20/20

Back in the days of Barbara Walters and Hugh Downs, 20/20 was the best news magazine show on TV. I especially liked their undercover investigations, busting scams and criminals. John F. Stossel did his "Give Me A Break" part very well at the time. The older 20/20 shows were the best! And I never missed a show. But ever since Hugh Downs left, the show just hasn't been the same. And now that Barbara Walters has left too, the show has become much of a joke. 20/20 used to be all about protecting the consumer and busting scams and criminals. But now, all they do on 20/20 (besides covering stories that are already all over the news, a lot of which is simply entertainment news) is bust myths. This is sadly, the exact same concept that has also brought down the Discovery Channel. The Discovery Channel used to be all about shows investigating both a lot in science and law, but now all they do is show stupid "reality" shows and bust urban myths. I just can't understand all of this, obviously the people in control of these TV networks today are just some really stupid (and lazy) people.

Guess I should have figured John Stossel was becoming corrupt. The minute he said that drug companies should be charging high prices to seniors, he lost me as a fan.

The show truely became stale when Hugh Downs left. :( Hugh and Barbara were a team. No wonder she's leaving. Probably can't stand John.

Frankly when she leaves, the closest competitor to 20/20? Bill O Rielly. I'm guessing it won't last long if John's the sole host.

Give me a break!!

This show could be better if the sound track did not overcome the dialogue. It is not relaxing to watch, because I have to strain to hear the conversation.

Also, the show should be reduced to one hour, because the content is repeated and the show seems to drag. I sometimes have to watch it in pieces because I am distracted by the flatness from the repetition, and the need to break from the strain of listening.

Finally, there is a way to tell a story in which it is not so predictable. Last week Dateline and 20/20 covered the same story-the murders in Idaho. By far, Dateline produced a much better show. I want 20/20 to improve. I'm rooting for you, but I'm about to move on.

I miss the days of old when 20/20 did an hour long 60 Minutes investigative journalism style that covers several diverse stories. Now they do a single story that's two hours long about murder or kidnappings like Dateline does. They must've saw how good NBC's ratings were and decided to completely copy their format. Although the stories are competently researched & reported, they just aren't as well paced or hold my interest as well as those on Dateline. They also don't have a great narrator/reporter like Keith Morrison to give it that extra flair. But, if they could make it just an hour or get a better narrator, I might watch a little more.

This used to be okay. But lately narrators repeat the same info 3-4 times. And some details are not necessary; they don't move the story along. A 2-hour episode can be done in half the time.

The music background is too loud and adds zero value to the story. Come on, it's not a music video. Stop the cheesy music score.

The chronology in the storytelling is a hot mess. Throughout 75% of an episode you're more and more confused. Only in the last 25 minutes do things come together and you piece things together and understand - finally - what's going on. ABC, you're not making an M. Night Shyamalan film. Don't feel obliged to have twists and turns and spectacular reveals. Lately I have been so lost halfway in an episode that I just stop watching to get me out of my misery. I did exactly that just now. I recorded the episode, started watching but when I found myself uninterested and bored, I just stopped, deleted the episode and canceled the series recording.

Dateline NBC is 10 times better. Great storytelling. Soft, unobtrusive music that you hardly notice is there. Chronology logically builds and builds to an exciting conclusion in the last 15 minutes but throughout the journey, you're fully comprehending the progression of the story.