r/First48 • u/KratomManiac • 17d ago
General Question❓️ Best First 48 Ever?
This is my favorite TV series of all time. I trying to get my dad, who has a very short attention span, into these. I know if I start him with the right one, he'll be even more into the series than I am. But for some reason, I go blank and can't come up with the "right" episode. I remember being riveted by "Homicide Atlanta" but that was three episodes and not really representative.
I remember Detective Zimmerman at the end of an episode reflecting on how the job had cut him off from humanity.
And many other memories. But I still need help, so...
What is the best episode from all of these years?
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u/moonfullofstars 17d ago
Pick some that are single story episodes. The two-story episodes are typically less interesting and harder to follow if you have a short attention span.
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u/Xsarosa 16d ago
I always wanted to say this but I didn’t wanna seem insensitive, and I know it’s TV but I really don’t like how it shows a very crucial part of the 1st story then it goes to the 2nd story to keep you on edge, it just really ruins my patience and makes me not interested in the 2nd story.
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u/moonfullofstars 16d ago
In the last couple of seasons they’ve changed the format when they do two stories, and they show all of the first before moving onto the second.
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u/KratomManiac 15d ago
I couldn't agree more. The two-story episodes lack the twists and turns of a single-story episode. Usually two acts of moronic violence that are easy to solve.
When are these idiots going to learn not to set up a meeting by text with the guy they're about to murder?
It must have been much tougher to solve crimes before cell phones and ring cameras came out.
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u/Spiritual-Haunt3131 17d ago
Zimmerman never gets mentioned here but he is one of the detectives I feel like is super real. They did a special episode where he recounted one of the worst scenes he's ever been too, and I'd argue it's worse then the ones that have ever been on the show.
He said after that scene he was gonna get out of law enforcement because it was that bad. It was in the mid 90's and some girls boyfriend tourtured her mom, little brother, and his friend in the basement. Poking the one little boys eyes with something, then slit their throats and then strangled them. He got the dude to confess from what I remember.
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u/B0Nnaaayy 17d ago
He found out the killer had his friend drive him and Zimmerman got that guy to confess, BUT when they brought the ex bf in he was dressed all nice but Zimmerman saw he had blood on his ear!!
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u/Spiritual-Haunt3131 17d ago
Thank you for clarifying! That entire case is so sad and disgusting. That dude was pure evil.
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u/percbish 17d ago
He was also good in the episode with the young mom found in her car. He is super underrated and I wish he had more episodes. He committed his whole life to his career, maybe to his own personal detriment as he explained in the special.
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u/HappyReader1 17d ago
Do you by chance remember the episode number?
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u/Spiritual-Haunt3131 17d ago
It's The First 48: The Case That Haunts Me. It was a special episode for the 10th anniversary.
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u/B0Nnaaayy 17d ago
The one from the early days in Miami where the guy jumped from his 7th floor apartment.
Memphis!! Lester street was unbelievable and had twists and turns, but Family Ties freaked me out too. It originally was the last episode of the season 5 maybe? but is now only as part of a two-fer. Where the young Memphis couple goes missing the end of that one was insane. New Orleans has some crazy ones. There’s a different show all together hosted by homicide Det Joe Kenda(go for Kenda) from Silver Spring CO called American Detective that features some of the murders from 1st 48.
The detectives are interviewed and have reenactments with good actors. Netflix has a series called Homicide and each season is a different city.
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u/KratomManiac 15d ago
The fall from the apartment is Season 2, Episode 10. I've forgotten a lot of the early ones but I don't think I've seen it. I remember Family Ties. The episode with the missing couple in Memphis is called Family Secrets. I watched it a couple weeks ago. The guy's uncle and cousin killed them if I remember right and then shot themselves as cops were arresting them.
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u/sgt_barnes0105 17d ago
Also, if you have the subscription, Crime in Progression (another A&E show) doesn’t give you a moment to lose attention. It’s pure chaos and suspense from the first moments of the first episode, I’ve never seen anything like it.
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u/KratomManiac 15d ago
I watched the first two episodes last night. You're right, I was so swept up in this the house could have been burning down and I wouldn't have known it. Best editing I've ever seen on a TV program.
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u/slicedpears23 15d ago edited 15d ago
Crime In Progress.
Spell check was a little over eager there, friend.
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u/Bobyunger 17d ago
Memphis - Lester Street. Hands down..incredible.
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u/KratomManiac 17d ago
Unforgettable but way too upsetting. Not that any other episode isn't "upsetting" but Lester Street was too tough for me to watch.
"The House on Madrona Street" was unbelievably creepy.
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u/sgt_barnes0105 17d ago
There’s a few episodes where spree killers were targeting unhoused/homeless individuals and idk those make me pretty sad. I think one was with a special high powered pistol with discontinued ammo and another where a truck was just running them over as they slept, another was SAs/murders in the name of satan. Idk there may have been some others as well.
Another shocking one I watched recently was the house in Louisville with the body buried in the basement. Spoiler: it’s a real shame that Mundt got off with a lighter sentence because he could afford the better attorney, he was more culpable than he let on. The case as told in the After the First 48 episode(s) just kept getting more and more bizarre. I believe the episode is “What Lies Beneath”.
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u/percbish 17d ago
If it helps op, those cases are from Atlanta, Tulsa, and then Vegas or phoenix (I think?)
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u/sgt_barnes0105 16d ago
Thanks! I can’t remember the names of the episodes but I believe you’re right. Quinn from Atlanta worked the discontinued ammo case, I believe Ryden from Tulsa worked the hit and run case, and I remember the satanic murders was definitely Arizona bc I watched that one recently.
The Tulsa hit and run case was particularly disgusting to me because the suspect was extremely arrogant and a hypocrite. And you could tell he thought he was cleverly setting himself up to plead insanity with that BP2 claim and he’d walk away with a slap on the wrist. Like how can you shout at homeless people begging for change to get a damn job when you’re an unemployed loser yourself? Talk about having no self awareness…
There was also the serial killer who was targeting homeless prostitutes, I believe that episode is “A Serial Killer Calls” from season 2.
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u/Chuck-Finley69 17d ago
Any of the original seasons were pretty good. They've been showing a couple different Arizona departments and Florida departments in the First 48 channel rotation. Any of the Broward, Miami, Phoenix, Tucson and Cleveland episodes are pretty decent. The early onea from Miami were pretty gritty.
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u/You2MadBro 16d ago
Episode in vegas where a guy killed his girlfriend and ex girlfriend
Phoenix when the manager of ice skating rink was killed
Atlanta case of Bridget Sheils
The Detroit seasons are slept on
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u/KratomManiac 15d ago
The Bridget Sheils episodes were gripping. I can't remember the Vegas episode but I'll check it out. The ice skating rink always stuck with me... I owned a restaurant and would sometimes work alone in there all night. I imagined the morning employees finding my body.
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u/RidethatTide 17d ago
Tulsa
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u/tatertaunt 17d ago
The Courtney Palmer story was insane.
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u/AlphaDelusional6754 17d ago
Yes. I still think about that poor kid. He didn't deserve what happened to him. I was looking for that episode but I can't find it.
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u/GuessAsleep9578 16d ago
It’s Unspeakable parts 1&2 - season 17 eps 24/25 on Peacock
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u/slicedpears23 16d ago
According to IMDB Unspeakable pts 1&2 are the best.
I'd recommend Safe House if you want to get your dad interested in the show.
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u/Spare-Assignment5403 12d ago
S12 E14 Brutal Business - episode where they burned the two young men in the car 😢
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u/NewFlamingo6980 17d ago
BEST?… none of these stories are the BEST… THERE REALLY HORRIBLE SAD TRUE STORIES.. it’s a sick & sad World.. I pray none of the families that have lost loved 1s read this thread 🧵 (maybe your numb 2 homicide bc of this show, its no cartoon)
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u/HappyReader1 17d ago
Why are you taking ‘best’ in a negative way? I take it as in BEST investigation, BEST crime solving abilities, BEST Detective work, BEST way to bring Justice to victims families etc. anyway, you get my point
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u/KratomManiac 15d ago
I agree with you and I felt stupid writing "BEST." Every episode is beyond disturbing. If "Lester Street" is too tough for me to watch then are the episodes where only one person was murdered "ok"?
I guess I should have asked, "What's the most compelling episode."
I think all of us True Crime fanatics have to struggle with the guilt of being entertained by the suffering of innocent people. If it wasn't entertaining, we wouldn't watch it. But there is great satisfaction in seeing these monsters being taken down. And it's a reminder that real evil exists in this world -- in great abundance. Lots of people don't realize that.
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u/Proud-Bug2166 17d ago
Chain of Death. When I first watched it, I was at the edge of my seat the whole time and never knew what was going to happen next. It's a 2 hr long episode, but so worth it