The Murder Tapes (TV Series 2019– ) Poster

(2019– )

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7/10
So far so good
embmw30 August 2019
Having only seen the first episode so far, this looks to be a better than average offering in the true crime genre simply because it uses a fair amount of actual video & audio recordings instead of relying exclusively on the cheesy re-enactments so often used in other series. If future episodes are as good or better than the premier this series has good potential, although one hopes the producers can dig up some interesting cases that haven't already been profiled elsewhere and that they resist the urge to treat viewers like idiots, as is the case with many offerings in this type of show.
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9/10
A TRULY True True Crime Show
My-Two-Cent7 April 2022
I dont know what the person who rated the show a 5 is talking about.. This show is just as good as the First 48 which is one of my favorite shows of all time but I think this show has way more adrenaline filled moments than the First 48 so much so that during the "Help..! Help...! Don't shoot me.. I can't see you.. Where are you? I'm right in front of you ma'am" episode I was literally on the edge of my seat squirming and I found myself holding my breath and making small jerking movements trying to will the officer to hurry up and clear the house so he could give aid to that woman and I had that feeling during several episodes.. It's all real and none of the over the top re-enactments that are plagued by many true crime shows and where the First 48 usually focuses more on the detectives making the case so once you've seen a few episodes from places like Tulsa, Memphis and New Orleans the detectives are so likable that the viewer ends up feeling like they have a relationship with that detective and that's because the show is geared more towards creating that relationship where as TMT's encompasses every aspect of the the crime from the detectives searching for and making the arrest to the forensics making sure there's evidence to convict and finally to judgment day.. It is a supremely well made and well rounded show and I just don't understand why someone would give this show a 5 star rating unless it's from a producer of TF48 feeling the pressure from greatness creeping up from behind..
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8/10
Great investigative reality show...
carnagecarney29 July 2020
I love true time TV and ID's Murder Tapes is up there with the best of them. Keep them coming ID, strongly encourage folks to check it out.

Very well put together true crime television
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10/10
Best investigation show!!!!!!!
diannakburke24 March 2020
I watch every single investigation show on tv. If you are obsessed like me you know that a lot of shows just reuse old stories and edit them differently. This show does not! All new stories. The best editing I've seen in a long time. Lots and lots of different kinds of footage and real audio which sets this apart from all other shows. Many shows use the same clips over and over and drag out the story or use reenactments. This show uses Officer bodycam which makes you feel like you can do your own investigating from the beginning, seeing the crime scene and talking to witnesses/suspects. So good!
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10/10
No stupid re-enactments
rosestasa4 October 2019
Love the fact that this show uses police recorded interviews and body cam footage to tell the story.
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10/10
Best True Crime series!
chermcguire26 September 2021
This is really well done. No long boring narrations. Just facts and live video footage. Enjoy!
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10/10
PLEASE, MORE LIKE THIS!
pensacolacomputer28 July 2021
We need more series like this ID! Most people like to see the real footage. NOT the recreation! Thats why people watch crime shows...because its real life. They dont want to see actors playing roles. You have some great shows, but this one is my favorite.

PLEASE have more like this one, thanks!
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6/10
Messy
jerryp659 July 2022
The stories are ok. The camera work in the field is all over the place. The real time footage of the body cams is rather restless and sometimes it makes me feel dizzy watching it. And apart from the interviews with law enforcers, most of it is filmed with low resolution video.

It appears that a lot of these crimes happen in lower class families or areas. Often you see a house or a trailer full of crap or clutter if you will.

To summarize, the stories aren't bad but it leaves me with a messy feel. It shows you how messed up the USA is. Cluster, guns, drugs and booze... They need a president that really cares.
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10/10
Captivating
kayman-290866 September 2022
I've watched many episodes and I am hooked. The narrator is great, the eerie music is perfectly timed, the format is consistent and chronologically bang on, the drone views are excellent for the viewer to get the lay of the land and actual locations of events and the interviews of Officers are so well done. A-plus and I hope this series continues cause it shows us what happens in real life. I've watched other crime shows like American Justice and Cold Case Files and those were my favourite when Bill Curtis did all the narration as well as Peter Thomas. They will always be the best but now those shows are not the same without them so I've gone elsewhere and happy to find Murder Tapes. Excellent portrayal of how police process a murder from start to finish. Well done.
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6/10
Disgrace
smallery-5063222 October 2023
How dare the biological Aunt try to say how wonderful the boy was. I do not doubt he was a good kid, most kids are. The problem I have is the biological Aunt never stepped in to care for her nephew when he needed it. There was another episode where the girl was put into the foster service and died. The biological Father and grandparents are all worried and bugging the police to do their job.

Again what right do they have? NONE because you let other people take care of your family members. They lost their right when they walked away from their blood. They only want their 15 minutes to fame. Shame on them. If one of your family members need help you step up to the plate and help your family members.
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10/10
Amaazing !!!!
moealy-4566730 October 2020
Honestly , i watched a lot of crime shows and investigations but this show is simply one of the most entertaining shows and i Couldn't just get off the screen and leave those remaining episodes so i Watched it within One whole day unstoppable ...
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5/10
This show gets the award for constantly stating the obvious
MovieCriticOnline8 March 2021
Being a HUGE fan of "The First 48" I started to watch this as it seemed similar and had decent reviews. It started pretty good but the more I watched the more I noticed how much they drag out a 20-25 min story to 45 min. Also, there are too many obvious statements.

For example, they will find a dead body with 50 stab wounds and then cut to a cop saying, it looks like a homicide. Or when the police enters the crime scene, they cut to a cop saying "we didn't know what to expect." This is just filled with statements like that which gets tiring after a while.

I also think the show purposely misdirects to different suspects to get a longer show especially when they reveal later on in pretty much every show that they knew who the killer was earlier on from surveillance footage etc. One of the more annoying things is that every single show they have the cops talk for two minutes about how they don't know what to expect when they go into the house (crime scene) and how their heart is raising, and then they show them walking through the house guns drawn for several minutes and they never find anyone there, but yet each show waste too much time on this repeated event, which makes this too formulated and too much hyped up events that never materialize.

I just find shows that drags things on because they need to meet some specific length by a network really annoying. Whale Wars did it, so does Shark Week. First 48 does not and if they don't have a 45 min show they will add 1-2 more stories, but it never drags. For example, one of the more annoying things is they create false drama by saying about pretty much everyone they interview "they raised red flags" for them. They could literally go and question a 7/11 clerk and say he raised red flags just to continue to misdirect the audience, but it's annoying because it is a time waster and not legitimate leads.

The stories are actually amazing, but the execution of each show is dragging, repetitive and a bit meandering, thus ruining it for me. Is it watchable? Sure. But First 48 is far superior.

The one thing I learned from this show is that lie detectors are totally useless. The amount of times they have people fail that they were convinced committed the crime are so frequent which gives me no confidence in lie detectors. They literally asked a number of people if they committed the murder and when they said no, the detective tells them are lying because they failed the lie detector tests, but then we find out they had nothing to do with it.

Rating: a mixed bag for me.
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10/10
Amazing
nicolenuckie29 November 2020
Let me just start by saying I don't normally do many reviews but had for this show it is one of the best documentary shows I've seen in awhile and trust me I watch way too many of them. Watch it you will not regret hopefully they continue to keep filming and it does not get cancelled
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10/10
EXCELLENT, BUT...
Amelia4054 November 2023
I'm currently in season two & so far I am really into it. I like that we're seeing & hearing actual footage, as opposed to poorly acted reenactments.

Honestly, so far, I only have one complaint: *BEEP BEEP*. If you're watching, you know what I'm talking about. I'm guessing it has to do with the police body cams? But it's soooo distracting. Some episodes feature it more than others, to the point it's irritating. It would be great if they either muted those or quieted em down during editing.

I watch a lot of true crime series, & have been for decades, & this one keeps me watching. I'm just hoping the *BEEP BEEP* goes away or lessens at some point.
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4/10
Episode S3 Ep6
fephantom26 November 2020
The blurred body cam not only distracted for the store, because the whole picture was blurred it hurt you eyes and made it hard to follow the show. If the police requires the whole thing blurred than just show the officer talking and arial photo's. If another show is done this way I will no longer watch.
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1/10
Decent, but there's better.
quockquock23 June 2023
This show has the potential to be much better than it is. When you are showing a show of actual body camera footage, PLEASE don't blur it out. I realize blood and gore must be removed, but I've watched several episodes where every second of footage was blurred. What's the point of watching this great footage if it isn't in focus? There's way too much good television these days, especially in hi-definition, than to be watching this type of poor quality video.

There are also shows that actually show the majority of this type of video in full definition. Plus they just drag out each episode. It could be so much better.
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5/10
Please lower the music audio!
judithriedmiller18 August 2022
Love this show and wanted to rate it an 8-9, but the WORST PART is the audio. You can't hear the people talking half the time because the background music is SO LOUD. Not sure if the Audio Mixer: Kevin Wilson or Exec Producer: Geno MCDermott handles that part...but it needs to be addressed.
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1/10
THE MEDICAL STAFF ON THIS SHOW......
dianajurgens-3330414 March 2023
Is absolutely ridiculous!!!! The last episode I watched where a guy was shot near the femoral artery-- I've never seen any medical staff move SLOWER in my 20 years of being in the medical field!!

Another episode where EMS didn't respond right away and the police were ATTEMPTING to help-- HOLY HELL!!!! GET THESE PEOPLE MORE TRAINING IF EMS CAN'T BE THERE!!! MAKE IT MANATORY STAT!!!!

One of the 911 operators didn't even bother asking where the caller was located and you could tell that she wasn't even payng attention!! Then the operator has the balls to say, "I'm so sorry, there's just so much going on here." WTF??!!?? WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO CALL 911 FOR IMMEDIATE HELP & TRUST THAT HELP!!! Not be ignored because your staff is distracted.

I'd really like to know where those specific episodes took place so I can be sure to Never Go there.
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2/10
Best True Crime show of all time.
bbqjzf6 October 2023
Uncompromising, hard hitting, raw, honest, heartbreaking, gripping and profound. What the police in the US have to deal with is absolutely incredible. They have such bad press, particularly recently, but the body cam footage in this show demonstrates they do an unbelievable job. These cases are particularly upsetting and tragic and the Police show true heroism in their determination to bring the killer(s) to justice. The editing of this show is also outstanding. The cases are woven together like a masterpiece tapestry by the footage from the cops, actual 911 recordings, interviews with victims families and the lead detectives and sometimes CCTV footage. The effect is an enormous appreciation for the job homicide detectives do and the devastating and permanent damage done to the victims' families. It is a valuable and sobering record of the human condition - how quickly and easily circumstances, chance encounters, dark motives, snd so on, can spiral into chaos and end in a tragic murder. The police are the ones that need to put the pieces together and undertake the daunting task of solving these cases.
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1/10
THE most frstrating show
InsightfulCritic3 June 2021
The show is just ridiculous. They take forever to tell a story and it's all meandering. They know who did it very early on but they still feel the need to fill up the show with a bunch of "suspects" they know didn't do it, but to try to keep us in suspense.

Also, I literally just watched an episode where a woman had been shot inside the house and calling them for help and the cops didn't feel the need for ANY urgency. They just starting to chat outside and update other cops and take their time before even entering the house and instead of hurrying to save the life of the girl they decided to take their time to check the whole house. No common sense whatsoever. All "procedures" regardless of the real-time circumstances.

So frustrating watching this show. It's 5% of what First 48 Hours is, which is where this show got their idea from.

If could have been an amazing show but they need better editing and storytelling. The reason why the first 48 works is because the show is shot in real-time and moves forward, unlike this, which goes back and forth in time to create a LONG show. In other words, they will show interviews from weeks after the crime of people that they knew didn't do it, instead of just doing straight-up real-time narrative and let it unfold the way it actually did unfold.

Another problem is they show us the testimony of witnesses telling us what happened, and then they cut to a cop telling us again what the witness just said like we didn't hear it. This is the worst part of reality shows. They SHOW us an event and then they cut to people telling us what we just saw or heard. It's ridiculous.
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5/10
Fairly good up until Season 9
katematern1 February 2024
I've managed to watch 8 seasons, which were for the most part pretty good, although as some have pointed out there is a lot of stating the obvious or re-stating during sit-downs with detectives/police officers what you just saw on their body cams, with very little, if any, re-enactments, but Season 9 is over the top with re-ienactments and the same overuse on stating the obvious etc. One episode in particular bothered me in that a family friend or relative (I can't remember the episode) was very bouncy and lively, just seemed very phony and was just glad to be on camera, but I realize the show had no control over that. Good thing I could skip through it whenever she came on.
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