# Most extreme unresolved cliffhangers in episodic shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 9, 2016, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418 "2016-09-09T10:46:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418/1 "2016-09-09T10:46:58Z")
Shows that are designed to have a “reset button” so that the viewer can pretty much watch any episode in any order without being confused every so often end an episode on an apparently unresolvable cliffhanger, which is completely forgotten about by the next episode. What are the biggest situations that just disappeared by the next episode? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418/2 "2016-09-09T11:11:49Z")
“Did you see the sunrise this morning?” ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418/3 "2016-09-09T11:31:25Z")
Hawaii Five O had an episode where Lou (Chi McBride) went back to Chicago to bring down his dirty partner. Star turn for McBride, I don’t think any one else in the cast even had a cameo. He destroyed a house, kidnapped and tortured the ‘bad’ guy and kidnapped the bad guy’s girlfriend, and eventually uncovered proof he was dirty. Even in a show which has no regard for actual civil rights and/or police procedure and/or constitutional norms - Lou should have been in jail/prison for a long time. Instead, I don’t think it was ever even acknowledged elsewhere in the show’s continuity that he had left the island. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418/4 "2016-09-09T11:55:01Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > “Did you see the sunrise this morning?” I thought it was pretty clear what happened, and it deliberately ended there to heighten the moral contradiction (not to mention that a coverup makes for more boring TV). ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418/5 "2016-09-09T12:06:23Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > “Did you see the sunrise this morning?” > [@Leaper](#): > > I thought it was pretty clear what happened, and it deliberately ended there to heighten the moral contradiction (not to mention that a coverup makes for more boring TV). I have to agree with **Leaper**. There was no cliffhanger. There was some aftermath that never got addressed, but the end of the episode was perfectly clear. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418/6 "2016-09-09T12:47:38Z")
_Galaxy Quest_ _Twin Peaks_. It was intended to be a cliffhanger for the next season, but the show wasn’t renewed. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418/7 "2016-09-09T14:04:43Z")
The comedy soap opera **Soap** ended on several cliffhangers: main character Jessica was about to be executed by firing squad, and several other folks were in left in mortal peril (in addition to story lines that simply weren’t wrapped up – such as Billy Crystal’s character being stuck hypnotized into believing he was an old Russian Jew.) A later episode of the spin-off series **Benson** mentioned Jessica’s death (and depicted her ghost visiting Benson), but didn’t specifically say she got shot. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418/8 "2016-09-09T14:09:54Z")
Not sure it qualifies, but the animated series _Roughnecks_ (based on Heinlein’s _Starship Troopers_ and far better in most fans’ opinion than any of the movies) abruptly ended with a massive enemy fleet having surrounded Earth, with the decimated good guys riding to the rescue. (As I understand it, Sony refused to finance the final six episodes, so.) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418/9 "2016-09-09T14:12:12Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > _Galaxy Quest_ You think that was a cliffhanger? Short of them all getting killed off, it was the most satisfying conclusion the movie could have come to. ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418/10 "2016-09-09T14:16:09Z")
Didn’t _Alf_ end on a cliffhanger that was meant to be a two-parter? Something about Alf getting kidnapped by the government, which was supposed to be resolved in the next episode that never came? ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418/11 "2016-09-09T14:17:55Z")
Request for clarification from the OP: are you speaking specifically about unresolved cliffhangers in TV shows that _ **weren’t** _ canceled? Because that’s how the OP appears to be worded, but I don’t know that there are going to be a whole lot of examples of that. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418/12 "2016-09-09T14:25:35Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I have to agree with **Leaper**. There was no cliffhanger. There was some aftermath that never got addressed, but the end of the episode was perfectly clear. What is it from? > [@oft\_wears\_hats](#): > > Didn’t _Alf_ end on a cliffhanger that was meant to be a two-parter? Something about Alf getting kidnapped by the government, which was supposed to be resolved in the next episode that never came? True, but they made a TV movie to resolve it. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418/13 "2016-09-09T14:27:31Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I have to agree with **Leaper**. There was no cliffhanger. There was some aftermath that never got addressed, but the end of the episode was perfectly clear. Yep. Thomas pulled the trigger. My guess is that Naval Intelligence covered up the killing and everybody just pretended it didn’t happen. ---
**Author:** ![ruh-roh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ruh-roh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruh-roh)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418/14 "2016-09-09T14:30:12Z")
Not counting the reunion show 10 or 11 years later how about Gilligan’s Island ? ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418/15 "2016-09-09T14:31:30Z")
Alien Nation ended on a Cliffhanger but they did a TV Movie that basically remade the finale and resolved it (and then went on to make more TV Movies). The Sara Conner Chronicles ended with a cliffhanger that will never be resolved I suppose. Big Booty Bimbos 17 had so many unanswered questions but alas there was never a Big Booty Bimbos 18. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418/16 "2016-09-09T14:36:17Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > You think that was a cliffhanger? Short of them all getting killed off, it was the most satisfying conclusion the movie could have come to. Figure that’s a reference to the show-within-a-show ending with them firing up the Omega-13 because, hey, _whatever_ it does, things can’t get worse… ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418/17 "2016-09-09T14:36:25Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > _Galaxy Quest_ > [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > You think that was a cliffhanger? Short of them all getting killed off, it was the most satisfying conclusion the movie could have come to. I thought RC was referring to the TV series within the movie, after which its stars, Jason Nesmith, Alexander Dane, et al., had to appear at cons and shopping mall openings. On the other hand, the denouement of the movie is that they start making new episodes of a TV show and no one seems to care that a genuine freakin’ spaceship has crashed through the wall of a hotel. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418/18 "2016-09-09T14:58:13Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > What is it from? Magnum P. I. [spoiler]Magnum, TC, and another guy Nuzo had been captured & tortured by a Soviet agent Ivan during the Vietnam war. It turns out Ivan also brainwashed TC, and has come to Hawaii to use him to assassinate someone (the Japanese emperor maybe?) During the episode, Ivan has a bomb planted in Magnum’s car, but it kills Magnum’s friend instead, whose last words are “Let’s drive out and watch the sunrise!” At the end of the episode, Magnum has of course saved the day, but Ivan has diplomatic immunity and is going back to the Soviet Union. Magnum and Rick kidnap him and drive him to the middle of nowhere. Ivan tells Magnum he knows him better than he knows himself, and there’s no way Magnum will kill him in cold blood. Magnum asks, “Did you see the sunrise this morning?”, Ivan replies “Yes, why?”, and Magnum turns around, raises his gun, and shoots. The final frame is the muzzle blast from the gun. [/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418/19 "2016-09-09T15:14:21Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Magnum P. I. > > [spoiler]Magnum, TC, and another guy Nuzo had been captured & tortured by a Soviet agent Ivan during the Vietnam war. It turns out Ivan also brainwashed TC, and has come to Hawaii to use him to assassinate someone (the Japanese emperor maybe?) During the episode, Ivan has a bomb planted in Magnum’s car, but it kills Magnum’s friend instead, whose last words are “Let’s drive out and watch the sunrise!” > > At the end of the episode, Magnum has of course saved the day, but Ivan has diplomatic immunity and is going back to the Soviet Union. Magnum and Rick kidnap him and drive him to the middle of nowhere. Ivan tells Magnum he knows him better than he knows himself, and there’s no way Magnum will kill him in cold blood. Magnum asks, “Did you see the sunrise this morning?”, Ivan replies “Yes, why?”, and Magnum turns around, raises his gun, and shoots. The final frame is the muzzle blast from the gun. > [/spoiler] [Video.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWLjzosQk8M) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418/20 "2016-09-09T15:16:17Z")
At the end of Season 1 of JAG, Harm is seriously implicated in the murder of his old friend, Navy Lt Shoenke, played by Catherine Bell. The evidence looks airtight, and the season ends with Harm facing charges for her murder. Season 2 starts up with no mention of previous events, and now Catherine Bell is playing Marine Major MacKenzie. Other than a passing comment about how much Mac looks like Lt Schonke, nothing further is mentioned about the murder. Until Season 3, when the murder is resolved, but only with the help of ignoring all the evidence that pointed to Harm. They should just have ignored the whole thing, instead of drawing attention to it with another episode. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-extreme-unresolved-cliffhangers-in-episodic-shows/765418.md?page=2)