Shooting J.R. - the Evolution of the Cliff-Hanger

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Dillydipper, Jan 2, 2019.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite Thread Starter

    Location:
    Central PA
    I do not recall a time before anything like Dallas' game-changing assasination plot, where a show regularly took advantage of a series break to upset the board and rearrange the pieces. Oh sure, there was always that, "this finale they kiss/this finale they marry/this finale there's a baby we never see again..." sort of dance with network TV. But, for something serious? Heck, even when the aliens came down and replaced Darren's on Bewitched, they would keep mum about it and do it offscreen!

    But I just saw the "Christmas-break" episode of The Good Doctor the other night, and, while I enjoyed the forward momentum and the shuffling of cast dynamics, it occurred to me, that's an awful lot of angst and tension to be laying on your audience, going into their Christmas-familytime-holiday. Isn't that kind of a mean thing to do?

    In case you don't know, The Good Doctor is one of those "I'm-the-only-doctor-here-who's-right-all-the-time-also-I'm-weird" dramas like House. No spoilers, but the Christmas break episode starts with a calamitous event which leads to a lot of characters falling down, who might be removed from the playing field by January. Was kind of their, "Holy crap, Picard's a Borg!" moment (denoument of which didn't follow-through with its' promise, IMHO). And I got to thinkin'...

    Series written around network scheduling needs isn't a new thing; you always do the minor reveal going into the bottom-of-the-hour spot break, and the main character's soliloquy is usually seven minutes away from the credits, nothing complex for the audience to forget about when you're off-air for a few weeks, et cetera, et cetera. And now, seems there's two "mid-break"s to a season - one going into Christmas, and the other after February sweeps - and showrunners are now plotting those beats accordingly.

    But plotting these "fire drills" to happen going into a holiday break, or dangling the favorite cast members' careers in front of an audience when a show is "on the bubble", is sort of a new dynamic. Especially when you realize, it has nothing to do with the story of the show, but actually drawing you into the backstage drama as well ("Will they let that character die? Is his contract up for renegotiation? Then who's gonna be 'the snarky one'...?").

    Which I think is kind of a cheat. Most people can't concentrate on getting the toast buttered before they have to get the eggs off the stove. How are they gonna balance meal prep, AND fretting about the eroding audience numbers of your favorite sitcom, damaging the lead-in to the network's anchor drama? It's just too stressful!

    Can you think of any of these overboard, "that-didn't-need-to-happen", cast-shuffling cliff-hanger stunts that hurt rather than helped momentum of a show?
     
  2. charlie W

    charlie W EMA Level 10

    Location:
    Area Code 254
    You brought the "Who Shot J.R." cliffhanger from Dallas but they also did the worst season-ending conclusion for a previous season(an effort to bring back Patrick Duffy's character after killing him off earlier) when it was all just a dream to Victoria Principal's character. I think that pretty sank the show or the fans moved over to Falconcrest.
     
    entropyfan likes this.
  3. entropyfan

    entropyfan Forum Resident

    Last episode of the third season of MASH maybe?
     
  4. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite Thread Starter

    Location:
    Central PA
    Both good examples. But, what did it mean to the shows themselves? Bobby's shower obviously didn't do anything for the credibility to the plotline. Losing two major characters in a war zone however, would not be that unheard of, and it was always a comedy with a rich pall of crisis over it to begin with.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine