Cliffhangers

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Cliffhangers was a short-lived TV show that aired in 1979 on NBC. It aired in a one hour time slot and featured three segments that aped the format of cliffhanger serials, which were

  • Stop Susan Williams -- a female reporter investigates the murder of her brother and becomes involved in an international conspiracy
  • The Secret Empire -- A hybrid Western/sci-fi story, heavily inspired by The Phantom Empire
  • The Curse of Dracula -- Dracula comes back as a modern-day college teacher

The series all started In Medias Res with chapters greater than 1 that even continued from nonexistent cliffhanger endings from the "previous episode". Only The Curse of Dracula ended in the USA, although international broadcasts and Compilation Movies end all three series. They generally aired one segment of each per week. It was intended that serials would be replaced by new serials or new stories in old serials once they had ended, but the show didn't last that long.

Tropes used in Cliffhangers include: