Sliders, John Doe etc, Give us an ending (2 Viewers)

What the heck is wrong with all these network people. Every show needs an ending. Where is the ending for Sliders. People have a right to a proper ending. The same with John Doe, this was a great series ending on a clifhanger. I am sure many of you can list other shows without an ending. I would be interested in a list of shows.

Of course, everytime John Doe is mentioned, I have to comment!

John Doe was such a great show, it still makes me sad that Fox canceled it. I, too, would love to see an ending for it! At this point, since I don't think a wrap up movie or anything will ever be done, I'd even be happy with a book being written telling the end of the story...

As to a list of shows that never had an ending, I think it would be too depressing to look at a list like that... :frowning:

Why did Fox cancel John Doe anyway? THe ratings weren't great, but what can expect Friday evening, and unlike Firefly, the show cost fairly little to produce.

The two shows that really come to mind for me with great unresolved cliffhanger endings are:

* Twin Peaks (and no, the scene where Laura dreamed of Annie in FWWM doesn't count)
* Nowhere Man (the final episode was great, ending on a brilliant revelation, and then ... )

The ratings were still on a downward trend. It wasn't as sharp and severe as some of the other shows Fox had tried on Friday night, but Fox was still looking at fewer people watching it in May than had been watching it in September.

I have mentioned this before. But, Fox really screwed up with Doe. The producers mentioned that in their original season finale. They were going to reveal more of Doe's background. But, Fox execs told them not to because they were going to get renewed. And we all know what happened. I also have mentioned. That these "wrap-up" movies are the type Scifi channel should be doing.

There was a time when shows were cancelled all the time and we didnt get endings like Gilligan's Island and Lost In Space. We got movies years later but it wasnt the same.
I do agree though that they should give shows a finish. I vote for Miracles.

We saw the exact same thing with Farscape!

In that particular instance, the producers were told outright by SciFi that there would be a 5th season. It was my understanding that they went so far as to sign everyone to seasons 4 & 5 at the same time... so they do a helluva cliffanger at the end of seasons 4...

...and SciFi cans the show!

Fortunately there was such a fan outcry that SciFi must have been distracted for a moment, put down the collective joins that they were toking, and took notice of the fact that people wanted MORE Farscape, and a resolution to the S4 Cliffhanger! As a result, we've got the Farscape mini-series coming up in a couple of months (and I can't wait!)

In fact, we can see a couple more instances of the network people being woken up to their blunders... Family Guy is supposed to be coming back, and FireFly is moving to its first feature film, Serenity!

Moe.

I don't think they intended the ending to Sliders to be seen as a cliffhanger, any more than the ending to Quantum Leap was a cliffhanger.

I agree with that one. Hell, there are still Twin Peaks festivals being held every year. I'm sure at least a few people would watch it if they put together an ending in the form of a movie or a new series...

I watched a show called Now and Again that ended on a cliffhanger but wasn't picked up for renewal.

Geoff,

Thanks for reminding me about that one. That would have been a good choice for Scifi to do a ending movie. They have the syndication rights for the show. This was another show CBS killed that did well in the ratings.

Think this through. Why would CBS "kill" Now And Again if it "did well"? That's not in their interests. I'd guess that even if there were other shows that did worse, they didn't involve paying a relatively expensive cast and crew. And that expense which would have made it unprofitable for CBS puts it pretty far outside of Sci-Fi's price range, especially considering that Universal/NBC wouldn't own a piece of it (I believe it was a Fox/CBS co-production).

Sci-Fi has the third-run rights (which are different from syndication), but those were probably relatively cheap, especially when compared to footing the bill for a new production, especially after Haysbert and Close got higher-profile gigs.

I tend to agree with Jason on this one. In today's TV market, any cliffhanger is a risky proposition, unless you're a well-established show.

SCI-FI and fantasy shows are especially prone to the "unresolved ending" problem because they, one, are big on "myth-arcs" that carry from episode to episode or, two, are about a group of people wandering around with no particular destination in mind, e.g., "Voyager" and "Firefly." This just dares the TV gods to smack you with a cancellation that leaves your fans frustrated. It's why I avoid these shows; I've been burned too many times.

I've often thought that the least a producer who insists on a "myth-arc" or "wandering" show could do for potential fans is film an ending before he's cancelled and put it in the can just in case. IIRC, FOX's show with John Corbett, "The Visitor" did something like that. It wasn't the greatest ending, to be sure, but it didn't leave the fans hanging.

Nowhere Man was the first that popped in to my mind. Farscape would have been up there too if Sci-fi weren't trying to rectify it. Still, another 22 episodes would have been much better than a four hour miniseries, but at this point, I guess I'll take what I can get!

Ric