10 Star Trek Production Secrets Behind These Cliffhangers
Why did Star Trek writers leave us on the edge of our seats?
Cliffhanger endings are an almost sure bet at bringing the audience back the following week. A strong enough cliffhanger will see them rewatch the first part of the story as well, but the perfect cliffhanger will see Riker give Worf the order to fire. More on that later.
These kinds of endings don't exist in a vacuum. They aren't universally loved either. Although it may seem that every season of Star Trek ends on a cliffhanger this isn't the case. The studio has pushed on occasion to drop any locked in endings that don't leave any room for the story to head in another direction. Some of the writers on the show aren't fans of these either, as they can be limiting.
But, when they work, they really work. Writing reasons are the most common reason behind them, but actor disputes and studio interference are surprisingly common reasons as well. The fear of cancellation is also a healthy motivator as well!
10. The Adversary
The Adversary is a strong season finale even though it was a last minute re-write to close Deep Space Nine's third season. The Changeling that infiltrates the USS Defiant warns Odo that his people have already invaded the Alpha Quadrant and no one knew a thing about it.
It is a chilling moment in the show and a dark ending to the third season. The writers, though they hadn't planned on it, ended up crafting the perfect note to leave audiences on.
Paramount Pictures had nixed the idea of having Homefront and Paradise Lost being the bridge between the third and fourth seasons, though the idea of Changelings on Earth is present in all three stories. It is touched on in The Way of the Warrior, with Martok demanding blood screenings before his meeting with Sisko and Kira.
There is also a hint of John Carpenter's The Thing on show while the crew conduct their blood texts in the mess hall of the Defiant. The entire episode is a triumph, capturing the paranoia and tension that Homefront and Paradise Lost, unfortunately, would fail to manage in the middle of the next season.