No host


Good theres no replacing Robert Stack.

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I'm sure they could have found someone good. Not as good, but come on, this show needs a host and narrator.

Narration is a great way to tie points together, summise instead of listen to interviews, and move the story along.

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Narrator, yes. Finding a host is more difficult, as they also have to be the face of the show.

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The host and narrator are the same on unsolved mysteries. Kind of a given.

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I'm not talking about having two different people. My point is that you can have a narrator without them being a host.

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AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO WANT THE HOST/NARRATOR TO BE HOLOGRAM ROBERT STACK?🤔

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If it were possible, that would be pretty cool. But I'm afraid it would look something like this:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=irGBz5HUpWM

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Probably, yes.

Please, no weird uncanny valley fake Robert Stack!

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I'd think that if you could have just one, you'd want a host to introduce and sum up each episode. The interviews can do a good enough job of keeping the story going. But why not both?

Without a host, it simply is NOT Unsolved Mysteries. Nothing about this new iteration feels like the original show. Why even call it UM?

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I think Stack's voice was more important than his face being on screen. Same goes for shows like Forensic Files and Disappeared. I'd love a charismatic host like Stack, but I do get that it would be difficult to find a successor. The show does need not a signature voice, though. They could very well introduce and sum up episodes.

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My feeling is this: No one can replace Robert Stack, but that doesn't mean the solution is to have no host at all.

Surely somewhere out there, within all the earth's nearly 8 billion people, there's someone who is up to the task.

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Could take some time and money. And you know you can never please the entire fanbase.

Maybe they're trying to play it safe, but they also could've done that with a narrator. At least it would've given the show more of an identity of its own.

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I feel like playing it safe has lead to rather bland, generic results.

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I agree. It's a lot like other real crime shows.

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I like the new version without a host, it’s much more slick.

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More "slick"? Perhaps.

But it also completely lacks any sense of character. It's bloodless and antiseptic.

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@PrimeMinisterX
I found it much more bleak and depressing actually without the host.
It was much more a quick insight basic documentary style with narration input (even if it was just the written notes at the end and the timeline).

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Well I would agree that it IS more bleak and depressing without the host.

But I don't really think that's a good thing. I like the feel of the original UM. Even though it was a creepy and often disturbing show, it also had a warmth and heart to it, and I think that is a large part of why people came back week after week to watch it.

I'll also point out that in the original show not every story was something that was meant to be bleak and depressing. Many stories were neutral mysteries (for instance, stories of lost treasure, the lost love stories, or paranormal stories of encounters with entities that weren't threatening) and I miss that variety.

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I agree, UM isn't supposed to be bleak and depressing, it's more like a cosy mystery.

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A cozy mystery, exactly. Watching UM was akin to reading an Agatha Christie novel.

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@PrimeMinisterX
I definitely dislike the bleak and depressing!
I’ve not watched a lot of the old ones and it’s nice to hear that they weren’t all about murders!

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If you're interested in catching up on the original series, the first six seasons are on YouTube:

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCzirOgADPOz0eapgwBcX9Gw

As I'm sure you know, you want the eps with Robert Stack, not Dennis Farina.

If you happen to have a Prime account, the entire series is on Amazon.

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@PrimeMinisterX
That’s great, thank you very much!
I’ve only ever seen a few with Farina....then recently binged the new ones on Netflix thinking it was the same series due to the name (which it is but obviously different).
I’ve just had a research about it’s history so thanks for the info of where to find out actual episodes.

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No problem!

Stack was a much better host than Farina. He was a big part of making the original UM what it was. Give a few of the Stack eps a look and I'm sure you'll discover why it is that Stack is remembered so fondly.

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