My first impression of UM - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Kane · 11-22-2009, 03:05 PM

When I first heard of Unsolved Mysteries, I have to admit that it didn't immediately strike me as a documentary series. Although I recall having seen a commercial or two for it in 1987 or early 1988, I wasn't completely attentive to them. So I initially thought that UM was an anthology series, a la The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Eventually, however, I realized that it was a non-fiction series. But when I first watched the show in early 1989, I was amazed by the style of it. Because of its documentary style, my impression was that UM was the type of TV show that seemed more appropriate for PBS than for a primetime network.

To any and all members of this UM forum, I am curious as to what you initially thought about the show when you first heard about it and/or first watched it.

bell83 · 11-22-2009, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kane

When I first heard of Unsolved Mysteries, I have to admit that it didn't immediately strike me as a documentary series. Although I recall having seen a commercial or two for it in 1987 or early 1988, I wasn't completely attentive to them. So I initially thought that UM was an anthology series, a la The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Eventually, however, I realized that it was a non-fiction series. But when I first watched the show in early 1989, I was amazed by the style of it. Because of its documentary style, my impression was that UM was the type of TV show that seemed more appropriate for PBS than for a primetime network.

To any and all members of this UM forum, I am curious as to what you initially thought about the show when you first heard about it and/or first watched it.

I can't remember my first reactions or thoughts, but I used to sit and watch it every week, and would usually end up scared ****less. I'd be sitting on the couch, usually taking up no more than one cushion. I would allow no part of me off that cushion, for fear that someone would reach out from under the couch and grab me.

Hey, I was a kid. LOL

Mastermind · 11-22-2009, 11:11 PM

My first impressions was that this was the scariest show I ever saw on television!!!

The first episode I saw was Omar the Arsonist episode which scarred me for weeks.

The next episode I saw was the Patricia Meehan case which scared the heck out of me with that photo of her.

Good nightmare fuel.

Apostapler · 11-23-2009, 01:30 AM

I was 8 years old and it scared the crap out of me! First episode I can remember is the haunted bunk bed...I didn't sleep much that night, but I was hooked from day one!

youngUMfan · 11-23-2009, 05:56 PM

My first episode was when I was 6 years old.... there was the one which the son went somewhere to shop and left his dad at home and then returned with his dad's skeletons or something...
Then, Gabby's chest, aka the footlocker.
Every time I sleep, I have to turn on the lights before I come into my bedroom. Then, satisfied that nothing is in my room, I turn my light off and go to sleep.

Also, although my house has the alarm, if your phone line is cut, then the alarm service becomes virtually useless.

TheEZ · 11-23-2009, 07:04 PM

I'm not exactly sure when I first saw it. I think I was 7 or 8 so that was 91, 92 and it was a rerun on Lifetime. I got sucked in by the Judith Himes segment. I didn't really get hooked on the show until a few years later and I never saw that segment again. I don't even remember anything about it but I will never forget that Judith Himes is alive and she lives in Omaha. That scared the crap out of me.

MissFit29 · 11-24-2009, 11:45 PM

I was probably about 10 or 11 when I saw my first episodes of UM. I *think* the first one I saw was Son of Sam, but I also remember seeing the Tara Calico, Liz Carmichael, and Audrey Moate episodes early on as well. I was utterly fascinated, to the point that I started telling everyone I wanted to be a detective and work for the FBI. But yes, some episodes were definitely scarier than others!

Oldschooler81 · 12-12-2009, 05:06 PM

Good question. I think I got into it pretty quickly, but the first image I ever saw was a piece of the Robert Hamrick case, where the fellow officer comes on the scene of his wrecked car and yells "Chief, chief!" Some of the first stories (which I have taped still) that stood out to me were miracle cures, Lee Young, Nick Karopolous and Angela Hammond.

This was sometime in 1993 (maybe late '92) and interestingly I almost always saw it on Lifetime instead of NBC so it was always "a little older" since they were reruns. That's another of many reasons I think the 80s still had a strong presence for at least the first half of the 90s, but that's another story.

I thought of it as suspenseful and sometimes sad, but always interesting. When the show had a makeover about 2 years later (i.e. with Keely) I did like the more lighthearted stories, but I got annoyed when they did too many of those...since I got used to it when it was more serious. The fugitive ones I liked the best 'cause I had just gotten into another show called Real Stories of the Highway Patrol then too.

burbqueen · 12-13-2009, 09:59 AM

I started watching the original as a kid and I too was scared!!! I would turn the lights on in my room and watch. The ghost stories were the worst. I would have trouble sleeping. UM still kinda freaks me out. I really got into it again when it ran on lifetime.

youngUMfan · 12-13-2009, 01:41 PM

UM is scary for me too.

justins5256 · 12-13-2009, 07:36 PM

I remember first seeing commercials for UM on NBC around 1988 or 1989. I was probably 7 or 8 years old. Even at that young age, I was intrigued by these slight glimpses of the show. I yearned to watch a full episode, but it was on past my bed time and my parents wouldn't let me stay up to watch. I remember wondering what the show was about and trying to imagine how some of the stories might play out based solely on the commercials.

I can't remember the first episode I saw. I have some early memories of the stories about missing time abductions, the two priest killings, the rock of good fortune, the Lancaster postal extortion. However, these memories are very foggy and were probably based on snippets of the show I might have seen at neighbor's or friend's houses. I vividly remember watching a summer 1990 repeat of the extended Alcatraz report while at my grandparent's home in Minnesota. I also remember watching the Ralph Probst episode that aired the following week.

I remember when Lifetime began showing repeats in the early to mid-nineties and that was when I saw segments like Son of Sam and the "Omar" arsonist for the first time.

Been hooked ever since. It's funny but as the years go on I find myself watching less and less of current television and watching more of UM. It's just more interesting. I enjoy Googling the cases and finding out if there have been updates all these years later. I find myself often wondering about the families and people profiled on UM. Just wondering how they are doing.

Jarek · 12-17-2009, 01:48 AM

You know, it seems that most of us here were kids when this show was in its prime popularity. I don't really remember getting to watch a full episode (past my bedtime)... I do remember the UFO case where the guys get abducted from their boat, the Omar arsonist, and The Wackers, but most of all... I remember the MUSIC!
I would go to bed thinking about all the scary things I just saw and having that music stuck in my head was no comfort! Plus, and I don't know if you guys remember this, but Time Life magazine was advertising their issue dedicated to aliens in the late 80's, and that commercial was like 5 straight minutes of full-screen alien depictions, one after another. It was more than 6-year-old flesh and blood could handle!

bell83 · 12-17-2009, 04:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jarek

You know, it seems that most of us here were kids when this show was in its prime popularity. I don't really remember getting to watch a full episode (past my bedtime)... I do remember the UFO case where the guys get abducted from their boat, the Omar arsonist, and The Wackers, but most of all... I remember the MUSIC!
I would go to bed thinking about all the scary things I just saw and having that music stuck in my head was no comfort! Plus, and I don't know if you guys remember this, but Time Life magazine was advertising their issue dedicated to aliens in the late 80's, and that commercial was like 5 straight minutes of full-screen alien depictions, one after another. It was more than 6-year-old flesh and blood could handle!

I totally remember that Time Life series of books.

Oldschooler81 · 12-17-2009, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jarek

You know, it seems that most of us here were kids when this show was in its prime popularity. I don't really remember getting to watch a full episode (past my bedtime)... I do remember the UFO case where the guys get abducted from their boat, the Omar arsonist, and The Wackers, but most of all... I remember the MUSIC!
I would go to bed thinking about all the scary things I just saw and having that music stuck in my head was no comfort! Plus, and I don't know if you guys remember this, but Time Life magazine was advertising their issue dedicated to aliens in the late 80's, and that commercial was like 5 straight minutes of full-screen alien depictions, one after another. It was more than 6-year-old flesh and blood could handle!

Yeah, I bet alot of people liked it, but I think it sticks with you more if you're a kid. Like it defines your tastes more so you remember it in bigger detail (that's how I am with stuff I like anyway). You're lucky though, I didn't see it until 1993 when I was either 11 or 12. Even those were the Lifetime reruns.

Don't remember that Time Life article, but I personally believe alot of the alien abductions are true, so that tends to make it scarier.

rubber4532 · 01-09-2010, 07:14 AM

I remember being fascinated by the tv spots for the very first episode. I was 12 or 13 at the time. Unfortunately I only got to see the segment about the woman who claimed she was heir to the Dodge fortune. I remember the bit where they were comparing photos of the womans family with pictures of the Dodge family. God it feels like last night! After that I watched it fairly regularly, I'll always remember taping that charlie scheel episode. I wasn't quite addicted straight away but pretty soon I was watching it religiously.

Even today, at 35, it still scares the crap out of me.

11-22-2009, 03:05 PM	#1
Kane Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Mar 07, 2001 Location: MA, United States Posts: 3,367	My first impression of UM When I first heard of Unsolved Mysteries, I have to admit that it didn't immediately strike me as a documentary series. Although I recall having seen a commercial or two for it in 1987 or early 1988, I wasn't completely attentive to them. So I initially thought that UM was an anthology series, a la The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Eventually, however, I realized that it was a non-fiction series. But when I first watched the show in early 1989, I was amazed by the style of it. Because of its documentary style, my impression was that UM was the type of TV show that seemed more appropriate for PBS than for a primetime network. To any and all members of this UM forum, I am curious as to what you initially thought about the show when you first heard about it and/or first watched it.

12-13-2009, 09:59 AM	#9
burbqueen Master of My Domain Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 11, 2009 Location: texas Posts: 160	I started watching the original as a kid and I too was scared!!! I would turn the lights on in my room and watch. The ghost stories were the worst. I would have trouble sleeping. UM still kinda freaks me out. I really got into it again when it ran on lifetime.
	__________________ Baby Huba due 06/20/10!!!!

11-22-2009, 11:11 PM	#3
Mastermind Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 16, 2008 Posts: 1,843	My first impressions was that this was the scariest show I ever saw on television!!! The first episode I saw was Omar the Arsonist episode which scarred me for weeks. The next episode I saw was the Patricia Meehan case which scared the heck out of me with that photo of her. Good nightmare fuel.

11-23-2009, 01:30 AM	#4
Apostapler Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 06, 2009 Location: Indiana Posts: 872	I was 8 years old and it scared the crap out of me! First episode I can remember is the haunted bunk bed...I didn't sleep much that night, but I was hooked from day one!

11-23-2009, 05:56 PM	#5
youngUMfan Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jun 12, 2009 Posts: 81	My first episode was when I was 6 years old.... there was the one which the son went somewhere to shop and left his dad at home and then returned with his dad's skeletons or something... Then, Gabby's chest, aka the footlocker. Every time I sleep, I have to turn on the lights before I come into my bedroom. Then, satisfied that nothing is in my room, I turn my light off and go to sleep. Also, although my house has the alarm, if your phone line is cut, then the alarm service becomes virtually useless.

11-23-2009, 07:04 PM	#6
TheEZ Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jan 23, 2009 Posts: 22	I'm not exactly sure when I first saw it. I think I was 7 or 8 so that was 91, 92 and it was a rerun on Lifetime. I got sucked in by the Judith Himes segment. I didn't really get hooked on the show until a few years later and I never saw that segment again. I don't even remember anything about it but I will never forget that Judith Himes is alive and she lives in Omaha. That scared the crap out of me.

11-24-2009, 11:45 PM	#7
MissFit29 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 09, 2009 Location: Minnesota Posts: 526	I was probably about 10 or 11 when I saw my first episodes of UM. I think the first one I saw was Son of Sam, but I also remember seeing the Tara Calico, Liz Carmichael, and Audrey Moate episodes early on as well. I was utterly fascinated, to the point that I started telling everyone I wanted to be a detective and work for the FBI. But yes, some episodes were definitely scarier than others!

12-12-2009, 05:06 PM	#8
Oldschooler81 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 03, 2009 Location: Northern CA Posts: 457	Good question. I think I got into it pretty quickly, but the first image I ever saw was a piece of the Robert Hamrick case, where the fellow officer comes on the scene of his wrecked car and yells "Chief, chief!" Some of the first stories (which I have taped still) that stood out to me were miracle cures, Lee Young, Nick Karopolous and Angela Hammond. This was sometime in 1993 (maybe late '92) and interestingly I almost always saw it on Lifetime instead of NBC so it was always "a little older" since they were reruns. That's another of many reasons I think the 80s still had a strong presence for at least the first half of the 90s, but that's another story. I thought of it as suspenseful and sometimes sad, but always interesting. When the show had a makeover about 2 years later (i.e. with Keely) I did like the more lighthearted stories, but I got annoyed when they did too many of those...since I got used to it when it was more serious. The fugitive ones I liked the best 'cause I had just gotten into another show called Real Stories of the Highway Patrol then too.

12-13-2009, 01:41 PM	#10
youngUMfan Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jun 12, 2009 Posts: 81	UM is scary for me too.

12-13-2009, 07:36 PM	#11
justins5256 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 08, 2002 Posts: 3,866	I remember first seeing commercials for UM on NBC around 1988 or 1989. I was probably 7 or 8 years old. Even at that young age, I was intrigued by these slight glimpses of the show. I yearned to watch a full episode, but it was on past my bed time and my parents wouldn't let me stay up to watch. I remember wondering what the show was about and trying to imagine how some of the stories might play out based solely on the commercials. I can't remember the first episode I saw. I have some early memories of the stories about missing time abductions, the two priest killings, the rock of good fortune, the Lancaster postal extortion. However, these memories are very foggy and were probably based on snippets of the show I might have seen at neighbor's or friend's houses. I vividly remember watching a summer 1990 repeat of the extended Alcatraz report while at my grandparent's home in Minnesota. I also remember watching the Ralph Probst episode that aired the following week. I remember when Lifetime began showing repeats in the early to mid-nineties and that was when I saw segments like Son of Sam and the "Omar" arsonist for the first time. Been hooked ever since. It's funny but as the years go on I find myself watching less and less of current television and watching more of UM. It's just more interesting. I enjoy Googling the cases and finding out if there have been updates all these years later. I find myself often wondering about the families and people profiled on UM. Just wondering how they are doing.

12-17-2009, 01:48 AM	#12
Jarek Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Dec 06, 2009 Location: US Posts: 14	You know, it seems that most of us here were kids when this show was in its prime popularity. I don't really remember getting to watch a full episode (past my bedtime)... I do remember the UFO case where the guys get abducted from their boat, the Omar arsonist, and The Wackers, but most of all... I remember the MUSIC! I would go to bed thinking about all the scary things I just saw and having that music stuck in my head was no comfort! Plus, and I don't know if you guys remember this, but Time Life magazine was advertising their issue dedicated to aliens in the late 80's, and that commercial was like 5 straight minutes of full-screen alien depictions, one after another. It was more than 6-year-old flesh and blood could handle!

01-09-2010, 07:14 AM	#15
rubber4532 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jul 26, 2009 Location: perth, australia Posts: 42	I remember being fascinated by the tv spots for the very first episode. I was 12 or 13 at the time. Unfortunately I only got to see the segment about the woman who claimed she was heir to the Dodge fortune. I remember the bit where they were comparing photos of the womans family with pictures of the Dodge family. God it feels like last night! After that I watched it fairly regularly, I'll always remember taping that charlie scheel episode. I wasn't quite addicted straight away but pretty soon I was watching it religiously. Even today, at 35, it still scares the crap out of me.