Join me.... for Unsolved Mysteries
April 24, 2017 12:24 PM Subscribe
Finally at long last, full-episodes of the classic masterpiece: Unsolved Mysteries are streaming on Amazon Prime.
Join me... perhaps you may be able to help solve a mystery!
Also relevant: follow Unsolved Mysteries People on Instagram
Also relevant: follow Unsolved Mysteries People on Instagram
Unsolved Mysteries had just enough paranormal content to draw me in as a kid and just enough unsolved home invasions and kidnappings to terrify me. It was a pretty dangerous mix.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:49 PM on April 24, 2017 [30 favorites]
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:49 PM on April 24, 2017 [30 favorites]
I was checking out Amazon Video to see if they had any info when the new episodes of The Tick would land and saw that and went full WTF?!? I understand them going into network vault for the first season of Cheers and the last season of Frasier, or Batman the Animated Series, less so for any season of 24, but that really baffles me. What's next, Rescue 911 or COPS?
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:53 PM on April 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:53 PM on April 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
where's my Sightings
posted by griphus at 12:57 PM on April 24, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by griphus at 12:57 PM on April 24, 2017 [7 favorites]
Not a very good post for anyone who didn't, though.
There is a 30 day free trial available. As with most free trials, you do need to remember to cancel it.
posted by mayonnaises at 1:05 PM on April 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
There is a 30 day free trial available. As with most free trials, you do need to remember to cancel it.
posted by mayonnaises at 1:05 PM on April 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I watched that show a lot as a kid. It gave me nightmares that took the form of an episode- Robert Stack would show up and everything.
A family friend once appeared on the show in a re-enactment. Apparently the cops got called more than a few times when he'd be out in public and people would confuse him with the real criminal.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 1:11 PM on April 24, 2017 [7 favorites]
A family friend once appeared on the show in a re-enactment. Apparently the cops got called more than a few times when he'd be out in public and people would confuse him with the real criminal.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 1:11 PM on April 24, 2017 [7 favorites]
TV Tropes page for Unsolved Mysteries.
List of solved mysteries from Unsolved Mysteries .. from the Unsolved Mysteries Wiki (because of course there is)
Mentalfloss: 27 things you probably didn't know about Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries official web page - you can still submit information if you think you have a lead.
posted by anastasiav at 1:11 PM on April 24, 2017 [7 favorites]
List of solved mysteries from Unsolved Mysteries .. from the Unsolved Mysteries Wiki (because of course there is)
Mentalfloss: 27 things you probably didn't know about Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries official web page - you can still submit information if you think you have a lead.
posted by anastasiav at 1:11 PM on April 24, 2017 [7 favorites]
I watched that show a lot as a kid. It gave me nightmares that took the form of an episode- Robert Stack would show up and everything.
This legitimately sounds like the scariest thing I could imagine. I've had sleep paralysis I'd pick over hearing that music in a nightmare.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 1:18 PM on April 24, 2017 [7 favorites]
This legitimately sounds like the scariest thing I could imagine. I've had sleep paralysis I'd pick over hearing that music in a nightmare.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 1:18 PM on April 24, 2017 [7 favorites]
That Instagram account is a TREASURE
posted by roger ackroyd at 1:22 PM on April 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by roger ackroyd at 1:22 PM on April 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
where's my Sightings
I lived in a suburb of Cleveland when the host from Sightings became an anchor for a local news station. I enjoyed Sightings a lot, but Tim White's no Robert Stack.
The creators of Unsolved Mysteries recently did an Ask Me Anything on the Unresolved Mysteries subreddit.
posted by audi alteram partem at 1:24 PM on April 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I lived in a suburb of Cleveland when the host from Sightings became an anchor for a local news station. I enjoyed Sightings a lot, but Tim White's no Robert Stack.
The creators of Unsolved Mysteries recently did an Ask Me Anything on the Unresolved Mysteries subreddit.
posted by audi alteram partem at 1:24 PM on April 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I love Stack's delivery on, "UPDATE."
posted by Chrysostom at 1:26 PM on April 24, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 1:26 PM on April 24, 2017 [5 favorites]
I've had sleep paralysis I'd pick over hearing that music in a nightmare.
The Unsolved Mysteries theme is one of the most played songs in our household. The only reason it's not my ringtone right now is that I have never had my phone off vibrate or silent. Sometimes when I show up at a certain friend's house, I play it through her mail slot instead of ringing the doorbell either that or the hockey night in canada theme. It's a wonderful piece of music.
posted by everybody had matching towels at 1:28 PM on April 24, 2017 [13 favorites]
The Unsolved Mysteries theme is one of the most played songs in our household. The only reason it's not my ringtone right now is that I have never had my phone off vibrate or silent. Sometimes when I show up at a certain friend's house, I play it through her mail slot instead of ringing the doorbell either that or the hockey night in canada theme. It's a wonderful piece of music.
posted by everybody had matching towels at 1:28 PM on April 24, 2017 [13 favorites]
I enjoyed Sightings a lot, but Tim White's no Robert Stack.
I wrote my 6th grade "My Hero" report on Tim White.
posted by griphus at 1:29 PM on April 24, 2017 [6 favorites]
I wrote my 6th grade "My Hero" report on Tim White.
posted by griphus at 1:29 PM on April 24, 2017 [6 favorites]
If Netflix licensed Time-Life Books's commercials for Mysteries of the Unknown and Hulu licensed old episodes of America's Most Wanted, I'd never sleep again.
posted by infinitewindow at 1:37 PM on April 24, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by infinitewindow at 1:37 PM on April 24, 2017 [5 favorites]
Thing is you used to be able to get "best of" or compilation DVDs of Unsolved Mysteries but they were never as Good as the real thing, which was the grab-bag of horror the original show was! I don't want ALL UFO SIGHTINGS, I want a little bit of UFOs, bizarre murders, ghosts with a twist of urban legends, thanks.
posted by Dressed to Kill at 1:41 PM on April 24, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Dressed to Kill at 1:41 PM on April 24, 2017 [5 favorites]
In 8th grade or so, we used to prank call Unsolved Mysteries. 1-800-876-5353. We'd go to the payphone at our school, call the number, and shout "I HAVE AN UNSOLVED MYSTERY" and hang up. That was the entire joke. We'd fall down laughing.
posted by millipede at 1:45 PM on April 24, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by millipede at 1:45 PM on April 24, 2017 [11 favorites]
Crikey, why didn't Amazon do all this neat Prime Video stuff back when I could afford Prime (and Amazon)?
posted by Samizdata at 1:50 PM on April 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Samizdata at 1:50 PM on April 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
True story: As a small girl, I memorized the Unsolved Mysteries phone number (1-800...876, 53, 53) before I memorized my home phone number.
My mother was not amused.
posted by samthemander at 1:52 PM on April 24, 2017 [10 favorites]
My mother was not amused.
posted by samthemander at 1:52 PM on April 24, 2017 [10 favorites]
That's the gig that got me my DGA card!
posted by Ideefixe at 2:06 PM on April 24, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by Ideefixe at 2:06 PM on April 24, 2017 [9 favorites]
Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark are probably high-fiving right now.
posted by pxe2000 at 2:08 PM on April 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by pxe2000 at 2:08 PM on April 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
Oh Unsolved Mysteries, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways:
1. Grab-bag variety of mystery: paranormal, extraterrestrials, bizarre murders, missing people. Despite the subject matter, each topic was treated with a completely unironic gravity.
2. Robert Stack was both reassuringly unflappable and terrifyingly ominous. He was the perfect mix of spooky and authoritative. Petrifying and paternal.
3. The people who were interviewed looked like people I could know. They had terrible (or wonderful) hair, K-Mart clothes and were interviewed in homes that looked like mine.
4. The UPDATES were the best! You could watch a particularly disturbing missing persons case that would end with a dark cloud... and then BOOM: UPDATE SO-AND-SO WAS ARRESTED IN LONDON, ONTARIO ETC.
I never wanted or cared for Amazon Prime, and I signed up for the free trial and fully intend to burn through these before paying a cent.
Cancel all my appointments.
posted by Dressed to Kill at 2:12 PM on April 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
1. Grab-bag variety of mystery: paranormal, extraterrestrials, bizarre murders, missing people. Despite the subject matter, each topic was treated with a completely unironic gravity.
2. Robert Stack was both reassuringly unflappable and terrifyingly ominous. He was the perfect mix of spooky and authoritative. Petrifying and paternal.
3. The people who were interviewed looked like people I could know. They had terrible (or wonderful) hair, K-Mart clothes and were interviewed in homes that looked like mine.
4. The UPDATES were the best! You could watch a particularly disturbing missing persons case that would end with a dark cloud... and then BOOM: UPDATE SO-AND-SO WAS ARRESTED IN LONDON, ONTARIO ETC.
I never wanted or cared for Amazon Prime, and I signed up for the free trial and fully intend to burn through these before paying a cent.
Cancel all my appointments.
posted by Dressed to Kill at 2:12 PM on April 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
meh, wake me when they get "in search of"
posted by entropicamericana at 2:52 PM on April 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by entropicamericana at 2:52 PM on April 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
Oh you sweet innocent children, you're just finding this out?
I keep running out of episodes to watch! I start watching the Farina episodes in an attempt to get the same effect! It doesn't work!
Okay - creepiest shit you've seen on the show:
Me? It's the ghost in the hotel where there's a random head sitting on a shelf. And I don't know how they managed to get that head looking quite so dead, but goddamn that is still creepy.
Also, the Queen Mary. Which is probably where I first found out about the ghost stories surrounding that rotting old boat that I kept on visiting on school trips. And, from then on, I would get scared in the engine room all the goddamned time.
posted by Katemonkey at 3:04 PM on April 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
I keep running out of episodes to watch! I start watching the Farina episodes in an attempt to get the same effect! It doesn't work!
Okay - creepiest shit you've seen on the show:
Me? It's the ghost in the hotel where there's a random head sitting on a shelf. And I don't know how they managed to get that head looking quite so dead, but goddamn that is still creepy.
Also, the Queen Mary. Which is probably where I first found out about the ghost stories surrounding that rotting old boat that I kept on visiting on school trips. And, from then on, I would get scared in the engine room all the goddamned time.
posted by Katemonkey at 3:04 PM on April 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
"BOOM: UPDATE SO-AND-SO WAS ARRESTED IN LONDON, ONTARIO ETC."
Aside from the UFOs, this was the part that scared me the most. All of the criminals seemed to head up here. Sometimes they'd catch them, and sometimes...
posted by Kevin Street at 3:24 PM on April 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
Aside from the UFOs, this was the part that scared me the most. All of the criminals seemed to head up here. Sometimes they'd catch them, and sometimes...
posted by Kevin Street at 3:24 PM on April 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
I was trying to remember the Unsolved Mysteries theme, but kept getting the X-Files intro stuck in my head instead. And then I listened to the actual theme and realized why that was.
posted by redsparkler at 3:30 PM on April 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by redsparkler at 3:30 PM on April 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Unsolved Mysteries -> X-Files -> Fringe
At least for the intros and musical themes.
posted by Kevin Street at 3:32 PM on April 24, 2017
At least for the intros and musical themes.
posted by Kevin Street at 3:32 PM on April 24, 2017
That Instagram account is a TREASURE
You weren't kidding!
posted by jason_steakums at 3:39 PM on April 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
You weren't kidding!
posted by jason_steakums at 3:39 PM on April 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
All of the criminals seemed to head up here. Sometimes they'd catch them, and sometimes...
Quite horrifically, H.H. Holmes was probably a pioneer in that respect.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:51 PM on April 24, 2017
Quite horrifically, H.H. Holmes was probably a pioneer in that respect.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:51 PM on April 24, 2017
Later, when the show was revived, Dennis Farina took over hosting duties.
"Hey, I'm Dennis Farina, let's fuckin' solve somma these goddamned unsolved fuckin' mysteries already."
[Spooky fuckin' music]
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 4:08 PM on April 24, 2017 [12 favorites]
"Hey, I'm Dennis Farina, let's fuckin' solve somma these goddamned unsolved fuckin' mysteries already."
[Spooky fuckin' music]
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 4:08 PM on April 24, 2017 [12 favorites]
The Trail Went Cold is a podcast by a huuuuuge Unsolved Mysteries fan, Robin Warder. Warder often covers stories that were one Unsolved Mysteries.
posted by LindsayIrene at 4:46 PM on April 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by LindsayIrene at 4:46 PM on April 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
I loved UM. There was one mystery where I had gotten the impression that the UM crew had interviews with the people behind the disappearance. (A woman and two others went missing supposedly in a Walmart parking lot. She had been dropped off there by her mother-in-law who openly hated her) It turns out they ended up solving that one a few years ago, and my hunch was mostly right.
posted by drezdn at 6:14 PM on April 24, 2017
posted by drezdn at 6:14 PM on April 24, 2017
aaaand now I have a new ringtone; I fully look forward to being creeped the fuck out everytime someone calls me.
posted by mannequito at 6:16 PM on April 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by mannequito at 6:16 PM on April 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I loved UM. There was one mystery where I had gotten the impression that the UM crew had interviews with the people behind the disappearance. (A woman and two others went missing supposedly in a Walmart parking lot. She had been dropped off there by her mother-in-law who openly hated her) It turns out they ended up solving that one a few years ago, and my hunch was mostly right.
Oh COME ON! You can't get me worked up with that foreplay and then leave me hanging! MORE INFO ALREADY!
posted by Samizdata at 6:37 PM on April 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
Oh COME ON! You can't get me worked up with that foreplay and then leave me hanging! MORE INFO ALREADY!
posted by Samizdata at 6:37 PM on April 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
I saw this post before supper with my 10-year-old daughter and told her about the show.
"It's called Unsolved Mysteries."
"I'm in."
"It tells true crime stories--"
"Five stars!"
"plus paranormal stories about ghosts and UFOs."
"A million stars! Let's go watch it!"
posted by Pater Aletheias at 6:51 PM on April 24, 2017 [16 favorites]
"It's called Unsolved Mysteries."
"I'm in."
"It tells true crime stories--"
"Five stars!"
"plus paranormal stories about ghosts and UFOs."
"A million stars! Let's go watch it!"
posted by Pater Aletheias at 6:51 PM on April 24, 2017 [16 favorites]
1(800)876-5353. I've remembered that number for probably 30 years. It's been disconnected about half that long, and I still call it every once in a while to see what it might become. It's still disconnected.
posted by The Potate at 8:07 PM on April 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by The Potate at 8:07 PM on April 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
YES YES YES
Oh man, I love this show. I can't wait to binge watch all of it.
And then spend the next 6 months too terrified to sleep.
But no regrets. It will be worth it.
posted by litera scripta manet at 9:17 PM on April 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
Oh man, I love this show. I can't wait to binge watch all of it.
And then spend the next 6 months too terrified to sleep.
But no regrets. It will be worth it.
posted by litera scripta manet at 9:17 PM on April 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
I called in once because I saw a guy at the mall that looked like someone that was wanted.
They asked to speak to my parents.
posted by k8t at 5:58 AM on April 25, 2017
They asked to speak to my parents.
posted by k8t at 5:58 AM on April 25, 2017
Can anyone find the weird purple graphic they used for updates?
posted by k8t at 5:59 AM on April 25, 2017
posted by k8t at 5:59 AM on April 25, 2017
So I'm flipping through that Instagram, which is easily best of the Internet ever, and I see some photos of gentlemen labeled "Season 1 Mustache Contest" followed by the Knight brothers from New Kids On the Block. My question is... WTF? And can some please explain because this is perhaps the greatest unsolved mystery evar. Thank you.
posted by Ashwagandha at 7:31 AM on April 25, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Ashwagandha at 7:31 AM on April 25, 2017 [5 favorites]
They realized...the mystery was inside them, all along.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:38 AM on April 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:38 AM on April 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
Any consensus as to the best two or three episodes so I can try and hook my daughter?
posted by Rock Steady at 11:16 AM on April 25, 2017
posted by Rock Steady at 11:16 AM on April 25, 2017
Rock Steady, The Queen Mary episode is a classic one!
posted by Dressed to Kill at 11:28 AM on April 25, 2017
posted by Dressed to Kill at 11:28 AM on April 25, 2017
This is the case I was talking about.
Cheers, fellow Bluevian!
posted by Samizdata at 11:37 AM on April 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
Cheers, fellow Bluevian!
posted by Samizdata at 11:37 AM on April 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
Nope. NOPE. It's only been about 5 years or so since I've finally forgotten the theme music to the point my brain can no longer scare the shit out of me by randomly playing it from memory. It was one of my mother and grandparent's favorite shows when I was growing up, and I have a Pavlovian fear response to that damn music.
posted by sharp pointy objects at 11:54 AM on April 25, 2017
posted by sharp pointy objects at 11:54 AM on April 25, 2017
My favorite solved mystery involved the chef at one of my favorite restaurants in Phoenix.
Moises Treves was working at a taco stand in Cozumel, Mexico. One of his favorite customers, a woman named Judy, asked him if he'd ever want to open his own restaurant. He told her he did, but didn't have the money, and Judy replied "Such is life." Shortly before she returned to the U.S., Judy gave him an envelope and told him not to open it until she left.
When he did open the envelope, Moises was stunned to find five $100 bills and a letter that said, "Dear Moises. Go make 'Such is Life' happen. Love Judy," and within a month, Moises did just that, opening a small restaurant in Cozumel, which, of course, he named "Such is Life". Moises eagerly waited for Judy's next trip back to the island to see the restaurant, but he never saw her again. Twenty years later, Moises is a successful chef in the United States with two award-winning restaurants in Arizona, both named, "Such is Life".
Three days after the show aired, Moises was reunited with Judy at his restaurant.
Sadly, Moises passed away in 2014, but I'm really glad the show gave him a chance to thank her for her gift.
I don't have the stomach for crime re-enactment shows at the moment, but I would totally watch a show that was all about nice people wanting to find and thank the nice people who helped them.
posted by creepygirl at 1:00 PM on April 25, 2017 [6 favorites]
Moises Treves was working at a taco stand in Cozumel, Mexico. One of his favorite customers, a woman named Judy, asked him if he'd ever want to open his own restaurant. He told her he did, but didn't have the money, and Judy replied "Such is life." Shortly before she returned to the U.S., Judy gave him an envelope and told him not to open it until she left.
When he did open the envelope, Moises was stunned to find five $100 bills and a letter that said, "Dear Moises. Go make 'Such is Life' happen. Love Judy," and within a month, Moises did just that, opening a small restaurant in Cozumel, which, of course, he named "Such is Life". Moises eagerly waited for Judy's next trip back to the island to see the restaurant, but he never saw her again. Twenty years later, Moises is a successful chef in the United States with two award-winning restaurants in Arizona, both named, "Such is Life".
Three days after the show aired, Moises was reunited with Judy at his restaurant.
Sadly, Moises passed away in 2014, but I'm really glad the show gave him a chance to thank her for her gift.
I don't have the stomach for crime re-enactment shows at the moment, but I would totally watch a show that was all about nice people wanting to find and thank the nice people who helped them.
posted by creepygirl at 1:00 PM on April 25, 2017 [6 favorites]
meh, wake me when they get "in search of"
Which, despite my unwavering love for Mr Nimoy, usually involved him saying "Is it possible that...(something absurd)" and me saying "NO!"
God I loved Unsolved Mysteries. Even when it was on in broad daylight it was creepy.
posted by biscotti at 2:29 PM on April 25, 2017
Which, despite my unwavering love for Mr Nimoy, usually involved him saying "Is it possible that...(something absurd)" and me saying "NO!"
God I loved Unsolved Mysteries. Even when it was on in broad daylight it was creepy.
posted by biscotti at 2:29 PM on April 25, 2017
YES! I may sign up for Prime to watch these.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 10:12 AM on April 26, 2017
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 10:12 AM on April 26, 2017
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posted by Automocar at 12:46 PM on April 24, 2017 [2 favorites]