20/20

[TVbitch]

This will be a pass for me. I simply cannot take two MORE hours of Alex Murdaugh! 

[CrystalBlue]

I've been skimming over the headlines only so I'll watch just to see what happened.  Yes I know about the verdict, sentence and the two people he killed but that's about it.

[SunnyBeBe]

I’ve seen soooo much about the  Murdaughs, but I’ll probably watch tonight.  May as well….something tells me there are more 20/20 stories about the Murdaughs in the future.  A big can of worms.  

[amarante]

On 3/3/2023 at 8:32 AM, DanaK said:

The topic tonight will be on Alex Murdaugh. They lucked out that he was found guilty yesterday

I don't think it was luck. I am sure they had a "regular" show ready to go and just put this one on.

I just finished watching it and it really shows how quickly it was put together. It resembled a 2 hour news story more than any kind of analysis that added anything beyond superficial headlines. 

At some point they will probably do a more analytic show although frankly I don't see how they could do anything more than the ones from HBO and the more recent Netflix. Both of those were far more interesting than anything else I have seen and could easily be updated with an additional episode dealing with the trial, the verdict and what has happened since the sentencing.

FWIW the Dateline episode which aired last night is much better as it doesn’t have the same feel of being just hastily edited press videos. It might be a repeat though

Edited March 4, 2023 by amarante

[DanaK]

7 minutes ago, amarante said:

I don't think it was luck. I am sure they had a "regular" show ready to go and just put this one on.

I just finished watching it and it really shows how quickly it was put together. It resembled a 2 hour news story more than any kind of analysis that added anything beyond superficial headlines. 

At some point they will probably do a more analytic show although frankly I don't see how they could do anything more than the ones from HBO and the more recent Netflix. Both of those were far more interesting than anything else I have seen and could easily be updated with an additional episode dealing with the trial, the verdict and what has happened since the sentencing.

What I meant was, they were promoting this a couple of days before the verdict came in, so a verdict of guilty likely upped the interest in this episode. It did do a bit better in the ratings compared to at least the previous few episodes

[SunnyBeBe]

I’m not sure why sometimes they pronounce Murdaugh as Murdock.  I’ve read it can be pronounced that way, though I can’t see why.  And, even though they say his name us Alex, often it’s called Alec!  Odd….both names pronounced different ways by different people.  

[Guest]

13 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I’m not sure why sometimes they pronounce Murdaugh as Murdock.  I’ve read it can be pronounced that way, though I can’t see why.  And, even though they say his name us Alex, often it’s called Alec!  Odd….both names pronounced different ways by different people.  

I’m listening to a podcast by a journalist who lives in the area.  She says the name he goes by is pronounced Eleck and the last name is pronounced Murdock. 

She was emphatic that any other pronunciation of the name was wrong and that she had been investigating the family for years.  She also said that if any journalist pronounces his name differently they have not done their due diligence. 

This stayed with me because I too heard several variations and until the podcast thought the pronunciation was Alex Murdaw. 

[SunnyBeBe]

42 minutes ago, PsychoKlown said:

I’m listening to a podcast by a journalist who lives in the area.  She says the name he goes by is pronounced Eleck and the last name is pronounced Murdock. 

She was emphatic that any other pronunciation of the name was wrong and that she had been investigating the family for years.  She also said that if any journalist pronounces his name differently they have not done their due diligence. 

This stayed with me because I too heard several variations and until the podcast thought the pronunciation was Alex Murdaw. 

And, I’ve been thinking the opposite.  Lol

I recall when the defendant testified, he was asked about his name and the spelling of his name, what he was called, etc., but I was busy and didn’t pay attention.  I’m not sure how to find it on a video now, though, I’d like to see what he said. 

[oliviabenson]

https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/fianc-acquitted-murder-hire-plot-speaks/story?id=97657541
 

last 20/20 episode

[TVbitch]

Everyone involved, and even the talking heads I respect like Matt Murphy, seem convinced the husband is innocent, so I will concede that is true. ..But I guess I watch way to much of this stuff, cuz I still found him a little suspicious. 😁 

[pdlinda]

On 3/13/2023 at 8:21 AM, TVbitch said:

Everyone involved, and even the talking heads I respect like Matt Murphy, seem convinced the husband is innocent, so I will concede that is true. ..But I guess I watch way to much of this stuff, cuz I still found him a little suspicious. 😁 

I found the fiance to be 100% truthful (if a little "discombobulated" at the police interrogations) and REGRET that he didn't utter the words: "I want a lawyer" as soon as he was arrested.

I understand that most people think that if they're innocent they can simply rely on the police to hear "their side of the story."  However, after working on the defense side of the criminal justice system for MANY years, the first thing ANYONE should do after being read his/her miranda rights is to request a lawyer!

So much of this disturbing saga could hopefully have been avoided if he had an attorney to represent him.  

Edited March 14, 2023 by pdlinda

[TVbitch]

Friday's case was a new one for me, but it was about as cut and dried and you can get and stretching it to 2 hours made it kind of a slog. You would think one would have enough self-awareness to know if one was a moron and probably should not try to get away with murder. 

[Annber03]

Seriously, my mom and I spent much of the episode laughing at how incredibly stupid Nikki and Earl were . Just wandering around right in front of the surveillance cameras that were on the outside of her house, and at the hotel and at Wal-Mart. And I loved the various stories that she kept telling, too:

"Earl went to see Chad, I stayed at the hotel and took a walk" (in the middle of the night...in frigid cold North Dakota weather)

"I decided to do some dishes" (at one in the morning in a dark, cold house)

"Some guy came out of Chad's room calling him 'honey'" (and she was totally able to describe him, up to and including how nice his teeth supposedly looked, despite the dark house and late hour. Her drawing of this supposed mysterious man was truly something, too XD)

"I needed to get new meds" (never mind that she'd taken a trip to Minneapolis, and then stayed at a hotel in Bismarck, all without taking any additional stuff she needed, which one would think she'd want to do since she supposedly couldn't stay in her home due to the fact that the furnace was out.)

And Earl stating he'd never been in the basement, but oh, gee, look at that, there's a Marlboro thing sitting down in the basement, and the only person involved in this whole crazy mess who smokes Marlboro cigarettes is...Earl...

The best thing, though, was Nikki telling Earl about the renters' insurance that she'd brought mere days before the fire. Insurance that, as someone in the episode pointed out, would not be any of his concern unless he was involved in this mess. 

Even Nikki's defense attorney clearly didn't seem to fully have his heart in his defense of her. And the fact she didn't have any family on her side in the courtroom...either she didn't have enough living relatives to be there, or her family distanced themselves from her, for a very good reason. 

And Earl seemed like he was ready to end their relationship, too, so...really, yeah, what the hell was the point of it all? Hope it was worth it, lady. 

Edited March 19, 2023 by Annber03

[marny]

And she’s STILL lying! In her jail conversation, she’s still talking like some random intruder must have done it. Girl, just stop talking. However it was a nice change for it to be a dumb wife killing a husband rather than the other way around. Girl power, I guess. 

[TVbitch]

Really? It took them 13 years to figuring out this dude shot his wife, and there was no mystery intruder! Unbelievable! 

[Annber03]

My mom immediately suspected him when he started going on about how he was leading his wife downstairs and the gun was at her back the whole time. She was like, "...yeah, no. No husband is going to do that if they sense an intruder is in the house." And they're sure as hell not going to have the gun pointed in such a way that their wife might be in more danger of getting shot than the intruder would be. That should've been an immediate red flag right there. 

[UsernameFatigue]

On 4/16/2023 at 10:39 PM, Annber03 said:

My mom immediately suspected him when he started going on about how he was leading his wife downstairs and the gun was at her back the whole time. She was like, "...yeah, no. No husband is going to do that if they sense an intruder is in the house." And they're sure as hell not going to have the gun pointed in such a way that their wife might be in more danger of getting shot than the intruder would be. That should've been an immediate red flag right there. 

Yes, his story was so ridiculous. He made his wife go first because he was trying to prod her along, but had no idea if the "intruder" was going to break through the front door with a gun himself, and shoot the first person he saw. The wife. But of course hubby wasn't worried, because there was no intruder. 

I thought the motive was going to be a life insurance policy that would get the hubby out of debt, but that doesn't even seem to be the case. So he kills her because she might leave him when she finds out they are going to lose their house? 

He did really plan it out, as far as trying to pin it on the guy who had committed burglaries before in the area. Thank goodness that poor guy was already in jail, or there is a good chance the keystone cops would have arrested him. But hubby messed up when he had his wife call 911, then shot her, then himself. No sound or evidence of the intruder.

I agree that it should not have taken all those years to bring him to justice. 

Edited April 18, 2023 by UsernameFatigue

[seasons]

Did he live in the same house with the new wife? 
 

why would you have three kids with someone who can’t manage their finances? 

[annzeepark914]

I keep telling myself not to watch shows like this because I get so upset by the evilness of some human beings. Tonight they showed the case of the veterinarian in Texas who murdered her military husband. She only got 25 years. What a psychopath! She insinuated that her mother murdered him.

[SunnyBeBe]

15 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

I keep telling myself not to watch shows like this because I get so upset by the evilness of some human beings. Tonight they showed the case of the veterinarian in Texas who murdered her military husband. She only got 25 years. What a psychopath! She insinuated that her mother murdered him.

I watched it too.  I wasn’t familiar with that case.  The wife seemed to be a sociopath for sure.  She is so deluded that she doesn’t understand why her lies are obvious.  She will be released far too soon.  I don’t think she has any self awareness.  If she did, she would not have done the tv interview.  It didn’t help her at all.  
 

Who did the paternal grandfather of the deceased man’s children say the children were living with?  He said he got visitation.  

[annzeepark914]

5 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I watched it too.  I wasn’t familiar with that case.  The wife seemed to be a sociopath for sure.  She is so deluded that she doesn’t understand why her lies are obvious.  She will be released far too soon.  I don’t think she has any self awareness.  If she did, she would not have done the tv interview.  It didn’t help her at all.  
 

Who did the paternal grandfather of the deceased man’s children say the children were living with?  He said he got visitation.  

I think I heard that both kids are living with the murderer's parents. That sounded strange to me...the little boy whose daddy was murdered by mommy is living with the granny who hated his father. Maybe the Maine family didn't have enough money to fight for custody.  

[SunnyBeBe]

That’s what I thought he said.That’s disturbing. The maternal grandmother seemed as messed up as the mom. All I can figure is that the Paternal grandfather wasn’t equipped to raise two small children full time.  At least he has a relationship with them. I suppose that’s something. To be so weird, I thought it was ironic that the killer and her mom made such an issue of the deceased being weird.  

So, I wonder why Maternal grandmother hasn’t taken the kids to visit their mom since her incarceration.  

Edited May 27, 2023 by SunnyBeBe

[bmasters9]

Another broadcast of 20/20 from the 1989-90 season, Fri. Feb. 16, 1990 (with a more complete version of the 1989 titles [no tape glitch]), from KTVO Channel 3 (ABC in Kirksville/Ottumwa, IA):

 

[Pi237]

Long Island Serial Killer/Gilgo Beach—-how high is that hairdresser??

[CrystalBlue]

New episodes finally!  Thanks for alerting me.  Quite the revelant subject too.  Will watch!

[pdlinda]

23 hours ago, Pi237 said:

Long Island Serial Killer/Gilgo Beach—-how high is that hairdresser??

The awful brassy hair color with "root rot" on the crown also didn't do her any favors.

I was very surprised that the monster Heuermann (sp?) let her off so easily when she rebuked his advances.  She's one LUCKY lady!!  

[Pi237]

Last night-disappearance of Alissa Terney. 
 

I really wanted to watch this, but fell asleep halfway. They drag these out Way too much. This show should be an hour with 1/4 of the commercials.

Anyway, her stepdad 100% killed her. 
when your first reaction to being asked if you sexually abused your stepdaughter is, “They have no proof!” Ummm…

 

[Annber03]

I mean, literally every single one of her friends and her boyfriend all made a point of mentioning her stepdad and her awful relationship with him in their police interviews, which was pretty telling right there. It really is amazing how long it took for them to start looking at him as a suspect. 

But yes, he was SUPER creepy. Those contracts. What the hell? And then the whole thing with all the weapons and cameras in his home, like, really not helping your "I'm a perfectly stable, concerned, protective parent!" argument, there, dude. 

He reminded me a bit of Josh Powell's dad from the Susan Powell case in some ways, which also really doesn't help matters. 

So incredibly frustrating that he can't be tried again for this. 

[patty1h]

1 hour ago, Annber03 said:

He reminded me a bit of Josh Powell's dad from the Susan Powell case in some ways, which also really doesn't help matters. 

So true.  A very creepy vibe from him.

[pdlinda]

1 hour ago, Annber03 said:

Those contracts. What the hell? And then the whole thing with all the weapons and cameras in his home,

The evidence about the prior explosive weapons conviction was inadmissible although I think the Judge let the defense put in the home camera evidence.

As the prosecutor said the ruling by the Judge doesn't mean he didn't commit the crime.  It only means that the State didn't have enough (or ANY) evidence that he did commit the crime.  

I think that a jury would have convicted him due to all the circumstantial evidence; however, then he would have had the appeal and, chances are, the appeals court would have ordered a new trial, blah, blah, blah. 

He's 75 years old so at a certain point in the not too far distant future he will meet his Maker and this crime will be sorted out properly.  That's what I believe, and, yes, he has A LOT to account for when he makes his transition from Earth to his destination.....

[A.Ham]

On 9/16/2023 at 9:42 AM, Pi237 said:

Last night-disappearance of Alissa Terney. 

I had this on in the background while cleaning so was not watching directly, but from the get-go I got creepy vibes from stepdad and it didn't get any better from there. Poor kid. 

[DanaK]

Friday’s episode will look at the Polly Klaas case and its lasting impact on the country

https://www.laughingplace.com/w/entertainment/2020-polly-klaas/

There’s also a special episode on Sunday at 10pm with Robin Roberts interviewing actress Kerry Washington on the release of her new memoir

[DanaK]

Deborah Roberts has been named new co-anchor with David Muir

https://deadline.com/2023/09/deborah-roberts-20-20-co-anchor-1235556377/

[pdlinda]

2 hours ago, DanaK said:

Deborah Roberts has been named new co-anchor with David Muir

https://deadline.com/2023/09/deborah-roberts-20-20-co-anchor-1235556377/

GREAT PICK!  Deborah Roberts is EXCELLENT at what she does!!

[LakeGal]

×

20/20

Happily Never After
SEASON 46, EPISODE 1 • PREMIERE

An illicit love triangle, a wife with a double life, and one big lie lead to murder.

[oliviabenson]

The episodes are too long. I fall asleep in the middle and miss the end lol. 2 cases 1 hour each would be better.

[patty1h]

So I tune in to watch the season premiere of the show and it feels like deja vu.  The topic is the murder of Jamie Faith and I've seen it before.  Not sure what makes this story so special, but Dateline has covered it in the past and it is the subject of their season premiere which is also airing today.  Two shows have gone over this case three times.   It would not surprise me if 48 Hours also did a segment on it.   

The research departments of these true crime/reality shows need to dig deeper for topics.

Edited September 30, 2023 by patty1h

[4N6MAL]

8 hours ago, patty1h said:

So I tune in to watch the season premiere of the show and it feels like deja vu.  The topic is the murder of Jamie Faith and I've seen it before.  Not sure what makes this story so special, but Dateline has covered it in the past and it is the subject of their season premiere which is also airing today.  Two shows have gone over this case three times.   It would not surprise me if 48 Hours also did a segment on it.   

The research departments of these true crime/reality shows need to dig deeper for topics.

I record both 20/20 and Dateline. I thought I made a mistake when I clicked on 20/20 and saw THE SAME STORY! And like you said, it was an update or something on Dateline. I didn’t watch either one, but I have to imagine there was an update to the story or some thing.

[Pi237]

Snatched.  The entire first hour of this episode should’ve been 10 minutes, tops. They were Really stretching this one out. 

[SoMuchTV]

I don’t watch this on a weekly basis but they roped me in with the “we found baby Holly” promos. I just wish there were a way to watch the 2 hour episode without all the scenes they showed over and over. So maybe a 30 or 45 minute show?

[Guest]

I dozed on and off.  Towards the end of the show David Muir talked about a new clue.  I must have nodded off because I only heard that Holly has a book out next week. 

Did anyone catch what this clue is?
 

[Quickbeam]

I never watch this show but was knitting a sock I wanted to finish. Never surprised that somehow the Seventh Day Adventist church factors in…..I’m not a hater just they seem to attract end times crazies. Plus weird that the pastor knew Holly was from Florida but didn't do anything to try and find her family.

Love the cult burn outs with the guest room in a bus. I guess you get to a certain age and go all in. 

[One Imaginary Girl]

On 11/3/2023 at 11:16 PM, PsychoKlown said:

Did anyone catch what this clue is?
 

David Muir gave the name of a woman whom Tina was known to hang out with in the cult. I think they said that she's dead now, but the investigators are hoping to get more information about her. I listened to the What about Holly? podcast, and I don't think she was mentioned, so this must be something new.

[Pi237]

Every week, I swear they make these episodes more difficult to watch. My ‘murder shows’ used to be must see tv, but they need to stop repeating the same Information, spending entire sections talking about something they can show with a photograph, saying something then interviewing multiple people asking how they felt about this tidbit of information.  They’re Dragging the hell out of every story just to add more commercials. I keep falling asleep, fighting to stay interested. 

[TVbitch]

For 20/20, I now come here first to see if the case is compelling enough that I will even bother to watch it, cuz it is a SLOG usually. At best, I FF through many of the stupid talking heads that are just their usual gang they have that rehash and comment on every last detail of the case. So sad Matt Murphy is now one of them. 

Edited November 5, 2023 by TVbitch

[Guest]

Dragging out is an understatement. 

I can’t tell you how many times I went online to see the final outcome of the story because I was just too tired to watch the same old people making the same old comments. 

The powers that be are going to ruin this show.

[amarante]

They certainly stretch this out when the story could actually be told in 30 minutes and cover all the bases.

I also have this problem with shows that feel the need to recap after an ad break - are there people with such poor memories that they can't remember what happened 2 minutes prior?

The only way I can watch these is because I have them on in the background while I waste time doing a digital jigsaw puzzle. 

[freeser]

6 hours ago, amarante said:

They certainly stretch this out when the story could actually be told in 30 minutes and cover all the bases.

I also have this problem with shows that feel the need to recap after an ad break. 

There is one good thing about all of the recapping of the story.  When I am flipping around and land on one of these 20/20 or Dateline type of shows,  I can start watching at the halfway point of the show.  I know that after the next commercial they will summarize the first part of the story and I will be up to date and won't miss a thing.  

[UsernameFatigue]

On 11/3/2023 at 8:32 PM, Quickbeam said:

I never watch this show but was knitting a sock I wanted to finish. Never surprised that somehow the Seventh Day Adventist church factors in…..I’m not a hater just they seem to attract end times crazies. Plus weird that the pastor knew Holly was from Florida but didn't do anything to try and find her family.

 

Her parents did appear to sign her over to be adopted, so I don't know that there would be any reason for him to go to Florida at that time. This was back in the early 80s where it was very hard to get info, as opposed to now. He did take Holly there when she was a teenager, but they found that her records were sealed until she turned 18. By that time I think she was getting married and ready to start her own family.

What I was surprised to see was how young Tina was when she had Holly, only 16. Her dad was 20, also quite young but the 16 really threw me. They didn't really say on the show, just that she met Dean, and they hit it off and the next thing the family knew, they got married. Tina was barely 17 when she gave Holly up. This info was only gleaned from their grave markers, I don't think their actual ages were given on the show. My guess would be that Tina and Dean came to their senses and realized they had been duped to give up Holly, and were going to go to the authorities which got them killed. 

[amarante]

My question is how would anyone really know whether it was Holly who was the woman who gave away the baby - the parents could have been dead at that point.