaHoarder]

Originally Posted by dynoguy88

Barely an adult. She was 17 when they met at a party after her senior prom. Why a 31 year old is hanging out at party of 17 and 18 year olds is anyone’s guess. But it’s not good.

None of the sources I have seen explicitly said she was 17. They did say that it was a party one week prior to graduation, and did not say it was exclusively for people who had attended prom.

At least in my graduating class there would have been only a handful of people that were 17 by that point in the year.

As to why he was there I would guess drugs were a factor, although I could be wrong.

[dynoguy88]

Originally Posted by MediaHoarder

None of the sources I have seen explicitly said she was 17. They did say that it was a party one week prior to graduation, and did not say it was exclusively for people who had attended prom.

At least in my graduating class there would have been only a handful of people that were 17 by that point in the year.

As to why he was there I would guess drugs were a factor, although I could be wrong.

Robert Stack: "The young woman under attack is Denise Williams. She is 19. The man with a gun is her ex-boyfriend, 31-year-old Randall Utterback. They had met a year and half earlier, at a party after Denise's senior prom. To the naive 17-year-old schoolgirl, Randall seemed exotic and dashing...just dangerous enough to be exciting."

The pictures shown of Randall don't look anything like that description. He looks more like a hippie who hasn't showered in two months.

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

Originally Posted by dynoguy88

Robert Stack: "The young woman under attack is Denise Williams. She is 19. The man with a gun is her ex-boyfriend, 31-year-old Randall Utterback. They had met a year and half earlier, at a party after Denise's senior prom. To the naive 17-year-old schoolgirl, Randall seemed exotic and dashing...just dangerous enough to be exciting."

The pictures shown of Randall don't look anything like that description. He looks more like a hippie who hasn't showered in two months.

good catch. and I agree with the premise that 18 doesn't change much from 17 other than the letter of the law. but I doubt Randall cared, so not sure that he's worth defending at all.

[MediaHoarder]

Originally Posted by dynoguy88

Robert Stack: "The young woman under attack is Denise Williams. She is 19. The man with a gun is her ex-boyfriend, 31-year-old Randall Utterback. They had met a year and half earlier, at a party after Denise's senior prom. To the naive 17-year-old schoolgirl, Randall seemed exotic and dashing...just dangerous enough to be exciting."

The pictures shown of Randall don't look anything like that description. He looks more like a hippie who hasn't showered in two months.

Interesting that that description never made it into any of the print sources. UM was definitely wording it to make a point, "schoolgirl" for someone who was a week from graduation is an interesting way to put it.

A year and a half can be interpreted multiple ways, given the timing of the party and when the incident with the car happened I got the impression they may have started dating around the time of her birthday.

The hippie description is accurate, and would seem to fit with my impression of how he might have found himself at the party in the first place.

[tvscript124]

Originally Posted by MediaHoarder

Interesting that that description never made it into any of the print sources. UM was definitely wording it to make a point, "schoolgirl" for someone who was a week from graduation is an interesting way to put it.

A year and a half can be interpreted multiple ways, given the timing of the party and when the incident with the car happened I got the impression they may have started dating around the time of her birthday.

The hippie description is accurate, and would seem to fit with my impression of how he might have found himself at the party in the first place.

I think the point was that, even though age gap romances are popular in fiction, a romance between a 31-year-old and a girl a week away from high school graduation is majorly creepy in real life.

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

Originally Posted by tvscript124

I think the point was that, even though age gap romances are popular in fiction, a romance between a 31-year-old and a girl a week away from high school graduation is majorly creepy in real life.

I agree, I know the law changes at 18, but a 31 year old dating an 18 year old is creepy. as a father of an 18 year old I would probably give out a stone cold stunner if that happened.

changing the subject. one segment that didn't age well is Devil's Backbone. I'm not going to lie I kind of enjoyed it early on and I do think there's a pretty cool history element and an alleged vision quest, I think. but it's beyond a stretch and I believe the guy featured in the segment was outed as a fake. I live near that area now and it's pretty cool. at night I often wait for the Spanish monk to appear on my back deck, but it never happens.

[Dogface82]

Originally Posted by DALLASTEXAN!!

I agree, I know the law changes at 18, but a 31 year old dating an 18 year old is creepy. as a father of an 18 year old I would probably give out a stone cold stunner if that happened.

changing the subject. one segment that didn't age well is Devil's Backbone. I'm not going to lie I kind of enjoyed it early on and I do think there's a pretty cool history element and an alleged vision quest, I think. but it's beyond a stretch and I believe the guy featured in the segment was outed as a fake. I live near that area now and it's pretty cool. at night I often wait for the Spanish monk to appear on my back deck, but it never happens.

This discussion and the name Denise Williams rang a bell. When I looked it up an entirely different Denise Williams murder case whose husband was 31 when killed popped up. I had seen it on another crime show. So I started over with Randall Utterback, found it in UM archives. Also found Filmrise episode and watched. Was stunned at a "personal connection".

I was having lunch with my ex-brother-in-law in a burnt district town in Missouri in the late 1990s. We were approached a nice guy who said something to him. It was a case of mistaken identity. I distinctly remember him pronouncing the name of his missing friend as ew(oo) der bok not Utter back like Robert Stack. My brother-in-law was similar age, build and had a resemblance with thin face & curly auburn hair. This guy was firmly convinced his friend had been murdered by his girlfriends relatives or LE but kept a hopeful eye out anyway. He felt the younger girl was manipulative. There were some comments in the archives section that were similar to this point of view.

A number of murdered and missing young men in Missouri and Eastern Kansas were loosely connected with a former police officer from Missouri but there is insufficient evidence for charges. Could be totally coincidental.

I totally agree about the age difference being inappropriate. There were times and places in the past where differences were minimal enough for relations to succeed. I know when I was thirty I couldn't understand my older friends teenage kids language much less the subject they were talking about. It used to be called the generation gap. Grooming can be a problem but it isn't always the case. There are dissatisfied high school girls who will do anything for attention, affection or to escape home. And there is always some older guy who should know better that gets involved.

Mexico Missouri is a good sized city but the reenactment gives the impression of a rural town of about 1000 max.

I remember when the devil's backbone aired. I had worked in the area and never heard the stories. I don't know everything but usually if you are an area you pick up on the local lore. Ghost stories are always a favorite topic. I think they are a "modern invention".

[Gelatinous Goo]

I recently watched a segment where RS said something like, "Wife-beating consists of 35% of all calls made to 911".