| Author |
Message |
Babyjaxmom
Member
10-20-2002
| Monday, June 29, 2020 - 11:09 am 
We watched the first episode of this show last night. It's based on the book written by Michelle McNamara (Patton Oswald's late wife) about the East Area Rapist/Original Night Stalker. He started in the Sacramento area in the mid 70s. I grew up in the Sac area, so I remember it well. Suddenly we were afraid to leave our windows open, there were helicopters patrolling our skies. It was very scary.
Ironically, Joseph DeAngelo (the human piece of garbage who raped 50 women and killed 10 people) is in court today in Sacramento. The TV stations are carrying it live right now. He pled guilty and they're talking about sentencing. He appears to be a feeble old man in a wheelchair, but DH thinks he's pretending for sympathy. He was out washing his car in his driveway when they arrested him. It was huge news in this area.
Anybody else watch this show?
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Scooterrific
Member
07-07-2005
| Monday, June 29, 2020 - 11:20 am
I don't know if I have HBO LOL...but if I do, I want to check it out
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Rieann
Member
08-26-2006
| Monday, June 29, 2020 - 12:16 pm
I watched! Glad you started a thread.
I read Michelle's book when it came out. I thought the filmmaker did an excellent job. Interweaving The Creature From the Black Lagoon was creepy good at the end.
I highly recommend her book. She writes with such empathy and compassion for the victims and the investigators that tried to track this monster down.
I'm with your hubby, Babyjaxmom. He was definitely putting on a show.
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Rieann
Member
08-26-2006
| Monday, June 29, 2020 - 12:23 pm
Meant to add that that just have been scary growing up in Sacramento during that time.
It broke my heart when the woman said she stopped playing piano. It also gave me chills to think of that presence behind her. He was so creepy quiet.
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Rieann
Member
08-26-2006
| Monday, June 29, 2020 - 12:28 pm
I liked getting to know Michelle better as well. I felt I knew her from the book, but to see her and have Patton talk about her gave me even more insight. A very engaging woman.
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Rieann
Member
08-26-2006
| Monday, June 29, 2020 - 12:43 pm
Just popped on Twitter and saw this on my timeline...
Paul Haynes @ThePaulOfHaynes 1h
There's something richly poetic in the image of Joseph DeAngelo, who committed all his crimes while wearing a mask to conceal his face, admitting guilt while wearing a mask that's transparent.
So true!
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, June 29, 2020 - 7:02 pm
I set it to record the series. Thanks for the reminder.
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Babyjaxmom
Member
10-20-2002
| Monday, June 29, 2020 - 7:27 pm
As I was lying in my bed last night, I found myself wondering how I would feel to have a flashlight suddenly shine in my face. Very eerie!
It was a terrifying time. I was actually in my early 20s at the time he was terrorizing the area, but everyone was scared. It really changed the way we lived. I was shocked to learn that my husband (who grew up in San Francisco) had never heard of the East Area Rapist until he was arrested! 
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Pamy
Member
01-01-2002
| Monday, June 29, 2020 - 8:48 pm
I remember the Night Stalker. It was one of the hottest summers and we were all afraid to leave a window open!
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Egbok
Member
07-13-2000
| Monday, June 29, 2020 - 11:02 pm
I have a Tivo Pass set for this HBO mini series. I watched episode 1 tonight....wow, I hope I can sleep tonight. Not only did the storyline scare me but seeing the Creature From The Black Lagoon clip brought back my fear of never wanting to swim in a body of water again, lol.
You can be sure I'll be double checking all windows and doors.
Any Pamy, yes...I remember the Night Stalker during that hot summer spell. We do not have AC but I insisted we keep the windows and doors shut and locked. The oscillating fans were blowing away all night long until the sun came up the next morning. Scary times for sure!!
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Tuesday, June 30, 2020 - 10:39 am
I remember the Night Stalker as well. I was newly divorced, living in a house. No A/C, HOT SUMMER, in Fullerton, CA, which runs hotter than where I live now. Had to open the bedroom window.
The saving grace were three Labradors in the room and a big rosebush under the window!
But it was still a very tense time.
I remember the joy when he was caught! Neighbors took him down while someone called 911.
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Babyjaxmom
Member
10-20-2002
| Tuesday, June 30, 2020 - 12:10 pm
Hubby was watching yesterday as each of the EAR's crimes were listed on live TV: 50 rapes and 13 murders. They went into graphic detail of each crime. I couldn't listen to it. On the late news last night they interviewed a few of the survivors. They have kind of their own little support group and are known to each other by their number (number of the case: 1, 2, 3, etc.). It took about 6 hours to list all his crimes. They used the Sac State Ballroom so that they would have enough space for all the victims and family members who wanted to be present. Everybody was wearing masks also. They will come back together in a few months for sentencing, at which time all the victims and family members will be able to speak. That should take a couple of days or more. Since he pled guilty he will not get the death penalty (which California doesn't do anymore anyway), but he will certainly be in prison for the rest of his miserable life.
It's amazing that his earliest assaults began 47 years ago, and he never got caught for anything until now. He was even a police officer (Auburn, CA, in the foothills above Sac) for a couple of years. What a sicko.
Now I want to read Michelle's book.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, July 06, 2020 - 11:42 am
I watched the first two episodes yesterday.. Very well done!
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Babyjaxmom
Member
10-20-2002
| Monday, July 06, 2020 - 12:28 pm
I was shocked to see Foothill Farms mentioned in last night's episode! That's the neighborhood I grew up in. I went to Foothill Farms Jr High and Foothill High School. I looked it up online, and apparently it was in the area of Brett Drive. One of my best friends lived on Brett Drive! That was in the fall of 1977, when I was on the east coast in Coast Guard boot camp, so I didn't know anything about it. Wow! Too close to home.
We used to sleep out in the backyard when I was growing up. That stopped when the EAR came around. We didn't feel safe anymore. This show creeps me out!!!
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Pamy
Member
01-01-2002
| Monday, July 06, 2020 - 8:32 pm
are there only 2 eps of this out so far? the first ep is mostly about the author, does ep 2 get more into the details about the cases?
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Babyjaxmom
Member
10-20-2002
| Tuesday, July 07, 2020 - 1:19 pm
Yes, only 2 episodes so far. Second episode went into more detail about the crimes. Still mostly in the Sac area, but branching out to the East Bay (near San Francisco). I looked it up, and there will be 6 episodes in this series. They apparently will include how they caught the guy (a relative registered on one of those DNA sites) and go into some of the courtroom activity, which has been happening here in recent weeks. I don't think he's due back in court for the sentencing part until sometime in Sept.
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Pamy
Member
01-01-2002
| Tuesday, July 07, 2020 - 6:30 pm
ok cool, ty!! do you know when new eps come out? I suppose I can go to HBO online and find out 
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Lexie_girl
Member
07-30-2004
| Wednesday, July 08, 2020 - 5:34 am
I'm so glad I found this thread. I set my DVR to record the two episodes I missed as well as recording the rest of the series. How do y'all find these shows? I'm always looking for good documentaries or miniseries.
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Pamy
Member
01-01-2002
| Wednesday, July 08, 2020 - 7:36 am
Lexie, I find them here at TVCH!
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Pamy
Member
01-01-2002
| Wednesday, July 08, 2020 - 7:37 am
new eps are on Sundays.
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Babyjaxmom
Member
10-20-2002
| Wednesday, July 08, 2020 - 1:10 pm
I saw an article online about this series. We were interested for two reasons: 1) hubby likes true crime stories; we like the puzzle of how they catch the killers; and 2) this was local and I remember when this was going on. It was so shocking a few months back when they announced on the news that they had caught the guy. He must've thought he got away with everything, and now he's gonna spend the rest of his life in prison.
Ironically, when they arrested him, he was out washing his car and was known for riding his bike around the neighborhood. Now when he appears in court, he puts on this big act of being a "feeble old man" who has to be pushed around in a wheelchair. What a charlatan!!!
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Thursday, July 09, 2020 - 1:15 am
That is a common ploy. Make them look feeble.
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Lexie_girl
Member
07-30-2004
| Sunday, July 12, 2020 - 11:52 am
I found the first episode very slow but the second episode picked it up a little bit
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Pamy
Member
01-01-2002
| Sunday, July 12, 2020 - 12:39 pm
Lexie, I felt the same.
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Kappy
Member
06-28-2002
| Sunday, July 12, 2020 - 6:13 pm
HBO has also posted podcasts hosted by Nancy Miller which supplement the series. Podcast 2 is an update on the trial of DeAngelo since he pled guilty to multiple counts of murder and kidnapping on June 29th. I had seen this on tv because here in Northern California, all local channels pre-empted regular programming that day to show it. I remember thinking they should have given out parental warnings considering all the kids who are at home right now and how his crimes are definitely not for kids to hear about.
I couldn't watch past an hour. To listen to the description of each crime this man committed - he is a monster, pure evil. But what was truly heartbreaking was to see how many survivors and family members of victims were there to see him plead guilty - so many lives disrupted and destroyed by this guy.
And then of course, his act of pretending to be feeble with dementia - PURE EVIL.
I remember people installing motion detector lights all around their houses back then. To this day, I still lock the bedroom door at night because we were told it was one more layer of prevention.
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