When Did You Start Liking UM? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

themaninblack · 02-05-2015, 10:32 AM

I remember as a kid this show petrified me to the point where I HATED it and could not watch it lol! I am being very serious about this!
But as years rolled by and I became a teenager, I started watching it again and decided that it would not frighten me anymore, and in fact I began to LOVE the show!
By the way, I was so scared of the music when I was young I would run into the bathroom and try to turn the water all the way up to drown out the voice!

TheCars1986 · 02-05-2015, 12:21 PM

My parents watched it so I kind of just was adapted to it at an early age. Really didn't start watching it religiously until I was in high school and they had the reruns on Lifetime.

James T · 02-05-2015, 02:32 PM

In late 1988/early 1989 aged 12. It aired on Sky Channel-later Sky One. My aunt used to tape it & wrestling for us as we didn't have satellite telly until 1990.

dks64 · 02-05-2015, 04:20 PM

I remember being a young child (about 4) and watching it. The music freaked me out, but it didn't stop me.

DALLASTEXAN!! · 02-05-2015, 04:38 PM

fall of 89 to about 92 and picked it back up on lifetime in 2003.

dynoguy88 · 02-05-2015, 04:50 PM

1988 - The first full season on NBC when Robert Stack took over the hosting duties. I was 8...and a huge glutton for punishment. I watched every week, Wednesday nights at 8:00 right before Doogie Howser. The show gave me nightmares and sleepless nights of fear off and on from ages 8 though 11. There were times I actually tried to stop watching so I could avoid nightmares but the show was so addicting that I always came back.

First segment I ever saw was the Melvine Aprille segment. I watched the entire segment for the first time in 20 something years yesterday and had flashbacks to my introduction of the show.

LooksLikeCRicci · 02-05-2015, 04:54 PM

I half-watched it when I was younger. I say "half-watched" because it scared the crap out of me.

I don't think I developed a true respect for it until I was in high school and started seeing reruns on Lifetime...

WishfulDreamer · 02-05-2015, 05:07 PM

First watched when I was nine. I still remember: It was the Wood family home invasion, Resurrection Mary, and Spontaneous Human Combustion. I spent that night alternating between fearing a robber was in my closet, Resurrection Mary was in my closet, or that I was going to catch on fire randomly.

Started watching regularly in middle school. Lifetime would play it in two hour blocks every day and my mom would tape it for me on a VHS

SPD Yellow · 02-05-2015, 06:04 PM

I don't know which was my first segment. I stumbled onto as a kid, flipping through channels looking for something to watch. Thing is, I loved and hated the show. It scared the crap out of me, yet it fascinated me and I couldn't stop watching. Nowadays, while some segments still scare me, sometimes I laugh like when I think about how the Alan Mann haunting scared the crap out of me as a kid. That Alan Mann haunting makes me wonder if I wasn't the wussiest kid ever.

But I'm still scared of the EAR-ONS segment. That's one I just flat-out can't handle.

meggiebyte85 · 02-05-2015, 10:36 PM

If I were to guess I'd guess 5 or 6 years old. My dad would watch it all the time. I'd watch the hour long shows at night but as soon as the ending theme music came on I had to mute it or cover my ears cuz it scared the crap out of me. When I got a bit older (8 or 9) I'd sometimes get to watch the half hour segments when I pretended to be sick at school and got to come home early. hehe.

Couldn't watch the UFO segments at all. Freaked me the hell out. The ghost stories were not really scary to me, except for that one segment where the kids would levitate off of their beds (I forgot the name of the family). I used to like the "blue lady" ghost segment.

UMFan95 · 02-06-2015, 06:56 AM

I am very late to this show. I started by watching videos on them on the internet in 2011. I first started off with the Kurt Cobain segment as being a huge Nirvana fan then i started watching other segments and i became addicted! I bought some DVDs and watched them for a while and got sick of them after a while so i just recently started watching them again and just addicted again! Most people my age would see it as a very old show and very outdated because it is pre-mobile (cell) phones and stuff but it is still very interesting because Robert Stack is a great host and is just really interesting because most cases don't even have updates throughout the years.

justins5256 · 02-06-2015, 10:03 AM

I remember seeing TV commercials and promos for the series on NBC. I would guess this was in 1988 or 1989, and I would have been 7 or 8 years old at the time.

As corny as this may sound, I think I have been drawn to the show from the very beginning. I remember liking those ads and wanting to know what the show was all about. I just had a feeling there was something special and different about it.

soilentgreen · 02-06-2015, 01:41 PM

I remember seeing the segment about Roger Wheeler around 1987 (don't remember much else of the episode). I started watching more seriously when Karl Malden and Stack hosted and I agree, there was an intriguing quality to the series that set it apart even early on.

SPD Yellow · 02-06-2015, 04:14 PM

Shortly after posting in this thread, started thinking about how everyone keeps saying that they got into UM as a kid and how even though it scared them, they kept watching. Started wondering, just what audience were they marketing this show towards? I really don't think they expected so many kids to stumble onto it and become fans, but I kind of wonder how they felt about that. But I suppose it's not too weird that kids would get into it; I was and am still fascinated by true-crime stuff.

dynoguy88 · 02-06-2015, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPD Yellow

Shortly after posting in this thread, started thinking about how everyone keeps saying that they got into UM as a kid and how even though it scared them, they kept watching. Started wondering, just what audience were they marketing this show towards? I really don't think they expected so many kids to stumble onto it and become fans, but I kind of wonder how they felt about that. But I suppose it's not too weird that kids would get into it; I was and am still fascinated by true-crime stuff.

I'm sure they were marketing it towards anyone in the public who would hopefully know something related to a specific case and call in with information.

As little kids, I think we were drawn to the show because the cases were presented in a story format instead of it quickly stating little random facts in a 2 minute piece and then leaving the call in number. And it didn't matter if it was a murder, missing person, lost love, bank robber, history segment, etc. With UM presenting the cases the way they did, the people involved truly stuck with you.

They obviously did a good job. I never forgot these people. Their stories fascinated me as a 9 year old and I still think of them today at 34.

02-05-2015, 10:32 AM	#1
themaninblack Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 08, 2005 Posts: 572	When Did You Start Liking UM? I remember as a kid this show petrified me to the point where I HATED it and could not watch it lol! I am being very serious about this! But as years rolled by and I became a teenager, I started watching it again and decided that it would not frighten me anymore, and in fact I began to LOVE the show! By the way, I was so scared of the music when I was young I would run into the bathroom and try to turn the water all the way up to drown out the voice!

02-05-2015, 12:21 PM	#2
TheCars1986 #VLSKMS Forum Fanatic Join Date: Nov 22, 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 8,605	My parents watched it so I kind of just was adapted to it at an early age. Really didn't start watching it religiously until I was in high school and they had the reruns on Lifetime.

02-05-2015, 02:32 PM	#3
James T Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 23, 2006 Location: England Posts: 1,567	In late 1988/early 1989 aged 12. It aired on Sky Channel-later Sky One. My aunt used to tape it & wrestling for us as we didn't have satellite telly until 1990.

02-05-2015, 04:20 PM	#4
dks64 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 02, 2010 Location: California Posts: 373	I remember being a young child (about 4) and watching it. The music freaked me out, but it didn't stop me.

02-05-2015, 04:38 PM	#5
DALLASTEXAN!! Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 31, 2007 Location: Devil's Backbone Posts: 3,132	fall of 89 to about 92 and picked it back up on lifetime in 2003.

02-05-2015, 04:50 PM	#6
dynoguy88 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 01, 2000 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 3,672	1988 - The first full season on NBC when Robert Stack took over the hosting duties. I was 8...and a huge glutton for punishment. I watched every week, Wednesday nights at 8:00 right before Doogie Howser. The show gave me nightmares and sleepless nights of fear off and on from ages 8 though 11. There were times I actually tried to stop watching so I could avoid nightmares but the show was so addicting that I always came back. First segment I ever saw was the Melvine Aprille segment. I watched the entire segment for the first time in 20 something years yesterday and had flashbacks to my introduction of the show.

02-05-2015, 04:54 PM	#7
LooksLikeCRicci Likes to live in a clean house Moderator Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 27, 2005 Posts: 4,050	I half-watched it when I was younger. I say "half-watched" because it scared the crap out of me. I don't think I developed a true respect for it until I was in high school and started seeing reruns on Lifetime...

02-05-2015, 05:07 PM	#8
WishfulDreamer Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 01, 2009 Location: L.A. Posts: 3,867	First watched when I was nine. I still remember: It was the Wood family home invasion, Resurrection Mary, and Spontaneous Human Combustion. I spent that night alternating between fearing a robber was in my closet, Resurrection Mary was in my closet, or that I was going to catch on fire randomly. Started watching regularly in middle school. Lifetime would play it in two hour blocks every day and my mom would tape it for me on a VHS

02-05-2015, 06:04 PM	#9
SPD Yellow Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 21, 2008 Posts: 340	I don't know which was my first segment. I stumbled onto as a kid, flipping through channels looking for something to watch. Thing is, I loved and hated the show. It scared the crap out of me, yet it fascinated me and I couldn't stop watching. Nowadays, while some segments still scare me, sometimes I laugh like when I think about how the Alan Mann haunting scared the crap out of me as a kid. That Alan Mann haunting makes me wonder if I wasn't the wussiest kid ever. But I'm still scared of the EAR-ONS segment. That's one I just flat-out can't handle.

02-05-2015, 10:36 PM	#10
meggiebyte85 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Aug 05, 2013 Location: NJ Posts: 32	If I were to guess I'd guess 5 or 6 years old. My dad would watch it all the time. I'd watch the hour long shows at night but as soon as the ending theme music came on I had to mute it or cover my ears cuz it scared the crap out of me. When I got a bit older (8 or 9) I'd sometimes get to watch the half hour segments when I pretended to be sick at school and got to come home early. hehe. Couldn't watch the UFO segments at all. Freaked me the hell out. The ghost stories were not really scary to me, except for that one segment where the kids would levitate off of their beds (I forgot the name of the family). I used to like the "blue lady" ghost segment.

02-06-2015, 06:56 AM	#11
UMFan95 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jan 23, 2013 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 24	I am very late to this show. I started by watching videos on them on the internet in 2011. I first started off with the Kurt Cobain segment as being a huge Nirvana fan then i started watching other segments and i became addicted! I bought some DVDs and watched them for a while and got sick of them after a while so i just recently started watching them again and just addicted again! Most people my age would see it as a very old show and very outdated because it is pre-mobile (cell) phones and stuff but it is still very interesting because Robert Stack is a great host and is just really interesting because most cases don't even have updates throughout the years.

02-06-2015, 10:03 AM	#12
justins5256 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 08, 2002 Posts: 3,866	I remember seeing TV commercials and promos for the series on NBC. I would guess this was in 1988 or 1989, and I would have been 7 or 8 years old at the time. As corny as this may sound, I think I have been drawn to the show from the very beginning. I remember liking those ads and wanting to know what the show was all about. I just had a feeling there was something special and different about it.

02-06-2015, 01:41 PM	#13
soilentgreen Member Forum Regular Join Date: Oct 13, 2005 Posts: 622	I remember seeing the segment about Roger Wheeler around 1987 (don't remember much else of the episode). I started watching more seriously when Karl Malden and Stack hosted and I agree, there was an intriguing quality to the series that set it apart even early on.

02-06-2015, 04:14 PM	#14
SPD Yellow Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 21, 2008 Posts: 340	Shortly after posting in this thread, started thinking about how everyone keeps saying that they got into UM as a kid and how even though it scared them, they kept watching. Started wondering, just what audience were they marketing this show towards? I really don't think they expected so many kids to stumble onto it and become fans, but I kind of wonder how they felt about that. But I suppose it's not too weird that kids would get into it; I was and am still fascinated by true-crime stuff.