2 thoughts on “What’s the Best Non-Season Finale TV Cliffhanger?

  1. How about the first part of the two episode fifth season premiere of “QUANTUM LEAP,” titled simply, “Lee Harvey Oswald”? Yes, it aired as a 2 hour episode when it debuted in Sept. 1992, but in syndication it is two episodes (as many “double length episodes” of TV shows are). Sam leaps into the titular assassin of JFK, not knowing whether he’s supposed to prevent the historic assassination, or uncover the “conspiracy” behind it. Even worse, Oswald’s mind is merging with Sam’s, to the point where he really thinks he’s Oswald at parts. The episode ends with him about to sell secrets to the Soviets! Its not a season finale, so it counts.

    Cartoons are always good for a few mid-season cliffhangers, and I’ll pick one which stuck with me and likely has been ignored. FOX’S PETER PAN & THE PIRATES only had 1 season in 1990-1991 (back when FoxKids as a network was in its infancy), which was 65 episodes to hit the minimum for syndication. Episodes 37-38 were “The Ages of Pan,” and the first part has a pretty dire cliffhanger for the purposes of the show. Captain Hook has convinced Pan that he’ll never experience a full life if he continues to believe in magic and refuses to grow up, so Pan decides to call the villain’s bluff and wishes to grow up. Unfortunately, now Pan is aging at a fast rate, Tinkerbell is dying, Neverland is fading away, and Hook and the pirates are on the verge of capturing everyone! Eh, maybe you just had to be there as an eight year old.

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