Favorite Cliffhangers of All Time
What’s your favorite dramatic moment of all time? I have two, and I’m not quite sure what it says about me, since both include explosions!
The first is the 3rd season finale of ”New York Undercover”. In this episode, Detectives Nina Moreno and Eddie Torres secretly plan to wed, so neither will have to leave the precinct. However, while at City Hall, after memories of her first marriage, Nina decides to bail before getting married a second time.
Meanwhile, Torres and partner Detective J.C. Williams, along with the assistance of Moreno and her partner Detective Tommy McNamara, go after a crew of murderous bank robbers. McNamara goes undercover to get close to the crew, but his cover gets blown once they discover he is NYPD. The ringleaders, Nadine Jordan, Keith Draper, and Miles Gordon, brutally murder Tommy, leaving Nina and the others distraught.
Eddie and J.C. go after the crew, to avenge Tommy’s death. They wind up fatally shooting Keith, Jordan’s lover. She seeks revenge on all cops involved, and plans to take them out one by one.
Because of Tommy’s untimely murder, Eddie convinces Nina that they shouldn’t prolong their marriage, and they have a beautiful church wedding. J.C. later discovers that Eddie volunteered to leave the precinct, allowing Nina to stay. J.C. is saddened that he’s losing his longtime partner.
Shortly before Eddie is to leave for his honeymoon, he and J.C. argue briefly about his leaving the squad. They vow to remain friends, not letting the distance separate them. As Eddie gets in his car and drives off, J.C. receives a call from Jordan. She simply states, “You’re next” as J.C. watches Eddie’s car blow up before his eyes.
My second favorite dramatic moment takes place during the 3rd season finale of ”Melrose Place”. There are multiple storylines in this episode, including Matt Fielding being arrested for the murder of his lover’s wife, Jake Hanson and his brother Jess fighting to the death over Jo, who Jess beat up, Alison drinking herself silly after failing to halt Billy Campbell’s marriage to Brooke Armstrong, and Jane Mancini seducing new business partner/designer Richard Hart, and getting busted by his wife, Mackenzie.
However, the best moment occurs when Dr. Kimberly Shaw fights a losing battle with the demons in her head that convince her to harm all those who have wronged her. As luck would have it, that includes all tenants of Melrose Place, her ex-husband, Dr. Michael Mancini, and innocent ‘bystanders’. (Ironically, Marcia Cross, who played psycho Kimberly, holds a Master’s degree in Psychology.)
After discovering that Dr. Peter Burns pretended to fall for her only to clear his name, Kimberly goes off the deep end. She ties up the ever nosy Sydney Mancini, and misleads Peter into thinking Amanda Woodward wants him back, as he shows up looking for her.
Kimberly’s plans are almost derailed when Michael finds Sydney in the basement and knocks Kimberly out. However, as Michael and Sydney try to clear out the building, Kimberly awakens and lucks up with a full house as she begins to detonate her bombs in the basement. “Wait!” she calls out. “It’s not what you think! It’s worse…” are her final words before the explosion.
Why do I like these moments? Well, to me they represent some of the best that drama TV has to offer: deception, melodrama, explosions (of course), and that infamous cliffhanger. We are left wondering what will become of our favorite characters in the following season. Unfortunately, most dramas cannot top their best dramatic moment, and after that moment (called “jumping the shark” by some) proceed on a downward spiral right into cancellation. That wasn’t the case with “Melrose”, which continued with great storylines until the series finale. However, New York Undercover couldn’t recover after Eddie’s death and ended the following season.
Catch reruns of New York Undercover on SiTV and TVOne; and reruns of “Melrose Place” on SOAPNet.
Share your favorite dramatic moment of all time in the forum.
_______________________________________________________________________
Check out more New York Undercover and Melrose Place:
”New York Undercover”
Melrose Place
The first is the 3rd season finale of ”New York Undercover”. In this episode, Detectives Nina Moreno and Eddie Torres secretly plan to wed, so neither will have to leave the precinct. However, while at City Hall, after memories of her first marriage, Nina decides to bail before getting married a second time.
Meanwhile, Torres and partner Detective J.C. Williams, along with the assistance of Moreno and her partner Detective Tommy McNamara, go after a crew of murderous bank robbers. McNamara goes undercover to get close to the crew, but his cover gets blown once they discover he is NYPD. The ringleaders, Nadine Jordan, Keith Draper, and Miles Gordon, brutally murder Tommy, leaving Nina and the others distraught.
Eddie and J.C. go after the crew, to avenge Tommy’s death. They wind up fatally shooting Keith, Jordan’s lover. She seeks revenge on all cops involved, and plans to take them out one by one.
Because of Tommy’s untimely murder, Eddie convinces Nina that they shouldn’t prolong their marriage, and they have a beautiful church wedding. J.C. later discovers that Eddie volunteered to leave the precinct, allowing Nina to stay. J.C. is saddened that he’s losing his longtime partner.
Shortly before Eddie is to leave for his honeymoon, he and J.C. argue briefly about his leaving the squad. They vow to remain friends, not letting the distance separate them. As Eddie gets in his car and drives off, J.C. receives a call from Jordan. She simply states, “You’re next” as J.C. watches Eddie’s car blow up before his eyes.
My second favorite dramatic moment takes place during the 3rd season finale of ”Melrose Place”. There are multiple storylines in this episode, including Matt Fielding being arrested for the murder of his lover’s wife, Jake Hanson and his brother Jess fighting to the death over Jo, who Jess beat up, Alison drinking herself silly after failing to halt Billy Campbell’s marriage to Brooke Armstrong, and Jane Mancini seducing new business partner/designer Richard Hart, and getting busted by his wife, Mackenzie.
However, the best moment occurs when Dr. Kimberly Shaw fights a losing battle with the demons in her head that convince her to harm all those who have wronged her. As luck would have it, that includes all tenants of Melrose Place, her ex-husband, Dr. Michael Mancini, and innocent ‘bystanders’. (Ironically, Marcia Cross, who played psycho Kimberly, holds a Master’s degree in Psychology.)
After discovering that Dr. Peter Burns pretended to fall for her only to clear his name, Kimberly goes off the deep end. She ties up the ever nosy Sydney Mancini, and misleads Peter into thinking Amanda Woodward wants him back, as he shows up looking for her.
Kimberly’s plans are almost derailed when Michael finds Sydney in the basement and knocks Kimberly out. However, as Michael and Sydney try to clear out the building, Kimberly awakens and lucks up with a full house as she begins to detonate her bombs in the basement. “Wait!” she calls out. “It’s not what you think! It’s worse…” are her final words before the explosion.
Why do I like these moments? Well, to me they represent some of the best that drama TV has to offer: deception, melodrama, explosions (of course), and that infamous cliffhanger. We are left wondering what will become of our favorite characters in the following season. Unfortunately, most dramas cannot top their best dramatic moment, and after that moment (called “jumping the shark” by some) proceed on a downward spiral right into cancellation. That wasn’t the case with “Melrose”, which continued with great storylines until the series finale. However, New York Undercover couldn’t recover after Eddie’s death and ended the following season.
Catch reruns of New York Undercover on SiTV and TVOne; and reruns of “Melrose Place” on SOAPNet.
Share your favorite dramatic moment of all time in the forum.
_______________________________________________________________________
Check out more New York Undercover and Melrose Place:
”New York Undercover”
Melrose Place
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