My Own Worst Enemy--Ended with no resolution

[Frylock]

The show My Own Worst Enemy aired its last episode today. It only ran for 9 episodes, and the final episode was a cliff-hanger the resolution of which we'll never see.

I didn't think it was that great of a show, but it was okay, and I would have liked to see how the writers wanted to end it.

Anyway, what other shows in the past have ended like this, with no resolution? I remember one from many years ago called "Nowhere Man," about a photographer who discovered one day that no one knew him anymore--not even his erstwhile wife--and some sort of mysterious organization was now out to get him. To this day I wonder where they were going with that show.

I'm sure there have been plenty of shows fitting this description.

-FrL-

[LurkMeister]

The most recent that I'm aware of is Las Vegas, which ended its fifth season with a cliffhanger and a number of unresolved story lines. I have heard rumors that TNT (which is running the show in syndication) and NBC are in negotiations to for TNT to pick up the seriers and air new episodes, but I'll believe it when I see it.

[DrFidelius]

The castaways never did get off the island, despite everything the Professor tried...

[GuanoLad]

I liked My Own Worst Enemy, even though it was hard to see where they were taking it and it got a little repetitious for a while.

[Baldwin]

ABC treated Day Break like that; I think they aired maybe seven of twelve episodes filmed. I got a box set of the 12 episodes, which make a complete story but leave room for continuation; well worth watching.

I was curious about what direction they were taking My Own Worst Enemy; last week (the hostage rescue episode) it seemed like they were trying to get us to forget how evil the fictional government agency involved is.

[RealityChuck]

Pushing Daisies.

It's pretty common; the networks don't care that story lines aren't complete.

[Frylock]

Originally Posted by Baldwin

ABC treated Day Break like that; I think they aired maybe seven of twelve episodes filmed. I got a box set of the 12 episodes, which make a complete story but leave room for continuation; well worth watching.

Hey thanks for the headsup about the boxed set there. I caught a few episodes of that show and thought it was pretty decent.

-FrL-

[Lanzy]

Spoil the ending in the title much? Damn.

[Frylock]

Originally Posted by Lanzy

Spoil the ending in the title much? Damn.

??

In fact I did briefly think about this while writing the thread title, but I decided (I now see incorrectly! )no one was likely to call it a "spoiler" when you tell them a story literally fails to have an ending.

A spoiler is something that reveals the plot of a work. Saying the work remains unfinished tells you nothing about its plot. It is hard for me to imagine someone for whom the drama of a show consists even in part in the question "will this show finish out its run or not?" Granted, that can be part of an external drama about the show, but it's not part of the drama of the show. And I take "spoiler" to be a term applying to matters concerning the drama of the show.

-FrL-

[kunilou]

One of the classic examples of this was the sitcom Soap. Unlike most sitcoms in the 70s, it had arcs and continuing story lines a plenty. In the final episode...

One character (a suicidal Chester) walks in on his second wife and his nephew (who's really his son), catching them in bed, and prepares to kill them both. Another character (Burt) is about to walk into an ambush set up by his political enemies, and a third (Jessica) is in front of a firing squad in a third-world country.

Two years later, in the spin-off Benson Jessica appeared in a dream and announced that she had, indeed, been executed. Nothing about the other cliffhangers.

[cochrane]

Originally Posted by kunilou

One of the classic examples of this was the sitcom Soap. Unlike most sitcoms in the 70s, it had arcs and continuing story lines a plenty. In the final episode...

One character (a suicidal Chester) walks in on his second wife and his nephew (who's really his son), catching them in bed, and prepares to kill them both. Another character (Burt) is about to walk into an ambush set up by his political enemies, and a third (Jessica) is in front of a firing squad in a third-world country.

Two years later, in the spin-off Benson Jessica appeared in a dream and announced that she had, indeed, been executed. Nothing about the other cliffhangers.

Well, not a dream, exactly. She appeared as an apparition that only Benson could see and hear. And she mentioned that she was in a coma and the Tates were seeking to have her declared legally dead.

In 1990, the Fox adaptation of Alien Nation ended its one and only season with a cliffhanger. While the producers clearly expected the series to be renewed, a budget crunch at the network led to its cancellation. In 1994, the cliffhanger was finally resolved in a TV movie, Dark Horizon, which was followed by four more Alien Nation tele-flicks.

[OpalCat]

Oh man... I totally forgot about that show! (Soap) Is it on DVD? I liked that show...

Anyway my nomination is "Reunion" from a few years ago. I still wonder where they were going with that one. I liked the '80s music soundtrack, too.

[N9IWP]

John Doe

IIRC It did get a complete season - it just left things open for the imaginary second season (though from what I heard the planned resolutions were pretty lame)

How about Tru Calling?

Brian

[cochrane]

Originally Posted by OpalCat

Oh man... I totally forgot about that show! (Soap) Is it on DVD? I liked that show...

All 4 seasons are on DVD.

[OpalCat]

Originally Posted by cochrane

All 4 seasons are on DVD.

*skitters off to NetFlix*

[OpalCat]

I don't know that it really had a cliffhanger ending, but I was really getting into "Journeyman" and wanting to know where they were taking it. Damn.

[Bricker]

Originally Posted by DrFidelius

The castaways never did get off the island, despite everything the Professor tried...

In 1978, they do, thanks to a large tidal wave. And it was the Professor that realized the wave was coming and lashed all the huts together, making a floating liferaft. The group is rescued by the Coast Guard.

[emmaliminal]

Of course there's Firefly. The movie didn't help much.

[Eats_Crayons]

I thought Nowhere Man did have an ending but they weren't able to clean up all of the loose ends.

[JSexton]

I'm still wondering how Drive was supposed to end the season. Would it kill the writers to post an outline somewhere?

[Baldwin]

Originally Posted by N9IWP

How about Tru Calling?

Brian

Good example. It was really getting interesting just as it ended.

[medstar]

Yeah, I saved about 7 episodes on my DVR. I was hoping that maybe the Sci-Fi channel would like to take over MOWE, but that'd be a longshot, wouldn't it? Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

[Simplicio]

Earth2 ended not only without resolution but on a season cliff hanger.

[Kythereia]

Didn't Dark Angel end on something of a cliffhanger, or am I misremembering?

[RealityChuck]

Twin Peaks. The final episode was supposed to be a season cliffhanger, but the show ended at that point.

[Bryan Ekers]

WKRP, natch.

[OpalCat]

I thought the last episode of Twin Peaks was a temper tantrum because the series was canceled?

[Nobody]

I'll add Dead like me and Odyssey 5 to the list.

[foolsguinea]

I watch a lot of these shows. Smith, with Ray Liotta, Simon Baker, & Jonny Lee Miller as a band of thieves, was cancelled mid-arc. I think last year Journeyman was tossed mid-first season as well.

Sometimes you can see the rest of the series online. That's how I finished Day Break a while back.

[Strider]

Two from this year I can think of quickly...

New Amsterdam about an immortal guy who has been alive for hundreds of years and can not die because he has a curse on him. The only way to break the curse is to find true love. Kinda corny plot but I liked the transitions from old to new world and the cinematography was pretty good.

Breaking Bad about a high school chemistry teacher who finds out he has cancer and starts to make and sell meth to help pay his bills and support his family. This is a copy cat of the Showtime series Weeds but much edgier and darker.

Both of these ended without a real conclusion and open plot lines. I guess they just weren't doing good enough and the networks pulled them.

=(

-n

[singular1]

Originally Posted by Strider

Breaking Bad about a high school chemistry teacher who finds out he has cancer and starts to make and sell meth to help pay his bills and support his family. This is a copy cat of the Showtime series Weeds but much edgier and darker.

Back in May they announced there would be a second season. I couldn't find a more recent reference, though. I certainly hope it's still true.

[Justin_Bailey]

Originally Posted by Kythereia

Didn't Dark Angel end on something of a cliffhanger, or am I misremembering?

Sort of, but it really depends on how you define cliffhanger. They never explain exactly what Manticore and the breeding cult were doing, but the show ends with the world discovering the existance of the "freaks" and was a pretty satisfying ending.

[ladybug]

Originally Posted by JSexton

I'm still wondering how Drive was supposed to end the season. Would it kill the writers to post an outline somewhere?

Seconded. Were the fifth and sixth episodes ever shown? They were supposed to run on July 4, 2007, but I believe they were replaced by a movie at the last minute.

[Baker]

There was a show in the late 80's or early 90's called Golden Years. Stephen King was the writer I think, and it was about an elderly janitor that started growing younger after being caught in a lab explosion. It just seemed to stop.

[Elendil's Heir]

Originally Posted by OpalCat

I thought the last episode of Twin Peaks was a temper tantrum because the series was canceled?

There was no last episode and Agent Cooper could never be taken over by BOB and actually be evil lalalalalalalala!!!!!!!

:: sticks fingers in ears ::

[friedo]

Originally Posted by N9IWP

John Doe

IIRC It did get a complete season - it just left things open for the imaginary second season (though from what I heard the planned resolutions were pretty lame)

John, don't you understand? You are the Phoenix! :: die ::

John Doe was rad. I just started watching it again on Hulu. Unfortunately there is a (huge!) cliffhanger at the end of the last episode, but it's worth the ride anyway.

Originally Posted by Strider

Breaking Bad about a high school chemistry teacher who finds out he has cancer and starts to make and sell meth to help pay his bills and support his family. This is a copy cat of the Showtime series Weeds but much edgier and darker.

Breaking Bad is coming back in March. The first season was abbreviated due to the writer's strike, but the second will have a full run.

[DrDeth]

The Pretender.

Joan of Arcadia.

This is why I won't watch anymore "mystery" shows, where big secrets are being with-held from the viewers. Lost is the last one. I am not bothering with Life on Mars, I did get sucked into that one about the reporter in SF that kept being sucked back in the past, but that was the last straw.

I mean, honestly- the show is canceled, it's dead, dead dead. So why not just give a interview and let your loyal viewers know what the Big Mysteries were?

That's why I think the dudes who did John Doe suck ass.

But Dead Like Me did answer most of the Big Questions, even though it didn't really reach a conclusion.

Wonderfalls is a possible inclusion to the list.

[Justin_Bailey]

Originally Posted by DrDeth

I mean, honestly- the show is canceled, it's dead, dead dead. So why not just give a interview and let your loyal viewers know what the Big Mysteries were?

That's why I think the dudes who did John Doe suck ass.

Why? They did exactly what you asked and gave an interview to let loyal viewers know what the big secrets were. Of course, those secrets blew and would never have been a big enough payoff if the show had ran for years and years. But that's besides the point...

Originally Posted by DrDeth

Wonderfalls is a possible inclusion to the list.

No it's not. When the producers found out what timeslot they were getting, they went about telling a season long complete story. All of the episodes didn't air, but when they got to DVD there was a resolution.

[DrDeth]

Originally Posted by Justin_Bailey

Why? They did exactly what you asked and gave an interview to let loyal viewers know what the big secrets were. Of course, those secrets blew and would never have been a big enough payoff if the show had ran for years and years. But that's besides the point...



No it's not. When the producers found out what timeslot they were getting, they went about telling a season long complete story. All of the episodes didn't air, but when they got to DVD there was a resolution.

Ok, yes, they did for John Doe, but the answer sucked ass so badly my mind blanked it out. You're right though.

Like I said "possible"- but if you think it has a complete resolution- what was the force behind the talking plastic animals? God? Big JuJu? Jaye was nutso?

[TheVioletCreep]

John From Cincinnati - fantastic show (a little off the wall and sort of hard to grasp right away) but, canceled, without development, just when it was getting more solid and getting somewhere. >.<

[TheVioletCreep]

Deadwood too... HBO sucks.

[Happy Lendervedder]

Originally Posted by Baker

There was a show in the late 80's or early 90's called Golden Years. Stephen King was the writer I think, and it was about an elderly janitor that started growing younger after being caught in a lab explosion. It just seemed to stop.

This is the one I came in to mention. My mom and I really got into it and then it just stopped. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Years_(TV_series)

[OpalCat]

Originally Posted by DrDeth

I did get sucked into that one about the reporter in SF that kept being sucked back in the past, but that was the last straw.

Yeah of the recent ones, Journeyman was the one that pissed me off the most

[Dewey Finn]

ABC had a conspiracy series called Traveler that ended without explaining everything, although I think the Wikipedia article on the show linked to an explanation by the writer.

And on the other hand, the NBC series Kidnapped (starring Timothy Hutton and Jeremy Sisto) ended abruptly but they put the remaining episodes on the website, and they did a good job of wrapping up the storyline and explaining why the kidnapping occurred.