Buried in the Backyard

Whilst the true life murder story about Lisa was very sad and the family seemed crushed, it was all upstaged by the dreadful narrator. Why on earth would the director hire a woman who sounded like she was a children's story teller. It was soooo off putting. They kept repeating the story after each ad break, I lost my will to live. !!

It's obvious these are slightly smaller budgeted shows, but the interviews are well done and the editing is high level. My biggest gripes are the robotic, canned female narrator and the cheesy music over the "happy times" segments. Seems like the producers at Oxygen think their audience can't stomach darker music and darker imagery. But the true crime fans are much savvier now and used to dark content on HBO, Netflix etc. The reenactments are poorly directed, but they're well edited. The stories are generally good, but you can tell they're really pushing the "buried in the backyard" theme to crimes where nobody was buried in the backyard at all. The series has potential. Some episodes are better than others, definitely a much watch for true crime fans.

The show is interesting but the narrator kills it. She's horrible. She doesn't fit the feel of the show and is way past her depth. I'm not sure if the show requested she read the way she does but man is it bad. The worst part is that whether her voice actually fits for this style of documentary is really irrelevant when she is reading so poorly. Sometimes she sounds like a robot, but most of the time, she sounds like she's narrating an HGTV show. This show is about murder...obviously narrating in a chipper way is definitely not the way to do it.

Again, I don't know if the producers asked for her to read it that way, but I can't help but believe that this is entirely her decision. And it's a bad one.

It's funny that so many people here have complained about the narrator. I loved her voice and thought it fit the theme of the show perfectly. Her voice as the common thread through each story separated Buried in the Backyard from the million other murder shows out there. I found her to be clear and expressive without being silly, conveying both the highs and lows of the subjects' lives. The new season (6) uses no narrator - it's much harder to follow, doesn't paint as clear a picture of the people involved, and has lost the relatability that made the stories so compelling. Now it's just another murder show.

There's a really creepy vibe I got after a few episodes that I've never felt while watching any other real-life crime-solving tv show, and/or years of UNSOLVED MYSTERIES, and that's that there could be a body buried in MY back yard.

I appreciate the interviewing of the family, friends, law enforcement and others involved, including detailed photos and histories. This show is well-done, respectful, and I hope has many more seasons ahead.

Now, what button do I need to push to change the narrator from "computer voice" to "human being"?