Could it be?

It lacks all credibility and even consistency: the man rubs the rock, yet it struck with good luck that lasts for years, yet where's all the other people who have touched the rock, like the rock specialist who said it wasn't a religious rock?

UM must have been hard pressed to put that on...

Yes, there's numerous threads making fun of the rock and the fertility statue segments.

Well, here's another one.

Cheers.

I don't really remember the magic rock segment. The description sounds stupid.

I don't really remember the magic rock segment. The description sounds stupid.

Dude you don't know the magic rock? Have you been living under it? ;)

It's the rock that some kids found in the woods that had strange "markings" on it. Supposedly they showed their parents and then the whole family had a wild run of good luck. That's pretty much the story. It was a waste of time.

I've always longed to see the infamous chocolate-as-aphrodisiac episode.

The thing you have to remember about "Magic Rock" is it came very early on in the series. It was aired first on 11-23-88 the same night they aired the Kurt Sova segment.

I don't believe anything was forced on the show here. This was simply during a period where they were trying all different types of segments to see which would find audience. Most of the stuff they were airing during this period would go onto be standard UM fare (Lost Loves, Unexplained Death, Wanted, Missing Persons) but once every couple of weeks they would throw an offbeat segment in there that was noticeably different from the regular UM fare.

It just so happened that this was quite possibly the most offbeat segment aired during this time period.

PS: Speaking of experimentation, only two weeks before they aired the "Magic Rock" segment, UM featured their first "Lost Loves" segment which in itself was a departure from the norm at the time. Prior to this they had only featured "Lost Heirs" segments but on the 11/9/88 broadcast they featured the case of Janet Parker O'Regan who was looking for her biological father. Sadly the resolution to the case turned out to be a bit of a disaster and I'm not surprised that for the most part UM didn't profile these types of "Lost Loves" cases much in the future. But again, just another example of how they were experimenting with the format of the show at the time.

DarkDante, what was the disaster result to the O'Regan case? I haven't seen it.

As for the Magic Rock, I definitely don't think it's the worst. I actually enjoy it in all its corniness and feel happy for the family's fortune. I think the fertility statues one was worse, but at least funny for the reenactments and people trying to stay away from them.

[QUOTE=WishfulDreamer]DarkDante, what was the disaster result to the O'Regan case? I haven't seen it.
/QUOTE]

Janet Parker O'Regan was searching for her father. During WWII Janet's mother fell in love with James White, an American serviceman stationed in England. Shortly after Janet's mother learned she was pregnant, she became aware that James was infact already married and had a child back in the United States.

Realizing that their relationship was not going to advance beyond that point, she broke off their relationship. She decided to raise her daughter on her own and tell her that her father had died in the war.

After learning that her daughter had developed cancer at age forty, Janet's mother shared with her the knowledge that her father did not perish in the war. Janet approached UM for their help in locating her father.

In the closing portion of the segment, Robert Stack read a letter from Janet addressed to the her father's family. She basically said that she didn't want to disrupt their lives and she would be satisfied if they could only send her a photograph of her father telling them that "it's not having anything at all (of her father's) that hurts".

UM did manage to track down James White's family but they were extremely upset at the fact that the story of their father's wartime affair had been broadcast on national television. According to some follow-up research by another SO forum member, White's family threatened to sue UM. Therefore no update was ever filmed (if there ever was indeed a reunion to begin with) and the segment was never aired again beyond it's original broadcast on 11/9/88.

It took me a couple minutes to think of this segment. It was a very early segment, I believe. I don't think I've seen it in 20 years. Is it on the bad site?

It took me a couple minutes to think of this segment. It was a very early segment, I believe. I don't think I've seen it in 20 years. Is it on the bad site?

It is.

It is.

I had trouble finding it on there. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong user channels.

The Tumwater Creek Rock? I hardly think this is the "worst" segment. I thought it was pretty interesting.

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/archive/index.php/t-240690.html

This segment was on yesterday, I think. Did they shorten it or something? Because, besides the couple being given the means to start their own dress shop, I really didn't see that they were that lucky. It's not like dozens of amazing things happened to them. So they launched a successful business. Lots of people do that. Plus, the segment was really short. Did the original segment have information that got edited out later? There was nothing in this one to convince me that the rock had anything to do with this family's success.

This segment was on yesterday, I think. Did they shorten it or something? Because, besides the couple being given the means to start their own dress shop, I really didn't see that they were that lucky. It's not like dozens of amazing things happened to them. So they launched a successful business. Lots of people do that. Plus, the segment was really short. Did the original segment have information that got edited out later? There was nothing in this one to convince me that the rock had anything to do with this family's success.

They also were afforded other business opportunities as a result of the dress shop being a success. In addition to the dress shop they also opened a candy store and were put in charge of the shopping mall's theater.

In addition they came into some type of deal where they were allowed to live in a house rent free for a period of time as long as they kept up with the basic repairs maintenance.

They should do an Update just so we can see if that family is still having "good luck" due to the "magic rock" 20-some years later.

I think the fertility statues is still the worst, but I haven't seen the magic rock bit since it originally aired (I still remember it though).

Oh, and I have a magic rock. If someone is annoying you, you can bounce it off their head, and they will magically leave you alone. IT'S AMAZING! :p

They also were afforded other business opportunities as a result of the dress shop being a success. In addition to the dress shop they also opened a candy store and were put in charge of the shopping mall's theater.


I saw that part. But to me, that seems like a logical outgrowth of the success of the dress shop. If you run a successful business, it makes sense that you could use the profits to open more stores, and run them successfully. The only thing that really seems "magical" (for lack of a better word) is the fact that someone just gave them the inventory for the store. I'll admit that is out of the ordinary.

I don't remember if I saw the part about the house or not. I think I may have stopped paying attention by that point. :)

The Magic Rock segment has never been one of my all-time favorites,but I would not say it is the worst segment of all-time. My choices for worst segment all time would have to be the one dealing with the woman who supposedly could sweat gold.

I wonder how that family is doing now in 2011...anyone know?

sorry i said the same thing as Steve W. lol yeaah that would be interesting

I tried digging for info on that story online but found absolutely nothing.

Dude you don't know the magic rock? Have you been living under it? ;)

It's the rock that some kids found in the woods that had strange "markings" on it. Supposedly they showed their parents and then the whole family had a wild run of good luck. That's pretty much the story. It was a waste of time.

:lol:

Yeah it was the worst segment, enough to make you laugh & cry at the same time.

I have a little confession to make even if I end up getting flamed here because this bugs me every time it comes up. I know it's the fashion to make fun of the Magic Rock and it probably was a put-on, but at the time it meant a lot to me because I was at one of many, many, many horribly low points in my life. Low points in childhood are bad enough but once you're an adult things don't change as quickly as when you're a child, so there's not as much variety in your suffering. Also, you're expected to somehow miraculously change your own situation for the better and if you can't fix everything with little or no help whatsoever you're a major loser and not fit to associate with anyone. (That's the real belief in magic, haha.) It seemed (to a large extent, still does) that absolutely no effort whatsoever on my part helped to improve my situation in life.

(I've since learned there was a "valid" reason everything went wrong for me. The only "improvement" this made was in understanding. It didn't change crap to gold nuggets but explained why there was so much crap. At the time there seemed no reasons for anything in life whatsoever. Everything was completely and inexplicably arbitrary and I gained a good understanding of why people believe in "magic.")

Personally I wanted to believe in the rock, or things like it, to have at least some speck of hope that some outside force could act to improve my wretched existence. It's like people who see the Virgin Mary on windows, you can explain till you're blue in the face that it's just hard water stains and they refuse to see it that way. They have a reason for wanting to believe it. Please try not to be too derisive of things which mean a lot to others as they may have their own reasons for wanting to believe them.

I want to go touch this magic rock, if its means opening 41 new businesses in a month and a free home to live in I'll take it.

I thought the matchmaker ghost segment was beyond ridiculous and deserves at least as much ridicule as the magic rock segment

It has been a while since I have watched an entire hour of the old UM, but I remember that magic rock/comedy store ghost/miraculous healing segments did serve a purpose...if you have just watched two disturbing cases of missing persons/unexplained deaths, and you've just been thoroughly creeped out by a compositie sketch, a feel-good segment helps balance it out...

Worst. Segment. Ever. For me? - Chair of Death.

Personally I wanted to believe in the rock, or things like it, to have at least some speck of hope that some outside force could act to improve my wretched existence. It's like people who see the Virgin Mary on windows, you can explain till you're blue in the face that it's just hard water stains and they refuse to see it that way. They have a reason for wanting to believe it. Please try not to be too derisive of things which mean a lot to others as they may have their own reasons for wanting to believe them.
I hear ya. It might be some kind of placebo to believe in stuff that can't be explained, but my personal belief is that if you're not paying tons of money for it, it's not harming you or anyone else, and it helps you feel better, there's no harm in it. In fact, there might be some good. :)

I wouldn't say this is the worst segment...I'll still watch it if it comes on. Also, the music to this segment features what I like to call, "The magical flute of Native American mysticism," which pops up in UM segments sometimes.

The Comedy Store ghost segment music features "The tinkly piano of cheeky ghosts and con artists." Love that music.

I've said it every time this general topic comes up, and I'll keep saying it: far and away the worst segment the show ever aired was the "slave ghosts" segment. When you come down to it, all the magic rock/spooky ghost/supernatural phenomenon segments are open to significant question; no hard evidence has ever been put forward vaildating the existence of ESP or aliens or ghosts or magic, etc. But most of these segments, and I would include the magic rock in with this, are harmless fun; you either find something valuable in it, or you don't. If you don't, it's just, as Thiussat so eloquently put it, "a waste of time." No better - or, more importantly - worse than that.

But the slave ghost segment is an exception to that rule. For those who don't remember it, or haven't seen it, a family digging around out back of their house for some reason discovers that on their property there is an unmarked slave burial ground (this happened in Texas, I believe). After they make this discovery, *strange* things start happening.

And what do these ghosts do? Well, first they go stealing shoes out of the house, and creating other minor nuisances such as this. That would be one thing, but then the bombshell: these people claim that the ghosts of slaves "killed" their daughter (or daughter-in-law, I forget which). How, you ask? Well, one day, after yet another annoying intrusion from the ghost, supposedly this youngish woman (late 20s) gets the bright idea to go out back and try digging up the grave site to exorcise the ghosts or something. And what happens? She has a heart attack and dies.

Well, guess what: several hundred men every year keel over from shovelling SNOW in the northern parts of this country. Earth is a lot - a LOT - more difficult to shovel. So a woman who had not been used to exerting herself suddenly goes outside in some wild frenzy to dig up imaginary people, and lo and behold! She has a heart attack!

The only explanation is that imaginary black people killed our darling relative!

The racial overtones of this story, to me, are unmistakable: UM had profiled plenty of ghost stories over the years, and when the ghosts were presumably ghosts of white people, most of the time they were either actively friendly and helpful, and, when not, they were simply 'misunderstood."

But the minute there are "black" ghosts? They go around murdering white women of course!

I still am flabbergasted UM allowed this segment to air. It is people who were obviously publicity hounds/disturbed with grief parlaying deep-seated racial tensions into a way to get some cheap TV time, meanwhile reinforcing the basest sort of stereotyping all in the name of strictly imaginary events. Ghosts didn't kill ANYBODY; a heart attack did!

I get enraged whenever I think of this segment.

Nope sorry. Worst segment is still Aphrodisiacs. :p

But the slave ghost segment is an exception to that rule. For those who don't remember it, or haven't seen it, a family digging around out back of their house for some reason discovers that on their property there is an unmarked slave burial ground (this happened in Texas, I believe). After they make this discovery, *strange* things start happening.

It may have started as a slave burial ground but continued well after slavery. They interviewed the brother of two women buried there and showed their pictures, and they would have lived much later.

This segment sucks.

When the kid at the beginning is touching it and says "Maybe the aliens brought it here", I really want to see Devin Williams drive out of the woods in his tractor trailer truck and run it over.

Also, the music to this segment features what I like to call, "The magical flute of Native American mysticism," which pops up in UM segments sometimes.

:lol: :lol: :lol:


As for the ol' magic rock, totally not the worst segment. Aphrodisiacs for sure.

This segment sucks.

When the kid at the beginning is touching it and says "Maybe the aliens brought it here", I really want to see Devin Williams drive out of the woods in his tractor trailer truck and run it over.

Win.

is that the segment where the woman ate a cumquad fruit and it helped her sexually perform better? I personally use hot melted butter when making love to my girl

Hey its me! I am that kid in the special rock segment per Unsolved Mysteries! (Do you want my autograph?) I only charge 20.00 per sig. I carved off a section of the rock (UM failed to mention this lol). If you want a tiny piece just let we know and mail me $100. because in the long run u get more money - honey

This segment is so hilarious and hokey. Steve gets offered the position of manager of a movie theatre for $0.50 above minimum wage. He was so good that the owners of the theatre decide to sell him the theatre "for a very low price"? If he was so good, why would you sell? Sounds like the movie theatre was going out of business and tried to hook wink them. I wish someone would offer me a 5 bedroom house for 4 years for free in exchange for "minor home repairs". BUT THE WORST PART... was Steve stroking the rock! I heard that while the cameras weren't rolling that he got on his knees and started making out with the rock.

I heard that while the cameras weren't rolling that he got on his knees and started making out with the rock.

https://c.tenor.com/IVt7-zG3K5UAAAAd/russell-west-brook-whos-man-is-this.gif

I'll call back to the 11 year old post about Janet O'Regan here.

Holy crap. Didn't know about that. I probably watched the episode when it aired, but the segment didn't stick.

How about kiss my butt family of Jimmy White?

Oh, you're mad that your fathers' affair was on national TV? He fathered a child out of wedlock.. I'll give him a pass that he probably didn't abandon the child, I'd suspect he didn't know.. but.. Then again, the affair went on for a year and a half and Janet was born in 1944 and Jimmy didn't leave England until 1945, apparently.

eff this guy.. and his family, too.

I don't hate this segment. No, it is not the most engrossing of all of them, but honestly in a show with so many brutal murders and other dark depressing segments I see no harm in a lighthearted piece like this. Its a little bit of filler and some fun.

I think the directon that "true crime" shows has gone is actually a good example of what is wrong with the genre these days, this type of segment would never be made today, it would be replaced with an extra 10 minutes of detail about how someone was dismembered or whatever.

I don't hate this segment. No, it is not the most engrossing of all of them, but honestly in a show with so many brutal murders and other dark depressing segments I see no harm in a lighthearted piece like this. Its a little bit of filler and some fun.


Bingo, I think this sums up why UM is one of my favorite shows of all time. The fact that it had such wonderful variety makes it a good rewatch today.

I have a hard time watching other true crime shows as much as UM. Even Forensic Files, which is excellent, is super depressing to watch. Whereas UM did a great blend of the sad, mysterious, uplifting, etc.

This segment sucks.

When the kid at the beginning is touching it and says "Maybe the aliens brought it here", I really want to see Devin Williams drive out of the woods in his tractor trailer truck and run it over.

The terrible stilted dialogue from those kids is the funniest part for me. The lines sound so unnatural and the delivery is awful.
The worst segments for me are the ones about kids who are kidnapped and/or murdered. That is no indictment of the production value, rather that I've just never liked them. Maybe because I was a kid myself during the original run and most of the victims were/are right about my age. I fast forward through those on a regular basis.

Nah this isn't the worst, if anything i enjoyed the high pitched theme music throughout. 👍

At one time I might have viewed it as one of the worst, if not the worst segment. There's a certain novelty to it by now. You would never see anything remotely like this on TV today. I'm less forgiving of this kind of stuff in the later seasons (fertility statues and psychic pets don't have the same charm - they're just irritating filler getting in the way of the good stuff). But with the magic rock, it's back in season one when they're still playing with the format of the show, it gives it a more endearing quality. Also the family comes across as hard-working and well-intentioned enough.

I had no immediate recollection of the magic rock story but, after reading other people's recollections of it and straining my mind, I think I now have a vague recollection of it. From what I vaguely recollect (presuming it is the right segment), it was harmless enough.

I think the worst ones were the fertility statues and the psychic sweating gold.

it was based segment

it was based segment

Based and Magic Rock-pilled