A revered vampire slayer is murdered; a hidden pregnancy test found is on the day of a wedding; and a fight breaks out between two best friends. Any of these scenarios sound familiar?
They should.
These are cliffhangers — the reasons fans and critics alike shout curses at the television, and the reasons they run back to that same television for the results they're sure to complain about for months to come.
Shows like Friends (NBC), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (UPN), Charmed (WB), Dharma & Greg (ABC) and Girlfriends (UPN) and their respective networks rely heavily on cliffhangers to bring that much needed ratings boost at the end of the season.
Cliffhangers become even more important as the shows return for a new season. Ratings are the name of the game, and with so many shows in competition with one another, cliffhangers are just an added leverage to increase the stakes.
And many fans are definitely calling the networks' bluff.
Over 31 million to be exact, tuned in to the season premiere of Friends to find out that the pregnancy test found in Monica's (Courteney Cox Arquette) trash actually belonged to Rachel (Jennifer Aniston).
Cult favorites Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer are also expected to turn out favorable ratings. Both supernatural series dealt with major characters dying in the season finale. But only in Buffy will fans expect the title role character (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) to return from the dead.
For other shows that aren't as popular, a cliffhanger makes them all the more interesting. Dharma & Greg scored solid ratings for a Monday night, as fans discovered the chilling car wreck in the finale left Dharma (Jenna Elfman) in a wheelchair. And who could forget the boxing match on the Girlfriends finale between Joan (Tracee Ellis Ross) and Toni (Jill Marie Jones) that left fans speechless.
The powers-that-be of television have certainly found a way to keep the public's interest, especially during a time when a little diversion is needed from reality.
However, the interesting storylines of this season will only appease the appetites of fans until the next. Hopefully the networks will use the most recent cliffhangers as an example of what to show for next season, full of drama, comedy and shock value.
Surely, there's nothing like a good catfight or a resurrection from the dead to start the new season off right.
