Cliffhangers: No Instant Gratification
Here, Folks. (Jerome A. Holst © 2005)
Back
in the late spring of 1967, CBS introduced a
summer
replacement series called CORONET BLUE starring
Frank Converse. The series told the tale of a
man named Michael Alden who was fished out of
the East River in New York City. He had
apparently been attacked and dumped into a
watery grave, but he survived. Unfortunately,
the trauma of the incident gave him amnesia. All
he could remember were two words: "Coronet Blue"
(As the theme song proclaimed "Deep down inside
my brain, I keep hearing that wild refrain").
Through the ensuing weeks, the TV viewers learn
along with the character that he can speak
Spanish, sail boats and perform a variety of
other skills. Sadly, the series ended in
September and we never learned the fate of the
man nor the meaning of "Coronet Blue." This has
bothered me for years and is testament to the
power of the cliffhanger and its ability to keep
someone on the edge and in a constant mode of
antici........pation.
While Coronet Blue's unintentional
"cliffhanging" due to cancellation left many
unanswered questions and disappointed viewers,
the cliffhanger formula when done properly still
remains a great way to lure TV viewers to watch
future episodes by promising a resolution to a
character's dilemmas.
Of course, the cliffhanger is nothing new. It's
a tried-and-true method developed by filmmakers
in the early days of the movies that left
audiences in suspense from week-to-week as their
heroes and heroines faced dangerous situations
that were resolved in the following episode. The
term itself comes from the fact that, in many of
these films, the hero was left dangling
precariously off the edge of a cliff at the
conclusion of these "to be continued" action
packed thrillers.
Movie serials like The Perils of Pauline and
Flash Gordon kept the kids coming back to
Saturday morning movie matinees for years in the
1910s, 1920s and 1930s to make sure their
favorite movie idol survived the trials and
tribulations that beset them the previous week.
As a matter of homage, the 1950s song "Along
Came Jones" by the Coasters paid tribute in
spirit to the cliffhanger with the song lyrics:
I plopped down in my easy chair
And turned on Channel 2
A bad gunslinger called Salty Sam
Was chasin' poor Sweet Sue
He trapped her in the old sawmill
And said with an evil laugh:
"If you don't give me the deed to your ranch,
I'll saw you all in half!"
And then he grabbed her! (And then)
He tied her up! (And then)
He turned on the bandsaw! (And then, and
then...)
In the 1960s, the ABC fantasy series BATMAN
starring Adam West and Burt Ward became famous
for including a cliffhanger at the end of each
episode (which at one point ran two episodes a
week). By the end of each episode Batman and
Robin were placed in jeopardy (like being
lowered into a toxic substance or strapped to an
ominous conveyor belt sending our heroes to
their doom). As death loomed closer and closer
the program announcer (William Dozier)
encouraged us to stay tuned for the next
episode's exciting conclusion at the "Same Bat
Time, Same Bat Channel."
One of the early notable TV cliffhangers was on
the show SOAP/ABC/1977-81. The 1977-78 season
ended with Robert Urich's character, Peter
Campbell (a lothario tennis player) being shot.
Astonished viewers tuned in by the millions the
following fall season to discover that Chester
Tate (Robert Mandan), the husband of Jessica
Tate, had confessed to the crime, and he was
subsequently sent to prison.
A few years later, the impact of the cliffhanger
was used to its full advantage on March 21, 1980
when ruthless oil baron, J.R. Ewing (Larry
Hagman) got his comeuppance and was shot, as
well. The mystery of "Who Shot J.R.?" created a
frenzy of speculation around the country. Small
business entrepreneurs created bumper stickers
and tee-shirts exploiting the phenomenon ("I
shot J.R."). Even Las Vegas was placing odds on
the outcome. Did J.R. die?
Happily, the mystery was resolved on the
November 21th edition of the prime time soap
DALLAS when the viewing public learned that the
perpetrator of the crime was none other than Sue
Ellen's sister, Kristin Shepherd (Mary Crosby)
who had tired of being J.R's play thing and
sought revenge. Unfortunately for Kristin, that
bastard J.R. survived and went on to cause
further infamy. According to the World Almanac,
the program garnered 36.3 million viewers of 53%
share of viewers.
This J.R. plotline was later parodied on the
animated cartoon THE SIMPSONS as it ended its
1994-95 season run with the question "Who shot
Mr. Burns." In the fall we discovered that the
shooter was the Simpsons' little girl, Maggie,
who had unintentionally pulled the trigger of
Mr. Burns gun when he was trying to steal her
candy. Again, the ratings were enormous and
everyone had fun speculating the outcome.
Continued >
Back to Top
