Oh come on guys, you know I am going to post the following
FilmsGodzilla, after the ending credits of Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000), in which it is said near the end that Godzilla may not have been killed by the Dimension Tide black hole gun after all but instead simply transported underneath Tokyo, the child character featured in the film ("Kenny," unofficially) is putting away something in the science lab. As he is walking out, the ground starts to shake, he looks out in horror at something out the window the audience cannot see, and Godzilla's roar is heard. The subsequent entry, GMK, likewise ends with a shot of Godzilla's still-beating heart resting at the bottom of the ocean.
Spider-Man 2, Harry Osborn discovers the Green Goblin's lair and picks up a vial of the Performance Enhancers formula.
The Italian Job (1969) Possibly the most famous film cliffhanger for being a literal example of the term, with the main character's escape vehicle hanging halfway off a cliff in the Swiss Alps.
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) ends with the revelation that the Bride's unborn daughter is still alive, followed by a cut to black.
Travels With My Aunt (1972 adaptation of the Graham Greene novel)
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Darth Vader claims he is Luke's father. Luke successfully escapes and receives the famous cybernetic hand. Meanwhile, Han Solo is frozen in carbonite and is shipped to Jabba the Hutt as the main protagonists get set to rescue him.
Flash Gordon Ming's ring is picked up by an unknown individual. As this happens, the words "The End?" appear on the screen as Ming's evil laughter is heard.
Back to the Future series In the first film, just when Marty reunites with Jennifer, Doc arrives from 2015 and tells Marty that there is a problem with his future son. They then get in the De Lorean, which Doc makes fly off. In the second film, Marty receives a letter from doc, who is stuck 70 years in the past. He then goes and sees Doc from the first film send him back in time.
The Matrix Reloaded (2002) The Nebuchadnazzar crew escapes the ship while being under attack by sentinels. Neo confronts and uses his powers to stop them, but collapses to the ground after this. The Hammer rescues them, and Neo is put on a stretcher right next to an unconscious survivor from the Caduceus, Bane (who is in reality Agent Smith, set to kill Neo).
Planet of the Apes (2001) Leo Davidson crashes on what appears to be a futuristic Washington DC on Earth. He looks up to see the Lincoln Memorial is now a monument in honor of General Thade. As a swarm of ape police officers descend on Leo, he (and the audience) wonders what has happened to his world.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) Two main characters, Merry and Pippin, are captured and their companions set out to rescue them.
The X-Files The aliens are set to invade in 2012 as Mulder and Scully must hope they stay alive.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) After defeating and killing most of the crew of French ship, the Acheron, Captain Jack Aubrey leaves a friend in charge of the ship, and the two are to rendezvous in Valparaiso. Before following the Acheron, the ship's doctor tells Aubrey that the "doctor" which Aubrey met, was actually the captain in disguise, and that De Vigny, the real doctor, died months prior.
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) - After the League has left Allan Quatermain's grave, a witch doctor beins to mutter cryptic words and a bolt of lightning hits the grave, as the screen quickly cuts to the credits.
Silent Hill (2006) The film's main character Rose rescues her daughter and both escape the town of Silent Hill. When she and her daughter arrive back home the environment and interior of the house mirror the conditions of Silent Hill in that they are surrounded by white ash. Rose's husband Christopher sees from the living room that the front door is open but sees no one else around or out the front door. The film ends with both Rose and her husband in the living room but cannot see one another and no evidence to whether Rose and her daughter can return to normal.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) Jack is eaten by the Kraken. As the remaining survivors head to Tia's place and she claims they can get Jack back at World's End, but they need a captain to get there. Suddenly, Captain Barbosa comes downstairs (even though he was seen dying in the first film).
Casino Royale (2006) The package containing the stolen British Secret Service money which would be shipped to terrorists is lost in a Venice building collapse near the ending. At the very end, the protagonist Agent James Bond 007 shoots the mysterious terrorist Mr. White in the leg, without revealing the purpose of Mr. White's terrorist organization or whether he lives. Bond walks onscreen with a gun and says "The name's Bond. James Bond," as the screen fades out. It has been revealed that Quantum of Solace will begin moments after this scene.
Saw (2004) As it is revealed that Jigsaw was in the bathroom with them the whole time, Adam attempts to shoot him but is electrocuted through the shackle on his leg. Jigsaw informs him that it's "Game Over" and he slams the door shut as Adam realizes he is now trapped alone. He can be heard screaming even while the credits begin to roll. The following sequels tend to continue the pattern of using a twist ending and then leaving a cliffhanger where the survival of the main character is in question.
Television24 Because of the format of the show (Each episode represents one hour of one day, with a season of 24 episodes representing a complete 24 hour period), each episode ends with a twist in one of the season's multiple plotlines that creates a cliffhanger ending leading into the next episode. However, several of the season finales have also involved a cliffhanger whose outcome would not be revealed until the next season, which always takes place months later.
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 Book 2: Earth Suki & the other Kyoshi Warriors are confronted & defeated by Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee. Later, Azula, Ty Lee and Mai are seen impersonating Kyoshi warriors in "The Earth King". Suki's whereabouts or condition, along with that of the other Kyoshi warriors, is unknown. After Azula learns (from Katara who she captures) that her brother Prince Zuko & Uncle Iroh are in the city she sites a trap for them & captures Zuko & puts him in with Katara. After it is realized that the Kyoshi Warriors is Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee the gaang with Iroh work together in the hops of saving Zuko & Katara & stopping Azula from taking over Ba Sing Sa. However after Azula convinces Zuko that their father will love & accept him as he always wanted Zuko betrays the Iroh & fights with Azula. After a fierce battle Aang believing that they will lose go's in to the Avatar state but is shot in the back by Azula & is almost killed. As Katara saves him Iroh suddenly appears. He tells the two to escape, and that he will hold off Azula and the others as long as he can. Once they escape, Iroh surrenders himself and glances at Zuko, quickly turning his head in shame. The entire group manages to escape and while flying away on Appa, Katara uses her Spirit Oasis water to heal Aang how is saved by it. Meanwhile, in the palace Zuko frets over betraying Iroh. However, Azula reassures him by telling him that it was actually Iroh that betrayed them, not the other way around. Zuko then asks Azula about returning to the Fire Nation, raising his doubts about being accepted and having his honor restored since he does not have the Avatar. Azula again reassures him by saying that he has restored his own honor, though Zuko still seems unsure. As the gang & Earth King fly atop Appa's back over the Outer Wall and out of the city, the Earth King looks back and sadly proclaims, "The Earth Kingdom.....has fallen."
Batman (the 1960s series) Most of the episodes ran as two half-hour shows over two days, with an announcer famously saying "Tune in tomorrow -- same bat-time, same bat-channel" at the end of the first half.
Battlestar Galactica Every season, and even the miniseries which introduces the show, ends with a cliffhanger. The miniseries ends revealing Sharon "Boomer" Valerii, one of the most important pilots from Galactica, is in fact a Cylon. Season 1 ends with Commander Adama being shot by Sharon Valerii. Season 2 ends with the planet of New Caprica being occupied by the Cylons forces, and Kara "Starbuck" Thrace promising they'll "fight until they can't". Season 3 ends with four characters discovering they are Cylons (Samuel Anders, Galen Tyrol, Saul Tigh and Tory Foster), and Starbuck coming back after her apparent death in a previous episode. The show has also had many episodes with plotthreads left unresolved until later episodes. For example, Season two's midseason break was also a cliffhanger: Battlestars Galactica and Pegasus launched their Vipers to fight each other. Many two-part episodes with the first part ending on a cliffhanger, too. For example, "Resurrecion Ship (Part 1)" ends when both Adama and Admiral Caine ask other people to kill each other, and "The Eye of Jupiter" ends with Starbuck missing in action, D'anna Biers about to discover the identity of the last five Cylons, and Adama about to destroy the planet where a clue to find the Earth is hidden. The first part of the miniseries ends with the apparent death of Lee "Apollo" Adama.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer 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.
Charmed The Season 3 finale of Charmed ended with the sisters separated and two of them dying, with no way of them being healed. This gives way to Season 4, with the introduction of the character Paige Matthews following the departure of Shannen Doherty as Prue.
Cheers Before most other sitcoms even considered the idea of the season-ending cliffhanger, many seasons of Cheers ended on such.
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion The First Season end's with a Mexican Standoff between 3 Main characters and ends by cutting to black with the sound of a single gunshot. It was resolved at the start of season 2.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Season 7 ended with CSI Sara Sidle trapped under a car by the miniature killer. Season 8 ended with CSI Warrick Brown being shot twice by the Undersheriff while sitting in his car.
Dallas and Dynasty All seasons of both shows (even the last one, see below) ended on a cliffhanger.
Doctor Who In its original run (1963-1989), most stories comprised 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 all three current series - "The Parting of the Ways" ends with the regeneration of the Ninth Doctor into the Tenth, "Doomsday" ends with the appearance of Donna Noble, and "The Last of the Time Lords" ends with the HMS Titanic crashing into the TARDIS.
Torchwood Series 1 ended with Captain Jack Harkness seemingly gone with the Doctor. Oddly, this cliffhanger was partly resolved in another show - Doctor Who.
Dragon Ball Series Episodes sometimes ended during the powering-up of a special attack during a confrontation with an enemy, or just as the attack is about to be used.
Flash Gordon Every week, basically.
Friends Every season except the series finale ended on a cliffhanger (with varying degrees of suspense), with many other episodes having cliffhangers that would be picked up on the next week. Among the show's most famous cliffhangers is the wedding of Ross and Emily, at which Ross misspeaks and says Rachel's name at the altar, ending the season on a shocking cliffhanger. Another notable one 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 is the unexpected reunion between Chandler and Janice.
Frisky Dingo The first season ended with Simon activating the Annihallatrix and the screen going completely white.
Fushigi Yūgi Cliffhangers in this anime/manga are usually ployed at the beginning of battle scenes, a sudden and unprecedented event (e.g. Miaka being taken away by a pair of disembodied hands at the end of Episode Eight), or the revelation of another plot element (among the most notable being at the end of Episode 22, where Nakago tells Yui of another trap he has set for Miaka and the Suzaku Seven).
Modern game shows like Deal or No Deal and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, among others The shows' respective hosts often segue to commercial breaks during suspenseful moments, usually when said moment directly influences what prize a contestant might win. Cliffhangers are always explicitly announced by the host, usually by means of a long pause before the phrase "Right after this (break)" or one of similar meaning. This is one of the few cases where a cliffhanger is present in front of a studio audience.
Germany's Next TopmodelCycle 2: For the first time in German casting show history an episode ended with a huge cliffhanger. This season's eleventh episode left open the elimination of controversial contestant Fiona Erdmann. Cycle 3: The elimination process was completely cut from this season's third episode and shown next week. Best friends Gina-Lisa Lohfink and Sarah Knappik were about to be separated on the season's sixth episode. As host Heidi Klum is about to pronounce the judgement, hysterical Knappik leaves panel with Lohfink running after her and the episode comes to an end.
Green Wing Literal cliffhanger, with Guy Secretan, Dr. "Mac" Macartney and Martin Dear 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 and Mac, it's Joanna Clore and Alan Statham in a camper van, though Martin Dear is still there.
Heroes Every episode ends with "To be continued..." A notable cliffhanger was that of the last episode before the seasonal break in 2006.
InuYasha Some episodes (including the series finale itself) have cliffhangers (mostly 2 to 3 part episodes). The final episode of the series, when the title character and his friends still chase after Naraku, vowing to defeat him once and for all, ends with many long-running plots unresolved.
JAG Often featured cliffhanger episodes at the end of seasons. The final episode ended with not knowing which of the major characters would resign their commission to move with the other.
Jericho The first season ended when the townspeople of Jericho open fire on the invading residents of a neighboring town, New Bern, with gunfire sounding as the credits rolled.
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 parachute failure respectively.
Lost Drama/adventure/mystery/sci-fi: almost every episode ends with an intense cliffhanger or a twist, season finales on the other hand end with multiple cliffhangers.
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.
The Office (US) Every season finale (1,2,3) has been a cliffhanger, all of which deal with the Jim/Pam relationship. With Season One being Jim getting in a car with his new girlfriend Katie (The Hot Girl), as Pam watches from inside Roy's truck. You can tell by her look that she is jealous of Jim's new girl therefore revealing feelings she could have for Jim. Season Two ends with Jim telling Pam that he loves her. The next scene shows Pam on the phone with what appears to be her mother telling her about what has just happened, then Jim walks in, Pam hangs up the phone which leads to Jim kissing Pam. Then the screen cuts to black. Season Three ends with a "Talking Head" of Pam where she is explaining how she is optimistic of the future and wishing Jim and Karen the best. She is then interrupted by Jim who asks Pam "Are you free for dinner tonight?" Pam replies yes and then Jim says "All right, then it's a date," leaving Pam speechless and smiling. It is also revealed that Ryan got the promotion, and not Jim or Michael.
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. This is removed in the UK version.
Pokémon Even all of the episodes' conflicts are solved within the show, there are some exceptions. Some episodes (such as "Hello Pummelo" and "Enter The Dragonite") are two parters, where as others (like the "Indigo Arc") are multiple part storylines that take more than a few to resolve, these usually take place during a major tournament that Ash has made his way towards. Also, all of the episodes end with the trite "To Be Continued..." with the show's picture shrinking to the upper-left corner of the screen. One episode of the series ("The Battle Of The Badge") also dovetails into Pokemon: The First Movie as Mewtwo escapes from Giovanni, having defeated Gary's Pokemon earlier.
Primeval The endings of each season appears to have a cliffhanger; for season one, Nick Cutter appeared to disappear behind an expanding anomaly and in season two, Helen Cutter was seen with multiple versions of one man around a grave of a deceased main character.
Prison Break Most episodes spend the last minute or two setting up the main plot of the next episode, and produce a cliffhanger to be resolved. The season finales end with multiple cliffhangers that will be resolved over the course of the entire next season.
Quantum Leap Each episode ended with a minute or so long intro to the next episode's storyline.
Red Dwarf Series 2, 6, 7 and 8 all ended on cliffhangers (Especially Six and Eight).
Testing Actually, this is not a cliff hanger at all. I just wanted to test if you had read this far.. You have to love Wikipedia don't you. Thank you Wiki, all glory of this goes to you.
The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show (Cartoon) Often ends each episode in some sort of a cliffhanger, left to be resolved in the next episode.
Scrubs Some of the seasons end on liffhangers. The first one ended with Jordan revealing everyone's secrets to the others. The fifth season ended with Kim revealng that she was pregnant. The sixth ended with J.D. and Elliot (Both of whom were in a relationship.) Lying in the On-call room, leaning in to kiss before it cuts to credits.
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 2008).
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.
Sonic the Hedgehog The second season finale ("Doomsday") was not planned to be the season finale, but the show was cancelled before the third season could be fully written.
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. During Season 6, the episode Professor Chaos had a spoof cliffhanger ending, by asking three questions that theoretically would be answered in the following episode (One of which had nothing to do with the events of the preceding episode). Instead of all three questions being answered in the following episode, they were answered verbally immediately before the closing credits. The following episode, The Simpsons Already Did It, simply elaborated on the answers to the three aforementioned questions.
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) The only cliffhanger pair in the original series was The Menagerie, which incorporated footage of the aborted pilot, The Cage. However, since Star Trek: The Next Generation, most of the seasons of the various series have ended with a cliffhanger, and later seasons have included cliffhangers in the middle of a season. The most dramatic was the Jean Luc Picard and Borg cliff hanger episode (already mentioned in this forum).
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, all three 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. Season 1 ended with the turtles being beamed to an unknown location, leaving the Utroms dumbstruck. Season 2 ended with the turtles at home, celebrating their victory, while the bloodthirsty Triceratons approaching Earth, planning a full-scale invasion. Season 4 ended with the turtles and their new allies being held captive on a ship that is headed for Japan.
Tru Calling Season 1 (and the unfinished season 2) both ended on a cliff hanger with many questions left unanswered.
The West Wing Season 1 ends with the President and his staff being shot. Season 2 ends with the President, after just revealing his failure to disclose he has MS, being asked the question, "Will you seek a second term in office?" Season 4 ends when the President's daughter has been kidnapped, and temporarily with no Vice-President, he evokes the 25th Amendment, naming the Speaker of the House, who is from the opposing party, Acting President. Season 5 ends with an attack on the Presidential envoys sent to promote peace in the Middle East. The blast kills the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and seriously wounds Donna Moss.
The X-Files Most episodes end in mysterious conclusions. And each season finale ends mysteriously as well.
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.
Zoey 101 In the Zoey 101 movie, "Goodbye Zoey", Michael tries to turn off Quinn's webcam, but starts a connection with Zoey at the same time Michael & Chase tried to make Chase admit he misses Zoey. But along with him admitting it, he admits he loves Zoey and says why and when he first met her. Then the screen goes to Zoey and goes black.
Unresolved TV Cliff HangersAngel 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 and a dragon, ending the series with "Let's go to work."
Aquila The owners of Aquilla are able to activate the onboard computer to discover that it was in fact a liferaft of a much larger battlecruiser orbiting the sun, declaring that "We could have some serious fun with a battle cruiser!"
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.
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.
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 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.
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 prime time soap's final episode in 1991. Unlike most shows that ended with a cliffhanger this cliffhanger was entirely intentional. 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).
Danger Mouse The series finale "The Intergalactic 147" ended with DangerMouse and Penfold alive and well in their pillar box on a sidewalk fragment surrounded by a giant empty wasteland where London had been. They had helped the earth avoid being bumped into a black hole in an alien's intergalactic snooker game, but not before the whole city of London around them disappeared, it's exact whereabouts unknown. While DM and their boss, Colonel K, who's on the videophone, fret over what to do about the missing city, Penfold asks if they have a "spare", to which both DM and the Colonel reply, "Penfold, shush!". With London's fate still unresolved, the show faded out for the final time.
Darkwing Duck The 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.
Earth 2 This one-season series ended with Devon Adair (Debrah Farentino) falling ill with a mysterious illness and being placed in hibernation. Her voiceover implies that the planet they are trying to colonize is "rejecting" them, and that the same fate may befall the other characters. The series was not renewed for a second season, leaving the cliffhanger unresolved.
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.
Eve At Diva Style, Janie, Rita, and several friends are arrested by the FBI for an illegal botox party. Shelly derided her pregnant mother for remarrying her father after she found out her father is the baby's father; Shelly felt her father would abandon the baby like he abandoned Shelly and her sister. Finally, the husband of Nick's girlfriend approaches the closet where he and J.T. were hiding. J.T. grabbed a shoe, ready to do battle. At that point "To Be Continued" appeared on-screen, ending the series with no hope of immediate resolution.
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.
Family Guy At the end of the episode "The Thin White Line", Brian abruptly tells the Griffins that he is leaving for good and heads to the airport in a taxi. The next episode, "Brian does Hollywood", begins with a "previously on Family Guy" segment that shows 11 fake unrelated cliffhangers, most involving the main characters in life-threatening situations. The twelfth reveals that Brian has gone to LA to find himself.
Fastlane This highly stylized FOX television series, starring Tiffani Thiessen, Peter Facinelli, and Bill Bellamy ended it's 22-episode, 1 season run with undercover officers Van (Facinelli) and Deaq (Bellamy) successfully preventing a jewel heist spearheaded by the first employee Lt. Billie Chambers (Thiessen) recruited to work for The Candy Store, back when she hired criminals to pose as cops, instead of cops posing as criminals. Though the perp, Nick Cassavettes, was killed in the climax of the encounter, the satisfied undercover duo are none the wiser that Lt. Billie Chambers has been kidnapped by Cassavettes female associate, who injects the formerly-addicted Billie with heroin.
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.
Home Improvement The show ends with Jill wanting to accept a new job in Detroit as a psychologist, and Tim wanting to stay where they are as the Producer and head of his own Tool Time show.
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.
JAG The final episode involved Harm and Mac getting married. As they were being posted away from each other, one had to give up his/her career for the marriage to work. To decide, they flipped a commemorative coin. The result was not shown.
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.
JPod In the sereis finale, "Colony Collapse Disorder", Kaitlin is put into a Coma by a hug machine installed in the pod. Cowboy calls 911 (Which he has on speed-dial)and the series ends with Ethan announcing "I think she's gone into a coma." (Possibly a reference to the Douglas Coupland novel "Girlfriend in a Coma)
Las Vegas The 2007-2008 Writer's Strike cancelled production of the remaining three episodes of the series, forcing the series to end on a cliffhanger involving Danny and Delinda's pregnancy/baby, and Cooper's ownership fight for the Montecito.
Last Man Standing Cam was about to confront Adam having just remembered a drunken conversation about his affair with Zoe.
Living with Fran Merryl and Danny announce their engagement and Merryl asks Fran to be her Matron of Honor and Danny asks Riley to be his Best Man. Fran realizes that she will run into Riley at the engagement party causes Fran to bring Ted as her date in order to tell Riley that she has moved on from him and is giving Ted another chance. Fran finds Ted hitting on Riley's date. When Riley learns that Fran was just trying to protect him he proposes to Fran.
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."
The Lone Ranger The very first Lone Ranger episode ends with the lone ranger literally hanging off a cliff.
Love of Life On its final episode on February 1, 1980, heroine Betsy Crawford, after testifying in a trial, collapsed as she was leaving the stand. No one knew what happened to her as the show was cancelled, and not picked up by another network.
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 in 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.
My So-Called Life After discovering that Brian wrote the eloquent apology letter that was supposedly penned by Jordan Catalono, Angela ends up looking back and forth between the two deciding what she should do. She ends up getting into Jordan's car, but staring at Brian the whole time as she departs. The creator of the show, Winnie Holzman, is proud of the end of series. She said, "...there was a rightness in how short the season was. This was a show about adolescence and sort of ended in its own adolescence. There was an aura about how short the series was like all things that die young. The show ended at a point that it was still all potential."
Odyssey 5 Was cancelled after one season. The show ended on a cliffhanger which was never resolved. Unresolved plots included the main plot about saving the earth, but also the subplots about the Karder, the Sentients and the kidnapping of Angela Perry.
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.
Port Charles The soap opera concluded its run with heroine Allison not knowing who the father of her baby was.
ReBoot There are two different cliffhanger endings. In the UK, the show ended with the heroes in the web gone to rescue Bob, and the episode ended with a zoom in on Matrix's eye. The reason for this cliffhanger is CITV did not air the rest of the season, as they deemed the content unsuitable. In the US and Canada (and/or anywhere other than the UK that aired ReBoot) got a different cliffhanger ending, at the end of Series 4 (The halfway point of Series 3 was where CITV stopped it), 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 Grim Reaper comes to take him away and he kicks the Grim Reaper in the testicles and runs off.
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.
Santa Barbara The storyline in its final episode in January 1993 ended when Andie Klein aimed her gun at the crowd of attendees at Warren and BJ's wedding.
The Sopranos Many episodes find their ending in a cliffhanger when some character or obscure scene ostensibly leaves the audience unsatisfied, often with subtle allegations. Occasionally obvious or 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. The series finale ended deliberately with an abrupt cut-to-black in the middle of a scene, leaving the outcome of all surviving characters unknown.
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.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World The season 3 cliffhanger was never resolved, for the series was cancelled in 2002 after funding for a fourth season fell through..
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.
Spider-Man: The Animated Series In the final episode of this series, Spider-Man saves all of reality from Spider-Carnage, an unstable alternate universe version of the character. Madame Web congratulates Spider-Man and transports both he and a powerless alternate world self (who had helped tremendously despite his lack of powers) to that person's Earth, where the truth about his origins are revealed, he is an actor who portrays the character on television, and takes him 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. The cliffhanger was never resolved due to the dreaded "65 episode rule" of Syndication, which had not yet been challenged as sternly as it is now. Head writer John Semper had hoped to continue the series and resolve the cliffhanger, one proposed arc involved Spidey finding MJ in Colonial England and fighting Carnage once more, who had by now joined with Jack The Ripper.
Spider-Man Unlimited There were a few cliffhangers in Spider-Man Unlimited. The Counter-Earth version of the Green Goblin was hinted to be the missing husband of Dr. Yamanda-Naoko Jones, who allowed Peter to stay with her and her son, (the Spider-Man Unlimited comic book also hinted a Bestial version of Wolverine was her husband, but it's place in canon is uncertain). The series also looked at Carnage and Venom's attempts at contacting a symbiote hive on Counter-Earth known as "The Synoptic", which would menace Counter-Earth in the final moments of the final episode, just as Spider-Man and The Resistance had succeeded in overthrowing The High Evolutionary and his Bestial forces.
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. However the fact that the series was implied to have continuity with the first movie and the fact he is Spider-Man again in the second movie, with a second series planned (but never produced) means this still counts as a cliffhanger.
Stargate: SG-1 The final episode resolves none of the story dealing with the Ori Army's invasion of the Milky Way Galaxy.) This story arc will be wrapped up with the straight-to-DVD movie Stargate: The Ark Of Truth
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.
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.
Traveler The first season of Traveler ended with Jay, Will, and Tyler talking to the police station on a payphone, with the man and proof needed to save them from escaping jail. As they are telling the police chief that they have the proof outside, the car containing the proof explodes. They stand in awe, and then run away. It was then cancelled.
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 cliffhanger 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?", as well as having several other characters involved in some type of cliffhanger.
V The sci-fi series ended on a cliffhanger as the season was unexpectedly cancelled in 1985.