It’s a tad wild to claim Star Trek: The Next Generation started the cliff-hanger tradition

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As a gamer with decades worth of TV show binge-watching under my belt, I can confidently say that the two-part episode cliffhanger is as old as time itself. From Dragnet to Batman, Doctor Who, Red Dwarf, Punky Brewster, and yes, even Star Trek: The Next Generation, this timeless trope has been a staple in the TV world for ages.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds concluded its second season about a year ago, leaving the status of the Enterprise, its team, and many others uncertain due to the Gorn. The likelihood of war looms if the Enterprise steps in to prevent the Gorn from claiming innocent lives. This suspenseful cliffhanger leaves fans eagerly anticipating the resolution, as they will have to wait at least a year for more information.

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In a different phrasing: It’s unlikely for Strange New Worlds to follow the pattern of that pitfall. You see, two-part episodes are quite typical in the Star Trek community. However, it’s not accurate to state that Star Trek: The Next Generation invented this concept as ScreenRant suggests. Instead, it has been a common practice within the franchise.

Going back as far as 1954 with the Dragnet series, you can find one of the initial instances of a TV format that has been popular for quite some time. The series kicked off on October 29, 1954, and continued on November 5, 1954, airing a two-episode storyline that spanned over two weeks. During the 1960s, Batman started using this approach regularly to end each episode with a suspenseful cliffhanger.

In the early seasons of Doctor Who, some episodes would continue from one week to the next within specific storylines. This was a common practice even in comedies like Red Dwarf and Punky Brewster, which spanned multiple weeks much earlier than Star Trek: The Next Generation, who is often credited with popularizing this concept for Star Trek.

If other shows were doing it before Star Trek, you can’t claim that a specific show “popularized” a trend that they took part in. The classic “two-parter” event predates Star Trek, and therefore it predates The Next Generation.

It’s only right to honor The Next Generation with due respect, but let’s avoid inventing unnecessary elements to elevate the series. As The Next Generation mirrored the tendencies of other shows from its time, it’s no surprise that subsequent Star Trek productions would follow suit.

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2024-10-17 01:23