How to make UM "relevant" again?

[CuriousMind90]

It seems in the late 80s-early/mid 90s, UM was pretty popular, and in turn it helped solve a lot of cases. For whatever reason, it fell off around the mid-late 90s and it's never been quite as popular since.

While there are many other crime shows (CSI, Law and Order, etc) I don't believe very many of them are about real cases like UM was/is. Besides being an entertaining show, I believe (and maybe I'm not the only one here) that UM (in it's murder and missing person's cases) performed a public service.

I wonder how UM could be brought back to the same level of popularity it had in the 80s-90s, or even greater--I believe UM is important. I also would love if UM went over every Unsolved Murder and Strange Disappearance case--All of the ones on the DOE and Charley networks. Screw the UFOs and Supernatural stuff--that should be the forte of other shows.

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by CuriousMind90

It seems in the late 80s-early/mid 90s, UM was pretty popular, and in turn it helped solve a lot of cases. For whatever reason, it fell off around the mid-late 90s and it's never been quite as popular since.

While there are many other crime shows (CSI, Law and Order, etc) I don't believe very many of them are about real cases like UM was/is. Besides being an entertaining show, I believe (and maybe I'm not the only one here) that UM (in it's murder and missing person's cases) performed a public service.

I wonder how UM could be brought back to the same level of popularity it had in the 80s-90s, or even greater--I believe UM is important. I also would love if UM went over every Unsolved Murder and Strange Disappearance case--All of the ones on the DOE and Charley networks. Screw the UFOs and Supernatural stuff--that should be the forte of other shows.

I guess they would have to be set in a prime time slot on a major network, actually get a host that could pronounce names and places correctly, and actually film segments on newer unsolved cases, and I think you've got a formula for a new, relevant UM.

[Clockworkhigh]

What made the show great was it's atmosphere. I know Stack is dead, but for the old segments they should still use the original broadcasting with him. The new ones include Farina, or my personal pick Christopher Walken.

But the show has to get away from that stupid attention deficit theme where everything has to be jazzed up by graphics and such. It doesn't bring anything to the table at all. Keep the old music and the scary atmosphere and you have the ingredients of a great show again.

In my area the show is only on at 3am everyday. No one sees that. Yes I too believe the show was a public service but unless it goes back to the old ways it is less watchable therefore less people watch it and less cases are solved.

I also think the Internet, reality shows and stuff like this make it less relevant. There are so many options today that weren't there in say 1991. You'd watch Unsolved Mysteries back then because you couldn't just hop on the internet for hours a day either

[cocytus]

As much as I enjoy UM (I watch it almost every day and have for years) there are far too many crime shows out there now for it to be successful. They would also have to raise the bar on a number of cases that they would portray in order to keep pace w/ the programs that are now on the air.

When UM was on the air initially, there were no cell phones, no GPS (at least available to the public) and no DNA testing. Most of the police departments in the US had an uneven mix of trained officers and untrained ones and this fact affected the quality of the police work that they did.And finally, people were a lot less skeptical than they are now. Those things made it more understandable why the mysteries were..."mysteries."

For UM to "work" w/ a modern audience, the mysteries would have to be more "mysterious" than most were, the segments would have to be longer and the production values would have to be higher than original program's were. Given that the cost of production that encompasses all of that may exceed what the producers would be able to sell the program to a network for, it's not likely that UM will be producing new segments any time soon, IMHO.

[kane7474]

How about coming up with new cases?? Every new episode I have seen is simply Denis Farina talking over Robert Stack. WTF? And alot of these cases where updated and solved back then so why re-broadcast with new host??

[cocytus]

Originally Posted by kane7474

How about coming up with new cases?? Every new episode I have seen is simply Denis Farina talking over Robert Stack. WTF? And alot of these cases where updated and solved back then so why re-broadcast with new host??

There are a finite number of "truly mysterious" stories (that are also entertaining) and there's fierce competition for them. 48 Hours and Dateline: NBC have the largest budgets, so they get all of the "best" stories. A brand new UM would have to compete in that arena.

[truthbtold]

The podcast I am working on may help. Also, as previously mentioned, air NEW mysteries on the Farina show. I don't agree that budgets are a valid reason not to do new segments. If that were the case, why air the Farina version at all? Just re-air the Stack episodes as Lifetime was doing. That way you don't even pay Farina or the production crew. Not to mentions, you don't piss off loyal UM Robert Stack fans such as the people on this forum. Anyway, Networks love doing shows like AMW, UM, etc. because the costs are very low to begin with. It's just interviews and re-creations. Very cheap from a studio perspective. If America's Most wanted is still on the air and airing new wanted cases, I see no reason why Unsolved Mysteries cannot find new mysteries to do segments on. It's not like the number of mysterious cases that take place on a daily basis somehow ceased to exist once Robert Stack died.

[unidentified]

After the popularity of UM started going downhill, shows like FBI Files, Forensic Files and so on started taking over. Their forté wasn't that the crimes were unsolved, but instead such shows concentrated on crimes that had actually been solved and how they solved them.

Fast forward a few years and we have the popularity of such shows as CSI, Law and Order, Criminal Minds, NCIS and so on taking off. Filmed obviously with much higher budgets, but again, shot in such a way so that in the end the crimes were nearly always solved.

Aside from this, such shows became more fast-paced, compared to the age old format of the relatively slow (original) UM. There have been plenty of discussions on here about the new UM with Farina, which they have tried to make fast-paced, but I think the jury is out on that one. As mentioned though, a lot of the cases previewed have been solved - I wonder why?


To throw a very simple thought on this though, could it just be that people no longer want to see and hear about such morbid crimes anymore, especially those that haven't been solved?

Generally ppl will get enough of this simply by tuning into their daily news everyday and obviously no matter where it happens, because of cable and satellite tv such events are now more widely reported (back then they would have been more localised).

Plain and simple-I'm just not sure if the general public want to hear about horrific unsolved crimes anymore. They should do, but they don't cos they're too busy worrying about their own issues now so if any TV is to be watched, it should be entertaining or informative.

In the end, ratings are what make the big bucks on TV, so as long as its primarily entertainment, ppl will eat it up.

[Kane]

Originally Posted by unidentified

To throw a very simple thought on this though, could it just be that people no longer want to see and hear about such morbid crimes anymore, especially those that haven't been solved?

If so, then I would feel compelled to ask them hypothetically if they would turn to such shows for help if it were their last best hope in solving a morbid crime that was committed against someone they love. It may not be a polite question, but I think it's a perfectly legitimate one.

In the end, ratings are what make the big bucks on TV, so as long as its primarily entertainment, ppl will eat it up.

True. Although I believe UM made a good amount of money, it was apparently never good enough for the primetime bigwigs. I guess UM had to make at least as much money as, say, Friends or CSI in order to please the networks. (No offense to any fans of those shows.)

In any case, when a network tries to shove certain programs down your throat, there's nothing you can do about it, except to either change the channel or turn the TV off.

[cocytus]

Originally Posted by truthbtold

The podcast I am working on may help. Also, as previously mentioned, air NEW mysteries on the Farina show. I don't agree that budgets are a valid reason not to do new segments. If that were the case, why air the Farina version at all? Just re-air the Stack episodes as Lifetime was doing. That way you don't even pay Farina or the production crew. Not to mentions, you don't piss off loyal UM Robert Stack fans such as the people on this forum. Anyway, Networks love doing shows like AMW, UM, etc. because the costs are very low to begin with. It's just interviews and re-creations. Very cheap from a studio perspective. If America's Most wanted is still on the air and airing new wanted cases, I see no reason why Unsolved Mysteries cannot find new mysteries to do segments on. It's not like the number of mysterious cases that take place on a daily basis somehow ceased to exist once Robert Stack died.

Budgets are always a concern. While it doesn't cost much to create a new program like the old UM, it's even cheaper to simply re-run old episodes. Which choice are most businesses going to make?

Again, Dateline:NBC and 48 Hours are currently the twin dynamos in the "true crime" game. All of the big,"exciting" stories go to them first and then the other current programs get what's left over. Since both CBS, NBC and Fox already have UM-style programs on them, that leaves The CW and ABC or syndicated television.

Two of those don't seem to have much interest (the closest would be Primetime Live on ABC) in a UM-style. Why do I think that? In the past 9 years since UM was canceled, neither of the networks have premiered any shows similar. And the market for first-run syndication is pretty flat these days.

It would take a lot of money and time to create a new UM. It doesn't appear that there's much interest from production companies to invest money in one.

[unidentified]

Originally Posted by unidentified
To throw a very simple thought on this though, could it just be that people no longer want to see and hear about such morbid crimes anymore, especially those that haven't been solved?

If so, then I would feel compelled to ask them hypothetically if they would turn to such shows for help if it were their last best hope in solving a morbid crime that was committed against someone they love. It may not be a polite question, but I think it's a perfectly legitimate one.

I agree, but the problem now is that many people are so busy building their own little castle/empire, whatever you like to call it, that they have no time to even think about helping the next person out now.

If a serious crime worthy on UM came to their doorstep, then yes maybe they'd give it consideration, but otherwise I don't think they want to know.

[RobinW]

Originally Posted by unidentified

To throw a very simple thought on this though, could it just be that people no longer want to see and hear about such morbid crimes anymore, especially those that haven't been solved?

Generally ppl will get enough of this simply by tuning into their daily news everyday and obviously no matter where it happens, because of cable and satellite tv such events are now more widely reported (back then they would have been more localised).

That's true, but the media can't cover anything. Whenever I go onto Websleuths or the Charley Project, I'm amazed at all the very interesting cases out there that have gotten very little media coverage, but would have been a very perfect fit for UM. Every day, you'll find people posting on Websleuths expressing their frustration at the media or LE for not doing much to help them solve the disappearance or murder of a missing loved one. It really helps to have another outlet like UM that could potentially help solve the less publicized cases, as some of them may have remained unsolved forever if it wasn't for their exposure on the show.

That said, I would be really interested to know if the Spike version of UM has ever gotten that many new E-mails or tips about the old unsolved cases they show. If no one ever contacts them, then your theory about people being sick of unsolved crimes may be correct.

[unidentified]

That said, I would be really interested to know if the Spike version of UM has ever gotten that many new E-mails or tips about the old unsolved cases they show. If no one ever contacts them, then your theory about people being sick of unsolved crimes may be correct.

I wouldn't say that absolutely everyone isn't interested in solving certain crimes, but if we ever have shows or news reports which refer to "cold cases" I think many just take the attitude that it's made for "entertainment" like every other tv show now.

[cocytus]

^^^^

What's the source of your information on that statement? There are plenty of people who call, write and email into tip lines every day. Most of those tips are useless, but there a few "gems" among them.

[truthbtold]

Originally Posted by cocytus

Two of those don't seem to have much interest (the closest would be Primetime Live on ABC) in a UM-style. Why do I think that? In the past 9 years since UM was canceled, neither of the networks have premiered any shows similar. And the market for first-run syndication is pretty flat these days.

It would take a lot of money and time to create a new UM. It doesn't appear that there's much interest from production companies to invest money in one.

I see what you are saying. Perhaps they should add a singing or dancing element to the show since that seems to be what the studios are looking for. LOL! JUST KIDDING OF COURSE.

Anyway, that still doesn't get to my point which is, why spend ANY MONEY AT ALL on the Farina show when all it is is a cut and copy of the Stack show? Again, if they don't want to spend money at all, then why spend money at all. Just re-air the stack episodes and leave it at that. Just seems kind of "half assed" to me.

One hypothesis can be that they put out the Farina show as is as sort of a "feeler" to measure public interest. If the show gets enough attention, maybe then they will begin doing fresh segments.