Costs associated with the revamped UM and will the RS version ever be aired again?

[idol]

My apologies if this has been discussed before but does anyone know if Spike TV footed the bill and production costs for the revamped UM with Farina as host?

I ask because LifeTime as we all now airs it seven days a week and two hours on weekday mornings so I assume the deal with Spike is long over.

At this point you'd figure there would be a good profit involved for the show to finally bring the RS version to a service like Netflix.

Do you think the RS versions will ever see the light of day again?

I'm all over the place with this post and thinking out loud if you will.

[justins5256]

I've thought about this a lot over the years.

My feeling is that Cosgrove revamped the series to modernize it and to try to attract a new audience. I have no idea how much something like that would have cost them, but it must have been fairly substantial given all the shooting they did with Dennis Farina and the extensive re-editing of the segments themselves. That being said, I think Cosgrove probably feels a need to get as much "mileage" out of the new show before either hanging it up entirely, or bringing back the original version. I think the latter is pretty unlikely.

As much as I love classic UM with Stack, the cases are extremely dated at this point, and the concept itself has been done to death by other shows that are more modern and thus wouldn't require any revamping or re-tooling to make them relevant for a modern audience. I also think that classic UM with its news-like format is kind of a strange fit for most cable networks that repeat old shows. I can't see classic UM being on TV Land or Nick at Nite, networks that show primarily sitcoms, for example. Unfortunately, I don't think the prospects for the classic UM resurfacing are good. For a myriad of reasons it truly is from a bygone era.

[2trackmind]

Originally Posted by justins5256

I also think that classic UM with its news-like format is kind of a strange fit for most cable networks that repeat old shows.

I don't know about that. Lifetime ran the Stack episodes for years successfully. When you think about it, it's odd that a channel devoted to the female audience acquired the syndication rights back in the early 1990s. What I could never understand is why Lifetime opted not to renew their contract for UM back in 2007. The show was a staple for Lifetime since the 1990s. I feel that the reason why the "new" UM was such a disappointment is because they had to "pump up the testosterone" to appeal to Spike's target audience. I am willing to bet that if the series stayed on Lifetime, the revamped version wouldn't have been bad as it was.

[Kane]

Originally Posted by 2trackmind

I feel that the reason why the "new" UM was such a disappointment is because they had to "pump up the testosterone" to appeal to Spike's target audience.

It certainly looks that way. But the way I see it, they "modernized" the show for the sake modernization. No matter how well-intentioned, modernizing a show can often do more harm than good. If I could cite any example besides UM, it would be In Search Of. That show was revived in 2002 with Mitch Pileggi as the host, but viewers didn't recognize it as the same '70s/early-'80s show they knew and loved. It was cheap-looking and lacked the production values of the original series. Not surprisingly, the new version was axed after only eight episodes.

It goes to show how important production values are for television programs. If you sacrifice your faith in a show and/or its production values for the privilege of having it on the air, you will eventually lose both the show and that privilege. Yet sadly, too many people sell their souls to get what they want or believe they are entitled to, as they make their principles secondary to their privileges.

[tarheelslim]

According to wikipedia (and I believe at least one other source I've read), HBO was involved with the UM reboot (how or why I don't know, I don't think they're connected to Spike).

The only was I could see RS UM returning is via Netflix/Hulu/etc.

And as far as a new version... I think it would have to be unlike either of the previous iterations to work.

[Kane]

Originally Posted by tarheelslim

And as far as a new version... I think it would have to be unlike either of the previous iterations to work.

With all due respect, it would be a disaster. A new UM would need to be as close to the old series as possible; otherwise, it would crash and burn. If it were not going to bear any resemblence to the old series, if it were not going to have any of the production values of the old series, if it were going to look cheap, if it were going to look like a carbon copy of other shows, then it would not be worth doing, let alone watching. In addition, it would be no better than no UM.

[UMFaninMD]

I think a new version could work. It could air on Investigation Discovery and have a format similar to Disappeared, which profiled mostly unsolved disappearances and had family members and law enforcement involved. The show sadly is off the air but it was one of the network's most popular programs. But since ID would rather have shows where the crimes were solved, I don't think they would ever make their own version of UM.

[dynoguy88]

Originally Posted by UMFaninMD

I think a new version could work. It could air on Investigation Discovery and have a format similar to Disappeared, which profiled mostly unsolved disappearances and had family members and law enforcement involved. The show sadly is off the air but it was one of the network's most popular programs. But since ID would rather have shows where the crimes were solved, I don't think they would ever make their own version of UM.

I really like Disappeared. I feel like it's format is that of an Unsolved Mysteries segment stretched to an hour. The reenactments don't have much dialogue because it's covered up with the narration, which is the way I like it. Family members, friends, law enforcement are interviewed, specific dates are given to every aspect of the case, theories are presented. It's the closest format I've seen to UM in any modern crime show.

[tarheelslim]

Originally Posted by Kane

With all due respect, it would be a disaster. A new UM would need to be as close to the old series as possible; otherwise, it would crash and burn. If it were not going to bear any resemblence to the old series, if it were not going to have any of the production values of the old series, if it were going to look cheap, if it were going to look like a carbon copy of other shows, then it would not be worth doing, let alone watching. In addition, it would be no better than no UM.

RS UM was a product of its time. That time is gone and will never be back. It would look ridiculous to try to recreate that show with modern production values, a new host and present-day actors. And it certainly would not go over well with the viewing public.

I don't think a new version necessarily should be made; I was only saying that if it was it could not be all that similar (aesthetically at least) to the original.

[tarheelslim]

Originally Posted by dynoguy88

I really like Disappeared. I feel like it's format is that of an Unsolved Mysteries segment stretched to an hour. The reenactments don't have much dialogue because it's covered up with the narration, which is the way I like it. Family members, friends, law enforcement are interviewed, specific dates are given to every aspect of the case, theories are presented. It's the closest format I've seen to UM in any modern crime show.

I agree. The only issue being it creeps me out way more than UM. It is so real, and digs so deep into one case. UM would have a little levity during the course of an episode.

[LilMissKryssy]

Any reboot would be lame just like the Spike TV ones. You cant say "recently we brought you.." and the episode was very clearly filmed in 1989. Even the "updates" seemed so dated for 2008. It is a bygone era. It was started in the year I was born (1987), the was 28 years ago. I remember watching the Judith Himes case and in the opening Robert Stack said something to the affect of "the prospect of being pregnant and unmarried is very devastating (or something like it) " 16 and pregnant has now been on the air for 5 years and so has Teen Mom. How many celebrities have children out of marriage? I'm 28 and half of my friends or acquaintances had children before they got married. I'm liberal socially but I never understood the concept of someone being good enough to be the father of your child/children but not ready/good enough/ to marry. Anyways, my point is, times have changed radically in almost 30 years. A lot of things are very dated and although I LOVE the show, it cant be brought back. Disappeared was the closest thing to it but unfortunately ID is now going more toward soap opera drama type shows that repeat the same story only in a different series

[justins5256]

Originally Posted by LilMissKryssy

Any reboot would be lame just like the Spike TV ones. You cant say "recently we brought you.." and the episode was very clearly filmed in 1989. Even the "updates" seemed so dated for 2008. It is a bygone era. It was started in the year I was born (1987), the was 28 years ago. I remember watching the Judith Himes case and in the opening Robert Stack said something to the affect of "the prospect of being pregnant and unmarried is very devastating (or something like it) " 16 and pregnant has now been on the air for 5 years and so has Teen Mom. How many celebrities have children out of marriage? I'm 28 and half of my friends or acquaintances had children before they got married. I'm liberal socially but I never understood the concept of someone being good enough to be the father of your child/children but not ready/good enough/ to marry. Anyways, my point is, times have changed radically in almost 30 years. A lot of things are very dated and although I LOVE the show, it cant be brought back. Disappeared was the closest thing to it but unfortunately ID is now going more toward soap opera drama type shows that repeat the same story only in a different series

This got me thinking about how many things on UM would be politically incorrect to say now.

[idol]

My thinking if the RS versions ever make it to say a service like Netflix, just put a disclaimer to start the show that it's from the 80s and 90s and presented in its original format.

No need to do what the revamp did and try to portray that a solved case from 1977 happened yesterday.

[2trackmind]

Originally Posted by LilMissKryssy

A lot of things are very dated and although I LOVE the show, it cant be brought back.

Sure it can. It just needs to be done right. Another reason I think the Spike version failed is because they refused to film new stories. Back in 2001 when Lifetime "rebooted" the show with Stack, it was on the right track. Those 2001-2002 episodes featured new stories mixed with old ones. I had no issue with that. For some reason, Spike cheapened out and decided not to film any new stories. That was the biggest mistake that they could have ever made. I think Spike knows they screwed up too, because when the 2008 rebooted episodes began airing, they were shown daily at 5:00 PM. Not too long after, Spike only aired the show sporadically (usually crazy hours like 3:00 AM) until Lifetime somehow reacquired the rights in 2010 to start showing the episodes again. I haven't seen UM on Spike in years. It's seems to be gone completely from their lineup. I think they just want to wash their hands of the whole thing and forget about it.

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Originally Posted by 2trackmind

Sure it can. It just needs to be done right. Another reason I think the Spike version failed is because they refused to film new stories. Back in 2001 when Lifetime "rebooted" the show with Stack, it was on the right track. Those 2001-2002 episodes featured new stories mixed with old ones. I had no issue with that. For some reason, Spike cheapened out and decided not to film any new stories. That was the biggest mistake that they could have ever made. I think Spike knows they screwed up too, because when the 2008 rebooted episodes began airing, they were shown daily at 5:00 PM. Not too long after, Spike only aired the show sporadically (usually crazy hours like 3:00 AM) until Lifetime somehow reacquired the rights in 2010 to start showing the episodes again. I haven't seen UM on Spike in years. It's seems to be gone completely from their lineup. I think they just want to wash their hands of the whole thing and forget about it.

That was actually what I LOVED about the UM reboot on Lifetime: The addition of the new stories. It's what got me sitting down to watch it and ultimately what shaped me into the die-hard fan of the show that I am today...

Disappeared really was the closest thing to UM that I have seen. And I really enjoyed the heck out of the show, too. I'm struggling to understand its cancellation.