Unsolved Mysteries

<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

bogetcoorle

Unsolved Mysteries was a weekly hour-long TV series that investigated various mysteries in a documentary style. The popular (and often creepy) series featured a host (Robert Stack) introducing and narrating stories of various real-life mysteries and strange legends that were told through dramatic reenactments and interviews. The long-running show, which aired in prime time, usually featured three or four stories per episode. The show was so popular that it inspired many network and syndicated imitations.

The show began as a single special that aired on NBC on January 20, 1987. That special featured Raymond Burr as the host, and it presented four real-life mysteries. The special was successful, and six more specials were produced and aired during 1987 and early 1988. The first two of those specials were hosted by Karl Malden, and the rest were hosted by Robert Stack. Those specials were also successful in the ratings, and led to the weekly series, which began airing in September 1988. While the series mainly dealt with unsolved crimes (such as murders, missing persons, and robberies), the show did feature many paranormal mysteries and legends. Stories of UFOs, ghosts, and mysterious creatures, such as Bigfoot, were often explored. An 800 number was provided for viewers who had information about the mysteries. The show was responsible for many reunions, captured fugitives, and cases solved.

The show aired on NBC until September 1997. Two months after its cancellation from NBC, CBS aired a new special, which was successful enough to bring the show back for two short runs in the spring and summer of 1998 and 1999. In 1999, Virginia Madsen was added as Stack's co-host. The CBS run ended in August 1999. The Lifetime cable channel aired repeats for several years. In 2001 and 2002, Lifetime produced dozens of new stories and updates of old stories and mixed those in with the repeats. Robert Stack returned to do new introductions for these segments. Several DVD collections have been released since 2004, including Unsolved Mysteries: UFOs, Unsolved Mysteries: Ghosts, Unsolved Mysteries: Psychics, and Unsolved Mysteries: Strange Legends, among others.

The air dates for the weekly series were as follows:

NBC: September 1988–September 1997;
CBS: April–May 1998; July–August 1998; April–August 1999.

See also