Cliffhangers (TV series)

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]

"The Secret Empire" redirects here. For the fictional organization in Marvel Comics, see Secret Empire.
Cliffhangers
Title card
GenreDrama
Created byKenneth Johnson
ComposerJoe Harnell
Country of originUSA
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes11 (1 unaired)
Production
Executive producerKenneth Johnson
ProducerRichard Milton
Running time60 min.
Production companyUniversal Television
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseFebruary 27 (1979-02-27) –
May 1, 1979 (1979-05-01)

Series overview
  • 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
Stop Susan Williams
The Secret Empire
The Curse of Dracula

Episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUS 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 JohnsonKenneth JohnsonFebruary 27, 1979 (1979-02-27)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 (1979-03-06)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 (1979-03-13)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 (1979-03-20)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 (1979-03-27)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 (1979-04-03)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 (1979-04-10)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 (1979-04-17)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 (1979-04-24)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 (1979-05-01)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)"		unairedunairedunairedunaired

See also

References
  1. "Cliffhangers: "Stop Susan Williams"". tvobscurities.com. 2005-02-15. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  2. Bruce B. Morris, Prime Time Network Serials: Episode Guides, Casts and Credits for 37 Continuing Television Dramas, 1964-1993, McFarland and Company, 1997.

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