Last year's serial dramas left viewers hanging

Coming into the 2006 fall TV season, all five broadcast networks were drooling over the success of such serialized dramas as “Lost,” “24” and “Prison Break.” So in 2006, serial dramas were the trend of the season, with all networks trying at least one.

Apparently the trend wasn't as easy to replicate as the networks had hoped. Of those serial shows, only NBC’s “Heroes,” became a hit and just one other, CBS’s “Jericho,” finished a full 22-episode season (and was saved by cancellation by a fan campaign that involved more peanuts than viewers).

The others suffered the all-too-common prime-time pattern of pre-emption,  hiatus, limbo, and eventually by cancellation. But these weren’t regular episodic shows. Each was telling a long, usually complicated, and often mysterious story.

The networks wouldn’t just cut off these stories in the middle, would they, leaving their dedicated and loyal viewers hanging without answers? Why, yes they would.

Fox dealt with some fan fuming in early 2006, when the network abruptly ended “Reunion,” a drama that was supposed to cover 20 years in the lives of its characters in 20 episodes, but was stopped eleven years short. So what do happens to a truncated series? There are as many answers as there were canceled shows.

'DAY BREAK,' ABC
The plot: “The Fugitive” meets “Groundhog Day”. Taye Diggs plays a cop accused of murder who finds himself reliving the same day over and over, trying to find the real killer while his new actions retroactively effect the next repeat of the day. As if that weren’t confusing enough, he uncovers the truth behind his father’s (also a cop) death years before.

Behind-the-scenes drama: "Day Break" was designed for a 13-week season, to be added to the schedule mid-season, when "Lost" took a break. It ended up being utilized earlier than expected when “The Nine” was pulled for low ratings, but didn’t do any better than the show it replaced.

Aired episodes: Six (November-December 2006); Unaired episodes: Seven

Availability: All 13 episodes are at ABC.com’s Full Episode Player (plug-in required).

Resolution? Yes! During the last episode, Diggs' character successfully crosses into the next day, clears his name and finds the real killers. But no explanation is offered as to how or why the time loop happened except for a hint from another character who may have been experiencing the same thing, leaving an opening for another season (but that ain’t gonna happen).

‘KIDNAPPED,’ NBC
The plot: When the teenage son of an uber-wealthy couple (played by Timothy Hutton and Dana Delaney) was kidnapped, they hired a private “kidnapping and ransom expert” named Knapp (Jeremy Sisto) who tried to keep the FBI out of it, but, as with any long story, it got complicated.

Behind-the-scenes drama: One of the better-reviewed series of the season, “Kidnapped” was also one of the lowest-rated. In its time slot, it even trailed behind “The Nine” which also got cancelled quickly. But NBC had the class to tell the producers to wrap up the story in 13 episodes, and the producers had a “contingency plan” prepared to do it.

Aired episodes: Five in prime time (September-October 2006) and eight late-night Sunday/Monday morning (June-August 2007)

Availability: At press time, the final episode was available at NBC’s Web site, and the series has already been released on DVD.

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Resolution? The kidnapped kid is found and rescued by the end of episode 12, and after a long line of red herrings, the Big Bad Mastermind turns out to be one of the supposed good guys. No, it’s not the freelance Mr. Knapp or the FBI’s "last case before I retire" Agent King (Delroy Lindo). Those two do manage to crack the case simultaneously from two different directions, and save the day thanks to one of the longest "villain explains himself to his intended victim" speeches in TV history. Still, NBC must have liked what it saw even if nobody else did, because they’ve hired two of the show’s cast for roles in the long-long running “Law and Order.” Jeremy Sisto will be an NYPD detective while Linus Roache (the long-winded villain) goes to work in the D.A.’s office. Also, “Kidnapped” has been nominated for an Emmy — for its musical score (Composer: W.G. Snuffy Walden — he’s been doing it for decades). 

‘THE NINE,’ ABC
The plot: The former hostages in a 52-hour bank robbery-standoff bond after their traumatic experience. But what exactly went on during that time period? Each episode includes a little bit of the original hostage drama and a lot of the aftermath. One of the hostages was shot and dies; another developed amnesia from the trauma. And one of the bank robbers develops an emotional connection to one of the hostages.

Behind-the-scenes drama: Not much, just disappointing ratings in the time slot following the popular “Lost”. It was brought back in August to ‘burn off’ the unaired six episodes, but was pulled after two weeks in favor of  “NASCAR in Primetime.” Burn!

Aired episodes: Nine (October-November 2006, August 2007); Unaired episodes: Four

Availability: The four episodes that didn't air are available online via ABC.com’s Full Episode Player (plug-in required), but will be removed before ABC's official "Premiere Week" Sept. 24.

Resolution? On the last episode before ABC pulled the show, it was learned that the bank robbers had 'an inside man.' Actually, they had two: the bank guard who was killed and Malcolm the bank manager, who confessed to his daughter when he realized that her traumatic amnesia was triggered by her discovering his involvement. As the final episode drew to a close, she was pleading with him not to turn himself in. Most of the rest of The Niners were involved in romantic entanglements that would have fueled much of the ongoing drama while the last thirty-some hours of the hostage drama remained unseen, with a final flashback scene showing the dawn of the second day of the standoff and Eva, the hostage who we already knew would not survive saying "We made it." If you can't have closure, use irony.

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