Which series had the best season-ending cliffhanger? *spoilers*

All three series are over for the season, and all three series ended the year with cliffhangers. Which cliffhanger was the best? Which one has you most excited about coming back to see the resolution in the fall? Weigh in and let us know what you picked!

 

I picked - none of them.

Vegas: I loved CreepyHaskel, and the episode itself was ok, but Ray's stabbing didn't do much for me.

Miami: The cliffy was shown/told from the get-go.

NY: Didn't like being taken out of the city for D/L's vacation. It felt wierd, & didn't "fit". The last 5 minutes or so felt like the ending of the movie 'Speed'. And, nothing against "high-pitched baby talk" (I am a mother of 3), but once is enough on a crime show.

I was just more annoyed & frustrated at the end of all of them, opposed to being pyched to see the conclusions. Nothing made my eyes buldge out & go: "AWHH DAMN!"

Which conclusion am I most excited to see?
Mmmm....I guess 'Miami', only because my favorite characters are there & they drag me back every season.
I'll be checking out NY & Vegas as well though -- I'm too invested in the franchise to let go so easily.

 

For best cliffhanger, I'd pick NY. I didn't see it coming. I like the possible scenarios that might happen on fall. The NY finale was great but not the best. I think the interesting thing is yet to come.

The Miami finale was the best Miami episode I've ever seen. The problem was that the cliffhanger was somehow familiar to me. But I'm looking forward to next season.

Vegas' cliffhanger was spoiled by the fact that LF had signed for season 11.

 

I think Vegas had the best Cliffhanger.Problem is , I do not care that much about Langston and he signed for another season.But I want to know if Catherine job will be questioned and if Nick will recover quickly.

Miami was OK but the promos took the emotion of the cliffhanger.

 

I voted I dind't like any of them.

Vegas: Laurance contract status is well known so there goes that surprise. Though it could be the best one if one looks at it from the Catherine/repercussions angle like electra mentioned.

Miami: everyone knew exactly what would happen so no surprise there. Maybe I would've liked it more if Horatio would've fallen. Even though I would've known he wasn't dying at least SOMETHING happened to him.

NY: I simply didn't care for it much.

 

I only watched the NY finale and it sucked out loud. I can't even imagine the other two coming close to being as bad as "Vacation Getaway" was.

 

I think this comes in two answers. Cliffhanger-wise, they all suck. Sorry, I love the shows, but the cliffhangers are all predictable, very easy to cop out of (Langston's too, because I seriously doubt Langston is going anywhere), and none have me exactly holding my breath for September.

ETA: No, to be fair, I was least impressed with the Vegas cliffhanger, because Miami's and NY's at least don't make it clear exactly who is in peril. They got points for that :lol: I'm 99.8% certain that Langston is in no real danger, so the ending scene seems pointless.

Episode-wise, though, CSI Vegas wins out; it held me from the very beginning, and while the entire episode wasn't completely great, it was definitely great when it mattered.

Then Miami, because it actually had a decent, consistent plot. Then NY.

 

I voted Miami.The finale was just awesome and I'm already counting the days to see if someone isn't coming back in September.NY had a strong finale too as well as Vegas,although the Vegas finale wasn't exactly a cliffhanger as we know that Laurence Fishburn has already signed for season 11.

 

In terms of which cliffhanger leaves me with the most lingering questions, I'd say the order is Miami, NY and then CSI. Miami added several people this season to replace one that was leaving, and now he's not leaving - so I can't help wondering if someone will not make it to the next season. I'm semi-worried about how NY will end its cliffhanger, although I think there are only a few reasonable options. We know Laurence is returning to CSI, so there's not much of a cliffhanger for me as far as he is concerned. (For people who don't read news online, they could wonder if he is going to die, but everybody who is in the online community knows he signed on for another year - so unless they really shock us, he'll survive.)

In terms of which cliffhanger was set up the best, I'd say CSI, Miami and then NY. CSI mentioned Nate Haskell a bit earlier in the season and then brought him in to help with a season-long arc - but he wasn't actually the focus of that arc, so they set him up as this dangerous force in the background. Very interesting (plus he's so wonderfully acted by Bill Irwin). Miami's cliffhanger is only based on the plot line of the finale, but the tension for the cliffhanger itself is influenced by the cast changes I mentioned earlier - this was a good season to have us wondering who might not come back. NY's cliffhanger isn't bad in and of itself - will the family make it through okay? - but it was badly set up. The Shane Casey arc started too early in the season and moved forward in sporadic spurts that I wasn't pleased with - and then it all sort of rushed forward in the finale. The end of the episode felt sort of tacked on, and after seeing Shane fall from the lighthouse, I couldn't help wishing they'd written the cliffhanger to depend on the family's fate in the lighthouse. (The family in the lighthouse, the team rushing to save them, the sound of a gunshot and a muzzle flash from outside the lighthouse while we don't know who got hit - cue credits.) As it was, the end of the episode felt like one of those movies where you think it's over but they keep adding little bits to the end. And Shane Casey is apparently a mutant from the X-Men universe.

In terms of which episode containing a cliffhanger was best, I'm torn. CSI and NY both had the culmination of a longterm storyline, and both killers were disappointing in that they were both Big Fat Crazy Villains despite the more interesting possibilities provided. Miami's cliffhanger was all about that one episode, but seeing the team chase puzzles around only to find themselves in the midst of one of those puzzles (without the audience knowing why yet) was interesting - and I wasn't let down by a great villain turning into a cardboard cutout of crazy.

Ok, so to actually give an answer instead of just waffling about it (*looks up at longwinded answer*), I've assigned a number to each series (3, 2 or 1) based on those three categories. Miami seems to be on top with 8 points, CSI is second with 6 and NY is last with a disappointing 4. So I guess I consider Miami's finale to be the best of the three. Go figure, right?

 

Those of you who have been part of Talk CSI since I joined in November 2004 or a little before know I'm primarily a fan of the 2 spin-offs: CSI: Miami and CSI:NY. Normally my vote would go to one of them. Not this year. But my vote doesn't go to "I didn't like any of the cliffhangers. :shifty:" either. Here's why. I've been watching the last few episodes of original CSI's 10th season on ON DEMAND. I keep forgetting to watch it on Thursday nights when it first airs. I watched the Vegas CSI season finale on ON DEMAND. Of the 3 cliffhangers, it was the best. CSI: NY was a close 2nd and CSI: Miami would've been 4th or 5th if there were another one or two CSI series on tv. In other words, CSI: Miami finished a distant 3rd. I can't believe CSI: Miami had such a great season 8 then ended it with such a "sucks lemons" season finale.
I'm gonna do this like presenting an award.
The winner of THE BEST CSI SHOW CLIFFHANGER FOR THE 2009-2010 TV SEASON is: original CSI. (standing ovation accompanied by loud cheering and whistling)

 

I had to go with none of them. When you know all the characters are coming back, the "shock" of seeing them get stabbed or seeing a creep with their baby etc lacks a punch. Plus, when a promo basically gives away the end of the show...where's the suspence?

 

As cliff-hangers, had to ultimately vote "None of Them." As finales, that would be something else.

I actually watched all three finales, as I'd watched all three premiers. I'm hampered mainly in that NY is the only season I watched regularly. I'm lacking background and investment in Miami and Vegas, and so just hafta look at each finale as standing on it's own.

Do hafta agree that Miami seems to have found some new life, and for me that stems from the newer characters. I like their new ME guy, he's so odd and funny. I really like Walter, and Jesse fits right in. Now granted, I didn't really watch the season, so I dunno how the run of it went with them, only bits and pieces. But they, and Ryan, and Tripp, hold my attention more than anyone else on the show. The show also has such a cohesive style and some really impressive visuals. Sometimes at the expense of other things, but eh, still pretty and enjoyable to watch on that level.

Their case seemed like it woulda fit in at any point during the season, and had I not known it was the finale wouldn't have guessed it was such. Until the closing sequence, :lol:. The slow-mo lab-wide keeling overs, I'm sorry, but they made me laugh. That sorta thing makes it hard to take the show seriously and on any level than a comic book. I somehow also don't think the show would be offended by that. I just can't help ponder possible conversation amongst the cast and crew at the time of filming, laughing and comparing different techniques and takes and outtakes, .

If the point was somehow to torture and taunt Horatio with the "All Fall Down" business, well, not the most engaging thing for me. Guess he's got a new nemesis? Dunno what the implications are, and not having been invested in the whole season, I'm not particularly concerned about the characters. I'm sure most will bounce back dandyo. I would guess that more regular viewers could be more gripped by how it ended. In itself, the ep was okay. Not much wondering what's gonna happen next season tho.

Vegas was fun. But, once again, if I'd not known it was the finale I wouldna necessarily thought it was. Not even w/ Langston getting stabbed at the end. I guess, as Vegas seems far more a regular visitor to dark & dangerous places these days, it woulda still fit just about anywhere in the season. Same w/ Nick getting shot. Lastly, I also felt the serial killer with the fondess for tattooing deli meat was kinda predictable in the end. Gruesome, but rather predictable, but still a good puzzle to have been part of. I get the feeling that Vegas consistently does the puzzle part, and structuring it within an episode, really well.

I think what I liked about the episode was, well, several things. I liked that they had an odd, uber villain, and that they brought in another odd, uber villain to help with the hunt. (Keep in mind I'm lacking context and seasonal reference for the Jekyll character, so I can't really say how I thought it fared in wrapping up a long arc). I liked that there were internal conflicts within the dept, between Brass and Catherine, about doing so.

I also liked that the show has the chutzpah to have the team jerked around by someone they didn't want to need but were willing & bound to suffer thru in service of catching a killer. So often the CSI teams in general seem to operate from a plane of superiority, and it was an interesting back and forth to watch all Haskell's demands being made (and met). He was also really well played. I think he got just about everything he wanted out of his visit to the labs, including stabbing Ray. In a way that felt like part of the aftermath for chancing to bring him out. Not fretting about next season tho. Just happy the show seems to have regained some balance after the departure of Grissom and a rocky start with Langston. It's a show I fell away from years ago, but have been coming around a bit of late. I may tune in next season more generally, but not because of it's Cliffhanger.

NY, well, I was hoping for better but got about what I expected (exasperating nonsense) so it's actually hard to say I'm disappointed :lol:. I ranted, rather extensively, okay, extremely extensively, in the review thread so I won't overload on words words words here :lol:. DL overload and a poor usage of Casey's legacy as one of NY's best villains. Utterly apathetic about how the ep ended. Will still tune in next season, but for no reason connected to their cliffhanger whatsoever. Meh. Ubermeh. F*cking ubermeh. :lol:. Sigh. Oh well.

So. I'm not a fan of cliffhangers, and it's rare I think an episodic show really pulls off something that's caught me. None of these ones did. Not much suspense or angst induced in considering any of the scenarios. Wondering now if it's like a franchise mandate to have cliffhanger finales lately :lol:. Bleh to the concept in general. Just write a solid hour of teevee, and if ya find there's too much to cram into one ep, then sure, break it into two parts and leave it dangling if ya must.

I caught a few eps of Vegas this season, and liked most of what I saw. Was always a refreshing change of pace from NY's tendencies of late. On the finale front, that was still the case for me, and if I set the cliffhangers aside, I think Vegas wins out for me.