Cliffhangers

Cliffhangers was a short-lived TV show that aired in 1979 on NBC. It aired in a one hour time slot and featured three segments that aped the format of cliffhanger serials, which were

• Stop Susan Williams -- a female reporter investigates the murder of her brother and becomes involved in an international conspiracy
• The Secret Empire -- A hybrid Western/sci-fi story, heavily inspired by The Phantom Empire
• The Curse of Dracula -- Dracula comes back as a modern-day college teacher

The series all started In Medias Res with chapters greater than 1 that even continued from nonexistent cliffhanger endings from the "previous episode". Only The Curse of Dracula ended in the USA, although international broadcasts and Compilation Movies end all three series. They generally aired one segment of each per week. It was intended that serials would be replaced by new serials or new stories in old serials once they had ended, but the show didn't last that long.

Tropes used in Cliffhangers include:

• Cliff Hanger, of course.
• Compilation Movie
• Conspiracy Thriller: Stop Susan Williams
• The Danza: Susan Anton as Susan Williams.
• Deliberately Monochrome: The Secret Empire was in "beautiful black and white" in the Western segments and in color in the science fiction segments (which took place in the same time period, but underground)
• Film Serial
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Dracula's motivation.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: The series is unavailable on video of any sort but is commonly bootlegged at science fiction conventions.
• The Nth Doctor: Tara in The Secret Empire.
• Poorly-Disguised Pilot: Every serial was potentially this, although none ever became an independent series.
• Retraux: emulating the serial style, as well as black and white in The Secret Empire.
• Vampire Refugee: Mary's mother