# Shows canceled after cliffhanger episodes \[Spoilers\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 26, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629 "2009-05-26T00:30:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629/61 "2009-05-27T17:14:33Z")
**The Lone Gunman** ended on a cliffhanger, with the characters being held at gunpoint. I know their “story” was concluded in X-Files, but I don’t know if that specific plot was ever resolved. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Bongo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a9adbd/32.png) [@Winston\_Bongo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Bongo)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629/62 "2009-05-27T17:28:32Z")
A couple of years ago, ABC ran an alien invasion series titled, appropriately enough, _Invasion_. Its quality varied wildly from one episode to the next, but it had an interesting premise (think _Invasion of the Body Snatchers in the Everglades_) and a great “is he good or bad?” character played by the always entertaining William Fichtner. Then, just when it started to get good, ABC cancelled it, ending on a cliffhanger and leaving most of the plot threads (including the explanation behind the entire invasion itself) unresolved. Grrrr. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629/63 "2009-05-27T17:34:42Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > dismissed it with an offhand comment I see what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629/64 "2009-05-27T17:38:48Z")
The last proper season of Red Dwarf ended on a cliffhanger, with The Dwarf seemingly about to be destroyed, Rimmer about to die, and the others fled into another universe. There was a lot wrong with the recent 3 part special, not the least of which was the failure to address the cliffhanger. It just started with the caption “9 years later” ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629/65 "2009-05-27T19:56:48Z")
_Remember WENN_, a big favorite of mine. Sitcom / drama taking place in a radio station in the late 30’s / early 40’s. The show had the best romantic tension I’d seen for a long, long time, and the final episode cliffhangered on both the lead making her decision (romantically-speaking) and several members of the staff volunteering to go overseas in the military. No resolution, of course. _grumble_ ---
**Author:** ![FalconFinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@FalconFinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FalconFinder)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629/66 "2009-05-27T20:03:52Z")
> [@Sundrop](#): > > CBS’ recent show about the 70s (Swingtown) and a set of couples, including a couple who were swingers, a couple that were proto-yuppies, and the proto-yuppies working class friends ended on several cliff-hangers. > > The wife in the proto-yuppie couple shows up at the hotel room of the husband from the working class couple, closes the door behind her, and that is that. there were several unresolved plot threads as well, including the Swinger wife’s pregnancy and the working-class wife’s rise as a newspaper advice columnist. Argh. I forgot about that one! That’s another show I liked that would like to get closure on. (It was really weird seeing Steve from Coupling with an American accent! 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629/67 "2009-05-27T20:40:03Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > The last proper season of Red Dwarf ended on a cliffhanger, with The Dwarf seemingly about to be destroyed, Rimmer about to die, and the others fled into another universe Let me court controversy and suggest the last “proper” season ended with the crew fighting their future selves and apparently dying… ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629/68 "2009-05-27T20:54:35Z")
_Earth 2_. The colonists find they’re on their own, their leader gets the disease and gets put in stasis, her kid is turning into a native being, the convicts and the killer robot are on the loose, and even the extra DVD episodes don’t help. _Time Tunnel_. Tony and Doug end up right back on the Titanic, where the series started. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629/69 "2009-05-27T21:31:16Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > _Time Tunnel_. Tony and Doug end up right back on the Titanic, where the series started. Was that the episode where they declare that time is paused and then the credits roll? ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629/70 "2009-05-28T00:52:36Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally Posted by **TBG** > > John Doe on Fox ended with a pretty big cliffhanger. Years later, someone involved with the show spilled all the beans about how the show would’ve resolved everything had it continued, and I have to say, I frankly prefer it just ending on a cliffhanger. > > What you’re talking about never happened. > Got it? That’s how I feel about the **Carnivale** cliffhanger and proposed third season. (Full disclosure: I haven’t seen the finale with mine own eyes, but I’ve read about it, and even doing that was enough to make me rage.) When I heard where they were planning to take a certain character in the third season, I said a heartfelt prayer that the show never made it that far. Which is _blasphemy_, I know, but good goddamn, that was one stupid idea. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629/71 "2009-05-28T01:32:19Z")
There was a really campy series, a send up of the _Dirty Harry_ movies, called _Sledge Hammer_ or something similar. Think it ended with the main character trying to defuse a nuke, and “To be continued?” as the final scene. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629/72 "2009-05-28T01:46:12Z")
That was the end of season 1. The nuke exploded destroying the city. Season 2 started with a recap, then a message that the season is set 5 years earlier than season 1. ---
**Author:** ![damonT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/958977/32.png) [@damonT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/damonT)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629/73 "2009-05-28T02:18:17Z")
One of my favorite shows that only lasted a season and ended on a bit of a cliff hanger was **Freaks & Geeks**. It ended with Lindsay Weir (played by the beautiful Linda Cardellini) climbing into a van with a bunch of whacked out hippies!! ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629/74 "2009-05-28T10:21:26Z")
Homicide: Life in the Streets ended but IIRC they made a TV movie to wrap it up. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629/75 "2009-05-28T16:41:31Z")
In 1979, there was a show called _Cliffhangers_. It had three segments: [Stop Susan Williams](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078694/) [The Curse of Dracula](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078591/) [The Secret Empire](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078684/) Each episode would end on a cliffhanger. Unfortunately, the show was cancelled before any of the storylines were finished. They later edited _The Curse of Dracula_ into a TV movie and finished that story. According to imdb, they edited _Stop Susan Williams_ into a movie called _The Girl Who Saved the World_. I don’t know if they ever finished _The Secret Empire_. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629/76 "2009-05-29T05:26:18Z")
> [@FalconFinder](#): > > I think **Eli Stone** pretty much ended up as a cliffhanger, as well. […]I really wish Kyle XY and Eli Stone would have been picked up by another network or give us some kind of TV movie to wrap things up… And Dirty Sexy Money and Pushing Daisies… No luck for Kyle XY, they said there’s not much chance of any resolutions there, although I saw an interview describing some of the things they had planned if the show had continued. Eli, DSM and PD may still end on cliffhangers, but there are still leftover episodes of each that are going to be shown this summer: Pushing Daisies Saturdays starting 5/30, Eli Stone starting 6/20, and DSM starting 7/18 (as well as the rest of Kings starting 7/25). > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > If _I Married Dora_ is forgotten, how do **you** know about it? 🆒 He was transported to the Enterprise B just as his body was being sucked into the Nexus. Part of him still exists there, able to discern subtle changes to the timeline and the destinies of lost tv shows. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629/77 "2009-05-29T16:59:30Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > And Dirty Sexy Money and Pushing Daisies… No luck for Kyle XY, they said there’s not much chance of any resolutions there, although I saw an interview describing some of the things they had planned if the show had continued. Eli, DSM and PD may still end on cliffhangers, but there are still leftover episodes of each that are going to be shown this summer: Pushing Daisies Saturdays starting 5/30, Eli Stone starting 6/20, and DSM starting 7/18 (as well as the rest of Kings starting 7/25). > > He was transported to the Enterprise B just as his body was being sucked into the Nexus. Part of him still exists there, able to discern subtle changes to the timeline and the destinies of lost tv shows. I do the ridiculous fanwanks, **jack**. I think it’s in the FAQ. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629/78 "2009-05-29T17:29:46Z")
_Nowhere Man_. I believe this show ran in the early 90’s and I recall relly enjoying it. I believe it ended with everything we had seen in previous episodes being called into question. It would have been cool to see what came next. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629/79 "2009-05-29T19:13:25Z")
_It’s Your Move_, a forgettable early-80’s sitcom that lasted only one season. I think Jason Bateman was in it. The lead character (I’m going to assume it was JB) had promised more than he could deliver w/r/t a popular heavy metal band playing at his high school’s big dance. Not one to admit failure, he rigged up some smoke, mirrors, lights, and lab skeletons, along with a tape of the band playing, to make it look like they were actually there. The dance started… end scene, end series. 25 years later I’m still dying to know how it turned out. ---
**Author:** ![FalconFinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@FalconFinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FalconFinder)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629/80 "2009-05-29T19:23:08Z")
I’m glad to see there will be the rest of Eli Stone. It’s funny, as I was reading over the entries on this page again, I wondered if It’s Your Move had ended on a cliffhanger or not. I missed that last show and was quite upset. It was only about two months ago that I found the episode online and was able to see it! That’s a long time for closure! What a great show that was… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-canceled-after-cliffhanger-episodes-spoilers/497629.md?page=5)