I've tried to give Spike the benefit of the doubt... - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

colt45allstar · 03-09-2009, 06:52 PM

This has gotten ridiculous though.

They show Unsolved.. they pull Unsolved.. they show it... they pull it.

I couldn't take it anymore and so I emailed them... it wasn't anything particularly nasty. It was simply airing a grievance about not only the constant pulling.. but also about the chopped up segments, lack of dates and how they should have simply aired the original Stack segments.

I even suggested something like one classic Stack segment per week..

I mentioned that I would have emailed Cosgrove Meurer as well, had I known their email address.

Nothing will come out of it of course, but it sure felt good to vent about the treatment of one of my three favorite shows of all time. (along with Seinfeld and Whose Line is it Anyway?)

Wishing for Stack segments, or even dates are likely futile at this point.. but I hope they at least consider a regular time slot.

WongStuff · 03-09-2009, 07:19 PM

If you are a Whose Line fan, you should check to see if there is a ComedySportz in your area...it's basically Whose Line live and has been around for almost 25 years! http://comedysportz.com/

Kane · 03-09-2009, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colt45allstar

I mentioned that I would have emailed Cosgrove Meurer as well, had I known their email address.

Nothing will come out of it of course, but it sure felt good to vent about the treatment of one of my three favorite shows of all time. (along with Seinfeld and Whose Line is it Anyway?)

Don't worry about emailing them. Better yet, I would strongly advise you (and everyone else for that matter) to write to them. As I have noted before, physical letters carry more weight than emails. Not only are they more legitimate, but they also give the reader the impression that you cared enough to take the time and effort to write to them.

Here's the address:

Cosgrove-Meurer Productions
4303 Verdugo Avenue
Burbank, CA 91505

Let's also flood Spike TV with letters protesting, their mistreatment of UM. Even if all our efforts don't make the bigwigs come to their senses, then at least we tried.

Write to:

Spike
1515 Broadway
37th Floor
New York, NY 10036

Todd Mueller · 03-10-2009, 10:33 AM

You could do a whole show just on the new UM on Spike:

Segment 1 -- MISSING: What happened to the new UM?
Segment 2 -- WANTED: The executives at Spike need to answer for their UM abuse.
Segment 3 -- LOST LOVES: Thousands of fans want to be reunited with the show they love from long ago.
Segment 4 -- UNEXPLAINED DEATH: A quality program dies a horrible death. How, why, and who is responsible?
Segment 5 -- LEGENDS: Resurrection Mary.

peachysquirt21 · 03-10-2009, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Todd Mueller

You could do a whole show just on the new UM on Spike:

Segment 1 -- MISSING: What happened to the new UM?
Segment 2 -- WANTED: The executives at Spike need to answer for their UM abuse.
Segment 3 -- LOST LOVES: Thousands of fans want to be reunited with the show they love from long ago.
Segment 4 -- UNEXPLAINED DEATH: A quality program dies a horrible death. How, why, and who is responsible?
Segment 5 -- LEGENDS: Resurrection Mary.

LMAO I love it

joshypiano · 03-10-2009, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Todd Mueller

You could do a whole show just on the new UM on Spike:

Segment 1 -- MISSING: What happened to the new UM?
Segment 2 -- WANTED: The executives at Spike need to answer for their UM abuse.
Segment 3 -- LOST LOVES: Thousands of fans want to be reunited with the show they love from long ago.
Segment 4 -- UNEXPLAINED DEATH: A quality program dies a horrible death. How, why, and who is responsible?
Segment 5 -- LEGENDS: Resurrection Mary.

You beat me to it. I had a thought along similar lines not too long ago.
Oddly enough I seem to be the only person around here who's seen the Ressurection Mary segment only once. I think everytime I noticed it was coming back on I would turn the channel for that segment.

TracyLynnS · 03-10-2009, 02:18 PM

Send that one to 'em TM! Maybe that will get their attention.

JimmyHendricks · 03-10-2009, 05:57 PM

The Spike TV version of Unsolved Mysteries is a disaster. I watched about 5 episodes in a row last Monday when I was home sick, and I couldn't believe that they were simply the old Robert Stack segments, re-edited down to half their length, with new speed metal music, and Dennis Farina reading the EXACT SAME dialogue Stack had previously said.

They showed the Rick Church/Colleen Ritter case, and instead of the creepy Gary Malkin music, we get some X-Games sounding crap. It's UM for ADD!

Worst of all, they are just showing old segments? How does this make sense? Why are they showing the Rick Church case? He was captured in 1991! EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO!!! What is the point?

Farina will say, "Thanks to one of our viewers, a child killer is in jail.....", he doesn't mention that those viewers watched the show in 1989 and solved it 20 years ago. He'll say, "On a previous broadcast we showed you....", yeah, in 1993. I can't believe he's just spouting old Stack dialogue.

Essentially, what is the point of this show now? Why not just show old Stack episodes? This makes no sense.

synthisislab · 03-10-2009, 06:27 PM

I don't think there is a point to it now except Cosgrove Meurer need $$$. I'm guessing no one watches it anymore and I predict that they won't solve any of the open cases. What they should have done was updated the open cases with any new info and ommitted the closed cases. No one wants to see the same old cases they've seen upteen times that were solved nearly 20 years ago. Especially not in the "new and improved" sort of way.

Corky Kneivel · 03-10-2009, 07:11 PM

I TiVo’d the show when it came on recently and set it to record the entire series. I watched the first three episodes that it recorded (Rae Ann Mosser’s segment, also the one about the guy framed by the El Rukins, and the kid who got ran over but his parents think he got beat to death) before I just turned it off in disgust. I don’t doubt that the ratings are abysmal for the show, but Cosgrove/Meurer and SpikeTV have only themselves to blame!

Setting aside the havoc they’re playing with scheduling, which historically can kill even the best of shows, I feel like they just destroyed the whole format and everything that made the show great. They’ve chopped up all of the recreations and added ****ty music blaring so loud you can hardly tell what’s being said. They do terrible editing with the old reenactments so that it’ll freeze on something and enlarge or fuzz out or some other atrocious visual effect. Dennis Farina stands above some random call center, probably the SpikeTV complaint center, on his stainless steel bridge of death, and does his best John Walsh impersonation.

It’s like Cosgrove/Meurer got a brand new special effects/editing software and are letting the kids play with it.

I also dislike the choice of Dennis Farina as host. I mean really the only reason they hired him is because the guys an ex-cop and he only ever plays cops or bad guys. His characters are usually designed to be annoying or offensive. Does anyone enjoy hearing his nasal delivery?

JimmyHendricks · 03-10-2009, 08:09 PM

That's another thing--why is Farina in a call center? The 1-800-876-5353 number isn't what you use anymore--you go to Unsolved.com. Didn't one episode have him say, "Right here in the call center....."? Probably because it was an old Stack script.

Bah.

colt45allstar · 03-10-2009, 09:18 PM

The ironic thing.... The number is still active.. or it was as recently as a few months ago... I called it half expecting to get some cheesy 1-800 porn number... but it was still the tip line.

If it's there, why not use it?

One of the things I called Spike out on in my email was not using the phone number and the lack of dates... it's obvious at this point that they are only showing the show for entertainment value and not to solve cases.

The sad thing is it's failing even as a form of entertainment, because we all would rather see The Stack episodes that aren't hacked into bits like these Farina ones and are much better produced.

We are the die hard fans and the ones they need to appease to keep the show on the air.

I love Kane's ideas of mailing letters.. I've seen him mention it before and it's a good idea... I think we are stuck with this format and these irregular viewing times regardless.. but it wouldn't hurt to send complaint letters to Spike and to Cosgrove Meurer

As he said, at least then we can say we tried for better treatment of the show we all love.

Apostapler · 03-11-2009, 07:56 AM

It's terrible, I can't bear to watch it. Like everyone has said, they've just hacked up the old cases and added crappy music and removed the scariest part: Stack's voice. That man could have talked about a peanut butter sandwich going missing, and I'd still almost pee my pants.

peachysquirt21 · 03-11-2009, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apostapler

That man could have talked about a peanut butter sandwich going missing, and I'd still almost pee my pants.

LMAO

TracyLynnS · 03-11-2009, 12:15 PM

Because so many of these crimes are 20 years old and already solved, this is what happens when Spike shows us their redesigned program:

They show us the whole segment, tell us about the horrible crime the perp committed, how awful it was for the victim to be denied justice for years as the case went unsolved for so long, how dangerous it was that this guy was out on the streets where any one of us could be the next victim...

Then, just as you're burning with anger that this perp has gotten away with a horrible crime and you're hoping that someone has the right tip to call in to get the guy caught, Dennis Farina tells you that the case has been solved, the guy has served his time in prison, and he was released back in 2004.

That is soooooo irritating.

03-09-2009, 06:52 PM	#1
colt45allstar Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 09, 2006 Posts: 69	I've tried to give Spike the benefit of the doubt... This has gotten ridiculous though. They show Unsolved.. they pull Unsolved.. they show it... they pull it. I couldn't take it anymore and so I emailed them... it wasn't anything particularly nasty. It was simply airing a grievance about not only the constant pulling.. but also about the chopped up segments, lack of dates and how they should have simply aired the original Stack segments. I even suggested something like one classic Stack segment per week.. I mentioned that I would have emailed Cosgrove Meurer as well, had I known their email address. Nothing will come out of it of course, but it sure felt good to vent about the treatment of one of my three favorite shows of all time. (along with Seinfeld and Whose Line is it Anyway?) Wishing for Stack segments, or even dates are likely futile at this point.. but I hope they at least consider a regular time slot.

03-10-2009, 07:11 PM	#10
Corky Kneivel Member Forum Regular Join Date: Feb 12, 2007 Location: Sacratomato Posts: 570	AMEN!! I TiVo’d the show when it came on recently and set it to record the entire series. I watched the first three episodes that it recorded (Rae Ann Mosser’s segment, also the one about the guy framed by the El Rukins, and the kid who got ran over but his parents think he got beat to death) before I just turned it off in disgust. I don’t doubt that the ratings are abysmal for the show, but Cosgrove/Meurer and SpikeTV have only themselves to blame! Setting aside the havoc they’re playing with scheduling, which historically can kill even the best of shows, I feel like they just destroyed the whole format and everything that made the show great. They’ve chopped up all of the recreations and added ****ty music blaring so loud you can hardly tell what’s being said. They do terrible editing with the old reenactments so that it’ll freeze on something and enlarge or fuzz out or some other atrocious visual effect. Dennis Farina stands above some random call center, probably the SpikeTV complaint center, on his stainless steel bridge of death, and does his best John Walsh impersonation. It’s like Cosgrove/Meurer got a brand new special effects/editing software and are letting the kids play with it. I also dislike the choice of Dennis Farina as host. I mean really the only reason they hired him is because the guys an ex-cop and he only ever plays cops or bad guys. His characters are usually designed to be annoying or offensive. Does anyone enjoy hearing his nasal delivery?

03-09-2009, 07:19 PM	#2
WongStuff Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jun 24, 2005 Posts: 42	If you are a Whose Line fan, you should check to see if there is a ComedySportz in your area...it's basically Whose Line live and has been around for almost 25 years! http://comedysportz.com/

03-10-2009, 10:33 AM	#4
Todd Mueller Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 11, 2005 Posts: 1,626	You could do a whole show just on the new UM on Spike: Segment 1 -- MISSING: What happened to the new UM? Segment 2 -- WANTED: The executives at Spike need to answer for their UM abuse. Segment 3 -- LOST LOVES: Thousands of fans want to be reunited with the show they love from long ago. Segment 4 -- UNEXPLAINED DEATH: A quality program dies a horrible death. How, why, and who is responsible? Segment 5 -- LEGENDS: Resurrection Mary.

03-10-2009, 02:18 PM	#7
TracyLynnS Don't Look Up Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 07, 2009 Posts: 3,107	Send that one to 'em TM! Maybe that will get their attention.

03-10-2009, 05:57 PM	#8
JimmyHendricks Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 11, 2004 Posts: 112	The Spike TV version of Unsolved Mysteries is a disaster. I watched about 5 episodes in a row last Monday when I was home sick, and I couldn't believe that they were simply the old Robert Stack segments, re-edited down to half their length, with new speed metal music, and Dennis Farina reading the EXACT SAME dialogue Stack had previously said. They showed the Rick Church/Colleen Ritter case, and instead of the creepy Gary Malkin music, we get some X-Games sounding crap. It's UM for ADD! Worst of all, they are just showing old segments? How does this make sense? Why are they showing the Rick Church case? He was captured in 1991! EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO!!! What is the point? Farina will say, "Thanks to one of our viewers, a child killer is in jail.....", he doesn't mention that those viewers watched the show in 1989 and solved it 20 years ago. He'll say, "On a previous broadcast we showed you....", yeah, in 1993. I can't believe he's just spouting old Stack dialogue. Essentially, what is the point of this show now? Why not just show old Stack episodes? This makes no sense.

03-10-2009, 06:27 PM	#9
synthisislab Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 11, 2006 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 552	I don't think there is a point to it now except Cosgrove Meurer need $$$. I'm guessing no one watches it anymore and I predict that they won't solve any of the open cases. What they should have done was updated the open cases with any new info and ommitted the closed cases. No one wants to see the same old cases they've seen upteen times that were solved nearly 20 years ago. Especially not in the "new and improved" sort of way.

03-10-2009, 08:09 PM	#11
JimmyHendricks Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 11, 2004 Posts: 112	That's another thing--why is Farina in a call center? The 1-800-876-5353 number isn't what you use anymore--you go to Unsolved.com. Didn't one episode have him say, "Right here in the call center....."? Probably because it was an old Stack script. Bah.

03-10-2009, 09:18 PM	#12
colt45allstar Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 09, 2006 Posts: 69	The ironic thing.... The number is still active.. or it was as recently as a few months ago... I called it half expecting to get some cheesy 1-800 porn number... but it was still the tip line. If it's there, why not use it? One of the things I called Spike out on in my email was not using the phone number and the lack of dates... it's obvious at this point that they are only showing the show for entertainment value and not to solve cases. The sad thing is it's failing even as a form of entertainment, because we all would rather see The Stack episodes that aren't hacked into bits like these Farina ones and are much better produced. We are the die hard fans and the ones they need to appease to keep the show on the air. I love Kane's ideas of mailing letters.. I've seen him mention it before and it's a good idea... I think we are stuck with this format and these irregular viewing times regardless.. but it wouldn't hurt to send complaint letters to Spike and to Cosgrove Meurer As he said, at least then we can say we tried for better treatment of the show we all love.

03-11-2009, 07:56 AM	#13
Apostapler Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 06, 2009 Location: Indiana Posts: 872	It's terrible, I can't bear to watch it. Like everyone has said, they've just hacked up the old cases and added crappy music and removed the scariest part: Stack's voice. That man could have talked about a peanut butter sandwich going missing, and I'd still almost pee my pants.

03-11-2009, 12:15 PM	#15
TracyLynnS Don't Look Up Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 07, 2009 Posts: 3,107	Because so many of these crimes are 20 years old and already solved, this is what happens when Spike shows us their redesigned program: They show us the whole segment, tell us about the horrible crime the perp committed, how awful it was for the victim to be denied justice for years as the case went unsolved for so long, how dangerous it was that this guy was out on the streets where any one of us could be the next victim... Then, just as you're burning with anger that this perp has gotten away with a horrible crime and you're hoping that someone has the right tip to call in to get the guy caught, Dennis Farina tells you that the case has been solved, the guy has served his time in prison, and he was released back in 2004. That is soooooo irritating.