The First 48 - General Discussion

[auntjess]

The First 48 is back with new shows!

The new one is a follow-up on the Harris county woman who was burned alive, but survived.

The suspect, Joker, testified that he didn't do it, it was the other couple. 

That was bs, saying she'd taken so much drugs that she wouldn't remember.  I think she'd have sobered up really quickly when that match was tossed.

I didn't see the guy she was with when they dragged her off.  Why didn't he testify?

 

[David T. Cole]

Converted this into an episode topic. Please feel free to start new threads for characters, episodes, media mentions, actors, etc.

[auntjess]

The thing is, this is one of those shows that don't have a big following, and a lot of episodes may not bring any comments.  (A lot of drug deals and gang shootings in Miami, for instance.)
While it's on a lot, most of the shows are repeats for several years ago.
 

[TheEditrixHasSpoken]

I'm subscribed to this season via Amazon & not seeing it. . .must find it! I wish they'd do more follow-ups; that's when it gets even more interesting. Same thing with Missing Persons; am sure there's just limited viewership. Anyone know what's going on with that one? 

[Toaster Strudel]

I never know if the episode I'm watching is a new one, or a rerun. 

 

There isn't much to snark at in The First 48.  It's all very sad, really.  The poverty, the drug dealers, the teen birthday party shoot outs, the gangs, car jacking sprees, the impulsive murders,  the dead bodies and all those sons and daughters that will only leave jail in a hearse - none of it is remotely funny.

 

In fact, a lot of it is shocking.  How easy it is to take a life, when there are guns everywhere, and petty criminals get a little bit inconvenienced while robbing someone, or some teenage gang dispute is deemed to be death-worthy.

 

I do love the detective, especially the ladies.  No-nonsense, straight to the point, no unnecessary embellishments, no fancy words.  Just the facts.

Edited April 28, 2014 by Toaster Strudel

[auntjess]

The Shift, in reruns on Reelz, is like First 48, only just in Indianapolis, and a couple of the detectives are women.
I like it a lot.

(Reelz is 799 on U-verse, down with the movie channels.)

Edited April 29, 2014 by auntjess

[avrobie]

Hi! I'm the EP of the series and you should know that we actually air new episodes on Thursday nights at 9pm about 30 weeks per year. We are going on our 10th year in production and have produced nearly 300 episodes. Check out A&E's website for info on the premieres and you might be able to watch older episodes like "Burned Alive" via the network's App. I hope you continue to watch and enjoy the series. If you have any interest in true crime stories, there is nothing like it on television. 

[Toaster Strudel]

One case this week had some guy getting 25 years for shooting through a window... and killing the person inside. 

 

In the police interview, he spilled the beans quite readily about the shooting, he had no idea the guy was dead.  All of this over a $20 hooker who I guess failed to deliver and he wanted his money back?  He was really devastated.  Twenty five years is a lot... he must have had a long record or been on parole.  Or maybe he was black *sigh*

[auntjess]

The sentences are all over the place on a lot of the episodes.
You seen someone get 8 years for first degree, and more for another.
I watched the After one on that family in Birmingham where the aunt, her son, and a niece, were brutally stabbed and burned.
It was done by a nephew.
It was such a sad show.  He got the death penalty, but he never seemed to have much of chance in life.  I couldn't have given him that.

[Mrs. P.]

The Shift, in reruns on Reelz, is like First 48, only just in Indianapolis, and a couple of the detectives are women.

I like it a lot.

(Reelz is 799 on U-verse, down with the movie channels.)

[Mrs. P.]

(I can't figure out how to edit my last post.)

 

I have just recently found The Shift, and I think I like it better than The 1st 48.  I've enjoyed getting to know the detectives assigned to the homicide shift, and the show takes you through all aspects of a murder investigation.

 

The Shift shows I've seen are all from 2009 and 2010.  Does anyone know if any new shows are in production, or is this all we're going to get?

 

Mods - sorry if this is off topic, but I didn't know where else to ask the question.

[auntjess]

New shows aren't being made.
Under "Everything Else TV," there's a thread/topic for true crime shows.

[Mrs. P.]

Thanks, auntjess. I'll check that thread.

[Toaster Strudel]

The Latiss Irons plea bargain leading to more jail time spread over more of the shooters in the 14 yr old's birthday party was a surprising twist. 

[auntjess]

I've seen some older ones recently, a serial killer from Kansas City, MO, and then a show with 2 murders from KC,KN.

I'm interested in the differences in the way different cities do things, but I'd never seen one, where the witness on the scene was told to drive himself down to homicide, and not talk to anyone before he got there.

The guy was pulling his phone out as he was walking to his car.

[Toaster Strudel]

Indeed there is nothing like it, and the show has opened my eyes to many sad realities; gun-toting teenagers shooting each other for no reason, people taking their guns out and shooting to make a point and killing people "accidentally," how easily a robbery turns into a shoot out, the usefulness of cell phone records and security cameras, how easily the code of silence gets broken when people get caught and start thinking about saving their own skins, and communities cooperating with the police to get the dangerous criminals off the streets.

[auntjess]

avrobie, maybe you know this.
In Miami, they don't seem to have access to a special unit, or US marshals, to go after violent or elusive offenders.
I noticed in a rerun, that Sgt Confesor Gonzalez, a favorite of mine, put on a bullet-proof vest and was leading the group going after someone.
Maybe the others are busy going after drug lords?

[goodogcarl]

Indeed there is nothing like it, and the show has opened my eyes to many sad realities; gun-toting teenagers shooting each other for no reason, people taking their guns out and shooting to make a point and killing people "accidentally," how easily a robbery turns into a shoot out, the usefulness of cell phone records and security cameras, how easily the code of silence gets broken when people get caught and start thinking about saving their own skins, and communities cooperating with the police to get the dangerous criminals off the streets.

I'll tell you what I've learned:  the value of a "street name."  Nobody knows who the hell these people are.  People who have known them for years don't even know their last names! You can't tell me that's not calculated. And wearing two shirts . . . so you can discard one so you'll no longer fit the description.

[Toaster Strudel]

Breaking Bad meets The Wire's Omar!

 

I've never seen an episode like it.  A multi-millionaire drug wholesaler (Donovan Anthony Reid) living a double life, cops cracking a safe's combination, a cartel revenge killing, finding an actual suspect with good fingerprints, and burglars that target drug dealers!  And he sure had a long "career."

 

http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2013/09/feds-slain-dallas-man-had-900000-stashed-in-safes-28-million-in-narcotics-sales-recorded-on-detailed-ledgers.html/

 

It looks like his window sued for the money in the safe:

http://dockets.justia.com/docket/texas/txndce/3:2013cv03569/237195

[auntjess]

They've been showing older old episodes, from 2004 or 2005, as opposed to the 2008 and on ones, and in these, there's much more emphasis on the 48 hours running out.
I guess they quit doing that after the criticism following the Detroit death and the Miami press criticism.

[Soobs]

This episode was like a movie or TV show including the unsatisfying ending where the street gets one bad guy and the other is brought up on lesser charges that might be dropped. The victim was like Gus on Breaking Bad with his quiet life and clean house on an unassuming street. Pretty crazy that the detectives cracked the safe open with cell phone numbers. That was some real detecting.

[auntjess]

Anyone who thought robbing drug lords was a good career, was destined for a short life. 
I wasn't sorry that they got him, but am all for the cops finding the ones who got him.

[Enero]

This episode was like a movie or TV show including the unsatisfying ending where the street gets one bad guy and the other is brought up on lesser charges that might be dropped. The victim was like Gus on Breaking Bad with his quiet life and clean house on an unassuming street. Pretty crazy that the detectives cracked the safe open with cell phone numbers. That was some real detecting.

 

Yep. This case was interesting. Though the drug dealer killed was a criminal you have to respect the fact that he was able to stay under the radar for a very long time and appeared to be maticulous with his record keeping. Even the detectives investigating the case seemed to admire that about him, despite his criminal activity.

As stated, the individuals who were responsible for his death weren't very bright. I guess they thought they could be Omar from The Wire and even he eventually ended up dead.

 

Just watched the episode that aired last night, with the guy who was strangled by his boyfriend. Why oh why couldn't he have found a man that was on his level. Dealing with Major, a criminal who obviously wanted to continue living his life on the downlow so that he could have his cake and eat it too, was what ultimately got him killed. The ironic thing about this case is that the very thing Major had killed to prevent, will now be out there for all to know and see.

[RubyWoo72]

"Lester Street" will always be etched into my memory. A family of 6 was killed by another relative and I think there were at least 2 small children among the victims. You could see the detectives' visceral reaction to the entire scene, especially the 2x4 with a nail or something that was still in the child's head.

[RubyWoo72]

Sgt. Mason was all types of fabulous, and meticulously put together from head to toe in all of her episodes. I know she has since filed a lawsuit against her police department, but she was always entertaining to watch.

[Toaster Strudel]

Urgh.  I couldn't stand her.  She gave women in the workplace a bad name.  What if this was a man preening himself and working in heels, and handicapped with acrylic talons?  She was ridiculous.

[RubyWoo72]

What? You didn't like that she kept a curling iron plugged in at her desk? Or her leather peplum outfits? Lol! Yes, from a professional standpoint, she was way over the top. But there's something I liked about how she was in what is typically seen as a male-dominated field and still promoted to a higher rank while staying feminine. TOO feminine for some tastes, but she was interesting to watch.

Except for the teeth. Good grief.

[Toaster Strudel]

I prefer the female detectives that blend in the male crowd.  Women that don't doll themselves up are the minority, at least outside the police profession.  It's nice to see no-nonsense competence coupled with a lack of heels and makeup.  It's so rare to see women like that.

Edited July 17, 2014 by Toaster Strudel

[RubyWoo72]

Different strokes, right? It's nice to read your posts again on this site (if in fact that was your name at TWOP).

[Enero]

Different strokes, right? It's nice to read your posts again on this site (if in fact that was your name at TWOP).

 

Indeed. I liked the fact that Caroline was different from what seems to be expected from women who work in a mostly male dominated profession. As been already stated, she was a bit over the top with her style, but I liked the fact that she kept her femininity but was still just as tough and affective as the men.

[Brooklynista]

The plugged in curling iron is the main reason I loved Det Caroline Mason. I get tired of only seeing women butched up on the force. If that's their thing cool, but where does it say your femininity has to be checked at the door? I never got the feeling Caroline couldn't do her job because of those nails.

I remember one interrogation where she had the perp inthe box in tears. She told him straight up " You not going home to work on ya LTD today!"

And she stood up and walked out. Left the man bawling! Tipped on out in those heels and that curled up weave.

Get it Girl!

Edited July 20, 2014 by Brooklynista

[RedKoolAide]

I liked her, too. I remember there was an episode where she ran across the street in her heels and it tickled me to death. So funny. She was smart and she knew how to handle the suspects/witnesses.

[Toaster Strudel]

The editing has been really good this season, the storytelling is much tighter and compelling.

 

I do miss the signature stray cats though.

[Toaster Strudel]

This is now the only show worth watching on A&E.

 

So they find a severed head in the Florida Everglades.   They call an investigator.

 

ZING!

[auntjess]

I was watching an older one from Cincinnati where the hairdresser was killed and his apartment was set afire.
Another person in same building was also killed, and they thought maybe he'd been a witness.
The strange thing was the this second victim was never named.

[thewhiteowl]

Since this show has an odd schedule and not much traffic, this was requested and seems like a good idea. You can always PM me with problems or questions. Thanks!

[auntjess]

Thank you for making this one!
On the Cleveland case, Christine Malone, it doesn't look as if it's been solved yet.
They mentioned that Jazmine Trotter had been found near by, and it's one you all probably remember too, because I checked.
She was the one with the twin sister, and she'd left her boyfriend's apartment to walk to work at a staffing agency very early in the morning.
 

[Enero]

Thank you for making this one!

On the Cleveland case, Christine Malone, it doesn't look as if it's been solved yet.

They mentioned that Jazmine Trotter had been found near by, and it's one you all probably remember too, because I checked.

She was the one with the twin sister, and she'd left her boyfriend's apartment to walk to work at a staffing agency very early in the morning.

Yes. I remember the Jazmine Trotter case. It was a horrific crime. Did they say Christine's murder was similar to Jazmine's?

When I first saw Jazmine's case I thought maybe someone she worked with or knew where she worked did it because her phone show activity in that area after she'd been murdered. But now I don't know, maybe it was a crime of opportunity. She was out so early in the morning with no one around and in a bad neighborhood. I do hope they find her killer.

[Brooklynista]

One case that's always sticks in my head was one that involved a young white couple that went missing. When the detectives finally searched the house they found the couple dead and hidden in the walls of their house. If I remember correctly they determined it was a uncle that had killed the couple? The uncle was also fairly young.

The thing that stuck with me was the father of the uncle was going to turn the son in but somewhere along the way the detectives found the father killed the son. A murder suicide on the way to turn him in. It seemed like a made for TV movie it was so tragic and bizarre.

Four people dead and i don't think the reason for the original murder was ever discovered.

ETA: thanks it was season 5 episode 1. Family Secrets

Edited November 2, 2014 by Brooklynista

[h3lga]

are older episodes being deleted? i want to watch season 11 because i know someone that were on one of the episodes but it seems like its nowhere to be found? do you know anything about that? can't even find a place i can buy it 

[h3lga]

is it impossible to watch old episodes ? i want to watch season 11 but it seems like its been deleted?

[auntjess]

If you go to IMDB, they seem to have a link to individual episodes from amazon, for some.

Here's a link.  Some episodes say "unavailable."
 

http://www.amazon.com/No-Escape-Trail-of-Evidence/dp/B004CU1S2I/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1414957748&sr=1-1&keywords=first+48+season+11
 

Edited November 2, 2014 by auntjess

[h3lga]

thanks, the one i want to see is unavailable -.-  

[wildman]

Simply amazing what humans do to each other. 

[Archery]

This show is my kryptonite whenever we are on vacation.  If I watch 10 seconds, I am in for the rest of the episode.  I work in law enforcement, so it is interesting to see how it really works on TV, as opposed to how TV writers think it works. 

 

One episode changed me.  I don't know the title, but the victim was a young man shot as he waited for the bus late at night. Turned out he was just an innocent caught in the cross fire.  When the police went to tell his mom, she wailed, "I should have picked him up!  I should have gone to get him!"  Imagine living with that for the rest of your life, knowing that if she'd just gone out and given him a ride home, he'd still be alive.  I think about that every time my son calls or texts me, asking for a ride home.  Part of me always wants to say, I'm busy, take the train, take the bus.  And then I hear that woman wailing, and I grab my car keys. 

[Brooklynista]

Yes the guilt of some of the family or friends is what tears at me as well. I can rememeber one where two guys were kidnapped. The kidnappers made a call to a friend of theirs and told him to deliver a bag of weed on a designated corner. The problem came when the kidnappers didn't tell the guy on WHICH corner of the intersection to drop the bag.

The two guys were found dead in a trunk. Possibly because the kidnappers didn't think the guy delivered the drugs when in reality he dropped them on the wrong corner. The friend looked really torn up thinking that if he had just picked a different corner his friends might be alive. The truth is that the guys would probably have been killed anyway. They might have even been dead before the call was ever made.

[auntjess]

I watched the first (I think) Tulsa show.
Not bad, and they seem to aim for closeure rate like Indianapolis (The Shift), but with only 15 homicides a year, they don't have the crime that other cities seem to have.
Didn't hear a formal Miranda, but maybe that was as they were bringing the guy in.
I wonder which cities we'll have.

[Enero]

I really miss Miami, Memphis and Birmingham. The cops in those cities were so charasmatic. Not only that, they really seemed to care about the communities in which they worked.

I wasn't really feeling the Tulsa crew. They seemed a little flat. It was their first outing though so maybe it'll take a couple episodes for them to warm up.

Edited January 14, 2015 by Enero

[auntjess]

I liked Miami ones, and knew them more because they were on so often.
The Cleveland guys are my favorites, though, including some who retired.

[thewhiteowl]

 I loved the Cleveland crew!