I first started watching Unsolved Mysteries when it was on Lifetime (I know it's still on), but I never watched the show when it was originallyon NBC. Does anyone know of any segments that were on Unsolved Mysteries from when it first aired on NBC but was never shown on Lifetime?

I am not sure about NBC... but I know there are some.

Now, many CBS stories never aired... the entire era with the co-host Virginia Madsen has never been shown on Lifetime!

Actually, I think all of the segments that Virginia Madsen originally narrated were re-narrated by Robert Stack and aired during the 2001-2002 seasons.

All of the early specials hosted by Raymond Burr or Karl Malden have never aired.

There are some that have been aired on Lifetime but not in many years like the Polaroid missing kids - Tara Calico and Michael Henley Jr. - which is discussed often on here.

There was one that I got on tape in a trade that I had never seen about an author disappearing under bizarre circumstances while writing a novel about a local shop owner who disappeared under similar circumstance one-year prior.

Another one that I never saw on Lifetime that I got in a trade was an interview and session with a psychic who helps police solve murder cases.

The 90 minute Alcatraz episode was cut down to 60 minutes and the live 90 minute episode has never aired on Lifetime as far as I know.

Apparently, there are some segments (like the Polaroid one) that only aired in the 30 minute episodes and not the 60 minute ones.

Yeah, but my point was the original episodes weren't shown, since they were re-narrated(which seems like a waste of time to me)

During the 6 1999 episodes on CBS she narrated like 2 segments per episode.

Originally posted by TJ
During the 6 1999 episodes on CBS she narrated like 2 segments per episode.


I had no idea UM was on CBS. Do you mean national NETWORK TV on CBS, like it was NBC?

What were the dates or years it was on CBS and for how long?

Thanks

Yes it first aired as a special on CBS on November 13, 1997.. then they aired 6 episodes in the spring/summer of 1998 and 6 more in the spring/summer of 1999. See the episode guide link at the top of the page for the exact dates.

Originally posted by UMfan77
I first started watching Unsolved Mysteries when it was on Lifetime (I know it's still on), but I never watched the show when it was originallyon NBC. Does anyone know of any segments that were on Unsolved Mysteries from when it first aired on NBC but was never shown on Lifetime?

There is one segment that I recall seeing on NBC in early 1994 that, to my best knowledge, has never surfaced on Lifetime: the 1981 Texas murders of a woman and her young son (it's a case that I once mentioned on this message board). Unfortunately, I can't remember their names, but what I remember about the case was that the double homicide occurred in Christmas of 1981 - which happened to be the murdered boy's fifth birthday! :eek:

I wish that those "lost segments" would be shown on Liftime one of these days, I would love to watch them. Are there any other segments that were never shown on Liftime that anyone can recall watching on either, ABC or CBS?

You mean NBC... UM never aired on ABC.

Originally posted by Kane:

"There is one segment that I recall seeing on NBC in early 1994 that, to my best knowledge, has never surfaced on Lifetime: the 1981 Texas murders of a woman and her young son."

I'd love to hear more details about this particular segment if anyone has them. I vaguely remember an UM case about a woman and her young son who were murdered in an apartment complex. It seems like authorities believed the location of her apartment may have had something to do with the murders. Maybe it was close to the parking lot...or in an area where maintenance work was being done? I can't remember much more than that...just the discussion of the apartment's location.

Originally posted by UMfan77
I first started watching Unsolved Mysteries when it was on Lifetime (I know it's still on), but I never watched the show when it was originallyon NBC. Does anyone know of any segments that were on Unsolved Mysteries from when it first aired on NBC but was never shown on Lifetime?

There are a handful. Why they don't show these episodes, I'll never know. To add a few more to the list:

A 1995 story about a murdered husband and wife. Neighbors reported seeing teenagers on the property at a time when the couple should have already been dead. There was a rumor that the teens broke in, raped the wife, murdered them both, threw a party, and videotaped all of this.

A 1996 or 1997 story about internet harassment, and "Cyber Stalkers".

A 1995 piece called "Greatest Prison Escapes" (or someting similar) that was a recap of the Alcatraz story, and updates on cases involving prison escapees that UM viewers helped find.

A piece about the murder of Jon Benet Ramsey.

The Tupac Shakur and Kurt Cobain stories didn't air on Lifetime for years. They finally resurfaced as part of the "new" series.

I'm sure there are more. We should make a list. Even better, we should all check our collections and see if we have any of these episodes so we can share them with other members to ensure everyone sees them.

I personally have most of them.

Justin

I want to know why they don't air them? :mad:

Originally posted by Brent88
I want to know why they don't air them? :mad:

I've thought about this as well. In my opinion, it is most likely a form of censorship on Lifetime's part. Note that most of the stories that have not aired are the more disturbing ones (the Polaroid kids, the cyberstalkers example I brought up etc.)

We have to remember that Lifetime is "television for women". I can't help but wonder if they toned down some of the more controversial/disturbing bits for the female audience.

I don't think this is true in all cases however. There could be a licensing hangup with the Burr/Malden episodes. It could also be that they don't want to show anything pre-Stack (or maybe didn't purchase broadcast rights to those earlier shows).

You also have to remember that many cases on UM have been solved since their original broadcast. The addition of updates may cause other stories to be dropped since the show is only 1 hour long, and the original airings did not contain updates (obviously).

Presentations that were originally over an hour have either not been shown, or majorly edited down (the original Alcatraz special for example, not to mention most of the "season premiere" type episodes which were 2 hours on NBC).

Perhaps some family members have asked that their stories not be repeated.

I'm sure there are methods to Lifetime's madness.

Justin

Oh please... cenorship? You should see some of the movies they air on that channel! Very degrading to women...

Has Lifetime shown the Joyce McLain segment? I've only seen it once, when it first aired. What about the Jennifer Pratt segment? The last time I saw these I was in grade school. It would be interesting to see them again.

Yes, Lifetime has shown those. I know because I have the Joyce McLain and Jennifer Pratt segments on tape, and I have always taped from Lifetime only.

The Jenny Pratt segment was on back in the Fall before they took it off weekdays. I remember it, it was one of the first Robert Stack episodes.

Originally posted by Brent88
Oh please... cenorship? You should see some of the movies they air on that channel! Very degrading to women...


Sooner or later, censorship will be non-existent.

Even networks such as ABC, NBC, UPN, etc., are getting ridiculous.

I have seen that episode in which your talking about the psychic. Her name was Dorothy but i cant remember her last name. Anyways my dad used to work for the news here in Washington State and he got to interview her once.

I remember that psychic...her name was Dorothy Allison (I remember because that is my first name). In the segment they showed her helping to try and solve a staten island murder case of a young girl. She said she saw numbers like 777 and where the womans body was eventually found had that numbered graffettied on a wall nearby.....and there was some other weird thing, like a dog barking I think, and she was found near a car dealership that had a guard dog barking...it was a very spooky episode.

She was one of the most respected psychics I believe, but I heard she died a few years back....don't know if that helps.

I can't remember the name of the girl in the case above. There was two other cases that she worked on that they showed on the show as well from what i can recall.

Originally posted by ddelta
She was one of the most respected psychics I believe, but I heard she died a few years back....don't know if that helps.

Unfortunately, you are correct. Dorothy Allison died in December of 1999. She was 74 years old. :(

Out of curiosity, who is Jennifer Pratt and when did the segment about her air?

I think I remember being in the fifth grade when it aired, so that was its first season (1988-89).

I haven't seen it since, so my memory of the segment may not be the best. Jennifer Pratt was riding with a friend on her friend's motorcycle when someone drove up and hit Pratt in the back of her head with a board. It gave her brain damage; I remember she couldn't speak very clearly in the segment. The show interviewed kids at Pratt's high school, and they all thought they knew who did it, but no one would come forward. I don't remember where this happened.

Originally posted by duster340wdg
I have seen that episode in which your talking about the psychic. Her name was Dorothy but i cant remember her last name. Anyways my dad used to work for the news here in Washington State and he got to interview her once.

You're thinking of Dorothy Allison. The story not shown on Lifetime (that Todd mentioned) was about another different psychic. I think her name was Noreen something, though I could be mistaken. I'm too lazy to dig out my taped copy of it and check.

With that being said, Dorothy Allison was featured on Unsolved Mysteries, and the story has been re-broadcast on Lifetime.

I was not aware that Dorothy Allsion was deceased. I am sorry to hear this.

Justin

Does anyone here remember a case, which I believe is an older segment which I only saw once on Lifetime a really long time ago, about some lady named Rachael (I forget her last name). She was at some resteraunt and I remember everyone there was wearing a cowboy hat. Rachael had to go to the bathroom. As she was walking towards it, she was seen with a man following her, and then she was never seen again. Then in some prison there is this black woman who just wants to get out of prison. She says to a police officer (whom I remember was a woman with short blonde hair) that she knew what happened to Rachael. Then the next day the woman was dead in her prison cell, and the police officer never got to know where Rachael was. That part really freaked me out!!! Then someone tried to shoot the police officer as she arrived home, and all these bullets flew into her garage door, but luckily the unknown gunman missed. That's all I remember from the case. Can anyone please give me anymore information on this case? I've always been intrigued by this case since it was one of the first mysteries I ever saw, which was about three years ago!

Actually, her name was Jesslyn Rich, not Rachael and she worked at the prison. That has to be one of the most mysterious segments that Unsolved Mysteries ever aired. I have that segment on tape but I will not watch it alone as it creeps me out too much. Apparently, the black woman that was found dead in her jail cell had a broken arm and grass was found in her hair. Also, her dead body was kept in the jail cell for several days before it was removed. Whoever killed the prisoner, didn't want her to say what had happened to Jesslyn Rich. More than likely, Jesslyn is dead. At the time of Jesslyn's disappearance, there was a lot of illegal activity going on in the prison.

Originally posted by UMfan77
More than likely, Jesslyn is dead. At the time of Jesslyn's disappearance, there was a lot of illegal activity going on in the prison.

Jesslyn Rich IS dead. This was mentioned at the end of the segment. Her remains were found not long after her November 1984 disappearance. But it wasn't until 1992, eight years later, when the remains were positively identified as hers.

The female prisoner who died suspiciously in 1987 was Terry Lucas.

Thankyou guys for telling me the info. I knew some part of her name began with "R," I guess I got Rachael out of her last name Rich. I hope Lifetime airs this mystery this summer! On www.lifetimetv.com it shows that all the episodes they are going to air are the new ones. The new ones are pretty good, but I like the old ones much more because they just seem scarier, especially since they used the fuzzy cameras back then. They should have used those cameras for the new ones too!

we should all check our collections and see if we have any of these episodes so we can share them with other members to ensure everyone sees them.

hmmm, interesting.