Line #85 Main/ToBeContinuedRightNow


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5	[[quoteright:349:[[Webcomic/{{Buttersafe}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tbc.png]]]]
6
7	->[[AC:TO BE CONTINUED]]
8	->''{{Beat}}''
9	->[[AC:IMMEDIATELY]]
10	-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie''
11
12	As AliceAndBob take their WikiWalk, they find something... ''new''. What could it be?
13
14	You'll find that out [[JustForFun/TVTropesWillRuinYourLife and more]] OnTheNext... I mean, on this very page.
15
16	Wait, what?
17
18	A [[TheReveal reveal]] or plot resolution is set up to be explained in the next episode or [[CommercialBreakCliffhanger following a commercial break]], but is then immediately explained. As you probably can guess; this trope is pretty much always PlayedForLaughs.
19
20	This effect can also be caused unintentionally in, for instance, a DVD release of a TV show or made-for-TV movie, or in syndication; where the commercials would go, you instead get a FadeToBlack that fades right back in to show the characters in exactly the same positions.
21
22	Contrast {{Cliffhanger}}, ToBeContinued. Compare TheReveal, FindOutNextTime.
23
24	Due to the trope's nature: '''beware of unmarked spoilers in the examples!'''
25	----
26	!!Examples:
27
28	[[foldercontrol]]
29
30	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
31	* One episode of ''Manga/CromartieHighSchool'', two plots to it, one of which was that no one ever cares to know "Hokuto's Lackey"'s [[NoNameGiven name]]. The other plot was resolved in the next episode. the teaser for the next episode plays with this by informing in advance that Hokuto's Lackey will never be named.
32	-->'''Narrator:''' Will anyone learn Hokuto's Lackey's name? [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse What will happen with the Boss Championship?]] Many questions will be answered in the next episode of Cromartie High School... [[LampshadeHanging and many will not]]. We hope you will join us then.
33	* ''Manga/DontCryMaouChan'' has a chapter where the title character's administrator Fatalite somehow gets roped into a [[CompeteForTheMaidensHand battle royale for her hand in marriage]] that's being hyped up to start the next chapter, only to be resolved on the last page with Fatalite herself [[OffscreenMomentOfAwesome having beaten up all of her suitors]] and saying she's not marrying anyone.
34	* When the Straw Hats meet Brook in ''Manga/OnePiece'', he explains that the reason he's a skeleton and the reason he has no shadow or reflection are two different things.
35	-->'''Brook:''' To be continued.\
36	'''Sanji:''' ''TELL US NOW!!''
37	* One recap episode of ''Anime/MagicalPrincessMinkyMomo'' ends with "The End" however after a few words later it is changed to "Not The End" with "To be Continued" in the bottom.
38	* Chapter 104 of ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' ends with the narrator talking about how the current storyline would continue in the following chapter. The anime kept this line despite chapters 104 and 105 being adapted as part of a singular episode.
39	[[/folder]]
40
41	[[folder:Comedy]]
42	* On ''AudioPlay/AnotherMontyPythonRecord'', the first episode of the radio play ''The Death of Mary, Queen of Scots'' is followed by an announcer saying, "Episode 2 of ''The Death of Mary, Queen of Scots'' can be heard on Radio 4 almost immediately." Followed, of course, by Episode 2.
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:Fan Works]]
46	* ''Fanfic/LightAndDarkTheAdventuresOfDarkYagami'': Matt and [[CompositeCharacter Yotsuba]] are struggling for the Death Note when the car crashes. One of them dies instantly while the other escapes with the Death Note, ending with "It was... you'll have to find out later!" The very next paragraph cuts to Blud telling Light that Matt survived and has a Death Note.
47	* At the end of one chapter of FanFic/ReactWatchBelieveYikes, Yang and Weiss are struck by a Dust compound that is making them horny with an already sexed-up Ruby and Blake offering them relief. The chapter appears to end with offering the readers a choice to let them accept or not, only to have them decline a few line breaks later. Given the sheer number of {{Yuri Fan}}s ''RWBY'' attracts, that was probably the smart decision.
48	* In one chapter of ''Fanfic/ThisBites'', when the Straw Hats learn that [[spoiler:Merry's keel had cracked and she was going to die]], it seemed like it would end on a heartbreaking cliffhanger...right before a Part 2 is shown. While the cliffhanger is something the writer would do, the word count wasn't up to their standards.
49	[[/folder]]
50
51	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
52	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie2TheSecondPart'': The film seemingly has a SecondChapterCliffhanger, when [[spoiler: Emmet is tricked into starting Armamageddon by Rex Dangervest, who turns out to be an evil, embittered version of himself from an alternate future who strands Emmet on Undar of the Dryar.]] Then Lucy protests that [[MediumAwareness the movie can't end on a cliffhanger like that]], and she eventually rallies her friends and the citizens of the Systar System into [[spoiler: escaping the Bin of Storage and going to rescue Emmet]].
53	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'' does this around the start of Act IV, with "To Be Continued" appearing on screen, and then followed by "Immediately" not long after.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
57	* There's an infamous moment in ''Film/TheGuyFromHarlem'' where the scene fades to black and then cuts to the ''exact same scene.''
58	-->'''[[Podcast/{{Rifftrax}} Mike Nelson]]''': ''Guy from Harlem'' will continue aft-- And we're back.
59	* Lampshaded in ''Film/IRememberMama''. Boarder Jonathan Hyde, an actor with a spellbinding voice[[note]]Played by Sir Cedric Hardwicke. What more could anyone ask![[/note]], reads to the children every night from a collection of classics:
60	-->'''Mr. Hyde.''' "Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a ''gigantic hound!''" [shuts book] .... To be continued in our next.\
61	'''Children.''' Awwwww!\
62	'''Mr. Hyde.''' ''If'' you're interested...\
63	'''Children.''' Oh, yes, Mr. Hyde!
64	* ''Film/JaggedMind'': Being put in the time loops by Alex makes Billie suffer from blackouts, memory loss (so she doesn't clearly remember this happening), and progressive brain damage. Rose warns Billie that she will die if she doesn't break the loop.
65	* Similarly in a variant from ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail''. King Arthur and Bedevere crossing the Bridge of Death to some pulse-pounding adventure music is interrupted by a ten-second "Intermission" title card and some upbeat organ music.
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:Literature]]
69	* OlderThanPrint: [[LampshadedTrope Lampshaded]] in ''Literature/TheDivineComedy''.
70	-->Merely consider, reader, if what I here begin\
71	went on no farther, how keen would be\
72	your anguished craving to know more!\
73	But you shall see for yourself what great desire\
74	I felt to hear about their state from them\
75	as soon as they appeared to me.
76	[[/folder]]
77
78	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
79	* A go-to RunningGag in TheStinger of ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' episodes. They would all be set up with TheNarrator saying "on the next Arrested Development..." followed by the resolution of a gag in the current episode, and the next episode having nothing to do with that gag. Particularly noticeable in the episode "The Ocean Walker", where the stinger is the next couple seconds of the same scene, and the next episode is set days later.
80	* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
81	** Before the 2005 revival, the show was repackaged in several other countries, particularly the US, as "movies" with a full story -- or leastwise four or five episodes -- all put together in one presentation, cutting out the opening/closing credits for all but the opening of the first and closing of the last episode. So the cliffhanger of any given episode tends to be resolved immediately.
82	** The ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' audio plays also tend to end each episode with a cliffhanger as a homage to the Classic Series, even in releases that only come out as a complete story on CD/download and so, until you hit the last episode on each disc (which usually stores two episodes at a time), there's nothing but the theme music separating the parts. It made more sense when they were on cassette, and each cassette had one episode on each side.
83	* ''Series/GetSmart'': Before the third season, episodes would be wrapped up before a final humorous scene after a commercial break. However, starting early in the third season, many episodes would have a cliffhanger before the final break, which would be resolved immediately when the show's final scene resumes.
84	* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' Season 3 originally aired with the first two episodes back to back. The first episode ended with "To be continued..." and then "Now!" and then the second episode. Later airings and the DVD release ended the first episode like any other episode.
85	* ''Series/PennAndTellerTellALie:'' During the "Linen Armor" sequence, they appear to cut to commercial, featuring an Series/AmericanChopper ad, only for Penn and Teller to interrupt, saying they're in charge here, and they're not going to make you wait 3 minutes to see what happens.
86	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MFtl2XXnUc The Gift Shop Sketch]] from ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'' consists entirely of PreviouslyOn and OnTheNext segments, meaning that it does a lot of this.
87	* The third episode of ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'''s seventh season ends with Ron and Leslie being LockedInARoom by their friends so they'll resolve their differences. However, it premiered airing together with the next episode, so the end title card was "To be continued immediately".
88	* The first episode of the Season 2 finale of ''Series/{{Galavant}}'' ends with the Jester starting to reference the previous season's cliffhanger, only to [[SmashToBlack cut to black]]. Fortunately the next episode aired less than 30 seconds afterward or the fans might have gotten mad again.
89	* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000:'' DiscussedTrope in the episode "[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S08E22OverdrawnAtTheMemoryBank Overdrawn at the Memory Bank]]" joking about the weird beeping theme music.
90	-->Theme song beeps plays\
91	'''Mike:''' And now the news!\
92	* Theme song beeps repeats* {{Beat}}\
93	'''Mike:''' That was the news...
94	* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' was screened in Britain by the Creator/{{BBC}}, which does not have commercials. British fans were perplexed first by Americans maintaining ST had hour long episodes (''"What are the Yanks on about? It's only just forty-five minutes!"'') and then by the seemingly inexplicable bits in every episode where an action scene might momentarily go to black for no readily obvious reason, then resume as if nothing had just happened, sometimes from a different camera-angle. It had to be explained that this is where American TV would put in all those long, interminable commercial breaks which are not a factor in [=BBC=] programming (and, incidentally, why US TV scheduled an hour for every episode, rather than those 43 minutes of actual content).
95	[[/folder]]
96
97	[[folder:Music]]
98	* The Music/{{Weezer}} song "Buddy Holly" has a break in the middle. So, the music video, framed as a ''Series/HappyDays'' episode, has a "To Be Continued" card turn up on the break, briefly cutting to the show's title card with Creator/RonHoward's voice saying "Stay tuned for more ''Happy Days''..." before resuming.
99	* Music/ElectricSix: Toward the end of "Improper Dancing," Dick Valentine shouts, "Stop!" causing the music to immediately halt. After about two seconds, he shouts, "Continue!" and the music starts up again.
100	[[/folder]]
101
102	[[folder:Radio]]
103	* Radio/JohnFinnemoresSouvenirProgramme In series 1 episode 3's Since You Ask Me sketch they use this trope.
104	[[/folder]]
105
106	[[folder:Video Games]]
107	* The ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' series does this with many of its cases. After the player gets through an investigation/court day/testimony, the game will present a "To Be Continued" screen before shortly after going to the save screen, after which the player can continue the story.
108	* ''VideoGame/AmazonGuardiansOfEden'': After clearing an episode, the game says "Don't miss our next exciting episode!" Shortly after, the next episode starts with a title card and recap. You don't even get a prompt to save.
109	* ''VideoGame/AnotherCode'': The ''[[VideoGameRemake Recollection]]'' remake packages the duology as a single, two-part narrative rather than two separate games. As such, after completing ''Two Memories'', there is a brief interlude that leads directly into the opening of ''Journey into Lost Memories''.
110	* ''Videogame/Borderlands3'' has an abrupt SequelHook, where the screen goes black and the game is to be continued in 4...3...2...1... And the scene continues.
111	* The ending of ''VideoGame/BlackAndWhite 2'''s ''Battle of The Gods'' expansion. Congratulations, you've won! You've defeated the Undead God and his Skeleton Warriors! But wait! There's a skeleton overlooking your town, laughing! [[TheEndOrIsIt Maybe the Undead God isn't completely defeated]]? Cut to credits. [[TheStinger After the credits, said skeleton is killed in a hail of flaming arrows]]. Game over.
112	* ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'' seemingly ends on a massive cliffhanger, with the true villain revealing himself and [[spoiler:seizing control of STORM, the MechanicalAbomination our heroes have spent the whole game trying to stop]]. But if you’ve finished all the Inbox sidequests, then the story keeps right on going into an epilogue bonus chapter that deals with those events.
113	* ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'' has an insanity effect that tells the player the game is to be continued in the sequel, then the effect ends and the game continues.
114	* ''[[VideoGame/MarySkelterNightmares Mary Skelter 2]]'' has an interesting example: [[spoiler:as the game is revealed to be a prequel to the first game, the game's True Ending shows Little Mermaid getting killed by Red Hiding Hood, as shown in the prequel novel. And then, right after the credits and one final scene, the remake of the first game is loaded and the opening plays.]]
115	* ''VideoGame/SolatoroboRedTheHunter'' pulls this on you after going through and entire adventure and finishing off the DiscOneFinalBoss. The day is saved, the credits roll, and TheStinger plays out... only for the game to then immediately tell you that you can now play the second half of the game by loading up your "completed" save file. This is where the true BigBad shows up and the story ''[[SerialEscalation really]]'' begins.
116	[[/folder]]
117
118	[[folder:Web Animation]]
119	* WebAnimation/{{Ducktalez}}: In episode 2, Scrooge, Dewey and Louie are being chased by monsters in Scrooge's mansion. In the middle of it, there are two cards that appear for a few frames each: "Intermission." and "INTERMISSION'S OVER!"
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Web Original]]
123	* ''WebAnimation/{{Arfenhouse}} The Movie'' has a scene where the animation stops and the words "to be continued..." are displayed on the screen. After a short pause, the words disappear and the animation resumes.
124	* The 13th episode of ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' ends with this, as the narrator talks about the appearance of [[BigBad Frieza]] and his lieutenants, Zarbon and Dodoria.
125	-->'''Narrator:''' [Dramatic music stars playing] A new evil has revealed its face. Who are these mysterious enemies? And do [[KidHero Gohan]] and [[ButtMonkey Krillin]] stand a chance? The answer to these questions will be revealed... [Music swells] right now! [Closeup of each villain] Zarbon, Dodoria, Frieza, and ''oh my'', '''no'''.
126	-->'''Krillin:''' [[MediumAwareness Wait, wh-]] ''[closing credits]''
127	* Parodied in the low-budget stop-motion animation short, ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVDc22ayvdM Attack of the Zombie Cupcakes]]'', in which the introductory comic leads into this phrase.
128	* Also parodied in the ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic's'' review of ''Film/CaptainAmerica1990'', to the tune of the [[Series/Batman1966 the '60s Batman show tune]]
129	-->''How will Captain America get out of this one???? Will he turn the White House into rubble? Or will he escape to have his American ass beaten once more???? Tune in next time... which is... Right now!''
130	* The [[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner Strong Bad Email]] "Cliffhangers" does this a lot, with Strong Bad calling up "cliffhangers" (That had not been seen in any of the shorts before that email) and showing the resolutions right after the cliffhanging "To be continued". Best example would probably be the one with Strong Bad as Space Captainface.
131	-->'''Narrator:''' Will Cap and Strap make it out of this one? Tune in next time to-\
132	'''Strong Bad:''' Yeah, no. Just cut to the resolution.\
133	'''Narrator:''' ''Okay!''
134	* The ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'' episode for ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' was in two parts, with the first ending with "To Be Continued...Right Now!"
135	* In the ''WebVideo/BillWurtz'' video "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phsLfS3VaRg ball & stick]]," after the ball is told to go to the castle, a title card appears saying "to be continued," followed immediately by another one saying "continuing."
136	[[/folder]]
137
138	[[folder:Western Animation]]
139	* The ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Professor Chaos" teased at several questions in the final scene... "Will Professor Chaos's latest plot succeed and be the final undoing of Earth? And which boy has been chosen to be the replacement for Kenny? And which of these six South Park residents was killed, and will never be seen again?" You'd think that [[FindOutNextTime this would be a two-parter and none of the above mentioned questions were going to be answered until next time]], until the narrator closes the episode by saying "The answer to those questions will be answered... right now: No. Tweak. Ms. Choksondik." The following episode does give more context to these answers, however.
140	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
141	** "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" had this: "Chief Wiggum, P.I. will return... right now!"
142	** The "Treehouse of Horror XXVII" story "Dry Hard", which spoofed ''Film/TheHungerGames'', had title cards for "End of Part I", "Part II", "End of Part II", and "Part III", in reference to how ''The Hunger Games'' had split ''Film/TheHungerGamesMockingjay'' into two parts.
143	* Used to a low extreme fairly often on ''WesternAnimation/WordGirl''. The narrator adds drama to the climax of the episode with "''Will [=WordGirl=]'' make her way out of (this situation) and defeat (villain)??" But most of the time, everything concludes right then. As the series began as two-minute shorts where such cliffhangers were played straight, it's implied the narrator just does this out of habit.
144	* The 1967 ''WesternAnimation/{{Spider\|Man1967}}-Man'' cartoon was made to be shown a few minutes at a time. When it was repackaged as a full half-hour program, this ended up happening.
145	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'': "I See a Funny Cartoon in Your Future", patterned like an episode of ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'', has the girls in a LiteralCliffhanger with the announcer entreating us to not miss the next episode to see what happens. After an ersatz commercial with the Mayor and Miss Bellum, the episode continues.
146	* ''WesternAnimation/FriskyDingo'': One episode ends with a Literal Cliffhanger while the assorted cast bunches together at the edge of a cliff, while reporter Grace Ryan dangles off it. The episode ends, but then:
147	-->'''Narrator:''' Next time, on ''Frisky Dingo''...\
148	'''Killface:''' Oh my god, she fell.
149	* A late 40s ''WesternAnimation/MightyMouse'' cartoon, close to its conclusion, starts to iris out over a presumed cliffhanger. As the narrator entreats us to join the proceedings next week, the iris stops, the frame freezes, and the narrator says "Gosh, we can't wait till next week, Show us what happens now. Won't you?" The iris opens back up and the cartoon resumes to its resolution.
150	* Every episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Batfink}}'' has the heroes--Batfink and Karate in a dire strait with the scene frozen as the narrator intones what they can do to save themselves. The action resumes afterwards and justice is served.
151	* The WesternAnimation/BugsBunny cartoon ''Hare Trigger'' ends with a spoof of FilmSerial {{Cliffhanger}}s, as Bugs is BoundAndGagged and suspended over a bridge, and WesternAnimation/YosemiteSam is cutting the rope to send the rabbit falling to his doom.
152	-->'''Narrator:''' Is this the end of Bugs Bunny? Will our hero be dashed to bits on the jagged rocks below?\
153	'''Bugs:''' [walks onscreen dragging a tied-up Sam] Is he doomed to utter destruction? Will he be rendered ''non compos mentis''? Eh, he don't know me very well, do he?
154	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has occasional two-part episodes, but since they are always aired in tandem, they end up doing this. You'll get the ToBeContinued card, followed by the credits, then jump right into the next part right after, with a PreviouslyOn recap of the episode [[ExaggeratedTrope you've just watched]].
155	* Whenever shows designed for airing on commercial TV channels air on PBS Kids (for example, ''WesternAnimation/{{Cyberchase}}''), they show the CommercialBreakCliffhanger, except there's no commercials so the episode simply just fades back in immediately after the fade out, AdBreakDoubleTake and all.
156	[[/folder]]
157	----
158	Will this page have a stinger...?
159
160	''Find out!...'' [-[[MindScrew Three seconds ago.]]-]

Context Main / ToBeContinuedRightNow