Dateline

Lately, Dateline has become a poor copy of 20/20, Sixty Minutes, and 48 Hours with hours spent on covering crime such as murders and scams. Much like A&E's American Justice, Investigative Reports, and other series. Dateline covering the Suitcase Murders was kind of inferior to other shows that focused on the same crime. There is plenty of true crime out there but you should pick and choose one that will engage the audience and expand on understanding it. They aired the Suitcase Murders after the verdict and before sentencing Melanie McGuire to life in prison for murdering and dismembering her husband, William McGuire. Even though there was no evidence connecting her to the crime but circumstantial coincidences. THe fact that Court TV was airing the trial made it easier for NBC Dateline to obtain access to the proceedings.

I used to love this show. I felt it was grade A crime reporting. The two hour shows are ludicrous. God help you of you do a shot every time they say, "coming up ..." You would end up passed out on the floor.

If this show is going to survive they better go back to a concise on hour format. The two hour shows are frustrating and end up boring. The episodes ate so padded and dragged out!

There are some pretty decent crime videos on YouTube that are about 20 minutes! They may not be as reliable, professional or polished as Datel8ne but they are the new competition. Get with it NBC. You are losing viewers.

Since 1992 the news program "Dateline" has been a peacock mainstay changing over the years with different hosts now Lester Holt does the duties. Each week each episode is in depth with great reporting from top "NBC" anchors as the cases shown are real life, often featuring murders, love triangles, and cold cases that have been cracked with some unsolved mysteries are also showcased. The research done on each story is informative and really in depth as it's like a case timeline supported by news footage, and interviews with family members and officials involved. The stories are often heart touching and filled with emotions as you the viewer will soak up the informative real life drama and fill for all involved. Overall well done investigative news program.

I used to love this show. But the old style of presenting with the weird exaggerated inflections of voice is just too much anymore. The worst offenders are Andrea Canning and Keith Morrison. The rest of the cast is fine, but I can't listen to the unnatural voice cadence of either Andrea or Keith anymore. It almost sounds like a parody. I just started watching The Ultimate Betrayal episode on Peacock and couldn't last five minutes listening to Andrea Canning. Perhaps I'm in the minority, but there are so many other shows available that are just as interesting, but have cast members that speak like normal people.

Dateline is predictable in the best way: I know it's going to be well produced and interesting, if necessarily uneven. That said:

1) First, high praise: What I like most about Dateline (and other crime shows) is that vast majority of people we meet in any given episode are good people. There's always a murderer or two, but they're the exception. The rest-- survivors, witnesses, prosecutors and most cops-- are truth-seekers in search of justice. (I forgive the defense lawyers because they're doing a necessary job). Ultimately, far from being a condemnation of humanity, Dateline proves that most of us are honorable.

2) This bugs me. Common to many, if not most, episodes is a phrase like "Stuff like that never happens here." Give it up, guys. Obviously homicides can happen anywhere-- especially the murders that Dateline specializes in, which involve family dysfunction and/or sociopaths.

3) Could someone please ask Andrea Canning to tone down her sing-song delivery; it undermines the gravity of the subject matter. She speaks like a normal adult when she's interviewing people, but her voice-over narration sounds like she's reading "Goodnight, Moon" to a four-year-old.

4) I'd also appreciate it if the women being interviewed weren't coiffed and slathered in make-up. A significant number have also had significant plastic surgery without significant success. So while the men are allowed to age gracefully, the women are often one whorl of hair away from looking grotesque.

5) The series was better at one hour. Expanded to two hours, we get a lot of filler interviewing survivors about what the victim was like, which becomes repetitive and sentimental. It works best as a procedural-- like "Law and Order," but more powerful because it is history, not fiction.