What a fantastic show Watching this show on reruns makes me miss the late 80s Primetime. Not all of it was sitcoms, and this show put other reality shows like Cops and AMW on the map. The show flourished thanks to the straightforward delivery of Robert Stack. No other host could narrate re-tellings of missing persons and alien abduction and still hold the viewer captive with intrigue. I still enjoy watching reruns of this show on Lifetime, but it certainly seems odd that even some eighteen years later, there are still some unexplained death/missing person stories that are STILL unresolved. I have often wondered if these cases have just not been updated properly since the show went into syndication. For example, every once in a while an episode will air but without it's appended update report. I would always tune in every week in hopes of some bizarre story sandwiched between a bunch of stories of missing loved ones. My favorite would have to be the episode on the Queen Mary. That whole episode was so spooky even today I get a little creeped out by the reenactment. I still get misty-eyed when I watch the lost love updates. One of the best updates on lost loves would have to be World War II story of Fritz and his mother taking in both American and German soldiers, sharing Christmas dinner in peace. That one always gets to me.
I knew the show was starting to decline in ratings when the "special correspondents" had to come on the show to deliver updates that didn't really involve them at all. Not sure where they were trying to go there, perhaps they were trying to be like America's Most Wanted. It sure seemed that way the last few years before the show got canceled. The show was in its prime in the 88-89 season. Great topics, great recreations. RIP Robert Stack, we really miss you.