Stack's voice

[DarkDante]

I was perusing the thread below about UM being scarier or more effective in the earlier days vs. the more recent episodes and thought I'd post something that came to mind while I was watching the program the other day.

I think it was on Monday UM was running pretty close timewise to the hour and the folks who re-editted this episode together (even though it was basically an original episode from 1992 rather than a remade segment from 2001-2002) obviously did not have enough material to flesh out an entire one hour long episode. It is possible that one of the segments orginally aired in that episode was deemed "too scary" for Lifetime (such as how the editted the Tara Calico segment out of its original episode) - Therefore there was about five-eight minutes of "dead air" they had to fill before they could begin their next "Lifetime movie". What they did was air a segment on "Update" montages. While this is common for "Lifetime" what is interesting is they pulled updates from both shows dating from 1992 and the 2002 rebroadcasts (in the case of the rebroadcasts the case they updated was that of Doctor Mike Swango)

Anyhow it becomes very obvious to the viewer when viewing older episodes vs. the 2001-2002 eps that Stacks voice degenerated as he got older. This isn't a knock against him but I'm just stating it as a fact. The most effective part of his voice that being the deep tones in his voice that made so many of the early UM so scary was gone by 2001-2002. His voice by that time was little more than a warble. In my opinion this is one of the reasons why the newer cases are not as effective as the older ones.

Thanks for reading.

[crystaldawn]

Interesting post. Yes, I definitely noticed it and thought it was so sad that such a wonderful voice was showing the effects of age. You can tell when you're watching a new Lifetime produced segment without even looking at the screen because of Stack's frail voice.

[Kemistry]

I noticed it as well but really didn't think much of it. As people get older they go through changes, this is a natural occurance and unfortunately his vocal cords must've chaned a bit as he got older, not a major disappointment U.M wise but it did take a little away from the program but not much for me than the digital filming of the segments.

[UMfan77]

Actually, I think his voice when he was older made the newer cases seem more scary, his voice had a totally different tone.

[JimmyHendricks]

Well, I too noticed Stack's voice changing near the end of the series, especially when Lifetime resurrected the show in 2001 or 02. I remember my parents watching it with me, and my mother, who had seen Stack all the way back when he was on "The Untouchables", noticed it as well. "Sounds like he had throat cancer or something", she said, and I agreed. It sounded like he had a frog in his throat.

However, what made the segments from 2000 on (or whenever they switched over to the powder blue intro with the "flutey" remix of the them song) was two things:

The segments themselves weren't as scary. Bee stings curing paralysis? Dolly the Sheep? ZZZZZZZ. Very few times do I remember a truly creepy story.

And if there was a creepy story, the tone and music was completely different from 1988-1994. Remember the low, brooding, scary notes? They were replaced by upbeat piano music. Never is this more apparant than the "Resurreciton Mary" segment. Now, we're all sick of seeing it, but that is a classic, creepy UM segment. But what did they do? Instead of using creepy music, they had this little "jazz style" upbeat piano jingle that made it almost comical. He he, she was a ghost!! Ha! Um, I shouldn't be feeling that way.

Oh well, the tone of the show changed dramatically in 1997 or so, when they changed the logo and theme song, as I mentioned above. And the 2001 Lifetime episodes were mostly old cases mixed in with one or two new ones that I didn't care for.

Long story short, it's 88-94 for me, not only for episodes, but Stack's voice as well.

[Composite Sketch]

I first noticed Stack's voice deterioration in the Trisha Autry segment. It was really apparent there.

I agree that the tone of the show changed dramatically and that it was the reason it 'jumped the shark'. If I could pinpoint it to one thing being the major shark jump, it would be when they changed the theme music for the 1995/6 season. Without the creepy atmosphere, UM would not be half as well-known as it was or is, it would just be another TV show. Before that point they were removing several things which made the show so memorable - the picture fuzziness on film, the slow scene fading in and out, that stuff started to disappear around 1991. They started tinkering with the theme a couple years later, but then it changed radically in 1995. That theme WAS Unsolved Mysteries to the T and nothing else would come close. Would you change the theme to Dallas? Price is Right? Cheers? All in the Family? Exactly.

The quality of the segments dropped too, IMO, and that didn't help. The Men in Black segment was borderline ridiculous, I thought, and not long after that I lost interest in the show's new episodes. Keely Shaye Smith was eye candy, but completely superfluous; I still didn't 'get' the point of her presence aside from giving Stack less to do.

It's not surprising that most of the memorable segments for UM fans come from the show's first 3 or 4 seasons. It's when the show was unique, thrilling, exciting, and unforgettable.

This thread was about Stack's voice right???

[DarkDante]

In 1995 I believe they went in my mind for the most part from "Unsolved Mysteries" to "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" - it's like they went on the hunt for anything paranormal or just plain weird they could find in current events and reported on it like it was something of vast importance that we all NEEDED to know about. This waste of time could have been used to profile dangerous criminals and missing persons that need to be located. That is what sort of bugs me with the later years of UM their "Unexplained" segments while fairly decent in the earlier years degenerated into buffonary unbefitting to the show.

An example: everyone remembers the original "Roswell" segments right? - There were two of them, one originally aired during an original run episode I believe in 1989 and the second expanded version as part of the "Mystery of Alien Beings" special. These were creepy as hell - It doesn't matter whether one believes in UFOs and aliens or not these segments were disturbing to most and caused I'm sure many to rethink their skepticisim.

By 1995 they were profiling stuff line "Cloned Sheep", "A woman who could heal animals by rubbing their necks", "a family victimized by lightning", "mystery goo in Washington" and my personal favorite "The Men In Black" - seriously even if there was some validity in half these stories they way they were portrayed was laughable.

Later.

[U.M. Fanatic]

Originally Posted by Composite Sketch

I agree that the tone of the show changed dramatically and that it was the reason it 'jumped the shark'. If I could pinpoint it to one thing being the major shark jump, it would be when they changed the theme music for the 1995/6 season. Without the creepy atmosphere, UM would not be half as well-known as it was or is, it would just be another TV show. Before that point they were removing several things which made the show so memorable - the picture fuzziness on film, the slow scene fading in and out, that stuff started to disappear around 1991. They started tinkering with the theme a couple years later, but then it changed radically in 1995. That theme WAS Unsolved Mysteries to the T and nothing else would come close. Would you change the theme to Dallas? Price is Right? Cheers? All in the Family? Exactly.

The quality of the segments dropped too, IMO, and that didn't help. The Men in Black segment was borderline ridiculous, I thought, and not long after that I lost interest in the show's new episodes. Keely Shaye Smith was eye candy, but completely superfluous; I still didn't 'get' the point of her presence aside from giving Stack less to do.

It's not surprising that most of the memorable segments for UM fans come from the show's first 3 or 4 seasons. It's when the show was unique, thrilling, exciting, and unforgettable.

I also noticed that Robert Stacks voice changed during the later years of Unsolved Mysteries. I get sad everytime I hear him during this period because not long after is when he passed away.

[PrettyinPink55]

Originally Posted by U.M. Fanatic

I also noticed that Robert Stacks voice changed during the later years of Unsolved Mysteries. I get sad everytime I hear him during this period because not long after is when he passed away.

Me too.

I didn't like the piano music for the creepy segments in the later seasons, like someone mentioned "Ressurection Mary". It took away from the tone of the story in my opinion.

[idol]

Great post and observation Dante and yeah there was a change in Stacks voice and you can tell right away if the segment is newer or older depending on it. I always thought he was younger than read Stack was 84 when he died.

[Kane]

Originally Posted by Composite Sketch

I first noticed Stack's voice deterioration in the Trisha Autry segment. It was really apparent there.

It was hard not to notice. The Trisha Autry segment aired in 2001 (the first of two years in which Lifetime aired original episodes of UM). But by the time the 2001 season was winding down, Robert Stack's voice was sounding okay. Ditto in a number of first-run segments that aired in 2002.

[hottstuff25]

This is one thing I'm gonna miss when the new episodes start. I don't know if the show will ever be the same without Stack. His voice was the attention grabber for me when it came to UM.

[PrettyinPink55]

Originally Posted by hottstuff25

This is one thing I'm gonna miss when the new episodes start. I don't know if the show will ever be the same without Stack. His voice was the attention grabber for me when it came to UM.

Exactly!!! His voice is just one of a kind!!!

[Kane]

Originally Posted by hottstuff25

This is one thing I'm gonna miss when the new episodes start. I don't know if the show will ever be the same without Stack. His voice was the attention grabber for me when it came to UM.

There's no doubt about it. In fact, no matter how receptive people are about UM returning with a new host, the show will never completely recover from the death of Robert Stack.

When Dennis Farina debuts as the new host in October, there will undoubtedly be comparisons between him and Robert Stack. But that's nothing new. It is the equivalent of a new actor succeeding another actor in a movie role (such as, for example, James Bond).

[mphs95]

Originally Posted by DarkDante

I was perusing the thread below about UM being scarier or more effective in the earlier days vs. the more recent episodes and thought I'd post something that came to mind while I was watching the program the other day.

I think it was on Monday UM was running pretty close timewise to the hour and the folks who re-editted this episode together (even though it was basically an original episode from 1992 rather than a remade segment from 2001-2002) obviously did not have enough material to flesh out an entire one hour long episode. It is possible that one of the segments orginally aired in that episode was deemed "too scary" for Lifetime (such as how the editted the Tara Calico segment out of its original episode) - Therefore there was about five-eight minutes of "dead air" they had to fill before they could begin their next "Lifetime movie". What they did was air a segment on "Update" montages. While this is common for "Lifetime" what is interesting is they pulled updates from both shows dating from 1992 and the 2002 rebroadcasts (in the case of the rebroadcasts the case they updated was that of Doctor Mike Swango)

Anyhow it becomes very obvious to the viewer when viewing older episodes vs. the 2001-2002 eps that Stacks voice degenerated as he got older. This isn't a knock against him but I'm just stating it as a fact. The most effective part of his voice that being the deep tones in his voice that made so many of the early UM so scary was gone by 2001-2002. His voice by that time was little more than a warble. In my opinion this is one of the reasons why the newer cases are not as effective as the older ones.

Thanks for reading.

Also, he was also ill by the end from what I heard, so between aging and his illness, his awesome voice, which helped the show's "aura", was becoming more frail.