Too Be Continued In The Next…Click!!!

I still work part-time, running a small access television station. Every week, I scour the video providers’ websites for material to put on the station. A few months ago, I found an interesting series to present on one of the stations. It features a host who introduces a film from Hollywood’s “Golden Age”, usually some drama from the forties or early fifties. The format comes with a wrinkle, however. Somewhere in the middle, there is an intermission.

Now, movies in theaters only rarely have intermissions these days. But “in the day,” they were a regular part of the experience. You might have a newsreel, a short feature, or a serial thriller like Flash Gordon and the Xylarian Horror. You could always depend on a cliff-hanger ending to that installment. It set the hook for a return next week to see the next installment. The series I’m showing on one of my channels has this sort of intermission feature; some of the really ancient Captain Marvel black and white serials.

These ancient little serials were fun back then, but I got thinking about cliff-hanger endings. I hate them. Why? Because I am a fan of Science Fiction, some authors depend on the cliffhanger to get you to continue to buy the series. A few years ago, I began to just say no to buying authors who liked to use this cheesy device, and I wish they’d abate their habit.

My theory is that if you build an interesting enough world or universe, populate it with interesting characters, and have good story lines, I’ll willingly spend my money to read your series. Otherwise, I’ll spend my money elsewhere.

The cliffhanger in cinema grew boring in the fifties. Some authors, editors, and publishers of text material should pay attention.

So…until the next exciting episode when the Xylarian hypsetes threaten to destroy our hero’s space ship if he fails to displace the Analarian telomere into an alternative space time…….