To Be Continued ... | Best Cliffhanger of Star Trek (Part 1)

[Frodo Lives]

Re: To Be Continued ... | Best Cliffhanger of Star Trek (Par

Ok, seriously, where's the love for Favour the Bold?

In my mind, that cliffhanger blows The Best of Both Worlds out of the water. The episode was building up and building up and building up to a crescendo of the ultimate Star Trek battle showdown and then... WHAM! To be continued...

Not to mention it had the best second part of any of the two-parters mentioned here (I don't care what anyone says, the Deus Ex Machina works, because it actually IS a Deus Ex Machina! ).

Thankfully the first time I saw it was back on VHS when it first came out and Sacrifice of Angels was on the same tape. Whew.

But, enough of my ranting.

 

[Michael]

Phillip Culley said:
But as an aside, is there a list anywhere of all the artificial cliffhangers for the feature length episodes (so the pilots, finales and IIRC Dark Frontier and Flesh and Blood)?

Not that I know of it. For this poll I just skimmed through the episode articles on Memory Alpha. It is possible that I forgot about a cliffhanger.

 

[Balrog]

There are a few episodes on the list you call cliffhangers that weren't originally 2-part episodes. They were later cut and edited into 2-parters (and some weren't edited that well either):

Encounter At Farpoint
All Good Things...
Emissary
Way of the Warrior
What You Leave Behind

 

[Michael]

^ Yes, I am well aware of that. Originally they may not be intended to be cliffhangers. But the first part of one of these cut feature-length episodes certainly doesn't bring the story to a conclusion either. So, there is a cliffhanger moment at the end. It may not be intended; but it is there. And it may not be a very good cliffhanger moment; but that's for you to decide. If you don't like it please feel free to not vote for it. And as I said: It is possible, that I forgot about a cliffhanger. So if someone can spot one, please let us know ...

Who would have thought that putting up a poll could be so difficult?

 

[startrekwatcher]

Re: To Be Continued ... | Best Cliffhanger of Star Trek (Par

JD said:

startrekwatcher said:
The Best of Both Worlds Part I--best cliffhanger in Trek or tv period.

I don't know if I'd go as far as that. We've gotten some pretty damned good cliffhangers on some of the newer serials like Heroes and Lost.

Yes those shows had some great cliffhangers that I loved immensely but none, for me personally, carried the weight and viscerally thrilling response as the sight of Picard assimilated and Riker ordering "Mr Worf, Fire!".

Nothing was quite so mindblowing.

 

[TGTheodore]

Re: To Be Continued ... | Best Cliffhanger of Star Trek (Par

Belar said:
^ But those split-for-syndication feature-length episodes do contain a cliffhanger. So why shouldn't they be considered? As I understand the writing of an episode, the authors break the story into act

Possibly because every episode, single or otherwise-- ends with "cliffhangers" at the end of almost every act. It's been a TV formula for decades.

--Ted

 

[Vanyel]

Re: To Be Continued ... | Best Cliffhanger of Star Trek (Par

The Best of Both Worlds is hands down the best cliffhanger.

I was in London at the time this episode appeared so I missed its original run. Luckily my best friend taped it for me and when I got back we had just over a week to get through half a season of episodes. We played part 1 about 2 hours before part 2 so we could eat, watch the 10 o'clock news (which came out right before it; and the news anchor actually told all the Star Trek fans, on air, that the station had been getting their phone calls and that the episode would start right after the news.) and other things so we wouldn't have to get up from the TV (Man, how did I ever survive without a DVR back then?).

And unlike other cliffhangers from Star Trek it has reached iconic status. Stewie Kills Lois is an obvious example of how far it reached into pop culture.

 

[Ghostface1701]

Re: To Be Continued ... | Best Cliffhanger of Star Trek (Par

Everything about BOBW has been said, and there is simply no denying that it is the ultimate cliffhanger (I still get excited at the last line to this day), but why don't I even see up for the vote the DS9 ep 'The Adversary'? The final scene is so simple. Two characters, in conversation, Odo relaying what the dying Changling told him:

"You're too late, we're everywhere"

I loved the way DS9 ended alot of their seasons. Not with a big "To Be Continued", but with a sense foreboding for what was to come the following season. For me, this cliffhanger, from the ones I can remember, is second only to BOBW.

 

[Michael]

Re: To Be Continued ... | Best Cliffhanger of Star Trek (Par

^ You're right. I will add "The Adversary" in part II of this poll. Sometimes it was really hard to decide if it is a cliffhanger moment or not.

 

[CoveTom]

Re: To Be Continued ... | Best Cliffhanger of Star Trek (Par

People make alot of good points here about cliffhangers other than BOBW. Call to Arms for me is one of my favorites, as an example. The Adversary is another. Trek has done a fine job with cliffhangers over the years, both of the direct "To Be Continued" variety that TNG favored and the general sense of foreboding variety that DS9 favored.

But, I'm sorry, call it hyperbole if you want. Nothing can beat the final moments of BOBW Part I. No other cliffhanger in all of Trek has ever produced that level of reaction from me personally, from fandom, or from the general public. It remains iconic to this day. Even DS9's Ira Steven Behr, who is known for criticizing the blandness of TNG, has stated in effect that DS9 had to go for a different kind of cliffhanger because BOBW had done the direct cliffhanger so incredibly well.

 

[cwalrus2]

Re: To Be Continued ... | Best Cliffhanger of Star Trek (Par

BOBW and Call to Arms are my picks. :thumbsup:

 

[azzurri08]

Re: To Be Continued ... | Best Cliffhanger of Star Trek (Par

The way of the Warrior and Call to arms for me.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Re: To Be Continued ... | Best Cliffhanger of Star Trek (Par

I don't think that the two-hour premieres or the finals should count as cliffhangers because they were intended to be viewed as a two-hour episode, but were only broken in half for repeats.

My pick, however, is BOBW.

 

[cwalrus2]

Re: To Be Continued ... | Best Cliffhanger of Star Trek (Par

^ I agree. I think that if you eliminate the 2 hour season premeires like Way of the Warrior, and a lot of the DS9 final arc stuff (since many of those episodes focus on different conflicts and characters instead of being a direct continuation of the episode that came before it), you can narrow it down a lot better. For me the only Ds9 Episodes that were truly cliffhangers were:

The Circle Trilogy (1st two episodes)
The Maquis Part 1
The Jem'Hadar
The Search Part 1
Past Tense Part 1
Improbable Cause
The Adversary
Home Front
Broken Link
Call to Arms
A Time to Stand
Rocks and Shoals
Favor the Bold
Tears of the Prophets
Image in the Sand

The Dominion Occupation and the Final Arc contain episodes that shift focus away from the previous episodes which is why I didn't incude all of the Occupation Arc or any of the Final arc. Yes, the story continues, but not in the traditional way that say BOBW pt1 is a cliffhanger where the story has a direct continuation in BOBW pt 2. In the final arc for example, the overall theme of the war is consistant throughout the arc, but the plots and character focuses for the episodes are different even though the main story (the war) moves along. I hope that makes sense.

 

[Smiley]

Re: To Be Continued ... | Best Cliffhanger of Star Trek (Par

I would not include "The Adversary" as a cliffhanger. "The Way of the Warrior" was not a direct follow-up. On the other hand, "The Search" does follow up on the threads from "The Jem'Hadar," so I count "The Jem'Hadar" as a cliffhanger for these purposes.

 

[Michael]

Re: To Be Continued ... | Best Cliffhanger of Star Trek (Par

cwalrus2 said:
^ I agree. I think that if you eliminate the 2 hour season premeires like Way of the Warrior, and a lot of the DS9 final arc stuff (since many of those episodes focus on different conflicts and characters instead of being a direct continuation of the episode that came before it), you can narrow it down a lot better. For me the only Ds9 Episodes that were truly cliffhangers were:

The Circle Trilogy (1st two episodes)
The Maquis Part 1
The Search Part 1
Past Tense Part 1
Improbable Cause
The Adversary
Home Front
Broken Link
Call to Arms
A Time to Stand
Rocks and Shoals
Favor the Bold
Tears of the Prophets
Image in the Sand

The Dominion Occupation and the Final Arc contain episodes that shift focus away from the previous episodes which is why I didn't incude all of the Occupation Arc or any of the Final arc. Yes, the story continues, but not in the traditional way that say BOBW pt1 is a cliffhanger where the story has a direct continuation in BOBW pt 2. In the final arc for example, the overall theme of the war is consistant throughout the arc, but the plots and character focuses for the episodes are different even though the main story (the war) moves along. I hope that makes sense.

Smiley said:
I would not include "The Adversary" as a cliffhanger. "The Way of the Warrior" was not a direct follow-up. On the other hand, "The Search" does follow up on the threads from "The Jem'Hadar," so I count "The Jem'Hadar" as a cliffhanger for these purposes.

As you can see, it is not quite simple to determine what a cliffhanger episode is and what is not. So I tried to include everything that at least looks like a cliffhanger. Yes, now there may be many episodes that you would not include. But if I would have left them out there certainly would be others screaming that I forgot about their favorite cliffhanger moment.

 

[cwalrus2]

Re: To Be Continued ... | Best Cliffhanger of Star Trek (Par

I included the Adversary because when it first aired, it certainly felt like a cliffhanger and there was no way to tell that Season 4's "Way of the Warrior" would shift the focus to the Klingons. Even though that episode shift focus away from the Founders , the beginning of the episodes starts as a reaction to the Adversary. They certainly wouldn't be having a shapeshifter drill if it wasn't for what they learned in The Adversary.

I agree with you on "The Jem'Hadar" being followed up with "The Search part 1" so I would add that episode to my list.

 

[cwalrus2]

Re: To Be Continued ... | Best Cliffhanger of Star Trek (Par

[/QUOTE]
As you can see, it is not quite simple to determine what a cliffhanger episode is and what is not. So I tried to include everything that at least looks like a cliffhanger. Yes, now there may be many episodes that you would not include. But if I would have left them out there certainly would be others screaming that I forgot about their favorite cliffhanger moment.

[/QUOTE]


You're right. I'm not complaining. I love the kinds of discussions threads like this generate. I guess I just wish it was possible to have one thread for all the series, but you did the best you could.

 

[Michael]

^ Thanks for the kind words. I really appreciate that.

 

[Noname Given]

#1 - TNG: BoBW (Part 1)
#2 (write in) - ENT: "Azati Prime" (Love the ship tumbling out of control as a number of crewmen get blown out into space through a hull breach).