Differences between reran AMW episodes

AMW rarely reran episodes, but they did happen from time to time. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at episodes that were reran and see how they differed from each other. Note that I only have episodes from March 30, 2002 onward (and I'm missing one repeated episode) so I'll be doing the best I can. Currently I'll be working on episodes that were repeated through 2005, as that's how many episode guides I've done so far, but I'll add more as I complete the remainder.

Originally aired: March 30, 2002

Reran: Aug. 10, 2002

The only major difference between these two airings is the replacement of missing child Holli Thibodeaux with fugitive Lloyd Lindsey as the Break-Four Tease (Lindsey was caught from this profile). One minor difference is that Dudley Forbes' profile is slightly edited to remove a brief interview clip of his ex-girlfriend, who is now no longer named in the story (the original airing identified her solely by her first name).

Originally aired: June 22, 2002

Reran: May 31, 2003

The first segment in the rerun replaces the profile of the Unknown O.C. Smith Attacker with serial killer Derrick Lee's capture report. In the third segment, the rerun removes a breaking news update on Elizabeth Smart. The original fourth segment was an update on Bert Mercer, but the rerun replaces it with a full profile of Mikhail Drachev. Finally, the original Break-Four Tease was Edwin Rodriguez, who is still a fugitive. In the rerun, it was Jose Zacarias (who was found dead less than a week after the profile). And while the second segment in both episodes is the same - the unsolved murder of Janette Piro and Chris Benedetto from Florida - AMW's website clarified that investigators now believed that Chris, whose body has never been found, was a victim and not a potential suspect.

Originally aired: July 21, 2001

Reran: Aug. 17, 2002; June 7, 2003; Aug. 21, 2004

One of the most frequently reran episodes in AMW history. I do not have the original airing of this episode but I do have the three reruns. Interestingly, despite all the reruns, the only major difference between the three airings is the second segment. The 2002 rerun contained a breaking news alert for missing child Jennifer Short and the murders of her parents, followed by a full profile of the unsolved murder of William Hill in Atlanta (this also apparently aired on the original episode). In the 2003 rerun, the second segment featured Eric Rudolph's capture report. And the 2004 rerun aired the full profile of Scott Hornick. The Break-Four Tease is also different in every episode; the 2002 episode was Giusseppe LoPorto, 2003 was Vicente Carrera (still at large) and 2004 was Harry Carrasquillo. My copy of the 2002 airing is missing most of Shane Magan's profile in the fifth segment, but there are slight differences between the 2003 and 2004 airings; the 2003 airing identifies Magan's accomplice while the 2004 one does not (this appears to be exclusive to the 2003 profile since John Walsh's narration sounds different from the rest of the 2003 profile, which sounds the same as the other two reruns otherwise). The 2003 rerun also cuts out a scene where Magan comes home late and talks to his counselor. Interestingly, Magan and COPS Credits fugitive Charley Cai were not profiled on the original airing. I have no idea what the original cases were. The 2004 airing also blurs out the phone numbers of several businesses during the Valenko and Balachov profiles, which are uncensored in prior airings.

Originally aired: Nov. 23, 2002

Reran: Jan. 10, 2004; Aug. 7, 2004; July 2, 2005

Lesser-known reran episode that was aired the same number of times as Toughest Cops, Toughest Cases. Unlike that one, there are enough significant differences that it'll be easier for me to just list them rather than write a paragraph.

COPS Credits: Kristina Eaddy (original airing); Patty Carrion (reruns)

Segment 1: Leonard Harper; Heather Tallchief and Roberto Solis, Part 1 (all airings)

Segment 2: Heather Tallchief and Roberto Solis, Part 2; full segment/breaking news on missing persons Alice Donovan and Samantha Burns (original airing); Heather Tallchief and Roberto Solis, Part 2 (reruns)

Segment 3: Regina DeFrancisco Capture (original airing); Natia Johnson Capture (Jan 2004 airing); Kayla LaSala Capture (Aug 2004 airing); breaking news alert on Cesar Lira and Manuel Ayala; full segment on New York/New Jersey Serial Rapist (2005 airing)

Segment 4: Jenny Liang (original airing); brief on unsolved murder of Dean DeSimone; full segment on Jenny Liang (Jan 2004 airing); Jenny Liang (Aug 2004 airing); breaking news on Randy Rencher; full segment on Jenny Liang (2005 airing)

Break-Four Tease: Ahmua Tavita (original airing); Gregory Moyer (Jan 2004 airing); Paul Stone (Aug 2004 airing); Gabriella Mercedes (2005 airing)

Segment 5: none (original airing); Unsolved murder of Jennifer Servo (Jan 2004 airing); brief on Joe East; full segment on unsolved murder of Jennifer Servo (Aug 2004 airing); unsolved murder of Jennifer Servo (2005 airing)

I suspect the extended Segment 2 on the original airing is why there is no fifth segment. Additionally, the original airing had John Walsh saying there'd be no show the following week and wishing viewers a Happy Thanksgiving, which was edited out of all reruns.

Originally aired: Dec. 28, 2002

Reran: Dec. 27, 2003

These episodes only have two really minor differences. Mark Samples' profile on the original episode is replaced with Derek Maddox for the rerun, while the Break-Four Tease is different (Paul Stone on the original airing, Richard Peters on the rerun). Otherwise, there are two small edits made to the rerun to remove references to the original air date of 2002; John's intro is reshot to have him say "It's our last show of 2003," while a short clip of him saying, "We're also going after our final fugitives of 2002" is cut.

I have a few more reruns to talk about (including a really bizarre choice to repeat an episode from 2000 in 2003 where many of the fugitives from the original broadcast had already been caught) but I'll share those later.