I miss older crime shows: American Justice, City Confidential, Cold Case Files, etc

I agree with you. Used to love the true crime shows - but when I see them "reenacting" I turn the shit off.

My favorite from the good old days were Dayle HInman's - she was involved in the Ted Bundy case. I think she interviewed the girl who got away from him in the hospital. Loved her - she was so butch!

I remember Dayle saying she kept her fingernails just the right length to fire her pistol without any problem.

[quote]when I see them "reenacting" I turn the shit off.

Yes r1 ... I don't know why, but the reenacting annoys the shit out of me

I like the show "I Almost Got Away With It," true stories of escaped convicts.

A couple of these guys managed to elude the cops for years, getting new IDs and living a normal life by blending into the woodwork. You almost feel sorry for them when it all comes crashing down around them.

Me too. The early 2000’s were the best for these programs. I always found Bill Kurtis and his smooth voice sexy in a weird way on AJ. The need to bring them back. Tired of Rona, Rump, Housewives and Ktrash all the time. Those shows were the best. Aww to go back 15 years....

There's a channel on Amazon TV has all the old shows, but not all the eps.

r5 American Justice featured some really interesting cases from the annals of American crime.

I found the episode on the book Hit Man fascinating

[quote] I agree with you. Used to love the true crime shows - but when I see them "reenacting" I turn the shit off.

I can't stand those either. The worst ones are those with sing-songy narration provided by someone like Brenda Strong or Susan Lucci (thankfully, those are not as common as they used to be a few years ago.) I think networks such as ID have started to cater increasingly to the Websleuths frauen demographic. They like re-enactments with everyone portrayed as being upper middle class, blandly pleasant to look at, living in houses with nicely appointed kitchens - basically the Hallmark Channel version of true crime. Just look at what true podcasts are very popular: often it's two frauen sitting around discussing rue crime while chugging a box of white wine.

I miss those A&E true crime shows from late 90s/early 00s. Bill Kurtis would discuss landmark cases, judicial precedents they helped establish, developments in forensic science, etc.

Dayle Hinman does ping. Any info on her?

I LOVED City Confidential when I was a teen! I wish I could stream it somewhere. Great mix of travel show and true crime. Loved Paul Winfield’s voice - I could listen to him and Peter Thomas from Forensic Files all day.

One of the more interesting cases featured on American Justice: Daniel Colwell, a paranoid schizophrenic, couldn't bring himself to commit suicide. So he killed a white couple, knowing (as a black man) he would get the death penalty for the offense - which he did. He later hanged himself in prison.

[quote]They like re-enactments with everyone portrayed as being upper middle class, blandly pleasant to look at, living in houses with nicely appointed kitchens - basically the Hallmark Channel version of true crime.

r8 nails it. What's especially annoying is when they interview the actual people involved in the case -- who are CLEARLY blue collar -- alongside the reenactments. It does not compute.

Binge-watching Cold Case Files now.

I also feel like these older crime shows respected their audience's intelligence and sophistication in a way the newer "reenactment" shows do not.

Justice network airs a lot of those old shows.

OP, try True Crime Network (new name) which seems to have several of the shows you mentioned:

I get it as a OTA channel.

There is also Court TV/Mystery channel.

Also an OTA channel for me.

Thanks [R15]! I love City Confidential but it's always been really hard to find episodes online, A&E must have used copyright strikes liberally but the channel you linked runs the old episodes. Agree with the other posters, a great show, and Paul Winfield had a great voice.

[quote] I hate the way they're produced now (most everything on Discovery ID), especially the kitschy, overly-dramatic voice-overs and "reenactments." I just want the facts of the case and the interviews, which provide enough drama for me.

What, OP? City Confidential narrator was *very* dramatic, to the point of camp. Bill Kurtis, Robert Stack (Unsolved Mysteries), Keith Morrison (Dateline), and John Walsh ("let's get this scumbag"): high drama. That's why those shows are good.

I don't mind the reenactments because the actors illustrate what happened. It's not like watching Julia Roberts who always plays ... Julia Roberts.

My favorite is probably Dateline with Keith Morrison. Of the old stuff, probably the Bill Kurtis stuff (my favorites).

It's the Hallmark quality of the reenactments, r18, as r8 noted. Forensic Files used reenactments too, but they're not really in the same league.

Perhaps "melodramatic" is a more accurate descriptor than "dramatic"

I thought only old, fat Trumpers - the kind that have police scanners in their homes - watched any of that shit.

Then you'd be wrong, r20

American Justice did a great episode on the San Francisco dog mauling case.

That story was messed up.