The best way to do cliffhangers is to wrap up one story arc and hint at another.

Cutting off mid story arc is just terrible imo.

I still wanted to see what they were going to do with it. I only see it being bad if they make more episodes just for viewers. Maybe that's what happens with other TV shows. I don't watch many shows but I'm guessing it could be like that. If they were to mess up the third season then that would be entirely their fault. Game of Thrones hasn't become a bad show at least. There's nothing else like it though.

I'm fine with episode to episode cliff hanger, not so much for those season finale cliff hanger where you can never be sure if the show ends up getting cancelled.

I like cliff hangers in the way that they make you and can't wait for the next episode, usually making an interesting plot

Hate them in the way that I then obsess over it until I finally get to see the next episode. Hate it even more when the cliff hanger is ok and then the beginning of next season it's just dismissed. Rage!!!!

*Sniffs air* I smell a hint of carrion in the air from this post. *checks post date* Yup, just a hint of decay from the necrosis.

Not my job, i'll let the mods decide if it should stay open or be closed.

I dislike cliffhangers if they leave things hanging at the end of a film/tv season/game. Especially if a follow up is not done for the game/program/film.

IMO

Bad ones:

Halo 2. That finished so suddenly and was pretty much a cutscene saying 'go buy Halo 3'. Opening of Halo 3 didn't even follow on immediately from that part, so unless you read some of the extra material, there are some holes in the story.

Borderlands. Love the game, but hate the ending. Thankfully, the ending's cliffhanger got nearly immediately solved for me as I got the GOTY edition and could resolve the cliffhanger. BL2 also has a minor one, but that one was more of an excuse for Gearbox to make more BL games.

Half Life 2: Ep 2. I haven't got far enough to see the ending, but I have heard how legendary it is.

Good ones:

Blazblue. Individual stories end on a cliffhanger, but the games plot is usually resolved once all of the stories have been completed. They do have a cliffhanger at the end of the true ending though, but it isn't as bad as H2's (doesn't end suddenly without an ending to the plot they are doing).

Resident Evil: Revelations. Each episode ends in a cliffhanger that is to be continued... immediately. Game does have a slight cliffhanger at the end for two of the main characters, but it is resolved in RE5 and it's dlc, which has been out for a while. It also has one that allows a new villain to enter, which is needed after what happens in 5.

Worst one I have seen by far is.... *To be continued.... ?*

I myself like cliff-hangers, but not when they are overdone. They keep the suspense and excitement for a next episode, season, installment, etc. alive. But if there are cliff-hangers after EVERY episode, then it's like "ugh, just get it over with already". As much as I love Pretty Little Liars, it is indeed guilty of this.

It's worst when they do it in a cheesy way. They lay out the events and at the very end they just slap on the cliff-hanger. "Will Johnny be able to save Jane from her attacker? Will her attacker activate the bomb? Will Johnny be able to save the city of Doomsville? Find out, in our next installment of Johnny and Jane: Attack of the Bomber of Doomsville!"

I hate those so much. It's basically the developer/writer saying "We'll write a sequel when we feel like it. Which we might not feel like ever doing it. We don't know, we'll see".

Sad thing with Halo 2 is that it just threw in that cliffhangar too out of nowhere.

You play as Chief and when you finish the level it was pretty satisfying, then out of nowhere you have to play as the Arbiter again which ends with its cutscene. Then surprise here is Master Chief to say some cheesy line.

I keep reading this topic title as "cliff racers", which is disturbing.

Anyway, both are "it depends" for me: they can be effective, but they're often used gratuitously and resolved unconvincingly, in which case they're not so good. It also depends on my mood, which tends to vary between bad and worse.

Too many times they use the "entire cast is in mortal danger" cliffhanger when contracts are up for renewal. It's the easiest way for them to kill off anyone who doesn't sign on for the next contract. If they have to do it, I really prefer the "hint at upcoming changes" type.

I guess BioShock Infinite ended in a cliffhanger if you watch the entire end credits (which I didn't, I hate watching long credits but I've seen videos) that was an amazing game and in my opinion we need more games like that.

Haha, same.

I guess cliff racers and cliff hangers are the same in that they are very annoying most times.

I hate cliff hangers that come at the end of a season, book, or game when we don't get to see what's going to happen for another goddamned twelve months or longer.

Otherwise, cliff hangers are great.

The Wolverine sort of ended on a cliff hanger as it eluded to the next X-Men movie villian. Might be the