Does it make anyone sad how UM represents a totally bygone era?

[Oldschooler81]

Perhaps because these are stories about regular average joes that simply had something extraordinary happen to them, something about UM conjours up a slice of "everyday 80s America" to me, far more than any movie or TV show with actors reading lines and playing parts. Lots of stories seemed to take place in the Midwest too, which is probably more "typical America" than huge cities like LA, NYC or Chicago.

One major thing that depresses me is the demographics have totally changed since the 80s and really 90s too. People's ages are getting really weird now (relative to what I remember as a kid) and everybody's kinda stepped into different roles.

Think about it. Babies of 1989 are now 25, a 10 year old is now 35, teenagers are now in their 40s, middle aged parents/working people are now seniors, seniors are all dead (or very very old), etc.

Older people (back then) like The Wackers are really symbolic to me of a past era. Like, they remind me of typical grandparently people who came of age in the jazz era, who'd be saying "Whippersnapping kids!" or "Turn that racket down!" and who were confused or annoyed by (then) modern technology like VCRs or microwaves.

[isotope]

I see what you are saying (I'll be hitting the big 4-0 in a couple of years!), but you also have to remember that a lot of the more horrific crimes covered in UM would have been avoided if modern technology was around back in the 80s/early 90s.

How many abductions would have been prevented if cell phones were around back then? (it would have at least stopped people like Angela Hammond stopping at lonely phone booths where they made easy targets) How many armed robberies would have been prevented/solved if convenience or drug stores had surveillance cameras back then? I still find it shocking when UM would report on crimes that happened at major shopping malls without any video footage! Police procedures have also improved massively - not only has DNA testing revolutionised law enforcement, but cops today are unlikely to treat reports of missing young people with the same sort of yawning indifference they did back in the day and computer organisation has made it far easier for cops to match suspects with MOs, known associates etc.

[Oldschooler81]

Originally Posted by isotope

I see what you are saying (I'll be hitting the big 4-0 in a couple of years!), but you also have to remember that a lot of the more horrific crimes covered in UM would have been avoided if modern technology was around back in the 80s/early 90s.

How many abductions would have been prevented if cell phones were around back then? (it would have at least stopped people like Angela Hammond stopping at lonely phone booths where they made easy targets) How many armed robberies would have been prevented/solved if convenience or drug stores had surveillance cameras back then? I still find it shocking when UM would report on crimes that happened at major shopping malls without any video footage! Police procedures have also improved massively - not only has DNA testing revolutionised law enforcement, but cops today are unlikely to treat reports of missing young people with the same sort of yawning indifference they did back in the day and computer organisation has made it far easier for cops to match suspects with MOs, known associates etc.

Definitely agree. Even by the late 90s when more people had basic cellphones, some of the major crimes like Angela Hammond, could've been averted or drastically reduced. Smaller towns definitely had less resources and were often (even for then) behind on technology (such as 911, even up into the earlier 90s)...which adds to the retro and creepy factor too.

[Zlatko]

Yeah, I agree with what you're saying.

Late 80's/Early 90's UM did capture a different point in time. People were less obsessed with technology like computers and cellphones. People were more socially connected with one another. Although, I will not deny that today's technology would obviously help to solve many cases.

It's also sad to think that many of the families on UM who are still seeking justice for their loved ones are growing older and older.

It's funny you brought up the various locations where UM cases took place. That's one of the reasons why I think UM is such a fantastic show. It gave the viewers a small peek into the various small towns across America, whether it be in Alabama, Oregon, or any other state.

[PKB]

I wouldn't say that people were less obsessed with technology - It just wasn't as widely utilized.

I was an early adopter of computers and the internet and have had an email address since the late 80's. Back then anyone that used a computer was considered a shut in or a nerd.

UM is much like Seinfield: 90% of the problems would have been solved with a smart phone.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by Zlatko

It's funny you brought up the various locations where UM cases took place. That's one of the reasons why I think UM is such a fantastic show. It gave the viewers a small peek into the various small towns across America, whether it be in Alabama, Oregon, or any other state.

Agreed. This is also part of the reason I enjoy City Confidential so much. Large cities are covered, of course, but I like the feel of what the communities are like described on the show. I just love the way communities were filmed in the early years of UM as well. Some of the camera work was actually quite beautiful. The Gail Delano, Harold & Thelma Swain, and Orange Sock Murder segments come to mind.

Now, as far as bygone eras go, there are things I appreciate about the late '80s and early '90s, but I'm glad we're not still living in them. We live in exciting times with amazing technologies that have done SO much more than just allow people to watch cat videos. We have also seen great social strides throughout the world, despite the challenges that still exist. I LOVE all things retro, but I'm not really very sentimental about most of them.

[dynoguy88]

Originally Posted by PKB

UM is much like Seinfield: 90% of the problems would have been solved with a smart phone.

More cases would have been helped with today's technology but unfortunately, criminals and criminal activities are timeless. A smart phone wouldn't have stopped Beverly McGowan from getting the worst possible roommate one could get. It wouldn't have stopped Rick Church from stabbing the Ritter family, or Joe Weldon Smith from killing his wife and step daughters in their sleep. It wouldnt have prevented any of the family abductions to my knowledge, the Baskin kids, Christophe Day, Ladonna Morrow's son Jerrod.

And the tragic story from the Jim Burnside segment still applies today. If someone is THAT hellbent on killing you, they're most likely going to be able to pull it off because police can't get involved until the sicko strikes. A restraining order is nothing more than a piece of paper.

There have been a ton of cases profiled on ID shows from the current cell phone era and all of these people still managed to get abducted or go missing with their cell phones on them. There are times when you don't even have time to react technology or no technology.

[PKB]

Originally Posted by dynoguy88

More cases would have been helped with today's technology but unfortunately, criminals and criminal activities are timeless. A smart phone wouldn't have stopped Beverly McGowan from getting the worst possible roommate one could get. It wouldn't have stopped Rick Church from stabbing the Ritter family, or Joe Weldon Smith from killing his wife and step daughters in their sleep. It wouldnt have prevented any of the family abductions to my knowledge, the Baskin kids, Christophe Day, Ladonna Morrow's son Jerrod.

And the tragic story from the Jim Burnside segment still applies today. If someone is THAT hellbent on killing you, they're most likely going to be able to pull it off because police can't get involved until the sicko strikes. A restraining order is nothing more than a piece of paper.

There have been a ton of cases profiled on ID shows from the current cell phone era and all of these people still managed to get abducted or go missing with their cell phones on them. There are times when you don't even have time to react technology or no technology.

I think that if you magically moved most of the UM cases to the present a great many could have been avoided or at least the perpetrator would have been tracked, exposed and caught much sooner. Definitely as a previous poster also pointed out, the availability of CCTV would been more of a factor today than it would have been in the late 80s or 90s.

You cannot fake documents like you could 20 or 30 years ago and be on the run. Your passport is not just paper with a photo, it has to be scanned now. It is much more difficult to generate a new identity and continue living a life than it was in the past.

How often are cases solved and thus never aired on ID due to cameras or technology that did not exist 20 years ago? Impossible to tell but I would argue that it would dwarf the number of cases where all technological safeguards are sidestepped.

It's all academic anyway but I would reason that many of those cases, in a more connected world, I think for every case where you could say that technology would not have been a factor I think I could pull 10 where it could conceivably be a factor.

[PKB]

I may be moving the goalposts a bit including all technology in the past 20 years but I think the smartphone is the most ubiquitous and useful tool to represent the advances in the past 20 years.

[Zlatko]

Originally Posted by PKB

I wouldn't say that people were less obsessed with technology - It just wasn't as widely utilized.

I was an early adopter of computers and the internet and have had an email address since the late 80's. Back then anyone that used a computer was considered a shut in or a nerd.

UM is much like Seinfield: 90% of the problems would have been solved with a smart phone.

That's pretty much my point - heck, even in the late 90's, people were considered nerds or recluses if they used computers, and other modern forms of technology. Now, it seems like everyone and their child has their own personal computer, iphone, etc. This has its pros and cons of course.

It would be interesting to see how new technology would affect cases like the Wackers, Tammy Leppart, and so forth.

[ontarioboi]

i remember the nerd crew of the late 90's- those who knew everything about a pc. But we must also remember with newer tech, it also gives rise to more sophticated types of crime that would never happen in previous decades.

Also one problem of modern tech is that it creates a digital divide. There are still billions of everyday people in the world who do not have these products. Hence a lot of old cases could happen today- how many of us had our phone or whatever battery die out at the worst time? Or had our screen cracked?

[karenjanee]

Originally Posted by isotope

I see what you are saying (I'll be hitting the big 4-0 in a couple of years!), but you also have to remember that a lot of the more horrific crimes covered in UM would have been avoided if modern technology was around back in the 80s/early 90s.

How many abductions would have been prevented if cell phones were around back then? (it would have at least stopped people like Angela Hammond stopping at lonely phone booths where they made easy targets) How many armed robberies would have been prevented/solved if convenience or drug stores had surveillance cameras back then? I still find it shocking when UM would report on crimes that happened at major shopping malls without any video footage! Police procedures have also improved massively - not only has DNA testing revolutionised law enforcement, but cops today are unlikely to treat reports of missing young people with the same sort of yawning indifference they did back in the day and computer organisation has made it far easier for cops to match suspects with MOs, known associates etc.

We could eliminate the need for 'lost loves' because of Facebook!

[McBevis]

Despite the depressing and often tragic things that would happen in some of the cases profiled on UM, the show was definitely still good at capturing the spirit of bygone eras. Some of the many small towns that we've gotten a taste of over the years, such as Clinton, Missouri (Angela Hammond), Lyons, Nebraska (Anna Anton and Greg Webb), or the many places famous for supernatural activity or old western legends (i.e. Hico, Texas or Deadwood, South Dakota) are so off the beaten path that 99% of the general population probably wouldn't give them a second thought, but after seeing them on UM, you can't help but develop a desire to want to visit some of these places yourself. It is kind of saddening, however, that with all of the mass development and commercialism to take place just in the last couple of decades, some of these places no longer have that cute "small town Americana" kind of atmosphere anymore.

[elg0rd0]

I'm not sad. I was about 10 when I started watching the show, fresh off the Richard Ramirez case in Los Angeles (I live in a neighboring county). All of the friends I had watched the show because of it's cinematography and overall aesthetic, it was the closest thing to scary movies we could watch coming from strict christian households. I've always been fascinated with the unknown and the big picture of what life means and peoples existence on this Earth. Even when I was a kid if something didn't make sense to me I wouldn't ask my parents or teacher, I'd grab an encyclopedia or magazine and teach myself. The show was just amazing and there are some fascinating stories I've found, since I started watching, on my own that I think would have been amazing presented by the shows producers back in the 80's/90's. I've grown from watching the show as a person and learned to be a little more open minded about life and what's possibly out there in the universe.

[TheCars1986]

Technology is a double edged sword to me. On the one hand, it's great because of the strides we've made not to mention the fact that a lot of these UM cases would have been solved quicker or outright prevented with technology. But then again, the advent of technology also takes away from some of the things that previous generations had and what they went through in terms of human interaction. Pen pals are obsolete, everyone now has cell phones so no more awkward teenage phone calls to a crush's house to have their parent answer, using maps to navigate or stop and asking for directions, etc. On the surface technology seems to be better because it makes things easier, but for me personally I would rather have something of a challenge.