World Cup Tournament World Cup of 80s Soap Cliffhangers

James from London

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As opposed to the UFO descending out of thin air? And if DYNASTY's Fallon was flying too close to the sun then THE COLBYS Fallon was literally flying too close to the stars.
The spin-off always went the extra mile
True, true ... but I guess what I like about Fallon's disappearance on DYNASTY is that they constructed an entire storyline out of thin air to "explain" it - it didn't make any sense, but there it was, happening in front of us, scene after scene: mystery headaches, mystery nightmares, mystery hallucinations. Her disappearance on THE COLBYS was pretty much limited to that final scene and although it wasn't supposed to make logical sense, the UFO kind of did what you'd expect a UFO to do. So even though it was surreal, it wasn't as surreal as what happened on DYNASTY.
 

James from London

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Jock Og

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Match 1: DYNASTY season 3
Match 2: THE COLBYS season 2
 

Willie Oleson

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The Colbys cliffhanger is pretty iconic, but something about it felt a little desperate too, like they new they were facing the axe so they went with something so outlandish it would at least get people talking about the show
I've never thought of it that way, but I think they want people to talk about these things in order to lure them back for the next season.
Even though it ended with a cliff hanger it's actually a series finale, not a soap cliff hanger in the traditional sense of the word.
If there had been a third season then I suspect the aftermath would have been handled just as underwhelmingly as Moldavia, as in "it sorta kinda didn't happen", and then it would fizzle out the way it happened in DYNASTY (although, for once, DYNASTY decided not to ignore it altogether).

There really is no place for the supernatural or sci-fi in these kind of soaps (a campy fortune teller notwithstanding) and it could have hurt the parent show, much worse than what Bobby's resurrection did to KNOTS LANDING.
However, because it was something that wasn't supposed to happen - in the same way the whole Carrington clan wasn't supposed to be executed - there's something perversely exhilarating about it. And since THE COLBYS had nothing more to lose....why not?

On the other hand, FARGO's second season had a sci-fi scene too but strangely enough that didn't look like a jump-the-shark moment at all. It just looked beautiful.
 

Angela Channing

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I've never thought of it that way, but I think they want people to talk about these things in order to lure them back for the next season.
Even though it ended with a cliff hanger it's actually a series finale, not a soap cliff hanger in the traditional sense of the word.
If there had been a third season then I suspect the aftermath would have been handled just as underwhelmingly as Moldavia, as in "it sorta kinda didn't happen", and then it would fizzle out the way it happened in DYNASTY (although, for once, DYNASTY decided not to ignore it altogether).

There really is no place for the supernatural or sci-fi in these kind of soaps (a campy fortune teller notwithstanding) and it could have hurt the parent show, much worse than what Bobby's resurrection did to KNOTS LANDING.
However, because it was something that wasn't supposed to happen - in the same way the whole Carrington clan wasn't supposed to be executed - there's something perversely exhilarating about it. And since THE COLBYS had nothing more to lose....why not?

On the other hand, FARGO's second season had a sci-fi scene too but strangely enough that didn't look like a jump-the-shark moment at all. It just looked beautiful.
Although it was the end of The Colbys it wasn't he end of that particular storyline because it continued in Dynasty. Yes, they wanted The Colbys to end on something different and memorable but they weren't ending it on something so outrageous that they couldn't explain what happened next. In the end, the resolution shown in Dynasty, was as you said, underwhelming.
 

Willie Oleson

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Although it was the end of The Colbys it wasn't he end of that particular storyline because it continued in Dynasty
Yes, perhaps it was impossible for the return of Jeff and Fallon to ignore it altogether, but I'm not sure if the The Colbys team had anything to do with it.
In the end, the resolution shown in Dynasty, was as you said, underwhelming.
The problem is that it could not NOT have been underwhelming. The only other option is to make it real, and that really isn't an option. Same goes for the Moldavia massacre (although that aftermath could have been done better).

In hindsight I think it would have worked better for DYNASTY's season 4 cliff hanger, but without actually showing anything extraterrestrial.
What was that light she was walking towards to? Is it connected with anything that happened to her before? It would create an otherworldly vibe that doesn't need to be explained because it could be something or nothing but with just enough "what if?" about it.
I would bring back and show the flying saucer in DYNASTY's spectacular series finale - forboding in "dinner's served!" - to take Adam back home. And that would explain everything!
 

colbyco

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I read Forsythe said "this is our second Moldavia" - when he heared the ufo thing will transfer to Dynasty.
Like JJ imagined I would have handled it as a nervous breakdown and after 2 episodes of Dynasty´s S8 the stoyline is over. It was too much specially
for this show (after Moldavia and double Krystle) to have this storyline stretched out for weeks...

After all did Dynasty really need Jeff and Fallon at this point? I think Miles and Sable would have been the perfect Colbys to come over.
Sable starting her fight against Alexis on Wednesday nights could have raised the ratings and could have made a lot headlines. + Miles (most of the time shirtless)
in love with Sammy Jo would have made tv seasons hottest couple. Imagine Sammy Jo becomming Sable daughter in law -both hating Alexis.
Imagine the feisty dinner talks at Sable´s table ...
 

James from London

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I liked the way DYNASTY handled the UFO stuff. It took the emphasis off "do aliens exist and if so, what do they want with Emma Samms?" and put it on "is stuffy old Jeff willing to support Fallon in her need to colour outside the lines of convention?" and as such, it restored the dynamic that had existed between them at the beginning of the series. And it did it with an irreverence and lightness of touch which had been missing from their relationship on THE COLBYS (but without descending into horrible New DYNASTY wackiness) .
 
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Angela Channing

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The poll has now closed. The votes have been counted and are as follows:

Match 1
Knots Season 13 - 1 vote
Dynasty Season 3 - 12 votes

Match 2
The Colbys Season 2 - 8 votes
Dynasty Season 4 - 5 votes

So Dynasty season 3 (Krystle and Alexis are trapped in a burning cabin) and The Colbys season 2 (Fallon is abducted by aliens) are the winners and progress to round 2 of the contest.



Thank you to everyone who voted. Details of the next 2 matches will be posted on this thread tomorrow.
 

Seaviewer

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even though it was surreal, it wasn't as surreal as what happened on DYNASTY.
I thought it was a reasonable enough explanation. The alternative would have been to pursue the idea that Fallon had actually been abducted by aliens.
 

James from London

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I thought it was a reasonable enough explanation. The alternative would have been to pursue the idea that Fallon had actually been abducted by aliens.
I meant what happened on DYNASTY three years earlier, when Fallon first disappeared!
 

Angela Channing

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The poll is now open for you to choose which cliffhangers you would like to win each of next 2 matches.

You may vote for a winner of either match or for both matches but remember you are voting for your favourite cliffhanger, not your favourite episode or favourite soap opera.

Stating the reasons for your choices is encouraged as this makes the contest more interesting and may help others in making their decisions. However, this is entirely optional and you can just state your chosen winner of each match if you prefer.
 

Angela Channing

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Match 1

Falcon Crest Season 1 (Emma is found to be responsible for Jason's death and Chase gains control of 50% of Falcon Crest) vs Return To Eden Season 1 (Stephanie is reunited with her children after she survives Greg's attempt to kill her)





Match 2
Dallas Season 2 Sue Ellen is unconscious in hospital after crashing her car and giving birth to John Ross prematurely vs Knot Landing Season 4 (Diana runs off with Chip and Gary is is hospital charged with Ciji's murder)




The poll will close on Tuesday 19th April. I will resist the temptation of voting first this week
 

Julia's Gun

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I'll kick things off then.
Much as I love Falcon Crest, the actual cliffhanger for season 1 was really a bit lame, as the drama had already happened. Douglas dying occurred in the previous episode, and the finale was just a drawn out trial, even though Emma was fab.

Now Return To Eden I haven't fully watched since it first aired, but I just found it on youtube and saw the cliffhanger:

Wow, it is fabulously cheesy, love the guy with the James Brolin beard.... so I decided to go for:

MATCH 1 : Return To Eden S1 - proof if it be needed that every great cliffhanger needs at least one plane crash.

Now, Dallas S2 and Knots S4 had fairly muted cliffhangers that year in terms of sudden dramatic events, but both are still very memorable. In Dallas, it is not the car crash, or Cliff possibly being the babies father, but just us in the hospital with Bobby and JR wondering if Sue-Ellen amd John Ross will survive.

In Knots, Ciji had been murdered several episodes before, we already knew Diana was going to leave with Chip, the only dramatic event was Karen's athletic sprint back to her house to discover Diana had emptied her wardrobe and acutally gone.
But for me Knots has to win, I will always have a soft spot for that moving final sequence, beautifully filmed by David Jacobs, as we fade from Abby staring out to sea, to poor Val sitting in her armchair, to Gary fading to sepia behind bars. That one always lives on in the memory as a pivotal moment in Knots, when you felt nothing would ever be quite the same for our main characters again.

MATCH 2: Knots Landing S4
 
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K

Karin Schill

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Okay I have never watched "Return to Eden" so it has to be:

1. Falcon Crest Season 1

Then this one is a tough one as the Dallas cliffhanger when John Ross is born is a good one. But Knots Landing's cliffhanger is a brilliant one so...

2. Knots Landing Season 4.
 

Mel O'Drama

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Round 1 - Week 2






Match 1

Falcon Crest has two serious disadvantages here: I'm very fond of the Return To Eden miniseries, and I've never watched FC.

However, I think of this particular RTE episode as wrapping up a very specific story. There are a number of exciting events and confrontations but by the end - since there was no follow-up to the miniseries planned- pretty much all threads were wrapped neatly up. So it's not very cliffhanger-y.

And so, more by default as (presumably) part of a continuing story, it has to be...


Falcon Crest - Season One







Match 2


Compared with many of its other cliffhangers I've always found this Dallas finale rather underwhelming. It's fine, but doesn't impact greatly in the way I kind of expect from Dallas cliffhangers. It also feels as though it cuts away mid-scene, and not in a good way. Dallas was still a year away from perfecting the season finale cliffhanger.

In contrast, Knots does emotional cliffhangers incredibly well and this is a great example of that. It's beautiful, poignant and fragile, but it also feels very cinematic. It features one of my favourite Jerrold Immel scores which picks up the viewer from its opening scene to its ending and is perfectly matched to David Jacobs's direction which is memorable and impactful. As has been mentioned, that final series of dissolves from Val in her armchair to Abby looking plaintively over the ocean to Gary in his cell - all isolated and facing losses - is wonderful. I get chills just thinking about it. And that's not even factoring in Ciji's murder which hangs in the air like thick California smog.

This one's a no-brainer for me...


Knots Landing - Season Four
 
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