Netflix UM Revival News

[RaidenKhan]

Add me to the growing contingent annoyed with how this is being handled. I actually think it's a mistake. Look at how HLN is handling this Forensic Files relaunch next month: same format, same music, same feel, just new cases. Taking advantage of the popularity and the nostalgia by, you know, actually recreating what people liked about the show. What is the point of trying to coast on name recognition by releasing a product that bears no resemblance to the original? It baffles me that executives seem to repeatedly not understand this.

Bring back the original music, the quality and intrigue of the cases covered, the look and mood of the segments, and get Dennis Haysbert as host (kudos to whoever it was on here who floated that brilliant suggestion), and people will love it. On the other hand, release some hostless, I.D.-quality, Unsolved Mysteries-in-name-only tripe and it will come and go in the blink of an eye. Just because you call something by a certain name doesn't make it so.

Cheers,
Matt

[Huskerz85]

Originally Posted by RaidenKhan

Add me to the growing contingent annoyed with how this is being handled. I actually think it's a mistake. Look at how HLN is handling this Forensic Files relaunch next month: same format, same music, same feel, just new cases. Taking advantage of the popularity and the nostalgia by, you know, actually recreating what people liked about the show. What is the point of trying to coast on name recognition by releasing a product that bears no resemblance to the original? It baffles me that executives seem to repeatedly not understand tthis.

Bring back the original music, the quality and intrigue of the cases covered, the look and mood of the segments, and get Dennis Haysbert as host (kudos to whoever it was on here who floated that brilliant suggestion), and people will love it. On the other hand, release some hostless, I.D.-quality, Unsolved Mysteries-in-name-only tripe and it will come and go in the blink of an eye. Just because you call something by a certain name doesn't make it so.

Cheers,
Matt

Amen!!

[drew790]

Originally Posted by RaidenKhan

Add me to the growing contingent annoyed with how this is being handled. I actually think it's a mistake. Look at how HLN is handling this Forensic Files relaunch next month: same format, same music, same feel, just new cases. Taking advantage of the popularity and the nostalgia by, you know, actually recreating what people liked about the show. What is the point of trying to coast on name recognition by releasing a product that bears no resemblance to the original? It baffles me that executives seem to repeatedly not understand this.

Bring back the original music, the quality and intrigue of the cases covered, the look and mood of the segments, and get Dennis Haysbert as host (kudos to whoever it was on here who floated that brilliant suggestion), and people will love it. On the other hand, release some hostless, I.D.-quality, Unsolved Mysteries-in-name-only tripe and it will come and go in the blink of an eye. Just because you call something by a certain name doesn't make it so.

Cheers,
Matt

This!

[tarheelslim]

Originally Posted by RaidenKhan

Bring back the original music, the quality and intrigue of the cases covered, the look and mood of the segments, and get Dennis Haysbert as host (kudos to whoever it was on here who floated that brilliant suggestion), and people will love it. On the other hand, release some hostless, I.D.-quality, Unsolved Mysteries-in-name-only tripe and it will come and go in the blink of an eye. Just because you call something by a certain name doesn't make it so.

There's no way that that is going to be the look/feel of this show. They could've made the whole season in a month if that's what they were going for. Those shows are a dime a dozen and Netflix wouldn't need to waste their time on something like that when there are already entire networks devoted to cranking out that stuff.

If they tried to recreate the Stack era, that would be an almost guaranteed failure. I think it is smart that they're trying to figure out a way to carry the franchise into the future without the monumental presence of The Stack (which cannot be reproduced by just throwing a similar guy in there). I look forward to seeing what they've come up with.

[RaidenKhan]

Originally Posted by tarheelslim

If they tried to recreate the Stack era, that would be an almost guaranteed failure.

Agree to disagree.
I think success or failure would depend entirely on the choice of host and the quality of the segments. Of course it could never be the same, because Stack is irreplaceable. But does that mean you have to release something that bears zero resemblance to the show people loved, while disengenuously using that show's name?

It would be different enough by default, due to the passage of time, technology, and a new host. They don't have to try to reinvent it from the ground up. This never works.

Cheers,
Matt

[Chichester Crowe]

Similarly to UM, In Search Of... has three iterations.
The original is a classic. Nemoy and the creepy 70's sound mixing is a unique brand.

The 2002 Mitch Pileggi revival is right on par with the Dennis Farina UM revival. Almost none of the original identity was preserved. They feel soul-less, just going through the motions. Neither of these iterations invokes the power of the originals.

I've only watched some of the forbidden site trailers for the 2018 Zach Quinto revival, but as you can see from the advertisement, they are incorporating some of the original aesthetic. Here's a quote from Quinto via Variety:

"Whereas Leonard was the host of “In Search of” in a very traditional way — welcoming the audience in from a studio, oftentimes in a sort of blazer and turtleneck vibe, and then handing it off to a prerecorded segment that delved into whatever topic they were exploring — I wanted to be on the ground. I wanted to have the audience’s experience of the show be firsthand and through my eyes, and so that was number one. I wanted to be on the ground; I wanted to travel; I wanted to conduct interviews myself, and I was grateful that my partners at Propagate [Content] and Fremantle and Universal were open to that. That was the launching point, and then — in terms of partnering with History and figuring out what searches we were going to embark upon — that became a different conversation about how much do we want to honor where the show came from, and how much do we want to take it in a new direction."

The Netflix UM revival will not be the NBC UM. Even with the proliferation of fictional narratives taking place in the 80s and 90s in current media, it will never be able to capture that zeitgeist. Remember: Nostalgia intentionally gets things wrong, and that's mostly because of the way humans tend to remember things (rosily).

I think the more important question to ask is, "Will I enjoy this?"
Or alternatively, "Will this show be successful in finding missing persons and tracking down fugitives?"

I'm a huge fan of Dawn of the Dead (1978). I also enjoy Dawn of the Dead (2004). While the latter does not have the existential depth of the former, I can still appreciate them both, as they were passionately produced and well articulated.

[drew790]

The Quinto version is enjoyable.

For me, I never expected to tune into 1980s UM on Netflix. I don't think that was ever a realistic expectation. What I had hoped for was an updated version in that vein. Creepy but modern music, reenactments, something to creep me TF out with modern filming techniques, and a suitable host to guide me through it.

After botching the format so badly in 2008 with weird psudo rock music, scan lines, and google earth, I'd hoped they'd have learned to stick with what works but update it. DOesn't sound like that's the case, but whenever this thing airs I'll still be watching.

[Chichester Crowe]

Originally Posted by drew790

Doesn't sound like that's the case, but whenever this thing airs I'll still be watching.

I'll be watching as well. However, my track record with modern television isn't so good. Basically WestWorld and Rick & Morty are the only modern shows I like.

[jOHnNyD]

You can’t replace Robert Stack but if you put in a Dennis Haysbert, keep the same music and have 4 mysteries per episode of various themes I think it has the potential to work. I think it’s a mistake to have 1 story per episode. A unique feature of unsolved mysteries is you would go from a UFO story to a lost love segment to a murder. That made UM what it truly is as much as Robert Stack.

[Souldriver5440]

Hey could somebody pm the link to this forbidden site. I’m not a narc just a huge fan. What kind of test do you have to pass to find out?!

[Chichester Crowe]

Originally Posted by Souldriver5440

Hey could somebody pm the link to this forbidden site. I’m not a narc just a huge fan. What kind of test do you have to pass to find out?!

The forbidden site is YouTube. For years, posting links to UM videos on YT was prohibited, though now that the series has been uploaded to YT, it's not such a big deal as it used to be.

I and a few others still refer to YT as the "forbidden site" because it amuses us, I suppose.

[Jon]

Originally Posted by Souldriver5440

Hey could somebody pm the link to this forbidden site. I’m not a narc just a huge fan. What kind of test do you have to pass to find out?!

“I’m not a narc” I love it. LMAO

[alistaircranium]

I’m pro-no host because no one is going to be able to fill Robert Stack’s shoes. They’ve already tried that and it didn’t work.

I just hope they will use the classic music (but re-recorded for 2020).

[tarheelslim]

Originally Posted by alistaircranium

I just hope they will use the classic music (but re-recorded for 2020).

I'm willing to bet this is exactly what they do. It makes the most sense because that is the most identifiable feature of the classic (alongside The Stack).

[alistaircranium]

Originally Posted by tarheelslim

I'm willing to bet this is exactly what they do. It makes the most sense because that is the most identifiable feature of the classic (alongside The Stack).

I’m also hoping for a title sequence and graphics similar to the original. Maybe they can play up the retro 80s feel in a way that speaks to a modern audience.

I’m curious if future seasons will edit updates (if there are any) into the Netflix episodes or if updates would air at the end of new episodes. I could also see Netflix releasing updates separately.