Cliffhangers

From Wikipedia:

"A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction. A cliffhanger is hoped to ensure the audience will return to see how the characters resolve the dilemma."

I love cliffhangers. They're really one of the most fantastic things ever invented, especially for any sort of serialized fiction, TV, movies, books, you name it. There's nothing quite as exiting, or excruciating as the anticipation of having to wait months or even years (though years can be a little cruel, GRRM, I'm looking at you here!) to see the resolution of a climax to a story into which you've invested so much of your time and effort. When Han Solo gets taken onboard Slave I and just a few minutes later Luke, Leia, and the droids watch as Lando and Chewie set off on the metaphorical road to set him free, that's classic cliffhangerism. Which is totally a word. Now. That I've invented it. (and will show up in popular media very soon, mark my words.) And I can't tell you how many season endings have ended on cliffhangers in recent years. Tons. What sucks is when they end on a cliffhanger, but don't end up getting renewed. Like Alphas on SyFy. TOTAL buzzkill.

But there's been a growing trend recently which has turned me a little against cliffhangers. Cliffhanger commercial breaks in reality TV. And you KNOW they know they're doing it. I mean you're watching Chopped or Hell's Kitchen, and the music is building to it's carefully formulated crescendo, designed to build anticipation and drag to to the edge of your seat, and the a host says "The person going home is...." and the logo flashes up on the screen and you go to commercial. I mean I can't fault them for using a time honored technique to keep people glued to their seats so they don't miss anything, but it seems fairly pointless when you've got DVR.

See this is why I watch videos on the internet. They're only 5 minutes long or maybe up to about a half hour and they almost never end in a cliffhanger.

...Well okay, not exactly true. But with those, for the most part you don't have to wait too long for the next video, and even if you do have to wait, there are ENDLESS cat vs laser pointer videos to be distracted by.

But really it's just the "Reality Game Show" genre that I disapprove of using this particular tool. Tell us who lost this round, go to commercial, then come back and do the next round. The cliffhanger doesn't fill me with anticipation, just annoyance. It's almost as bad as spoilers.

Oh, don't get me started on spoilers...

Next Blog: "SPOILERS!' Stay tuned! Don't touch that dial! You DON'T want to miss this one!