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For Those Still Wondering About The 'Non-Ending' of the Final Season

posted 8 years ago by happipuppi13
4 replies | jump to latest

I borrowed this from Wikipedia :

At the end of the series' final episode, Benson and Gatling, who had strained relations due to the race, made peace with each other and watched the tight election returns together on television.

As the broadcaster began to announce that a winner was at last being projected, the episode ended on a freeze frame of Benson and Gatling, leaving the series with an unresolved cliffhanger. Coincidentally, Guillaume's previous series, and the one from which Benson spun off, Soap, was also canceled with unresolved cliffhangers, though Guillaume had moved on to Benson by that point.

In 2007, Benson showrunner Bob Fraser said that the season ended on a cliffhanger at the request of the network. The show was canceled after the cliffhanger had aired. Fraser indicated that, had the show continued, Gatling would have won the election and Benson would have become a senator.[

According to Gary Brown, who directed the finale and 20 other episodes of Benson, three outcomes were filmed, with Benson winning, Gatling winning and a tie. The intent was to decide over summer break which outcome to use.

Brown also stated that, regardless of the outcome, thelong-term intent
for the next season was for Benson to become the governor (eventually).

So there you have it.  Personally, I'm fine with how it ended but it would not have surprised me if bythe end of the series, Benson would take over after Gatling was done being Governor.

Go for it or just be a gopher!
(MR.) happipuppi13 🐕 *arf,man!*

[–] happipuppi13 8 years ago

Just found this on :

Benson TV show - TV Series Finale

In a strange twist, the state’s junior senator would have died unexpectedly and Governor Gatling would have appointed Benson to finish out the senator’s term in Washington. Kraus and Clayton would have followed Benson to the nation’s capital to take on the bureaucrats with his no-nonsense manner.

Then, following the plot of the popular novel The Man by Irving Wallace, Benson would have ended up as President of the United States. This would have happened as a result of a string of accidents involving the various people in the line of succession.

Fraser suspects that their plans to make Benson the first
African-American President may have impacted ABC’s decision to end the series.

(Don't know whether to believe that or not.) 

Go for it or just be a gopher!
(MR.) happipuppi13 🐕 *arf,man!*

[–] Doom 8 years ago

What I fear is that Mill Creek (see: bottom feeders of DVD releases) will maintain the rights to Benson (last I've read, they still have the rights).

If so, we'll either never get a complete series release or, if we do, it will be bare-bones (like all their other releases) and there will be zero chance of us ever seeing those 'other endings' shot for the series finale.

Now if Shout! Factory gets the rights to the series and releases a Complete Series set? Anything is possible, as Shout! Factory releases rock and usually include just those types of rare 'extras'.

Here's hoping. I've already written to Shout! once about it.

------

Wait a minute... who am I here?

[–] happipuppi13 8 years ago

I've no doubt that if "SHOUT Factory gets to do BENSON, we'll get great quality. 

I'm currently watching what an awesome job they did with WKRP In Cincinatti. 

All original 1970s & early 1980s music restored to the episodes. Instead of that "el Cheapo" replacement music that 'cheapskates' 20th Century Fox used on their verson of Season One. 

I kind of wish SHOUT would take over many series from otehr places. They also did a fabulous job with BARNEY MILLER. Love for them to re-do THE ODD COUPLE and get the songs back in that one as well. I couldn't believe a studio as RICH as Paramount could be so tight fisted where $$$ is concerned.

The final ep. of the Odd Couple is ruined because they wouldn't 're-pay' , for
the use of "Singin' In The Rain". (Oscar sings 1 line from that after Felix gets remarried.)

Go for it or just be a gopher!
(MR.) happipuppi13 🐕 *arf,man!*

[–] marktayloruk (2425) 2 years ago

President Benson Dubois? Going too far.