Buried in the Backyard (2018– ) User Reviews

Would be a 10 but the narrator can suck it!

[paulwbillings-62991 · 7/10 · 15 June 2023]

The show is interesting but the narrator kills it. She's horrible. She doesn't fit the feel of the show and is way past her depth. I'm not sure if the show requested she read the way she does but man is it bad. The worst part is that whether her voice actually fits for this style of documentary is really irrelevant when she is reading so poorly. Sometimes she sounds like a robot, but most of the time, she sounds like she's narrating an HGTV show. This show is about murder...obviously narrating in a chipper way is definitely not the way to do it.

Again, I don't know if the producers asked for her to read it that way, but I can't help but believe that this is entirely her decision. And it's a bad one.

"(Don't) Give A Dog A Bone!"

[kensirhan-86198 · 8/10 · 5 July 2021]

It hardly qualifies as So Nearly Perfect but, the narrative oddments aside - & where are these people on the subject of those crappy nbc/cbs/abc programs & the now-ruined Snapped in that regard? - BITB does air crimes that, lucky for them, escaped the clutches of that metastatic "dateline" or are not so well-known, given its focused subject. Several episodes are even eyepopping gasp-inducing terrors. My chief gripe with this production, which has become a staple of this now nbc dump site Oxygen - touting itself as "true crime 24/7" while farting out marathon hours of scripted network junk e.g. "Chicago PD - is its upper-lefthand corner information "banner" displays such as ACTUAL POLICE PHOTO/VIDEO or showing date/place, that get run over by that channel's idiotically oversized "tv 14" blocks that linger like anchovy breath (too long). The strange (& thankfully unique) asynchronicity of, e.g., SOMEONE'S NAME sliding in followed by "who they are" below it half a second later is an extremely annoying visual, but there's worse to beat crime documentary followers' eyes across the spectrum. But the pros of BITB outweigh its cons - something that cannot be said about the nbc/cbs/abc programs - & Miss Sadie is not so repulsive to the ear as for example that N. Morales; her hollering I can't tolerate for more than a few seconds! When it comes to delivering the goods (so to speak) on its dedicated subject, BITB holds its own - just like right now in this ACTUAL POLICE PHOTO of a recovered skull in a gloved hand. Chilling as an old icebox every time. When Oxygen dumps ALL that scripted trash & lives up literally to that self labeled "24/7" regarding the crime documentary genre, they'll be all the better for it - & its audience, the boobirds included, greater in numbers. "(T)hat's the kind of program I like!"

Dark with great music, editing

[jomcd24 · 9/10 · 25 July 2019]

It's obvious these are slightly smaller budgeted shows, but the interviews are well done and the editing is high level. My biggest gripes are the robotic, canned female narrator and the cheesy music over the "happy times" segments. Seems like the producers at Oxygen think their audience can't stomach darker music and darker imagery. But the true crime fans are much savvier now and used to dark content on HBO, Netflix etc. The reenactments are poorly directed, but they're well edited. The stories are generally good, but you can tell they're really pushing the "buried in the backyard" theme to crimes where nobody was buried in the backyard at all. The series has potential. Some episodes are better than others, definitely a much watch for true crime fans.

GOOD SERIES BUT.

[ajsully · 10/10 · 2 May 2022]

Can we do without the media people. They just take away from the investigators doing a good job, and make the show about them. I enjoy true crime shows that do have good detective work and really good forensics. They are the only ones who should be telling the story.

A unique take on this genre and I've already bought the first three seasons!

[tailsofthewind · 10/10 · 28 September 2021]

There's a really creepy vibe I got after a few episodes that I've never felt while watching any other real-life crime-solving tv show, and/or years of UNSOLVED MYSTERIES, and that's that there could be a body buried in MY back yard.

I appreciate the interviewing of the family, friends, law enforcement and others involved, including detailed photos and histories. This show is well-done, respectful, and I hope has many more seasons ahead.

Now, what button do I need to push to change the narrator from "computer voice" to "human being"?

Great Show, Terrible Narrator

[brian_mercer-39-220988 · 3/10 · 16 August 2018]

The narrator is either a very good robot or a very bad actor. No, take it back. Not even a good robot.

DREADFULLY, DISTRACTING NARRATING!!!!

[lyninbyron · 1/10 · 4 September 2019]

Whilst the true life murder story about Lisa was very sad and the family seemed crushed, it was all upstaged by the dreadful narrator. Why on earth would the director hire a woman who sounded like she was a children's story teller. It was soooo off putting. They kept repeating the story after each ad break, I lost my will to live. !!

Slow moving & BORING

[dancinqueen47 · 3/10 · 13 June 2019]

Bad narration & ridiculous depictions of supposedly real crimes/ real peoole. People who, in real life are morbidly obese & ugly are played by attractive models. After watching 6 or 7 very badly directed episodes, I stopped taping & deleted all unwatched episodes from my DVR list. Don't waste your time on this series., it's a loser.

Yawn.. and yawn again!

[phwagz-46691 · 4/10 · 14 June 2022]

Due to the horrible narration and the disjointed story line .. this program which should have been terrific is awful.. that's the kindest choice of words I can use to describe this .. yawn . .. show. I have never be subjected to a barrage of disjointed and idiotic interviews.. fini!

A bit much to swallow....

[marcus-28749 · 2/10 · 19 July 2023]

I just watched an episode of this totally far fetched show. A white woman goes missing....within minutes police were on the case, searching everywhere. Apparently the police found the partner to be "Believable", so, because they found him to be believable, there was then "no need to investigate him." Until a psychic made this amazing prediction that she was suffocated with a plastic bag. NOW CHECK THIS : The coroner examines skeletal remains several years old (like very little tissue, if any at all remaining). But they are magically able to determine the cause of death to be asphyxia. And the police said they were pretty sure it was a plastic bag over the head ??? WTF ??? How can you tell the difference between how someones nose and mouth have been denied oxygen from a corpse several years old ??? OK If a neck bone is broken, it signifies strangulation, but this is just too far beyond belief.

What an atrocious show

[Xavier_Stone · 1/10 · 8 October 2023]

Buried in the snow.

I stumbled upon this show after missing the beginning and at the 30 minute mark it was feeling rather repetitive with 2 separate murders from 1982. Immediately of course they focus on the ex-husband and he is cooperative and he agrees to take a polygraph. And shockingly he passes.

Then the clueless cops still focus on him, reminding the viewers that a polygraph is not allowed in court as they can give misleading results, and he's still the #1 suspect. This goes on until it's getting close to the hour mark and there still hasn't been any headway. Lots and lots of repetition statements, photographs and such.

Then it goes over and hour and I have to check, and it's a 2 HOUR episode. There barely is enough info for 30 mins here. The ex-husband is given another polygraph and he passes again. The female cop is shown at lease 30 times, with 10 being repeat statements. Unreal.

Some lawyer gets on and lets us know that it's a circumstantial evidence case, you know, like 95% of all criminal cases. Then continues that he has to prove his case beyond a reasonable doubt. Wow, amazing stuff here.

Then we get 90 minutes in and the female cop says it's her idea to check DNA through family history like the BTK killer was caught. This is nearly 40 years after the murders of the two women in 2020. And after a while they find a match.

So here's where it gets interesting. After getting the name of the DNA match the cops do some actual investigating, and look at other suspects beside the ex. And - You can not make this up - the guy is in the same newspaper, same page, side by side to the story of the murders. His story is how he was rescued with a gash to his head on a snow covered pass, some 20 or something miles from the murder scene. So keystone cops in full.

There is a 15 minute summary of the trial and quick conviction, followed by a 15 minute ending with victim statements which were sprinkled throughout.

Heavens sakes. How on earth can you stretch this out? Was there no editor available? So many repeated sections and statements, did you even proof read the script?

The only take away from this is that they show gleeful police in interviews from the onset and they think because they caught the killer after 40 years it means hope for all cold cases. No. Incompetent detectives were exposed by extremely poor police work. And this show is aggravating as all heck.