Cliffhangers (TV series)
| Cliffhangers | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Kenneth Johnson |
| Composer | Joe Harnell |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 11 (1 unaired) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Kenneth Johnson |
| Producer | Richard Milton |
| Running time | 60 min. |
| Production company | Universal Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | February 27 – May 1, 1979 |
Cliffhangers is an American drama television series that aired on NBC from February 27 to May 1, 1979. It attempted to revive the genre of movie serials in a television format. Each hour-long episode was divided into three 20-minute segments, a mystery Stop Susan Williams, a science fiction/western hybrid The Secret Empire and a horror story, The Curse of Dracula.[1]
Series overview[edit]
- Stop Susan Williams was a take-off of the old serial The Perils of Pauline. It starred Susan Anton as globetrotting newspaper photographer Susan Williams, who is investigating the mysterious death of her brother Alan, and stumbles across a vast international conspiracy.
- The Secret Empire was a pastiche of the Gene Autry movie serial The Phantom Empire, detailing the 1880s Wild West adventures of Marshal Jim Donner (Geoffrey Scott) who stumbles upon the futuristic underground city of Chimera, which is run by aliens. Scenes on the surface were sepia-toned, while the scenes in Chimera were shown in color.
- The Curse of Dracula revolved around a young woman's quest to avenge her mother against Count Dracula (Michael Nouri), who is living undercover as a college teacher in San Francisco.
To add to the "in-progress" feeling of the proceedings, all three series started with different chapter numbers (although this was the first broadcast for all of them). "Stop Susan Williams" began at Chapter II, "The Secret Empire" started with Chapter III, and "The Curse of Dracula" with Chapter VI.
Cliffhangers was an expensive production due to three simultaneous production units being required. The hope was that if one of the serials caught on, it could be spun off into its own series, however the show aired opposite Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley, the #1 and #2 most popular shows in television at the time. The show was cancelled after only 10 episodes had aired, by which point only The Curse of Dracula had reached its conclusion. However, one unaired episode (which did air overseas) featured the two concluding chapters of The Secret Empire as well as the final part of Stop Susan Williams. American viewers later got a chance to see the concluding part of Stop Susan Williams when its eleven installments were re-edited into a single two-hour television movie The Girl Who Saved the World. Curse of Dracula was also re-edited as two television movies, Dracula '79 and World of Dracula.
Cast and characters[edit]
- Stop Susan Williams
- Susan Anton as Susan Williams
- Ray Walston as Bob Richards
- Marj Dusay as Jennifer Selden (eps. 2–11)
- Michael Swan as Jack Schoengarth
- and Albert Paulsen as Anthony Korf (eps. 2–11)
- The Secret Empire
- Geoffrey Scott as Marshal Jim Donner
- Carlene Watkins as Millie Thomas
- David Opatoshu as Hator (eps. 3–5, 7–11)
- Mark Lenard as Emperor Thorval
- Diane Markoff as Princess Tara
- The Curse of Dracula
- Michael Nouri as Count Dracula
- Carol Baxter as Mary Gibbons
- Stephen Johnson as Kurt Von Helsing
- Bever-Leigh Banfield as Christine
- Louise Sorel as Amanda Gibbons (eps. 5–10)
Episodes[edit]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | US viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Chapter II: The Silent Enemy (Stop Susan Williams) Chapter III: Plunge into Mystery (The Secret Empire) Chapter VI: Lifeblood (The Curse of Dracula)" | Kenneth Johnson | Kenneth Johnson | February 27, 1979 | 14.5[2] |
| 2 | "Chapter Three: Jungle Death Trap (Stop Susan Williams) Chapter 4: Prisoner of the Empire (The Secret Empire) Chapter VII: Bloodstream (The Curse of Dracula)" | Reza S. Badiyi Joseph Pevney Jeffrey Hayden | Andrew Schneider Gene Kearney Renee & Harry Longstreet | March 6, 1979 | 14.2 |
| 3 | "Chapter VIII: Demons of the Dark (The Curse of Dracula) Chapter 5: The Mind Twisters (The Secret Empire) Chapter Four: Thundering Doom (Stop Susan Williams)" | Jeffrey Hayden Joseph Pevney Reza S. Badiyi | Myla Lichtman Gene Kearney Thomas E. Szollozi & Richard Christian Matheson | March 13, 1979 | 14.2 |
| 4 | "Chapter IX: Depository of Death (The Curse of Dracula) Chapter 6: Seeds of Revolt (The Secret Empire) Chapter Five: Deadly Descent (Stop Susan Williams)" | Jeffrey Hayden Joseph Pevney Nick Havinga | Craig Buck Gene Kearney Peggy Goldman | March 20, 1979 | 12.1 |
| 5 | "Chapter X: Sepulchre of the Undead (The Curse of Dracula) Chapter 7: Attack of the Phantom Riders (The Secret Empire) Chapter Six: Watery Grave (Stop Susan Williams)" | Jeffrey Hayden Joseph Pevney Sig Neufeld | Myla Lichtman David Bennett Carren Andrew Schneider | March 27, 1979 | 11.2 |
| 6 | "Chapter XI: Threshold of Eternity (The Curse of Dracula) Chapter 8: Sizzling Threat (The Secret Empire) Chapter Seven: Cauldron of Fire (Stop Susan Williams)" | Sutton Rolley Tony Lo Bianco Sig Neufeld | Craig Buck Jeri Taylor Richard Christian Matheson & Thomas E. Szollosi | April 3, 1979 | 13.0 |
| 7 | "Chapter XII: Where Angels Fear to Tread (The Curse of Dracula) Chapter 9: Mandibles of Death (The Secret Empire) Chapter Eight: River of Blood (Stop Susan Williams)" | Sutton Rolley Tony Lo Bianco Sig Neufeld | Craig Buck Jeri Taylor Peggy Goldman | April 10, 1979 | 10.5 |
| 8 | "Chapter XIII: Sealed in Blood (The Curse of Dracula) Chapter 10: The Last Gasp (The Secret Empire) Chapter Nine: Wheels of Destruction (Stop Susan Williams)" | Richard Milton Alan Crosland Dick Harwood | Myla Lichtman David Carren Peggy Goldman | April 17, 1979 | 10.9 |
| 9 | "Chapter XIV: Thirst for Death (The Curse of Dracula) Chapter 11: Return to Chimera (The Secret Empire) Chapter Ten: Terror from the Sky (Stop Susan Williams)" | Richard Milton Alan Crosland Sig Neufeld | Myla Lichtman Jeri Taylor Peggy Goldman | April 24, 1979 | 10.9 |
| 10 | "Chapter XV: Please of the Damned (The Curse of Dracula) Chapter 12: Powerhouse (The Secret Empire) Chapter Eleven: The Villain Revealed (Stop Susan Williams)" | Richard Milton Alan Crosland Reza S. Badiyi | Myla Lichtman Nona Tyson Richard Christian Matheson & Thomas E. Szollosi | May 1, 1979 | 11.2 |
| 11 | "Chapter 13: Partisans Unchained (The Secret Empire) Chapter Twelve: Crypt of Disaster (Stop Susan Williams) Chapter 14: Escape to the Stars (The Secret Empire)" | unaired | unaired | unaired | unaired |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Cliffhangers: "Stop Susan Williams"". tvobscurities.com. 2005-02-15. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
- ^ Bruce B. Morris, Prime Time Network Serials: Episode Guides, Casts and Credits for 37 Continuing Television Dramas, 1964-1993, McFarland and Company, 1997.
External links[edit]
IMDB:
- Stop Susan Williams at IMDb
- The Girl Who Saved the World at IMDb
- The Curse of Dracula at IMDb
- The Secret Empire at IMDb
Epguides:
- Stop Susan Williams at epguides.com
- The Secret Empire at epguides.com
- The Curse of Dracula at epguides.com
- 1979 American television series debuts
- 1979 American television series endings
- Television series set in 1979
- 1970s American drama television series
- Dracula television shows
- American English-language television shows
- Television series by Universal Television
- Television shows set in Chicago
- Television series created by Kenneth Johnson (filmmaker)
- NBC television dramas