I’ve never watched Unsolved Mysteries in my life, but it’s a show that I’ve heard a lot about. Matt from Dinosaur Dracula is a big fan of the show, and as such, I’ve absorbed plenty of information about the show from his websites and the Purple Stuff Podcast. Because of that, I’ve long since been interested in actually watching the show, just to see what it’s like.
Imagine my luck, then, to learn that (what seems to be) every single episode is available to watch on YouTube! For free! Time to learn about all sorts of crimes from the 80’s!
That said, 90% of my interest in the show comes from the segments that cover… less than legitimate stories. You know – aliens, hauntings, Ogopogoes. That kind of thing. The stuff that sparked my interest and imagination as a kid, but has been completely lost in the modern age. And I don’t know, maybe adults in the 90s thought Bigfoot was a stupid hoax, too, but it just seemed like back then that there was still at least a glimmer of hope that these things could be real. There’s just no room for anything fantastical in our world anymore. Thanks a lot, science.
I think that if I actually sat down to watch Unsolved Mysteries, I’d probably be somewhat bored. But it’s a really good podcast! I’ve been listening to it while I work, and it’s so easy to just let the episodes keep playing one after another. Most of the segments are about people who vanished or died under mysterious circumstances, and while the show does a good job to dramatize and make the cases seem more interesting than they are, it’s still mostly just people throwing out theories. It’s not really gripping enough to be the main focus of one’s attention, but it makes for wonderful background noise.
Probably the most interesting thing about the show is that apparently, it has helped to actually resolve a number of the cases that it covered! I don’t know exactly how it worked, like if there were updates spliced into syndicated episodes after their original air date, but it seems like every other case ends with Robert Stack telling the audience that Criminal X has been found and apprehended thanks to viewers of the show calling in with hot tips. It’s kind of wild to think about in the age of the internet, but back then, TV really was the only thing that linked people all across the continent. We’ve come a long, long way.
If you, too, would like to start your own deep dive into Unsolved Mysteries, the YouTube channel is right here. It’s even a completely official channel, so there’s no worry of the episodes being taken down once you’re waist-deep into season seven. Like I said, I don’t think it’s really interesting enough to sit down and watch, but it’s great to have on while you’re doing something else. And if you want to get right to the zany stuff, skip to episode 4, which features a segment on a ghost ship. Spooky!