Cliffhangers (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Cliffhangers was an American
television series that debuted on February 27, 1979 on NBC
.
Cliffhangers attempted to revive the genre of movie serial
s in a made-for-TV format. Each hour-long episode was divided into three 20-minute (including commercials) segments featuring different storylines. During the series' run, three serials were featured - a mystery, a science fiction
/western hybrid, and a horror story:
To add to the "in-progress" feeling of the proceedings, all three series were started with different chapter numbers (although this was the first broadcast for all of them): "Stop Susan Williams" began at Chapter II, "The Secret Empire" started with Chapter III, and "The Curse Of Dracula" with Chapter VI. The series was cancelled after only 10 episodes were aired, by which point only "The Curse Of Dracula" had reached its conclusion. However, one unaired episode (which did air overseas) featured the two concluding chapters of "The Secret Empire" as well as the final part of "Stop Susan Williams." American viewers later got a chance to see the concluding part of "Stop Susan Williams" in the TV-movie "The Girl Who Saved The World" which re-edited the eleven installments into a single two hour movie ("Curse Of Dracula" was also re-edited as two TV-movies for later airing).
"Cliffhangers" was, at the time, the most expensive TV series ever produced due to three simultaneous production units being required. The hope was that if, after 10-12 serial episodes, a serial caught on, that it could be spun off as a series, but the network soon tired of the financial burden and never let it build an audience. The fact that it aired opposite "Happy Days" and "Laverne and Shirley", which were the #1 and #2 most popular shows in television at the time, certainly didn't help.
The series was created by Kenneth Johnson and staffed by many young writers who went on to become quite successful, including, Craig Faustus Buck, Harry Longstreet, Renee Longstreet, Andrew Schneider
, Sam Egan
, Richard Christian Matheson
, and Jeri Taylor
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television series that debuted on February 27, 1979 on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
.
Cliffhangers attempted to revive the genre of movie serial
Serial (film)
Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials, Film serials or Chapter plays, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film. They were related to pulp magazine serialized fiction...
s in a made-for-TV format. Each hour-long episode was divided into three 20-minute (including commercials) segments featuring different storylines. During the series' run, three serials were featured - a mystery, a science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
/western hybrid, and a horror story:
- "Stop Susan Williams": Susan AntonSusan Anton-Youth:Anton attended Yucaipa High School in Yucaipa, California, and graduated in 1968. After high school, Anton attended San Bernardino Valley College...
stars as a beautiful TV journalistJournalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
investigating the murder of her brother, and stumbling on a vast international conspiracy. - "The Secret Empire": the adventures of a U.S. marshal (Geoffrey ScottGeoffrey Scott (actor)Geoffrey Scott is an American actor best known for appearing on the television series Dynasty for two seasons as Mark Jennings, the first husband of Krystle Carrington .He also played Sky Rumson on Dark Shadows in 1970...
) in the Old West who stumbles upon a futuristic underground city run by aliens. - "The Curse of Dracula": starring Michael NouriMichael NouriMichael Nouri is an American television and film actor. He may be best known for his role as Nick Hurley, in the 1983 film Flashdance. He has had recurring roles in numerous television series, including NCIS as Eli David, the father of Mossad officer Ziva David, The O.C. as Dr...
as Count DraculaCount DraculaCount Dracula is a fictional character, the titular antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula and archetypal vampire. Some aspects of his character have been inspired by the 15th century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler...
, who is living undercover as a college teacher in 1979 San Francisco.
To add to the "in-progress" feeling of the proceedings, all three series were started with different chapter numbers (although this was the first broadcast for all of them): "Stop Susan Williams" began at Chapter II, "The Secret Empire" started with Chapter III, and "The Curse Of Dracula" with Chapter VI. The series was cancelled after only 10 episodes were aired, by which point only "The Curse Of Dracula" had reached its conclusion. However, one unaired episode (which did air overseas) featured the two concluding chapters of "The Secret Empire" as well as the final part of "Stop Susan Williams." American viewers later got a chance to see the concluding part of "Stop Susan Williams" in the TV-movie "The Girl Who Saved The World" which re-edited the eleven installments into a single two hour movie ("Curse Of Dracula" was also re-edited as two TV-movies for later airing).
- "Stop Susan Williams" was a take-off of the old serial The Perils of PaulineThe Perils of PaulineThe Perils of Pauline may refer to:* The Perils of Pauline , a 1914 silent film serial* The Perils of Pauline , a 1933 film serial from Universal Studios...
. - "The Secret Empire" was a pastiche of the Gene AutryGene AutryOrvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
movie serial The Phantom EmpireThe Phantom EmpireThe Phantom Empire, starring Gene Autry the Singing Cowboy, was a 12-chapter 1935 Mascot serial that combined the western, musical, and science fiction genres. The first episode is 30 mins, the rest about 20 minutes...
. Scenes in the futuristic underground city were in color, but scenes in the 19th century wild west on the surface were "in beautiful black and white," tinted brownish. - "The Curse of Dracula" revolved around the notion that after 600 years, Dracula was getting tired of immortality and, in pursuit of the love of a beautiful woman, sought mortality so that he could live out his days with her.
"Cliffhangers" was, at the time, the most expensive TV series ever produced due to three simultaneous production units being required. The hope was that if, after 10-12 serial episodes, a serial caught on, that it could be spun off as a series, but the network soon tired of the financial burden and never let it build an audience. The fact that it aired opposite "Happy Days" and "Laverne and Shirley", which were the #1 and #2 most popular shows in television at the time, certainly didn't help.
The series was created by Kenneth Johnson and staffed by many young writers who went on to become quite successful, including, Craig Faustus Buck, Harry Longstreet, Renee Longstreet, Andrew Schneider
Andrew Schneider
Andrew Schneider is an American screenwriter and television producer, whose credits include writing for The Sopranos, Northern Exposure, and Alien Nation. He frequently co-writes episodes with his wife, Diane Frolov. In 1992 Schneider won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama...
, Sam Egan
Sam Egan
Sam Egan is a journalist, and a writer/producer for television.His credits include writing and producing for such shows as: Quincy, M.E., The Incredible Hulk, The Fall Guy, Northern Exposure, The Outer Limits, Sanctuary and Jeremiah...
, Richard Christian Matheson
Richard Christian Matheson
Richard Christian Matheson is an American writer of horror fiction and screenplays. He is the author of the short story collections Scars and Other Distinguishing Marks and Dystopia; the novel Created By; and the screenplay for the Showtime Masters of Horror installments Dance of the Dead and...
, and Jeri Taylor
Jeri Taylor
Jeri Taylor is a television scriptwriter and producer who is known for her contributions to the Star Trek series. She is an alumna of Indiana University, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta.-Star Trek screenwriting:...
.