Line #21 Main/TheResolutionWillNotBeIdentified


1	Some TV stations and programs (particularly those catering to children) will not hint at the finale of a series on the network at all. In some cases, they air the finale without referring to it as such. Other times, the last episode of a show will end with something like, "See you next time!" despite the end of the show having been established in other media, such as newspapers.
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3	This usually happens with TV shows that will be regularly rerun by the channels that first aired them, and the most common offenders are children's networks. The line of thinking, as explained by network executives, boils down to the idea that young audiences might be turned off by the idea of their favourite getting a definitive ending: either being confused that the show is continuing to rerun despite being over or more importantly, if that show was the only reason they watched the channel, stop watching under the assumption that it would no longer be rerun. Hence the solution to this perceived dilemma being to obfuscate the fact that no more episodes are being made.
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5	Alternatively, a show that's been ScrewedByTheNetwork may not have been ''planned'' to have been cancelled, [[CutShort giving no time to plan a proper finale]].
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7	This was standard operating practice in the early years of television across all programming, when the concept of the GrandFinale hadn't yet been developed.
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9	Compare SeriesFauxnale, an installment of a work which is produced as a finale in anticipation of a series coming to an end, but turns out not to be after the release of further installments.
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11	Most shows that get QuietlyCancelled go through this trope.
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13	The trope name is a pun on ''Music/TheRevolutionWillNotBeTelevised'' by Music/GilScottHeron.
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15	!!Examples:
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18	[[folder:PBS Kids]]
19	Being a network that produces shows for young children, Creator/PBSKids tends to overuse this trope, but averted it with ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' due to the show's iconic status.
20	* ''Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood'', although in this case, homage is paid internally. The last episode features portraits of characters from both The Land of Make-Believe and the titular neighborhood itself. Also, Mr. Rogers and Mr. [=McFeely=] shake hands, something which actor David Newell saw as an opportunity to thank Rogers for having been a great colleague and friend throughout the show's run.
21	* Apart from AnAesop on teamwork, ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBus'' "Takes a Dive" plays out like any other episode of the series, with the only clue being Miss Frizzle deciding it was time to retire at the episode's conclusion. This example graduates to being a subversion upon the sequel series ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBusRidesAgain'', where it's acknowledged that Miss Frizzle did indeed retire from teaching primary school, with her sister now teaching her old class.
22	* ''WesternAnimation/SagwaTheChineseSiameseCat'''s GrandFinale "Mutt That Would Be King" plays out like any other episode does, though the ending implies that more was to come (the show ''was'' CutShort as many people know).
23	* Aside from the TitleDrop to the show's name at the end and in spite of what the episode is called, ''WesternAnimation/DragonTales''' "A Storybook Ending" plays out exactly like any other episode in the series.
24	* "Red Parka Mary; Not Afraid of Dogs", the last episode of ''Series/BetweenTheLions'', does not have any EndOfSeriesAwareness at all.
25	* ''WesternAnimation/TimothyGoesToSchool'''s last episode [[LastEpisodeNewCharacter introduces Mexican student Juanita like a regular episode]] and hints that more is to come.
26	* ''Series/ShiningTimeStation'' has "How The Station Got Its Name". Aside from being about time travel, it seems to play out like a normal episode.
27	* ''Literature/CliffordTheBigRedDog'' ended with an episode about how Clifford met T-Bone called "Getting To Know You". [[FinaleMovie Although it can be disputed]] that ''Clifford's Really Big Movie'' was the actual GrandFinale.
28	* Not counting Season 14, which recycled older episodes, ''Series/BarneyAndFriends'' ended with "Home Sweet Earth: The Rainforest", an episode about Earth Day that played out like an ordinary episode.
29	* ''Series/{{Zoboomafoo}}'''s final episode, "Brain Power", played out like a normal episode of the show.
30	* ''WesternAnimation/MayaAndMiguel'' ended with "I Love Maya", in which the titular character participates in a school play.
31	* The final episode of ''WesternAnimation/AngelinaBallerina'' (not counting the three special episodes), "Show And Tell", plays out like a normal episode. The same goes for the finale of the sequel series ''Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps'', "Angelina and the Dragon Dance / Angelina's Opera", which also plays out like an ordinary episode.
32	* The "Classic" era of ''WesternAnimation/BobTheBuilder'' concluded with the episode "Bob's Big Bounce", an episode where Bob and his crew builds a trampoline for a playground. It plays out like an ordinary episode.
33	* The final episode of the ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' cartoon, "Rose of Noonvale", plays out like a regular season finale for the show (as with the season finales for Season 1 and 2) as opposed to a series finale. The odd thing is that instead of ending with tapestry shots as usual, Tim Churchmouse asks the viewer to come back soon, which implies that more was to come, but the show was cancelled afterwards.
34	* ''Series/TheBigComfyCouch'' ended with "Just Purrfect", which plays out like an ordinary episode and has a plot about Loonette and friends pretending they're cats.
35	* The last episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Caillou}}'' plays out like an ordinary episode. Not that many people actually remember how or even when it ended.
36	* The last installment of the ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'' series, the special ''One Small Step'', [[SequelHook set the stage for future plots]], mainly concerning [[spoiler: Mitchell finding out that the Propulsions are aliens and joining the main cast, and the Super Saucer]]. Months after the special aired, it was revealed that the show was canned.
37	* ''WesternAnimation/PegPlusCat'' ended with "The Compost Problem / Raiders of the Lost Arch", which has no EndOfSeriesAwareness whatsoever.
38	** Notably, the last episode ''in production order'' was "The Big Dig Problem / The Crayon Problem", the latter of which featured Peg and Cat [[spoiler: having a PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure]] and walking through all the places they'd been before. Whether this was meant to be the GrandFinale (meaning this episode aired out of order) or not is unknown.
39	* ''WesternAnimation/TheCatInTheHatKnowsALotAboutThat'' ended with "The Hard Weigh / The Song Flower Solution", which played out like an ordinary episode.
40	* ''WesternAnimation/SplashAndBubbles'' ended with the special ''Pole to Pole''. John Tartaglia, the creator of the series, once stated that there would be a season 2, but in 2019, revealed that the show was canned after its first and only season.
41	* Even though the last episode of ''Series/LomaxTheHoundOfMusic'', "Long Legged Sailor", played out like any other episode did, the ending did imply that more was to come. Though sadly, the show was CutShort after that and it had left one to wonder what the creators were planning to do next.
42	* ''Series/ItsABigBigWorld'''s final episode, "Big Book of Babies; Club Craze", played out like any other episode.
43	* The series finale of ''WesternAnimation/LetsGoLuna'' ([[ShortRunInPeru aired first in Canada in March 2022]]), "Love and Harmony", plays out like an ordinary episode. Luna even says "there's always tomorrow" at the end like she always does, even though there won't be anymore "tomorrows".
44	* The final episode of ''Series/TheNoddyShop'', "Closing Up Shop" zig-zags this. [[spoiler: While it is about the shop closing until Noah realizes his mistake, it ends with a SequelHook with Truman switching the "closed" sign to open and winking at the viewer]], but no further episodes were made.
45	* The final episode of ''Series/{{ZOOM}}'' played out like any other episode, though a clip from the 70s show was seen after the credits.
46	* The three-part series finale of ''Series/OddSquad'' was, like all of their finales, heavily advertised as a two-part season finale (the two-parter in question being "Odd Together Now", the final episode of the series), and the rest of the episodes in the second half of Season 3 were dumped onto PBS Kids's video app on one day instead of being uploaded on a same-day basis, the latter of which is normally the case for new episodes of their shows. Despite this, the three episodes in question have all the traits of a GrandFinale, and no more new episodes are being made.
47	* The final episode of ''WesternAnimation/MarthaSpeaks'', "Martha's Holiday Surprise/"We're Powerless!" is about Martha and Skits rescuing kittens from a blizzard and the second segment is about Helen and her friends pretending to be characters from their favorite video game when a blackout hits Wagstaff City. It plays out like an ordinary episode.
48	* The final episode of ''WesternAnimation/WordGirl'', "Rhyme and Reason Parts 1 and 2", both played out like a regular episode, aside from having her friend Violet finally discovering that Becky Botsford is secretly WordGirl the whole time.
49	* The final episode of ''WesternAnimation/LibertysKids'', which was about the UsefulNotes/AmericanRevolution, was about the signing of the Constitution, played out like a regular episode, although near the end, a freed African slave named Moses is still upset that slavery hasn't been abolished yet, thinking that another war must be declared to end slavery for good, and thus foreshadowing the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar, while a ShipTease is implied for James and Sarah.
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52	[[folder:Comic Books]]
53	* Since 2015, ''Creator/MarvelComics'' end its series one way or another (some even with EndOfSeriesAwareness), but the company ''will not'' admit it at all (up to still having titles marked ongoing on their website that didn't survive ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015''). So the readers' only way to foresee cancellations is advanced divination from solicit (if it's missing for one month, it might be just delayed. Missing for two? Welp, that comic is probably over). This is exactly as annoying as it sounds. To name an example, the fact that ''ComicBook/TheUnbeatableSquirrelGirl'' was ending at issue #50 in November 2019 was [[http://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/the-fuzzy-finale-the-unbeatable-squirrel-girl-50-is-coming-this-november publicized]], and the four-issue finale arc it is a part of is suitably appropriate. ''ComicBook/MoonGirlAndDevilDinosaur'', meanwhile, almost -- but didn't -- make it that far, ending quietly at #47 in September 2019.
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56	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
57	* It is unknown what the final episode of ''Series/TheGoodNightShow'' was. It most likely played out like any other episode.
58	* ''Series/KolchakTheNightStalker'': The last episode of the first (and only) season was "The Sentry", which played out like a typical ''Kolchak'' episode with its MonsterOfTheWeek plotline of a reptilian monster killing the workers of a mining complex.
59	* The final episode of ''Series/{{Llanargollen}}'', "Y Bowlen Grisial" plays out like an average episode of the show. It revolves around Madam Mayor unveiling a very special crystal bowl in the Village Hall when she notices it has disappeared, and Prys and Ceri are on the case. It only features a few characters as well[[note]]Prys ar Frys, Ceri, Mrs. Mayor, Dr. Jim, and Tara Tan Toc[[/note]], and didn't feel like a conclusion to the 51-episode show at all, evidenced by how it was not advertised as a series finale. The show would end this way with two seasons in just [[ShortRunners two years]], and it lives on in reruns.
60	* ''Series/SideHustle'''s second season aired OutOfOrder, its final episode produced was the When Worlds Collide crossover and the last to air was "Yesley Day". They both play out like normal episodes, despite the former being an extra 10 minutes longer than normal. It would be quietly cancelled a few weeks after the latter airing, leaving the overarching plot unresolved.
61	* The last episode of ''Series/ThatsSoRaven'', despite being a VerySpecialEpisode that discusses smoking, plays out like a fairly normal episode.
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64	[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
65	* When ''Series/BearInTheBigBlueHouse'' ended, Bear and Luna still sang that the moon, the Bear and the Big Blue House would be waiting for you to come and play, and Bear still invited viewers to come back. Though there was internal homage on this one, with the episode being titled "This Is Your Life, Bear" and featuring Bear winning a special vacation.
66	* ''Series/BluesRoom'': The last episode "Music Stars" is about Boogie Woogie helping Blue and Sprinkles put on a music show. It, of course, plays out like the other episodes did.
67	* The final episode of ''Series/TheMuppetShow'', with Creator/GeneKelly as guest star, had no indication of it being the last episode except for a RunningGag where characters mentioned the end of the world. It also ended with Kermit saying "We'll see you next time on ''The Muppet Show''!" as usual.
68	* ''Series/{{Tweenies}}'' concluded with "What Makes Summer?", wherein Max and the Tweenies make a summer collage. It plays out like an ordinary episode.
69	* ''Series/{{LazyTown}}'' ended with "Mystery of the Pyramid", wherein Stephanie and the kids explore a pyramid that appears in [=LazyTown=]. It had no indication of it being the series finale, and also ended with Stephanie singing "Bing Bang" and a post-"Bing Bang" skit with Robbie Rotten as usual.
70	* The final episode of ''Series/TheWubbulousWorldOfDrSeuss'', "Cat's Play", ended with the Cat in the Hat singing "Just Shout Hooray" as usual for the season 2 episodes. The song includes the Cat telling the viewers that he'll "have some new surprises in my hat for you", implying this time that more was to come, but the show was cancelled soon afterwards.
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73	[[folder:Western Animation]]
74	* This was formerly [[EnforcedTrope company policy]] of Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}. Finales were proposed before, the most infamous being the [[UnfinishedEpisode never-completed]] finale of ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBeavers'', but they were shot down. This was officially [[AvertedTrope lifted]] in 2007, with the FinaleMovie of ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'', ''WesternAnimation/PhantomPlanet''.
75	* ''WesternAnimation/MightyMax'': When told that they could not make a real resolution for the purposes of reruns, the writers got around this through {{loophole abuse}}. They wrote a GrandFinale, but to comply with this executive mandate, this final showdown against the BigBad ends with [[spoiler:Max getting sent back in time to relive the series over again, [[PeggySue albeit now with the knowledge needed to successfully defeat the villain]]]].
76	* The final episode of ''WesternAnimation/BlazingDragons'', "Quest to Success / Slay the Dragon", plays out like an ordinary episode.
77	* Not counting the last aired episode [[OutOfOrder "Something To Do Blue"]], which was a Season 4 episode that aired late, as well as "Meet Blue's Baby Brother", which is technically a ''Series/BluesRoom'' episode, the last episode of ''WesternAnimation/BluesClues'', "Bluestock", played out like a normal episode. It even ended with the Goodbye Song like other Season 6 episodes, even containing the lyrics "See you later!" and "I'll see you real soon", which implies there would've been more to come, but the show ended after that as many people know.
78	* Not counting the 1992 Christmas special ''Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas'', ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'' concluded with a three parter where Gadget's accomplishments are celebrated by the city. After thwarting M.A.D's anniversary capers, Doctor Claw decides to recruit former master criminals from a retirement home to take out Gadget. Two of those agents are elderly ladies who lure Gadget into a trap pretending to be his fan club, and even after they're arrested Gadget still believes they're his biggest fans. The episode ends with Gadget proudly saying he owes everything to his fans, and holding an autographed picture up to the viewer, which winks. The series then concludes with "Gadget and the Red Rose", which involves one of the first criminals Gadget ever thwarted (as an infant no less), who tries to locate and utilise an old weapon against him. It plays out like an ordinary episode, and even though the retirement home for the criminals is raided by police at the end of the story arc, Doctor Claw escapes to fight another day. The Inspector Gadget franchise would go on to have several sequel series over several decades depicting the next stages in Gadget's fight against Claw.
79	* ''WesternAnimation/TheGetAlongGang'' ended with "That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles / Snowbound Showdown", the first short involves the Gang trying to sell cookies and the second short involves the Gang partaking in the winter fun in Green Meadow's park. It plays out like an ordinary episode.
80	* At the end of every episode of ''WesternAnimation/GuessWithJess'', Jess tells the viewers to help him answer another question soon. This was even said in the final episode, even though the show was cancelled afterwards.
81	* The final episodes of ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes'', written as a series finale, were simply advertised as a multi-part special by Creator/CartoonNetwork. Series creator Creator/IanJonesQuartey, as well as others working on the show, had already revealed to fans that the series was ending months prior.
82	* When ''WesternAnimation/TheMarvelousMisadventuresOfFlapjack'' was suddenly cancelled, a GrandFinale was hastily-written, featuring a live-action segment with creator Thurop Van Orman (as K'nuckles) and his son (as Flapjack) riding on Bubbie, with the trio leaving the show's setting of Stormalong Harbor for good to find a new place to live. This final episode would end up airing completely unadvertised, with the only people who were even aware that a new episode would be airing that night (much less the final one) being those who were subscribed to Van Orman's Website/DeviantArt page and saw a post about it earlier that day.
83	* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by Creator/AdultSwim in ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'''s last season, combining this trope with ConclusionInAnotherMedium: ''The Last One Forever and Ever (For Real This Time) (We Fucking Mean It)'' was the normally-advertised GrandFinale and aired on August 23rd. Then, [adult swim] discreetly released the ''true'' final episode, ''The Greatest Story Ever Told'', online just three days later, retroactively turning the other one into a SeriesFauxnale. ''Then'', they aired ''The Greatest Story'' on television in the show's normal timeslot a few days later, hiding it by identifying it in TV listings as a rerun of ''Mouth Quest'', the first episode of the season.
84	* ''WesternAnimation/WeBareBears'': There was no indication given that the fourth season of the show would be its last, with ''WesternAnimation/WeBareBearsTheMovie'' serving as the show's GrandFinale. Oddly enough, despite getting a proper finale, fans were still LeftHanging in regards to the "Icy Nights" storyline and how [[spoiler:the supposedly dead daughter of Ice Bear's ParentalSubstitute turned out to be alive]].
85	* ''WesternAnimation/RainbowBrite'' concluded with "The Queen of the Sprites", an episode where the Dark Princess from the ''Star Stealer'' film returns for another showdown with Rainbow Brite in a bid to become Queen of the Sprites and take over Rainbow Land. Despite how the plot sounds, it plays out like an ordinary episode.
86	* Apart from [[EndOfSeriesAwareness the ending having the titular character wave goodbye to the audience]], the final episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheBuzzOnMaggie'' played out like an ordinary episode.
87	* The final episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{TOTS}}'' plays out like a normal episode, with the final segment focusing on one of [[GadgeteerGenius Mr. Woodbird]]'s inventions making almost all of the staff of the titular organization [[MusicalEpisode break out in song]].
88	* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents''' final season was aired wildly OutOfOrder, but its final episode in production order was "Fancy Schmancy" and its final episode to air was "The Kale Patch Caper". Both of them play out like regular episodes.
89	* {{Zigzagged\|Trope}} by ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife''. While the final segment produced was "Future Schlock" (which the special ''[[WesternAnimation/RockosModernLifeStaticCling Static Cling]]'', which wasn't made until 20 years after the show ended, picked up from), [[OutOfOrder the last one to air]] was "Floundering Fathers", which played out like a regular episode. That episode aired last because it was paired with a Thanksgiving episode that Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} [[ExecutiveMeddling wanted to delay until the actual holiday]].
90	* The final episode of ''WesternAnimation/GrowingUpCreepie'', "Wanna Bee / The Haunting of Tiki Lagoon", played out like an ordinary episode.
91	* [[http://platypuscomix.com/darkvault/clubmario.html As pointed out by]] Website/PlatypusComix, the final episode of ''[[Series/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow Club Mario]]'' ended like this, with Tommy Treehugger saying "We'll see you next Monday on ''Club Mario''!", even during the final broadcast of the show, when most networks that aired the show dropped it.
92	* The final episode of ''WesternAnimation/MyGoldfishIsEvil'', "Jetstream Adventures" is about Beanie having a dream about himself as the hero of his favorite movie series while falling asleep watching a marathon of it during a sleepover with Elwood. No implication was made it would be the last episode and the series never ended with Beanie stopping Bubbles once and for all and exposing the fact that he is an evil genius to the town.
93	* The final episode of ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'' "Dan Vs. Summer Camp" is a WholeEpisodeFlashback about how Dan and Chris met as kids at summer camp. It plays out like an ordinary episode. (it should be noted that the show was going to get another season, but it ended up cancelled for reasons unknown)
94	* The GrandFinale of the ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioBrosDic'' cartoon trilogy, "Mama Luigi" is about Luigi reading Yoshi a bedtime story about how he and Yoshi first met, with little-to-no implications that the show is ending right then and there.
95	* The final episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Detention}}'', "Rule the School", is about Gug being promoted to hall monitor by Kisskillya and enforcing the rules at Benedict Arnold, while Shareena is attempting to secretly plan a party at her house. Aside from the promotion, the party subplot, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the lack of]] [[OnceAnEpisode detentions]], it plays out like a regular episode.
96	* The final episode of WesternAnimation/BubbleGuppies was "See You Later Alligator!". Despite the title, it plays out like an ordinary episode.
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Context Main / TheResolutionWillNotBeIdentified