TV Q&A: Why are shows allowed to be cancelled with cliffhangers?
You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: Shouldn’t television producers be required to resolve major questions before a series is removed from viewing? Not alone, but probably most annoying was Colony, which created an entire set of circumstances and never resolved ANYTHING.
A: Networks and television producers make deals for a specific number of episodes in a TV season, although the number varies from one show to the next. Still, the people making the show do not always know if they are going to be cancelled as they make their allotted number of episodes. I also remember one producer claiming he put a huge cliffhanger in his season-ending show to pressure the network to renew it.
But, as I said recently, we see plenty of occasions when cliffhangers do not prevent cancellation. Some shows anticipating cancellation do offer a wrapping-up
moment in their season finale; both The Resident and East New York did that this season. And How I Met Your Mother shot some wrap-up scenes in its second season, although the show ran long enough that the scenes were not used until years later.
But other shows press on as if they will see another day. And once they’ve completed their deal, it takes another round of deal-making to make a finale episode possible, and a network’s willingness to air it, and those are money decisions more than creative ones.
Speaking of other TV aggravations …
Q: I just read your response about Alaska Daily being cancelled. I really enjoyed the show, but when there are three-and-ahalf months between episodes ABC should have run a crawl stating that they cancelled the show.
A: Quite a few readers wrote in about the cancellation of the Hilary Swank drama, which I mentioned in a previous column. More than one mentioned the monthslong hiatus at midseason was a problem. While many shows take midseason breaks, this was an extensive one, especially for a show that needed some nurturing to draw an audience. And some wanted to take their complaints to ABC, which you can do with the “submit programming feedback” link at support.abc.com.
Q: I recently saw what I believe was a 1930s movie (not documentary) about the last veteran of the Civil War. He was living in a boarding house when he received $50,000 for being the last survivor. A young couple attempted to relieve him of his money and others wanted some of it as well. Does this one ring a bell with you?
A: That’s Young Fugitives, from 1938. It’s Hollywood-filtered history; the oldest Civil War veterans made it to the 1950s. A couple of places to find the movie are on DVD and Prime Video.