America's Most Wanted

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This article is about the FOX TV show. For other uses, see America's Most Wanted (disambiguation).
America's Most Wanted
Image:AMW.gif
Starring John Walsh
Narrated by Don LaFontaine (teaser announcer)
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
No. of episodes 940
Production
Executive
producer(s)		 Lance Heflin
Running time 60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel Fox
Original run February 7, 1988 – Present
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

America's Most Wanted is a long-running American TV show produced by 20th Century Fox, and is the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network. Its purpose is to profile and assist law enforcement in the apprehension of fugitives wanted for various crimes, including murder, rape, child molestation, white collar crime, armed robbery, gang violence, and terrorism many of which who are currently on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. On May 2, 2008, the program's website announced its 1,000th capture.

Contents

[edit] History

The idea for America’s Most Wanted originally came from a German show Aktenzeichen XY... ungelöst (ger. file number XY... unsolved) that first aired in 1967, and the British show Crimewatch UK, first aired in 1984, with the US version conceived by then-Fox executive Stephen Chao and Executive Producer Michael Linder in the summer of 1987. It premiered on February 7, 1988 on seven Fox-owned stations. Within four days of the first broadcast, FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive David James Roberts was captured as a direct result. He was a convicted killer who had recently escaped from prison by digging his way out with a small axe. This demonstrated the effectiveness of the show's "Watch Television, Catch Criminals" premise to skeptical law enforcement agencies. Ten weeks later, the program premiered nationwide on the Fox network and became the fledgling network's first hit series. Since its debut, it has become the longest-running series on the Fox Network.

America's Most Wanted reinvented the economics of prime time television with its low-budget reenactments of crimes. A typical hour of prime time programming in 1988 cost $1 million to produce. AMW's initial budget was much lower than that, but the show's reality-style format and nearly instantaneous captures (some fugitives were captured before the episode's final credits rolled) contributed to its success.

After the program’s pilot aired, a lengthy search was conducted, and John Walsh was selected as the host of the show. Walsh gained publicity after his six-year-old son, Adam Walsh, was kidnapped and murdered in 1981, and he parlayed that into the creation of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Other potential candidates included former Marine Corps Commandant General P.X. Kelly and victims' advocate Theresa Saldana.

The show began profiling missing persons, especially children, in 1991. Some of the most notorious captures include John List, the Texas Seven, and the abductors of Elizabeth Smart, Brian Mitchell and Wanda Barzee. On May 2, 2008, the AMW website announced their 1,000th capture; a New York City Realtor named Dwight Smith, who was captured more than a week earlier.

The show was cancelled for a month and a half in the fall of 1996 when Fox decided to air a Saturday night sitcom block consisting of Married… with Children, Martin and two new series: Love and Marriage and The Preston Episodes. However, protests from the public, law enforcement, and government officials, including the governors of 37 states, as well as low ratings for the shows replacing AMW encouraged Fox to bring the show back. Martin and Married… with Children were moved back to Sundays. Producers rechristened the show America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back. Since this time, the AMW/COPS combination has made Saturday evening Fox’s most stable night, along with the longest unchanged primetime schedule on American television currently.

The show expanded its focus to also cover criminals in the War on Terrorism when, on October 12, 2001 an episode aired featuring 22 most wanted al-Qaeda operatives. The show was put together due to a request by President George W. Bush, who had presented the same list of men to the nation two days earlier. In October 2002, the show did a special episode focusing on the serial sniper shootings in the Washington, D.C. area.

In the new millennium, America’s Most Wanted has seen continued success. Currently in its 21st season, AMW has reported 1000 captures.

The show usually ends with John Walsh saying, "...and remember, you can make a difference.", or, on occasion, "...and remember, you do make a difference."

On the last week of January 2001, after AMW had helped capture the Texas 7 along with a large number of other wanted fugitives, Walsh concluded with, "You really made a difference."

[edit] Local Versions of AMW

  • On Fox 2 (KTVI), St. Louis, Missouri, they run "St. Louis's Most Wanted" every Saturday night at their 9PM newscast, after AMW.
  • On Fox 2 (WJBK-TV, Detroit, Michigan), They run "Michigan's Most Wanted" every Saturday night at their 10:00 newscast.
  • On Fox 5 (WAGA-TV, Atlanta, Georgia), a "Georgia's Most Wanted" segment airs on their Saturday 10:00pm newscast. "Georgia's Most Wanted" segments were hosted by Angeline Hartmann prior to joining America's Most Wanted as a correspondent.
  • On Fox 5 (WNYW-TV, New York, New York), They periodically air segment "New York's Most Wanted" during their 10:00 newscast after AMW.
  • On Fox 6 (WITI-TV, Milwaukee, Wisconsin), a segment called "Wisconsin's Most Wanted" is aired during the Saturday 9 p.m. newscast, following the airing of America's Most Wanted. This segment is produced similarly to a single story from AMW, and normally lasts 5 to 10 minutes.
  • On Fox 9 (KECY-TV), Yuma, Arizona-El Centro, California), during commercial breaks, an ad with John Walsh mentioning the region's police shows someone wanted being mentioned by an announcer. An another ad by Walsh directs viewers to the station's website for more wanted criminals. Unlike other FOX stations, who usually air similar spots either after the news or AMW, they air throughout the day, as the station has no newscast.
  • On Fox 13 (KSTU-TV, Salt Lake City, Utah), a "Utah's Most Wanted" feature airs periodically on the 9:00 newscast, particularly after AMW airs.
  • On Fox 14 (KCIT, Amarillo, Texas), The Amarillo Crimestoppers fugitive of the week is featured every Saturday Night on the KCIT FOX 14 News @ 9 After America's Most Wanted.
  • On Fox 17 (KDSM-TV, Des Moines, Iowa) They run a short spot during the commercials of America's Most Wanted called "Metro's Most Wanted" featuring one locally wanted fugitive. The spot lasts about 25-40 seconds.
  • On Fox 31 (KDVR-TV, Denver, Colorado), a "Colorado's Most Wanted" segment airs on the 9:00 pm. newscast, after "AMW"
  • On Fox 40 (KTXL-TV, Sacramento, California), a segment called "FOX 40 Crime Alert" airs Saturday Nights at 10:00 p.m. on Fox 40 News at 10 after AMW.
  • On Fox 36 (WUPW-TV, Toledo, Ohio), a "Toledo's Most Wanted" segment airs on Fox Toledo every Saturday night at 10:00 p.m.

[edit] AMW's hotline number facts

When America's Most Wanted debuted, the show's original toll-free hotline number was 1-800-CRIME-88 (1-800-274-6388). The last 2 digits of the hotline number changed each year (1-800-CRIME-89, 1-800-CRIME-90, and so on) until 1995, when it was permanently changed to its current number, which is 1-800-CRIME-TV (1-800-274-6388), which, coincidentally, was what the number had originally been in 1988).

[edit] AMW Dirty Dozen

The AMW Dirty Dozen is a list of the most notorious fugitives that have been reviewed on the show that are currently at large. It is similar in function, though not analogous, to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, though four of the Dirty Dozen are on the FBI's list.

These are the current Dirty Dozen. They are in order as presented on the AMW website; the list is not ranked.

[edit] 15 Seconds of Shame

15 Seconds of Shame is a segment (approximately one minute in length) where the show features four fugitives that are currently on the run, each in their own 15-second briefing. The run-up shows the charges against the fugitives, and where they might be. Aliases, tattoos and character quirks are also mentioned in the profiles.

[edit] Other facts

[edit] Cases that are international or have some international connection

Many of the series' cases have some connection outside the United States or have not taken place in the United States at all. The first show that aired after September 11, 2001 was 2 hours and focused mainly on terrorism. The series' first international capture was in Nova Scotia in 1989.

The show's nature does not allow repeats, except for updates on convicted criminals, and is pre-empted a maximum of eight times during the year; three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, one Major League Baseball playoff game, the World Series, and if necessary, one NFL playoff game. However, if a fugitive featured on the show is not captured, their profile may be aired again.

[edit] On Radio

America's Most Wanted is also distributed to thousands of radio affiliates Monday - Saturday through ABC Radio Networks at :15 min past the hour from 5AM to 2PM (eastern time). It keeps listeners up to date on the latest fugitive and missing persons/children cases nation wide.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ ABC News: Fugitive Marine Captured in Mexico (HTML). ABC News. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.

[edit] External links

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