UM’s Reenactments vs. AMW’s Reenactments

[Jericho-79]

Hey guys. Back in the 90’s, I was an avid viewer of America’s Most Wanted on Fox. I would also catch Unsolved Mysteries during the Robert Stack era on NBC. However, I don’t watch either show as religiously as I used to now that both have moved to cable.

I love the documentary film style that UM and AMW use to present reenactments of crimes. Such professional dramatizations seem to add a “real-life” aspect to unsolved cases that would otherwise be communicated via a reporter’s words during local news broadcasts. They serve as perfect visual aids in visualizations regarding how the crimes actually occurred. Plus, they allow the viewers to get into the minds of the victims, the perpetrators, the law enforcement officials, and the family members.

Personally, however, I think there is a difference between the quality of reenactments featured on UM and the quality of those featured on AMW. And I confess that AMW has an edge over UM in “drama” department in regards to crime reenactments.

To me, UM’s reenactments are extremely low-budget. For one thing, UM’s segments don’t seem to run too long. The dialogue in the reenactments is pretty sparse. And it appears that the reenactments were filmed using an old camcorder. Overall, on UM, the dramatizations are visibly tame, and the production values are seemingly subpar at best.

On the other hand, AMW puts a lot more into its reenactments. Their segments tend to run a lot longer, often incorporating at least one commercial break. Every reenactment presents some form of backstory to an unsolved case. And every reenactment appears to be following a detailed script. In addition, AMW’s high-end production makes each reenactment seem considerably polished and cinematic.

In short, watching a reenactment on AMW is similar to watching a summer blockbuster movie, or an episode of Law & Order or CSI.

An example of this is AMW’s provocative and sensationalized approach to depicting violent crimes against women. AMW seemingly goes to significant lengths to make all the rape and sexual assault scenes look as graphic as possible.

I’m sure there are true crime fans here who have watched both UM and AMW over the years. So I was hoping if anyone here similarly thinks that AMW’s crime reenactments are better produced than UM’s (at least when AMW was still on Fox).

Do you guys think that AMW’s reenactments are more dramatic and sometimes more over-the-top than UM’s?

[1990 UM fan]

I think AMW is a bit more graphic but not as scary as Unsolved Mysteries. I saw AMW cover a case that Unsolved Mysteries did and their re-enactment of it was lame and poorly produced. Unsolved Mysteries had many aspects that made it stand out and scare people:

1. Robert Stack, the bold host. His presence, voice and the way he spoke about things really made you pay attention and sometimes intimidated you.
2. The music. Most of the early 90's music was creepy, especially in episodes about abductions, murders and robberies.
3. Array of cases. Just the circumstances behind alot of them were scary to hear and learn about.
4. Crime scene photos. On a few occasions they'd stick in a graphic photo (Cindy James, Jeffrey Digman, Jasper Watkins).

Some of the earlier UM re-enactments remind me of 80's horror movies, in video quality and in the atmosphere of the episodes.

[WishfulDreamer]

I think the action scenes were better done on AMW, but on every other level UM's were better (and I used to watch both religiously). AMW's reenactments, especially in later years, were often awkward, poor, and distracting from the content.

That being said, I respect AMW for putting so many cases out there, but sometimes I just cringed.

[Jericho-79]

Originally Posted by WishfulDreamer

I think the action scenes were better done on AMW, but on every other level UM's were better (and I used to watch both religiously). AMW's reenactments, especially in later years, were often awkward, poor, and distracting from the content.

That being said, I respect AMW for putting so many cases out there, but sometimes I just cringed.

What made you cringe about AMW's reenactments? Why do you think that their reenactments were awkward, poor, and distracting from the content?

I can only speak on the early 90's reenactments. As I said, in the early 90's, AMW seemed like they were trying to make CSI episodes out of their reenactments.

[WishfulDreamer]

Originally Posted by Jericho-79

What made you cringe about AMW's reenactments? Why do you think that their reenactments were awkward, poor, and distracting from the content?

I can only speak on the early 90's reenactments. As I said, in the early 90's, AMW seemed like they were trying to make CSI episodes out of their reenactments.

I was speaking strictly of the 2000s reenactments, particularly post 2005. What I saw from the 90s (sadly not much since I was too young) was great.

In the 2000s they were generally very awkward, focused on irrelevant content sometimes, and the acting was poor. I think it really got worse after 2005. I remember I stopped watching around 2007 or 2008 because it got pretty bad. One example is a case where they tried to show what the victims liked to do in their spare time and they awkwardly showed a girl on the computer chatting about her interests for about five minutes. They were trying to be hip with the tech savvy generation, but it didn't cut it. Not John Walsh's fault and I still admire the show for its purpose. I just wish they'd stuck to their old ways.

[UMFaninMD]

The post 2000 reenactments of AMW are horrible. There is too much emphasis on having actors (and I use that word loosely) try to be dramatic and it comes out looking worse than an elementary school play. It hasn't changed for the better since the return on Lifetime. I understand that this format makes the victims and families look more approachable, but the very long acting sequences just bogs down the show and it loses the urgency that AMW used to have.

UM for me will always be better. The lower production values and minimal acting along with the scary music and Robert Stack's calm, even and eerie narration really amps up the creep factor of the stories presented, most of which are already frightening anyway. Also, UM's decision to not be too graphic when showing the crimes also adds to the creepiness. Usually, the less is more approach is more unsettling.

I am glad AMW is still on the air because it provides a valuable service in helping crime victims and the relentless tracking of criminals. But maybe if they focus more on the crime itself, instead of the too-long acting sequences, it would be a lot more watchable for me.

[Blackout]

Unsolved Mysteries son

[dynoguy88]

I never watched AMW so I can't compare. But I echo everyone's thoughts that reference the creepy music and Robert Stack making any segment memorable, good or bad.

The good thing about UM's reenactments was you didn't always need good actors. Interviewers stories or Stack's summaries of the case gave you all the info you needed to know while we watched the reenactment ourselves. When we did hear the actors, sometimes it could be funny and sometimes they hit the material out of the park like the actress who played Colleen Ritter for instance.

Equally impressive of UM's reenactments was the creativity involved. Like when "Debbie" escaped her attacker in slow motion and the attacker's voice was slowed down ("Where do you think you're going?) to the jerky camera angle in the woods. It added an extra creepy element. Or the shot of Mikki Jo West walking to work, never to arrive at the bus stop, and the camera shows her foot walking off the street corner as if she was walking off the face of the earth. And the camera angle looking through "Carol's" windshield as she's approaching the black pickup truck driven by the man who would shoot her in the neck. The music cue has a creepy crescendo once the truck comes into view as if to signal the viewer of the danger that is ahead.

But most impressive of all is the fact that (I would wager) more than half of the reenactments took place in the exact areas or cities of where certain cases happened. The orange socks murder segment, for example, has the reenactment of Bobbie Oberholtzer escaping her killer, running down the highway and turning to run off the side of the road when he catches up to her and draws his gun at the 50 MPH speed limit sign. That was the exact spot the real Bobbie Oberholzter turned to run off the road to try and escape her killer almost 10 years earlier. What special attention to detail. Did AMW ever do that?

Sometimes UM would even have the actors wear the same kind of clothing as the people they were portraying. In the Cindy James segment, the reenactment shows her leaving the hospital wearing a pink blouse and brown slacks. That's the exact outfit the real Cindy James was wearing when her body was found.

It's always fun observing this stuff. What UM lacked in actors, it made up with...everything else.

[RobinW]

Yeah, I was never really a fan of AMW's approach of going long stretches of time focusing on the performers overact in the reenactment. I much prefer the UM approach where the main focus will be Stack's voice-over or the voice-over of the interviewees while the reenactment is playing in the background. It doesn't help the case when you're distracted by how bad and amateurish the acting is.

The UM producers actually stated on one of the DVD commentaries that if a reenactment actually went on for a decent stretch of time without any voice-over playing over it, that was a sign that the quality of the acting was pretty good. Some good examples of this include the Blind River rest stop murders, Edward Harold Bell's murder of Larry Dickens, and the attack on Jane Boroski.

[ontarioboi]

another thing was, Robert Stack was entirely neutral in never taking sides. Unsolved mysteries presented cases and ultimately you decide.

However, one thing similar for both shows, as the years went by, production quality went down as well.

[dynoguy88]

I mentioned this in another thread but the actors and actresses UM cast were at times, almost dead ringers for the people they were portraying. Here were just a few.

Real person on the left, actor on the right:

LAURA BURBANK:



CHARLES MORGAN:




CRYSTAL SPENCER:




CINDY JAMES:




RHONDA HINSON:

[1990 UM fan]

Originally Posted by dynoguy88

I mentioned this in another thread but the actors and actresses UM cast were at times, almost dead ringers for the people they were portraying. Here were just a few.

Real person on the left, actor on the right:

LAURA BURBANK:



CHARLES MORGAN:




CRYSTAL SPENCER:




CINDY JAMES:




RHONDA HINSON:

wow, they were good with look-alikes, that's for sure

[WishfulDreamer]

Originally Posted by 1990 UM fan

wow, they were good with look-alikes, that's for sure

In the later years that got pretty bad, too. Like the Bryan Nisenfeld segment and the Elvis segment with the guy who played the brother. I still love UM, of course, but some of the selections were pretty amusing as the years went on.

[RobinW]

Originally Posted by dynoguy88

I mentioned this in another thread but the actors and actresses UM cast were at times, almost dead ringers for the people they were portraying.

One of the very best was the girl they got to play Colleen Ritter. She was such a convincing lookalike that I initially thought it was Colleen acting in the reenactments and went: "OMG, I can't believe she's agreeing to act out the murder scene!".

[WishfulDreamer]

Originally Posted by RobinW

One of the very best was the girl they got to play Colleen Ritter. She was such a convincing lookalike that I initially thought it was Colleen acting in the reenactments and went: "OMG, I can't believe she's agreeing to act out the murder scene!".

I know, she's a ringer! Their voices are entirely different, but it's so amazing they found such a lookalike.