Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
The original Unsolved Mysteries aired on NBC from 1988 until 1997 (and then in later iterations on CBS, Lifetime, and Spike TV. Hosted by husky-voiced actor Robert Stack, the show told real-life stories of unexplained occurrences — usually disappearances, unsolved murders, con artists who got away, sometimes (if you were lucky) the odd ghost story — via a mix of reenactments and interviews with the real-life witnesses. Other shows did this kind of thing in one way or another — America’s Most Wanted; 48 Hours — but Unsolved Mysteries set itself apart by maintaining a tone of ominous dread that permeated everything. Maybe it was Stack’s voice that set the tone and everything followed. With that dulcet timbre, Stack imparted a film noir tone that immediately put your nerves on edge. From that starting point, even the cheesiest reenactment, the blandest witness, the most obviously-the-husband-did-it case took on an air of high intrigue. This was true crime with real panache.
It was also creepy as hell, especially if you were a kid in those days. Little kids were getting kidnapped left and right, bodies were turning up dead with no explanation of how they got that way, and all the while, the low, purring voice of doom was wondering aloud whether your mother would ever be reunited with you again.
Now that Unsolved Mysteries is streaming its first-season episodes on Amazon Prime, it’s a great opportunity to revisit that feeling. And if you think that being an adult who knows better is going to keep you from being entirely unnerved by this show all over again … well, reconsider. There’s a Pavlovian fear reaction somewhere in the deep recesses of your brain, and only Robert Stack’s voice can trigger it.
Season 1 episodes ranged from unexplained deaths and disappearances to hauntings aboard the Queen Mary to prisoner escapes on Alcatraz. As a rule, the more pedestrian cases are the best, though I have such a soft spot for ghost stories. Also great? Children separated from (and subsequently reunited with) their families.
It’s worth mentioning that we’re currently in an era of true-crime programming that is very results-oriented. Rather than just examining the whys and hows of these cases, we also want the shows we watch to be taking an active hand in getting to the bottom of things. From The Jinx to Making a Murderer to the myriad JonBenet docs, we want our true-crime TV to … solve mysteries. Well, Unsolved Mysteries was doing that very thing way back in the day. “Perhaps you can help solve a mystery” was how Stack always kicked off the episodes, and improbably, so many viewers actually did. These original episodes have included the famous “UPDATE”s, where Stack would report that since the episode first aired, viewers have come forth with new information. The rare hopeful silver lining on a show that was intent on rattling every one of your nerves.
