Forty Eight Hours

This documentary series badly needs to be renamed.

Nova, Horizon and Panorama could all show almost any of these episodes - although this show does focus almost exclusively on murder cases that were unclear, at least initially, as to the culprit and/or have questionable witness, police or prosecutors.

I find many of these cases to be frustrating, at best. Innocent people are harmed and never get justice, and least not swiftly and, to my way of thinking, that isn't actually just.

Sadly, most of these cases highlight the ignorance, stupidity, biases and incompetence surrounding all aspects of those participating in the legal system. It boggles the mind how often those in charge make life-altering decisions on cases on a whim, or from bias, incompetence or laziness, and then stand behind those bad choices come hell or high water. Often committing crimes beyond perjury to cover up their errors, often aiding criminals and often causing great harm to innocents.

All in all its a dose of reality for those who see the world through rose coloured glasses.

I do enjoy this show and watch it regularly. There are two things that I do not like about the series and one is the return of Susan Spencer.

I don't find her pleasant and her facial expressions and demeanor are unpleasant. Always appears like she is challenging the person she is interviewing. Her voice is not great for an announcer. The second of my dislikes is that they tend to focus far too much on the grief of the victims family and have parents and loved ones upset and crying . Some of these poor people have horrible voices and there participation should be kept to a minimum. They really over do it with this. Just stick to the story and the investigation.

IN 1988,CBS had created "48 Hours",a daring news-magazine show meant to cover one topic(examples: Immigration,police stakeouts,on duty with soldiers in Kuwait,Prom nights,etc.)over the course of(wait for it)forty-eight hours!

This ran for a while,but something changed and the producers at CBS News decided to retool this show. It would no longer truly hinge on the time dynamic of covering a story,but would take on a much more methodical,studied examination of a story or event. For probably the better part of a decade now,it's mostly centered around a murder case,usually ones that have murky results or contentious verdicts.

Perfectly fine filler entertainment for those who don't like sports,are shut-in on Saturday nights or have an interest in cases like the ones they showcase,this show has had a flux of correspondents,but some such as Erin MOriarty,HArold Dow and Susan Spenser,have been staples of the show's run,through the format changes.Probably a bit pulpy to be considered serious journalism anymore,more of a counterbalance to stuff like "DAteline" and "DAteline:To CAtch a Predator". NArrative and somewhat reminiscent of documentaries on A&E. A show one usually doesn't seek out,yet will most likely be drawn in once they give a show a look.

Just another crime show discussing people who kill people. It's like all the rest. You are a narrator, killers, victims, reporter who acts like they care and tense music.

Last Words: You have seen them once, twice, fivce, then you have seen them all. After a while you get bored and freaked out of hearing people killing people. So you just stop watching.

Hard to believe so many crime shows exist. It's like they are making money off of death and crime.

The show is interesting, but it does the unspeakable: It asks viewers to weigh in, as though gossip should ever be considered. The judicial process is problematic enough without armchair jurors. It's a dangerous gimmick, and shame on them.