Cliffhangers: Yay or Nay?

[MirrorMask]

I don't really know when the trend started (maybe with Dallas?), but it's many years that cliffhangers are a "thing" of TV series. You reach the season finale, the action gets tense and exciting, and then... FADE OUT, show's over, please come back next year or next September and meamwhile suffer!!!

Do you like cliffhangers, do they piss you off, do you consider them a cop out or you feel there's a reason for them?

I think that writers should make the audience want to come back by writing interesting and compelling stories, getting you interested in the characters, and not by going "If you want to know if your favorte character lives or dies watch the next season premiere". Some cliffhangers I don't mind - Fringe season 2 had an acceptable one, Breaking Bad season 3 had a good cliffhanger that still let you knew what went on, while the just aired cliffhanger of The X Files' revival is Chris Carter trolling for example... also True Blood had irritating cliffhangers, every season finale would resolve the main conflict in the first part, then the middle of the episode would go on meandering, and then final scene for shock value just because they "had" to stick a cliffhanger there.

So... vent your frustations at annoying cliffhangers and applaud intelligent ones here!

[BlackInk]

If I feel that they're part of a plan or serves a legit purpose then I am totally fine with them. They can retroactively disappoint me though, if it turns out they were just bait to make sure you come back to see an unsatisfactory continuation or conclusion to the current conflict. ccccc

So third option for me. Don't mind them.

[TioJorge]

Ditto to what Ink said.

[hefdaddy42]

Depends.  There have been good ones and bad ones.

Just like any other plot device.

[Calvin6s]

I'm guessing most will pick the third option, which basically amounts to "I like good things, but not bad things"

Hef has me thinking about SoA.  For the most part, that had a long arc with each season being it's own arc with a beginning middle and end to the sub arc but leaving the long arc in motion.  I like that formula.  Breaking Bad was a bit like that as well.  Having watch most of those episodes via Netflix, I can't recall how much of a cliffhanger they left at the end of each season since I didn't really have to wait in agony.

[hefdaddy42]

Hef has me thinking about SoA.  For the most part, that had a long arc with each season being it's own arc with a beginning middle and end to the sub arc but leaving the long arc in motion.  I like that formula. 

Yeah, it seemed to work really well.  Even though I could see how some the season finales could have been very hard to take at the time of broadcast, as far as really being anxious to see how the characters would respond to the situation at hand. 

[Calvin6s]

On the SoA road, you have the season finale and the series finale.  I usually don't get hung up on season finales enough to recall which ones were gold and which were annoying.  But just about any series with a planned finale is going to be controversial.

Interested in seeing what people come up with.  BTW, I had a feeling it was the X-Files that set this thread in motion.  Using X-Files, the season 6 finale Biogenesis was one of my favorites.  I can't even recall why (except the imagery).  But I do remember thinking "this show is awesome" when I watched it live.

I think it is the common fascination of thinking about aliens being connected with our distant past.  The same fascination that movies like Prometheus play upon.  It isn't about trying to think of it in a science mind, but just a playful "wouldn't that be interesting" fantasy mind.

The 70s Battlestar Galactica felt like that.  The minute I saw the pilot helmets as a young punk I thought "dude.  Those are going to eventually be the Earth's Egyptians."  Probably the first time I even thought about those paths crossing.

And keeping with the 70s, Dukes of Hazard took it to a new level with cliffhangers going into the commercial break.  There is no way they are going to get out of this one, again.  DVR commercial skip.  Oh wait. This is the 70s and I'm still young enough to possibly not realize how stupid this is.

[Randaran]

I voted for No, as I can't think of any cliffhangers that I found acceptable. If the only reason I am watching a show is to see what happens next, I'm not going to continue watching. A show should be compelling enough so that I will want to return to it in the absence of a cliffhanger. Relying on this sort of bait is lazy writing.

[Zantera]

In general I say yes. Obviously it's a "whatever is good vs whatever is bad" situation, and there's good/bad cliffhangers just as there are good/bad happy endings. I think I prefer a good cliffhanger ending over a good happy ending, because it leaves you wanting more, and when you leave the theater there's more to talk about.

[Calvin6s]

I guess posting in the X-Files and Star Wars thread, I have to ask.

The Force Awakens cliffhanger.  Good/bad?

[Zantera]

I guess posting in the X-Files and Star Wars thread, I have to ask.

The Force Awakens cliffhanger.  Good/bad?

I thought it was the perfect way to end it, even if the last helicopter shot was too drawn out.

[Kotowboy]

The Force Awakens isn't really a cliffhanger.

If it had ended just before Ren stabs solo that would have been like  are you shitting me ?




Anyway I went with cheap ploy to get people to come back. It's what I immediately thought when I saw the title.

[Calvin6s]

The Force Awakens isn't really a cliffhanger.

Actually, I kind of laugh thinking about the Ep. 8 opening conversation (assuming they don't do the standard time jump)

Luke: So you need my help
Rey: Not really.  Just returning this.
Luke:  You will need to be trained.
Rey:  Meh.  I already beat Ren's ass
Luke:  But the First Order.
Rey:  We blew their big weapon up.  And unlike the Empire, they aren't ... well, an Empire
Luke:  I should round up the old gang.
Rey:  Well, not Solo
Luke:  Do you have any questions?
Rey:  I didn't actually see this, so me asking this question doesn't make sense ... but how tall is Snoke?
Luke:  I can beat him up if you want.
Rey:  If that makes you feel better.

It is an odd *cliffhanger*

[Adami]

The only thing I hate more than cliffhangers is resolutions.

[Calvin6s]

The only thing I hate more than cliffhangers is resolutions.

All resolutions or just bad ones?

[Adami]

The only thing I hate more than cliffhangers is resolutions.

All resolutions or just bad ones?

Just the ones that don't have intended irony.

[BlobVanDam]

I voted yes, but obviously it has to not suck.

Especially being a scifi fan, I want and expect the big season finale, where the whole season arc builds to this big event that is left unresolved. Season finales are the most exciting episodes to me for that reason.

[Kotowboy]

Cliffhangers are the reason I never watch serials on tv.


I cannot be bothered waiting 6 months to a year to find out what happened.

[Shooters1221]

I voted choice #3. The only problem I have is when there is that cliffhanger at the end of a season and then the show gets cancelled!!

[Nekov]

As long as their put to a good use then yes, give me cliffhangers.

[kaos2900]

I voted #3 as well. The prime example of a bad cliff hanger is what Walking Dead with their mid-season finale.

[King Postwhore]

When I first saw The Empire Strikes Back I hated the cliffhanger because I wanted more.  Over time that is the best movie of all 7 so far.  So it's a normal response to be upset not having finality.

[FlyingBIZKIT]

Cliffhangers are usually enjoyable for me, if it's called for. Unnecessary ones just to try to reel in viewers aren't that enjoyable, and sometimes actual closure is better in certain contexts.

[Calvin6s]

When I first saw The Empire Strikes Back I hated the cliffhanger because I wanted more.  Over time that is the best movie of all 7 so far.  So it's a normal response to be upset not having finality.

That was probably the first big cliffhanger that everybody on the playground could discuss.  Every kid knew about it and every kid wanted to talk about it.  I clearly recall eating lunch on the grass with my chocolate milk going over every detail of what we knew about Luke/Vader/Obi-Wan.  And none of us walked away 100% convinced what the right answer was and what it meant if it was fact.  It doesn't matter if there are better cliffhangers, because that perfect alignment with my childhood sealed it as the greatest movie ending of all time.  Perhaps it is why I tend to like cliffhangers.  I'm searching for that new high.