Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries was an American television show, currently shown in reruns on the cable television network Lifetime. The show also has reruns on the Australian cable network Austar/Foxtel, the show was on the W channel (women channel) but has now moved to the crime and investigation channel. The show does send an important message about the type of people out in society, the music and fantastic re-enactments also frightened some. Many children were watching the program for the sensation, but in doing so they learned a lot about life changing lessons--especially about abductions. Also, for most people it was their first experience witnessing reunions of adoptees and their natural parents. Many adoptees and separated parents were inspired by the series to perform their own search, as it was nearly a taboo subject previously.
Unsolved Mysteries gave true accounts of abductions, suspicious deaths, murders, ghosts and paranormal activity, robberies and other miscellaneous unsolved cases. The home television viewer was invited to call or write if they had information concerning the cases shown. According to the show, about 40 percent of the stories shown involving fugitives generated tips leading to the capture of those individuals.
The show began as a regular series on the NBC broadcast TV network in September, 1988. In September, 1997, the show moved to the CBS broadcast network, where it was shown on a regular basis until August 1999. The show was picked up by the Lifetime cable network in July 2001 and has been carried by that network up to the present.
It was hosted by the late Hollywood star Robert Stack, a veteran of over 40 films. New episodes have not been made since 2003, when he passed away at age 84.
Six special four-disc DVD sets, were released on June 21, 2005. Each DVD had a different theme.