Closest show to Unsolved Mysteries on tv now?

[tariqbutt]

I know UM will be on our screens soon enough, but a problem I envision for it is that its on a fairly obscure channel and really UM needs to be seen by millions in order for its "crime-fighting" ability to really work (ie so that the audience is big enough to catch the bad guys).

I was wondering what shows I should be watching in order to get that UM feeling I used to get in the 90s. I know America's Most Wanted is similar in that it relies on tipsters, but in reality the feel of the show isnt near as enjoyable and the cases tend to be less mysterious and interesting than those on UM.

What do you guys think? What shows do you watch these days in order to get a fix, similar to that of UM?

(Im mainly into the murder/real-life stuff on UM, but Id also be interested to hear about the other areas and topics that UM covers)


Edit:

Also Im surprised they were even allowed to cancel UM or move it from one of the main tv channels, since it obviously helps law enforcement so much. In the UK they have a tv show called "crimewatch uk" which covers real cases and crimes. The show cannot be cancelled however as it is a public service and having low-ratings occasionally doesnt mean they get rid of the show

[crystaldawn]

Well I would say no other show out there compares to UM but there are a lot of good true crime shows on ID Discovery network. The A&E shows American Justice and Cold Case Files during the week. I also watch a weekly show that airs on various networks titled "Missing" that profiles several missing persons cases.

[mphs95]

I agree with CD. Cold Case Files is a good show. Forensic Files is good, too. Not as scary by itself, but the announcer's voice does have its scary moments.

[joshypiano]

I particularly like the show "Most Evil" on ID Discovery. Although from the purely scientific approach the guy comes from I do take umbrage at the term "Evil". But thats neither here nor there.

[Kane]

Originally Posted by tariqbutt

I know UM will be on our screens soon enough, but a problem I envision for it is that its on a fairly obscure channel and really UM needs to be seen by millions in order for its "crime-fighting" ability to really work (ie so that the audience is big enough to catch the bad guys).

Well, Spike is only "obscure" if you don't have cable at all. But Spike is not obscure at all, since it is available to a general majority of cable subscribers.

However, I see what you mean. Admittedly, a lot of people wish that UM would be seen on a regular channel again, like NBC. The problem is that such networks don't seem to care about that kind of programming anymore. (The exception, of course, is Fox which continues to air America's Most Wanted, but a Fox run for UM is not realistically possible, due to the obvious competition between AMW and UM.) Sadly, the days of primetime networks accommodating all audiences are gone. Instead, they now pander to a select few; unless you happen to fit into the demographics they are seeking (such as age group), chances are they won't accommodate you. Evidently, we the silent majority are being ignored.

But I have a feeling that the primetime networks are getting their just deserts: research shows that overall primetime viewership has been declining for years, while cable viewership has been increasing. Don't be surprised if someday we see more first-run cable shows pulling an average of 18 to 20 million viewers while more first-run primetime shows end up getting an average of, say, 3 million viewers.

By the way, I like America's Most Wanted and Forensic Files. The latter reminds me of UM because of its ability to be spooky. But I think the spookiness of FF was generally more effective when the reenactments were in black and white.

[DP1]

Yeah, I think the days of a show like Unsolved Mysteries on network TV is over. It's more basic cable now.

I'm a fan of AMW so I watch that when I can.

[leafygreens]

FORENSIC FILES

[browneyes106]

I agree about the A&E shows. A Haunting which comes out on the Discovery Channel is sort of similar to UM on paranormal ghost cases.

[Drakken]

Originally Posted by joshypiano

I particularly like the show "Most Evil" on ID Discovery. Although from the purely scientific approach the guy comes from I do take umbrage at the term "Evil". But thats neither here nor there.

What I take umbrage at on this show is that it equates "Evil" with "Murder". A super-scammer who steals millions from elderly women would be more evil than some of these murderers on the lower scale.

Also, the highest ranks of his Evil scale reeks of confirmation bias, which makes it useless as a scientific tool. If the searcher concentrates on serial killers, murdering psychopaths, or murderers with ritualistic, sadistics, or power-seeking tendencies, of course chances are that most of them will go to the higher echelons of the "Evil" scale. However, see very rarely see crimes of passion, crimes committed under provokation, people going postal, or exaggerated homicide in self-defence on this show, who would be classified much lower on the scale. Yet, these cases are all but overlooked by the show in comparison with serial killers or mass murderers, whose past history and psyche is examined with much more scrutiny. There are many "lower-scale" murderers that I would love to see the show focus on, like Dan White, Scott Peterson, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, or Jeffrey MacDonald. Many of them would as much, even more, interesting cases for the general public because they can be committed by John and Jane Doe, in contrast with serial killers who are a tiny minority of an already tiny segment of the population.

Finally, can one really use scientific methods to quantify or classify moral standards, here the level of "Evil"? Can science really define what "Evil" is?

[joshypiano]

Originally Posted by Drakken

What I take umbrage at on this show is that it equates "Evil" with "Murder". A super-scammer who steals millions from elderly women would be more evil than some of these murderers on the lower scale.

Also, the highest ranks of his Evil scale reeks of confirmation bias, which makes it useless as a scientific tool. If the searcher concentrates on serial killers, murdering psychopaths, or murderers with ritualistic, sadistics, or power-seeking tendencies, of course chances are that most of them will go to the higher echelons of the "Evil" scale. However, see very rarely see crimes of passion, crimes committed under provokation, people going postal, or exaggerated homicide in self-defence on this show, who would be classified much lower on the scale. Yet, these cases are all but overlooked by the show in comparison with serial killers or mass murderers, whose past history and psyche is examined with much more scrutiny. There are many "lower-scale" murderers that I would love to see the show focus on, like Dan White, Scott Peterson, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, or Jeffrey MacDonald. Many of them would as much, even more, interesting cases for the general public because they can be committed by John and Jane Doe, in contrast with serial killers who are a tiny minority of an already tiny segment of the population.

Finally, can one really use scientific methods to quantify or classify moral standards, here the level of "Evil"? Can science really define what "Evil" is?

Yes i agree with you totally. But for me the pleasure in the show doesnt come from what his actual point is. The evil scale to me is useless. It's simply a marketing tool. I dont think it accomplishes anything to know who is a worse killer.

For me the real pleasure in the show in the way in which in delves deep into the pshycological implications. Whereas most shows on serial killers simply tell you the crimes they did and very summarily say "oh yeah and as a child they were abused" or " she had schizophrenia" I really feel this show really gets more to the heart of the matter with what drives these people and how different are they really from "average normal people". Alot of people complain about the style of the show and the "cheap" camera tricks the show employs. I feel the artistic liscense the show employs allows one to become more interactive and take in the experience in a more internal way than most straightforward shows on murderers.

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

I hope the new UM show is like the original....or at least remotely close. those other shows are all great and I've seen all of them. I really enjoy tru-court tv, AE(now BIO showing American Justice/cold case etc). the first 48 shows a unique reality version of detective work as well. the ID channel is also very good....the acting is very much like what we saw with unsolved. One cool show I like is FBI Files. of corse AMW is classic and is a great show. and note that none of these shows have great actors like matthey maconahey(spelling?) starring in their productions.

but none of these shows are like UM. In fact they don't even come close IMO. they don't cover the the wide variety of topics. they don't leave you hanging with that suspense that absolutely gets under your skin and leaves you wanting more.....as most of these shows are exclusively crimes that have been solved or they are exclusively criminal/law related....of corse with the exception of AMW being fugitive cases. they also don't give you that chill. i just checked out youtube and found that they deleted some accounts that were posting hundred of UM segs. one of the guys that had his account deleted was actually very upset at youtube/cosgrove. but I watched a wanted segment and to this very day i still get those same chills I got when I was a kid. I can't wait to check out the new version of UM!

[Kane]

Originally Posted by DALLASTEXAN!!

I hope the new UM show is like the original....or at least remotely close. those other shows are all great and I've seen all of them. I really enjoy tru-court tv, AE(now BIO showing American Justice/cold case etc). the first 48 shows a unique reality version of detective work as well. the ID channel is also very good....the acting is very much like what we saw with unsolved. One cool show I like is FBI Files. of corse AMW is classic and is a great show. and note that none of these shows have great actors like matthey maconahey(spelling?) starring in their productions.

but none of these shows are like UM. In fact they don't even come close IMO. they don't cover the the wide variety of topics. they don't leave you hanging with that suspense that absolutely gets under your skin and leaves you wanting more.....as most of these shows are exclusively crimes that have been solved or they are exclusively criminal/law related....of corse with the exception of AMW being fugitive cases. they also don't give you that chill. i just checked out youtube and found that they deleted some accounts that were posting hundred of UM segs. one of the guys that had his account deleted was actually very upset at youtube/cosgrove. but I watched a wanted segment and to this very day i still get those same chills I got when I was a kid. I can't wait to check out the new version of UM!

Well, I would have expected that the shows you mentioned would be different from UM. While a show like UM offers suspense, a show like AMW is "newsy." But comparing such shows to one another is like comparing apples to oranges.

While it may be inevitable that other shows of their ilk will come along, it is equally inevitable that they will not be done in the exact same way. Each show has its own characteristics, so what works for one show may not look right for another.

[marlins3]

I don't know which I would consider closest but my favorite UM-type show is American Justice on A&E. Even though the cases in AJ are usually solved, I like how they devote an entire hour (especially for segments that were on UM like Lisa Kimmell, Jeffrey McDonald, david Duwalliby, etc. I once caught the last five mins of some A&E show that had maury Terry on it explaining his findings on the Son of Sam case (if anyone knows the name of the show or where I could get a copy, it would be awesome). I also know there was some show that featured the amy billig case (again, if anyone knows the name of the show or where I could get a copy, pleas elet me know).

[justins5256]

Originally Posted by marlins3

I don't know which I would consider closest but my favorite UM-type show is American Justice on A&E. Even though the cases in AJ are usually solved, I like how they devote an entire hour (especially for segments that were on UM like Lisa Kimmell, Jeffrey McDonald, david Duwalliby, etc. I once caught the last five mins of some A&E show that had maury Terry on it explaining his findings on the Son of Sam case (if anyone knows the name of the show or where I could get a copy, it would be awesome). I also know there was some show that featured the amy billig case (again, if anyone knows the name of the show or where I could get a copy, pleas elet me know).

This is just a guess but I do remember an A+E program about the Son of Sam conspiracy theory that featured an interview with Berkowitz where he talked in detail about "The Process" - the cult allegedly responsible for the murders. The interview was conducted by Maury Terry. I can't recall if it was on American Justice or Investigative Reports but it was another Bill Kurtis vehicle.

I do have it on tape somewhere, but I'm in the midst of moving and the tape would be in storage.

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

Originally Posted by Kane

Well, I would have expected that the shows you mentioned would be different from UM. While a show like UM offers suspense, a show like AMW is "newsy." But comparing such shows to one another is like comparing apples to oranges.

While it may be inevitable that other shows of their ilk will come along, it is equally inevitable that they will not be done in the exact same way. Each show has its own characteristics, so what works for one show may not look right for another.

well said. I was just naming shows that have been mentioned on the thread and IMO none of them compare....and as you say it is the famous apples/oranges cliche that applies.

UM just covered too much ground with the various genres that were covered. It definitely had the perfect mix of reality and hollywood.

not that any of those shows are bad. I like them all.