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Cliffhanger

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For other uses, see Cliffhanger (disambiguation).

A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in which a movie, novel, or other work of fiction contains an abrupt ending, often leaving the main characters in a precarious or difficult situation. This type of ending is used to ensure that, if a next installment is made, audiences will return to find out how the cliffhanger is resolved. The phrase comes from the classical end-of-episode situation in silent film days, with the protagonist left hanging from the edge of a cliff. Some serials end with the caveat "To be continued" (the series finales for Duckman and Clone High parodied this caveat). In television series, the following episode usually begins with a recap (AKA a "previously").

Although a cliffhanger can be enjoyable as a page turner at the end of a chapter in a novel, a cliffhanger at the very end of a work can be frustrating. Cliffhangers can build anticipation (and, subsequently, profit) for sequels. However, if no sequel follows, effective suspension of disbelief can leave the audience or readership wondering what happened in the work's fictional realm. Sometimes (for example at the end of Blake's 7) that goes so far that people write fan fiction (or even publish a novel) deciding what happens next. In the case of the cliffhanger in the Season 3 finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation Best of Both Worlds which leaves Captain Picard held by the Borg, some television stations have decided that that cliffhanger inflicts too much mental cruelty on the audience, and show the cliffhanger episode and the next episode strung together in one session. In 1001 Nights, Queen Scheherazade tells stories every night to her mad husband, King Shahryar, stopping at dawn with a cliffhanger, so the king will postpone her execution in order to hear the rest of the tale.

Cliffhangers were especially popular in 1920s and 1930s serials when movie theaters filled the cultural niche now primarily occupied by television. Cliffhangers are often used in television series, especially soap operas which end each episode on a cliffhanger. Prior to the early 1980's, season-ending cliffhangers were rare on U.S. television (the first such season-ender on U.S. TV was in the comedy send-up of soap operas Soap in 1978), although several Australian soap operas which went off air over summer such as Number 96 and Prisoner had ended each year with major and much publicised catastrophes such as characters being shot in the final seconds of the closing episode for the year.

In the US it was the phenomenal success of the "Who shot J.R.?" season ending cliffhanger on Dallas, which closed the show's third season, that led the cliffhanger to become a popular staple on television dramas and later situation comedy series as well. Another notable cliffhanger was the "Moldavian Massacre" on Dynasty in 1985, which fueled speculation throughout the summer months regarding who lived or died when almost all the characters attended a wedding in the country of Moldavia, only to have revolutionaries topple the government and machine-gun the entire wedding party. The "Best of Both Worlds" episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1990 is also cited as a reason that season-enders are popular today.

Cliffhangers are also used to leave open the possibility of a character being killed off due to the actor not continuing to play the role. The aforementioned Star Trek season finale worked around the possibility of Patrick Stewart's contract expiring. Between seasons, his contract was renewed and as a result, the character of Captain Picard survived the cliffhanger.

Cliffhangers are also sometimes deliberately inserted by writers uncertain of whether a new series or season will be commissioned, in the hope that viewers will demand to know how the situation is resolved. Such was the case with the second season of Twin Peaks, which ended in a cliffhanger similar to the first season with a high degree of uncertainty about the fate of the protagonist, but the cliffhanger could not save the show from being cancelled, resulting in the unresolved ending. Due to the multi-part storylines becoming the norm in comics (instead of self-contained stories) the cliffhanger has become a genre staple.

Commercial breaks can be a nuisance to script writers because some sort of incompleteness or minor cliffhanger should be provided before each to stop the viewer from changing channels during the commercial break. Sometimes a series ends with an unintended cliffhanger caused by a very abrupt ending without a satisfactory dénouement, but merely assuming that the viewer will assume that everything sorted itself out.

Contents

[edit] Examples of films with cliffhanger endings

[edit] Examples of television series with regular (or notable) cliffhangers

Of course, cliffhangers are the main "hook" of soap operas (both daytime and nighttime). Other genres also use them as well, as can be seen here.

  • 24 - drama/action: Almost every episode ends with a cliffhanger.
  • Alias - the structure of episodes in the first season had the last ten-fifteen minutes spent on setting up the next episode with a cliffhanger, usually with the main character(s) in life-threatening jeopardy.
  • Angel- Each season (and the show itself) ended on a cliffhanger.
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender-The second season ended with a cliffhanger with many plot twists revealed.
  • Batman (the 1960s series) - Most of the episodes ran as two half-hour shows over two days, with an announcer famously saying "Same bat-time, same bat-channel" at the end of the first half.
  • Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series) - scifi/drama: Season one and two both ended on cliffhangers, as did season two's midseason break. The show has also had many episodes with plotthreads left unresolved until later episodes, and many two-part episodes with the first part ending on a cliffhanger.
  • Buffy - several episodes end with a cliffhanger, and from the fourth season onwards, the season would end with a major storyline carrying over 4 or 5 episodes, and ending each episode with a cliffhanger.
  • Cheers - Before most other sitcoms even considered the idea of the season-ending cliffhanger, many seasons of Cheers ended on such.
  • Dallas and Dynasty - All seasons of both shows (even the last one, see below) ended on a cliffhanger.
  • Doctor Who - British science fiction television show. In its original run (1963-1989), most stories were comprised of four to six episodes. All but the last episode of a story would end on a cliffhanger. One episode ended with the Doctor literally hanging from a cliff by his umbrella. The new series (2005-current) has also used cliffhangers, but less frequently, with three two-parters per series, where the first part would end on a cliffhanger to be resolved in the following episode. There have also been cliffhangers at the end of both series.
  • Dragonball Series - Normally involving the loading of a special attack during a confrontation with an enemy.
  • Green Wing - Literal cliffhanger, with Guy, Mac and Martin all stuck in an ambulance hanging over the edge of a cliff. The same thing has happened in the second series, Except instead of Guy Secretan and Mac, It's Joanna Clore and Alan Statham, though Martin Dear is still there.
  • InuYasha - Some episodes have cliffhangers (mostly 2 to 3 part episodes)
  • JAG - often featured cliffhanger episodes at the end of seasons.
  • King of the Hill - The second and third seasons ended with cliffhanger episodes, with the explosion of a department store with Hank inside and Peggy having a hang glider crash respectively.
  • Lost - drama/action: most episodes end with a cliffhanger, as did the first and second season finales.
  • One Piece - Every single episode ends with a black screen upon which the words "TO BE CONTINUED" are displayed in large letters which fill up the screen. Almost all episodes are cliffhangers, and those that aren't still have the "TO BE CONTINUED" screen at the end, implying that even if this episode's story has been resolved, the larger quest for Gold Roger's treasure continues.
  • Quantum Leap - Each episode ended with a minute or so long intro to the next episode's storyline.
  • The Simpsons - The sixth season finale "Who Shot Mr. Burns? - Part 1" ended with a cliffhanger leaving a 'who done it?' ending for the audience to question themselves, and which was answered in the following season. This was the only multi-part episode of the series (as of 2006).
  • Smallville - A season of this show can be divided into thirds: September-December, January-March, April-May. Each third of the season (consisting of about 6-9 episodes) usually ends with a cliffhanger, with the most intense cliffhangers reserved for the season-ending episode(s) in May.
  • South Park - When the show became immensely popular, season one ended with a search for Eric Cartman's father. The next episode was supposed to air four weeks later, which happened to be April Fools Day 1998. The creators decided to pull "The Ultimate South Park Joke" by premiering season 2 with a completely unrelated episode about Terrance and Phillip. Fans were angered by this and the creators made the conclusion episode. Also, season 4 had a cliffhanger arc and season 10 had two separate arcs.
  • Spooks - All seasons have ended with major cliffhangers except season 3 (one of the main characters was killed off in the final episode instead). Seasons 4 and 5 both began with two part episodes shown on consecutive evenings which featured cliffhangers, and in season 5, episode 6 also ends on a cliffhanger.
  • Star Trek series - Since Star Trek: The Next Generation, most of the seasons of the various series have ended with a cliffhanger.
  • Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis - The first four seasons and the ninth season of SG-1 ended with cliffhangers. The last episodes of the fifth through eighth seasons were all written as possible series finales. In contrast, both seasons of Atlantis ended with cliffhangers, and the trend seems likely to continue. Both SG-1 and Atlantis also have mid-season cliffhangers, as the seasons air in blocks (one from July to September; one from January to March).
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series) - Seasons 1, 2, and 4 have all ended with different cliffhangers.
  • The West Wing - political drama.
  • The X-Files - regularly had season-ending cliffhangers.
  • Xena: Warrior Princess - several episodes end with a cliffhanger
  • Xiaolin Showdown - While most Saturday morning shows shy away from season ending cliffhangers, this show (and the TMNT revival) has embraced them. Seasons 1 and 2 end with one of the Xiaolin monks having been temporarily turned to evil. Season 3 ends on a possible cliffhanger. Season 4 was the first to NOT have a cliffhanger ending.
  • Friends - Every season but season 2 and the series finale ended on a cliffhanger, with many episodes having a cliffhanger that would be picked up on the next week. Among the most famous cliffhangers of Friends is the one with Monica's wedding, in which the audience thinks Monica is pregnant with Chandler's child until the camera's zoom on Rachel in the very last seconds of the season shows that it is in fact Rachel who is pregnant. Another notable one is the wedding of Ross and Emily, at which Ross misspeaks and pronounces Rachel's name at the altar, ending the season on a shocking cliffhanger.
  • Red Dwarf - Series 2, 6, 7 and 8 all ended on cliffhangers (Especially 6 and 8).
  • Prison Break - drama/action: Every episode ends with a cliffhanger.
  • The O.C. - Every episode could be interpreted as ending with a cliffhanger. The most dramatic reserved for the season-ending episode(s) in May.
  • Tru Calling - Season 1 (and the unfinished season 2) both ended on a cliff hanger with many questions left unanswered.

[edit] Other unresolved cliffhangers

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Some TV shows were cancelled in between seasons, and viewers were left wondering what happened. Some other media also have shown unresolved cliffhangers.

[edit] Television Series

  • Angel - The show's finale episode was written with the knowledge that it would be the last, but still creator Joss Whedon decided to end with a cliffhanger, involving the main characters about to square off with an army of demons, ending the series with "Let's get to work."
  • Benson - The famous "Who Won?" cliffhanger featuring a gubernatorial race between the title character and his former employer was never resolved.
  • Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot - The animated series ended with the doctor saying that there was a seventh Legion X bot created. It was never seen or mentioned again.
  • Blade: The Series ends in a cliffhanger that is supposed to set up a second season for the show, with Marcus Van Sciver grabbing Krista Starr by the throat asking her how long she worked for Blade. Despite a large success, actress Jill Wagner has stated on her MySpace blog that Spike TV would not renew the series.
  • Blake's 7 - At the end of the fourth and final season the lead characters were surrounded and shot by a Federation security squad. The intention was for those actors who chose to continue on into the fifth season to have merely been stunned by the shots instead of being killed. In the event, there was no fifth season and the frustration inflicted on the audience led to much fan fiction and a novel regarding what happened next.
  • Capitol - Sloane Denning is facing execution by firing squad, and as soon as the executioner says "fire," the episode ends with no resolution of what happened.
  • Caroline in the City - This sitcom ended with the sudden appearance of Richard Karinsky (Malcolm Gets) at Caroline's wedding.
  • Cliffhangers - Perhaps the definitive cliffhanger program. An hour-long show composed of three segments per week. Each weekly segment ended in a cliffhanger. The series was cancelled with two of the three storylines incomplete. The episode tying up those incomplete stories were actually shown overseas, and one of the unfinished stories was re-edited into a telefilm (as was the one that was completed).
  • Clone High - The series ended with most of the cast being frozen in a meat locker by Principal Scudworth.
  • The Series finale of Crime Story.
  • Crusade, as it was cancelled before the main thrust of the plot could even begin to unfold, much less come to fruition.
  • Dallas - A close up of Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) saying "Oh my god!" in reaction to entering J.R. Ewing's (Larry Hagman) room from where a gunshot had just been heard ended this primetime soap's final episode in 1991. It was not until a 1996 TV Reunion Movie that it was revealed what happened (J.R. Ewing shot a demon-possessed mirror instead of committing suicide).
  • The Darkwing Duck episode "Steerminator" ends with a cliffhanger, which was intended to be resolved two seasons later, but the show was canceled before production of next season.
  • Dead Like Me ended with a number of "loose ends" especially as concerned the status of the relationship between Georgia Lass, the main character, and her mother and younger sister.
  • Duckman - In the final episode, Duckman's supposedly deceased wife, Beatrice, unexpectedly appears during his second marriage. It is soon revealed that Cornfed knew Beatrice was still alive the entire time.
  • Dynasty - This soap ended with a multitude of cliffhangers; for example, Alexis Colby (Joan Collins) falling off a balcony and Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) getting shot.
  • Emerald Point N.A.S. ends on a cliffhanger, which was intended to be resolved, but was canceled before production of next season. One of the principal characters (played by Maud Adams) is kidnapped by a former lover (Michael Brandon) on the eve of her wedding to Dennis Weaver, who finds her wedding gown stuck to the wall with a knife in the final scene.
  • Exosquad ends with a cliffhanger when an alien race of enormous power unexpectedly attacks the Solar System shortly after the end of the war between Neosapiens and humans.
  • Farscape - The show was abruptly cancelled after it had completed production of its fourth season, with a fifth season contracted, effectively ending the series on a cliffhanger. A mini-series in 2004, Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars wrapped up some of the show's hanging plot threads.
  • First Monday - As law clerk Ellie Pearson and Justice Deborah Szwark's CIA attorney daughter walk to a restaurant, Szwark's daughter is struck by a car. Ellie cradles her and screams for help, as the season (and the series) ends with a cliffhanger ending.
  • Flamingo Road - The primetime soap ended in May 1982 with the murder of villain Michael Tyrone. At the very end of the series finale, Michael rises from the dead in a burning barn.
  • Grown Ups - J. inadvertently proposes to his on-again-off-again girlfriend Melissa.
  • Invasion - The first and only season ended with two major cliffhangers: the fate of Larkin and her baby and the outcome of the hybrid pregnancies.
  • John Doe - In the unplanned series finale, the Stocking Cap man seemingly in charge of the evil Phoenix Organization is revealed in the last seconds as "Digger", one of John Doe's closest friends.
  • Klonoa: Door to Phantomile During the ending sequence of the game, after most of the plot is already untied, a major plot twist is introduced that questions many aspects of the story that appeared clear before, including the identity of the main character himself. The ending sequence finishes with the main character sucked off through a vortex to an unknown location (if any). If this cliffhanger was ever supposed to be resolved, remains subject of discussion until today, since later games of the Klonoa series do not pick up the Door to Phantomile storyline again.
  • Last Man Standing - Cam was about to confront Adam having just remembered a drunken conversation about his affair with Zoe.
  • Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman - This ended with then married Lois and Clark finding a baby left in their living room, with a note "Lois and Clark - This baby's for you".
  • Malcolm & Eddie - After the 50/50 Club is wrecked in an accident, Nicolette offers Malcolm and Eddie money to rebuild it on the condition that she becomes a full partner.
  • Models, Inc. - In the finale that originally aired on FOX, the series ended with a hired assassin aiming his gun at a wedding. Because people were moving, the gun was shown pointing at several cast members and then the gun was shot. It ended in slow motion panning to the assassin's face with, "To Be Continued..." The show was cancelled soon after, but there was an alternate ending that later aired on international distribution and in repeats on E! cable network. The shot killed Emma Samms' character Grayson and showed Hillary Michaels (Linda Gray) announcing to the models that she was closing Models, Inc. The show ended with Gray turning off the lights to each model's photo on the wall in the lobby and the office going dark and zooming up to the Models, Inc. logo in the hallway. However, the one cliffhanger that wasn't resolved on either endings was the ending of the character of Carrie (Carrie-Anne Moss). Grayson had her kidnapped and in a scene saying "Somewhere in Central America" she woke up tied and was in "Hooker Hell."
  • Moesha - The show was cancelled on a cliffhanger, with Moesha's younger brother Miles having been kidnapped and a positive pregnancy test suggesting that one of the girls in Moesha's dorm was pregnant. The cliffhanger was originally planned to be solved on the Moesha spinoff The Parkers, but the writers of the show ultimately declined, feeling that the spinoff had a cliffhanger of its own to solve with the season premiere.
  • Mortal Kombat: Conquest, due to the cost of making the show, it ended with only one season being made, despite its popularity. The series ended with all the major cast dead and Shao Kahn being victorious is pulling off his plan to get rid of his foes. The next season was suppose to start with the Elder Gods resetting everything because Shao Kahn broke the rules.
  • Over There was canceled immediately after its one and only season concluded, leaving a number of "loose ends" including the future of Bo Ryder, one of the principal characters, who hoped to recover from the loss of his right leg and return to active duty with his unit in Iraq.
  • Peyton Place - When this evening soap opera was cancelled in 1969, the final episode made no attempt to tie-up the various story threads in the expectation another network would pick-up the show.
  • Popular - This show's second season finale ends with a cliffhanger that was never resolved due to an unexpected cancellation by the network after the episode was already shot. In the cliffhanger, Tammy Lynn Michaels' character runs over a former friend of hers (played by Leslie Bibb) with her car and it is unclear if the latter survives the hit or not. Also, it was revealed a drag queen (RuPaul) was the father of Leslie Grossman's character.
  • ReBoot - In the end of the last season, it is revealed that the clone of Bob is an upgraded version of the virus Megabyte, who is inside Mainframe's core office, and in a position to destroy it.
  • Red Dwarf - In the end of series 8 Rimmer is trapped on Red Dwarf as it is disintegrating around him and everyone else has abandoned ship. Then the Grimm Reaper comes to take him away and he kicks the Grimm Reaper in the testicles and runs of. The end of the show has a caption saying The End then another caption saying The smeg it is.
  • Return to Eden - Ended on a dramatic cliffhanger in Australia. For subsequent international sales, a specially shot new ending hurriedly tied-up the unresolved story threads.
  • Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles ends in a cliff-hanger on Episode 37 showing the Arachnid race doing a full-scale assault on Earth. There were originally plans to create three more episodes to create the resolution (with the voice-overs already recorded), but it was not possible due to running out of resources. In an audio commentary by producer Jeff Kline on the Homefront Campaign DVD, he outlines what would happen in those three episodes.
  • Silver Surfer - After 13 episodes the story was cut as Silver Surfer starts his battle with Thanos for the existence of the universe leaving the viewers with a white screen and a yellow "The End?" sign.
  • Sliders - In the last episode (The Seer), Rembrandt Brown went to Earth Prime to defeat the Kromaggs, while the other sliders remained on the previous parallel earth, not knowing if Rembrandt would live or die.
  • Soap - The show ended on several cliffhangers, not least of which was the fate of Jessica Tate, who was facing execution by firing squad. Jessica's fate was more or less resolved in a subsequent 1983 episode of Benson, wherein Jessica's ghost visits her former butler to reassure him on his life's choices before she makes her way to the great beyond.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM) - The final scene of the season finale "The Doomsday Project" set up the plot point of Snively teaming up with a new villain for the next season. It was revealed in 1997 that Ixis Naugus was the mystery villain being set up. A third season was planned and a plot put out eventually after the show ended.
  • Space: Above and Beyond - The final episode ends in an open-ended fashion, where T.C. McQueen is badly injured and most of the major cast is apparently killed or missing, with only Cooper Hawkes and Nathan West remaining. Yet with the Earth force in a much better strategic position, there is the motif of hope through initiative, despite losses and sacrifices.
  • Star Trek: Deep Space 9 - In the last episode, Benjamin Sisko is taken by the Bajoran Prophet into the Celestial Temple, leaving his son and pregnant wife behind on DS9. As this was an actual planned finale, and references were made to Sisko being back "in a year," there was early speculation of a theatrical movie in the works. (Although the movie never materialized, the Sisko family situation was resolved in Unity, a novel by S.D. Perry from the DS9 relaunch novel series. However, this novel, like all other Star Trek novels, is not considered to be official series canon.)
  • Strip Mall - Tammi gets thrown out of an airplane by Barry, who then yells, "Goodbye Tammi Tyler!" (In June 2001, Comedy Central made a cost-cutting move due to a rough economy by cancelling Strip Mall and That's My Bush!)
  • Stroker & Hoop - this animated comedy on Adult Swim ended with the titular characters falling to their presumed deaths.
  • Surface - cancelled after 15 episodes within running story.
  • The Big O - In the last episode, Angel becomes the Fourth Big, Big Venus, and begins removing Paradigm City from reality. Roger and Big O attempt to negotiate with her on the survival of humanity. Afterwards, Big Venus and Big O walk towards each other and the screen fades to white. In the last few minutes, the opening of the first episode is shown, with Dorothy and Angel watching Roger drive off unlike in the original footage. This does not tie up any plot threads, and simply confuses people further, as not only was Roger driving off to rescue Dorothy in the first place, but Angel should not appear until Episode 3. The cryptic ending is the rushed result of the series being cancelled unexpectedly, instead of being extended to a third season.
  • The Simpsons - Many episodes find their ending in a literal cliffhanger when some character or obscure scene ostensibly leaves the audience unsatisfied, often with subtle allegations. Occasionally subtle references to these episodes are made in future episodes, often resolving the cliffhangers in unexpected ways or further perpetuating the mystery of their outcome.
  • Tilt - The series's archvillain, Don "The Matador" Everest, is arrested for murder, but in the final seconds, a key witness against him is found hanged to death in an apparent suicide.
  • Teen Titans - The last episode ended with Beast Boy supposedly going to help the Titans leaving the audience not knowing if the girl was really Terra or what had happened to her statue.
  • Tru Calling - After the original 13 episode season (2) had been officially picked up, production started for the new season. After 6 episodes were produced, Fox Network axed the series leaving the six episode season on an unanswered cliff hanger dealing with many unanswered questions about the mythology of Tru, Jack, Tru's father and the entire set up of her mother's death.
  • Twin Peaks - Dale Cooper is trapped in the black lodge, while BOB takes over his body. The show ends as Dale/BOB bangs his head against a mirror, repeating the words: "How's Annie?"
  • WKRP in Cincinnati - The final episode hinted at a secret deal struck between radio station owner Mama Carlson and program director Andy Travis, in exchange for Travis' efforts to prevent station workers from unionizing. The show's cancellation meant the terms and consequences of this deal would remain unrevealed.
  • Spider-Man: The Animated Series - In the final episode of this series, after Spider-Man had saved all reality by Spider-Carnage, who committed suicide by jumping into an unstable portal which would vapourize anything that would go in there because Spider-Carnage was reformed by the Uncle Ben who was alive in a different reality he was in after preventing the destruction of reality and after Madame Web takes Spider-Man to see Stan Lee in this reality, Web promises Spider-Man they will find Mary Jane Watson, as unbeknownst to Spider-Man, she had fallen into a portal in the third season finale, and they do so, but the cliffhanger was never resolved because the show's creators wanted to do their future shows on Saban, as they have done this series with Marvel Films Animation. And anyway, the show's contract said that there should only be 65 episodes. However, the show's producer, John Semper, had told an Internet junkie named DGR4 that he would expand the series with a different series with very few episodes that would have Spider-Man go back in time and find Mary Jane in a Colonial England in which Spider-Man will also fight against Carnage who is Jack the Ripper in this time. And also, at the end of a previous episode, there was a cliffhanger which was never resolved in which after Spider-Man is transported by Madame Web to fight in the Secret War and Dr. Miles Warren had gotten a piece of Spider-Man's costume in which he could possibly clone him if the series continued. And notably, the Black Cat, Morbius and Blade have been trying to kill Mirium, the vampire queen. It is unknown if they would kill her. And also, in the spin-off show, Spider-Man Unlimited, it is shown Venom and Carnage are back on Earth and in a previous episode to this series, they were sucked into a vortex in another dimension and it is unknown how they got back to their home dimension.
  • Spider-Man Unlimited - There was a few cliffhangers in Spider-Man Unlimited and questions to be answered. For example, Mary Jane Watson, Venom and Carnage were seen on the show whereas in the previous series, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Venom and Carnage have fallen into a portal to another dimension and a few episodes later, so did Mary Jane. It is unknown how they got back to Earth. And also, there is the question on if the Green Goblin in this series was the husband of Spider-Man's possible love interest of the series, Dr. Yamada-Naoko Jones. And there are two cliffhangers by the end of the series: there was a whole group of symbiotes shoot out from a tower and would possibly Counter-Earth. The cliffhanger was supposed to be resolved in the next season but due to the show's low ratings, it was cancelled after one season and the show had ended by that symbiote cliffhanger ever since. And it is expected that in one of the next, unaired episodes, Spider-Man would have gotten back to his homeplanet but that also was never resolved as explained.
  • Spider-Man: The New Animated Series - Much like Spider-man Unlimited, the CGI series also ended on a cliffhanger with the expectation that a second series would be produced to resolve it. The main string of Peter Parker giving up being the Spider-man is not really a cliffhanger as fans know he would recant, but the trigger for it with one of the few new supporting cast members/love triangle member Indy being put into coma still remains.

[edit] Video Games

  • Beyond Good and Evil - This Ubisoft game ended with a main character, Peyj, being infected with a substance thought to be destroyed, setting up for a sequel. However, though it got very good reviews, Beyond Good and Evil had dismal sales and a sequel has not been planned.
  • BattleTanx: Global Assault ended with the main villain being resurrected by an unidentified magician. No sequel was released before the company behind the game, 3DO, went bankrupt.
  • Doom 3 ends up with Dr. Malcolm Betruger inside the Maledict. The demonic invasion has not yet been stopped in Mars. The UAC returns to Mars to find the ancient civilization.
  • Final Fantasy VIII - Although Ultimecia was slain, many things were left unexplained in the game: Seifer had seemingly returned to his old self, while its never explained why he sells himself out to a dark path. After NORG had been defeated by Squall Leonheart and his party, he turns into a cocoon. It later hatches, but what he becomes next is never revealed. Esthar had the Lunar Cry summoned upon it, while nothing had to be done about it other than fight off the monsters that it brought. All of this and more which was left in ambiguity has become the product of much fanfiction by those who have played the game through the entire storyline and are not satisfied with the seemingly abrupt ending.
  • Gabriel Knight III ended on a cliffhanger, as Grace leaves Gabriel and goes to India. The story would have continued in the next Gabriel Knight game, but shortly after the release of Gabriel Knight III, Sierra officially stopped making adventure games.
  • Half-Life - This series of games is perhaps the best known for its clever and even weird cliffhanger endings, with the games always ending with the hero being transported to an indeterminate dimension in the middle of a high climax for a meeting with the G-Man, who then congratulates the hero and cryptically tells him he has "assignments" for him. Two exceptions to this rule are the endings to Half-Life: Blue Shift and Half-Life 2: Episode One, although the latter also ended with a cliffhanger, with the fates of the two main characters being unresolved; only Blue Shift has a non-cliffhanger ending.
  • Halo - While not as overt as the ending to is sequel, the ending to the original Halo game left the Master Chief and Cortana stranded in space on a single Longsword space fighter, with an ominous note that indicated that the story was not over, the Master Chief stating "No, I think we're just getting started."
  • Halo 2 - The game ended with the Master Chief ordering the UNSC fleet to cease fire on the Forerunner ship that he had stowed away on, to "finish this fight." The sequel will be released in 2007.
  • Metal Gear Solid - Games in this franchise have typically ended with some sort of conversation overheard by the player revealing a small details extending the games plot and setting the stage for a sequel. In the original Metal Gear Solid, for instance, it was the revelation that there was a third survivor of the Les Enfants Terribles project. The survivor in question, Solidus Snake, played a key role in Metal Gear Solid 2.
  • Metroid Prime- If you finish the game with a 100% completion rate there will be an extra scene added to the end sequence. The new scene shows the remains of Metroid Prime. Suddenly the hand of the phazon suit rises up out of the remains. It is later revealed that the hand belonged to Dark Samus (Metroid Prime)
  • Shenmue II - The saga is abruptly cut off shortly after the main protagonist Ryo Hazuki travels to Guilin China and meets the girl he was destined to encounter, Ling Shenhua. They discover giant replicas of the two mystical mirrors as the screen fades to black with text 'the story goes on...' A third game is yet to be announced.
  • Toonstruck ended with Drew, back in the real world, sitting at his desk, when Flux Wildly calls him on the transmitter, explains that Nefarious is back and that Drew must return. Drew has no idea how to return, but is then turned into a toon, due to being hit by Nefarious transmorpher earlier in the game, and this pulls him back into the other world.
  • XIII - In the last ten seconds of the game, the ultimate conspirator is revealed and the hero is left in a potentially deadly situation.

[edit] Books

  • The Animorphs series of children's books ended with a cliffhanger which disappointed many fans. The final members of the renegade Yeerk are located after 5 years of searching, and one of the Animorphs is mutated to become a god-like entity called "The One" to rule the New Yeerk Empire. The final chapter features all surviving Animorphs but Cassie setting their ship to full speed to ram the Yeerk command ship.
  • Chapterhouse Dune - The novel ends on a cliffhanger with unanswered questions regarding the escaped ship, the merging of the Honored Matres and Bene Gesserit, the role of Scytale, the development of Idaho and Teg, what chased the Honored Matres, the role of the Jews, and the identity of the god-like characters in the books final chapter.
  • In The End, The final book in A Series Of Unfortunate Events, The Baudelaires and their adopted daughter, Beatrice, leave the island, leaving readers to only imagine what is next in store for the Baudelaires.
  • The original book of the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers has a definite cliffhanger, but the chronology was altered for the movie version.
  • In most of the Harry Potter series, especially Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

es:Cliffhanger fr:Cliffhanger it:Cliffhanger (narrativa) he:קליף האנגר nl:Cliffhanger (plot) ja:クリフハンガー (ドラマ) pl:Cliffhanger fi:Cliffhanger

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