1 | A television format similar to a series of MiniSeries. Rather than airing a self-contained episode each week, long stories are broadcast broken into a number of individual parts. |
2 | |
3 | This format derives from the serial format used by the short films once shown before a feature, and, before that, the publication of novels in magazines. (Many of the works of Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle were originally published as serials.) |
4 | |
5 | The modern CliffHanger evolved from the custom of ending most episodes of a serial with a suspenseful scene which left our heroes in peril (often, literally hanging off a cliff). |
6 | |
7 | All the episodes of a story are usually considered as a single unit. In syndication or video release, they may be [[CompilationMovie edited together into a "movie format"]] which stitches the episodes together, usually removing the CliffHanger. |
8 | |
9 | Differs from the SoapOpera in that the narrative is not continuous throughout the entire series. Typically, each story would last between three and eight episodes then end. |
10 | |
11 | Differs from a StoryArc in that each episode is ''not'' a complete story on its own. Though the format is not mutually exclusive of a StoryArc, continuity between episodes which are not part of the same story is generally minimal (though this is probably entirely a result of arcs having been rare when the serial format was common). |
12 | |
13 | Today, the TelevisionSerial is a deprecated format, having been largely replaced by occasional two-part stories in a mostly stand-alone series and the MythArc. |
14 | |
15 | For some reason, this format was particularly common for British science fiction series. |
16 | ---- |
17 | !!Examples |
18 | |
19 | [[AC:British series:]] |
20 | |
21 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'' (used throughout the 1963-1989 Classic Series; dropped in the 1996 telemovie and the 2005-present revival series, save for 2009's "The End of Time") |
22 | * ''Series/TheTomorrowPeople1973'' |
23 | * ''Series/SapphireAndSteel'' |
24 | * ''Series/TheBill'' since 2002 |
25 | * ''{{Series/Cracker}}'' |
26 | * ''{{Timeslip}}'' |
27 | * Many British sci-fi shows that did this are also examples of BritishBrevity, where the whole season is one serial but very short: |
28 | ** ''Series/AForAndromeda'' |
29 | ** ''Franchise/{{Quatermass}}'' |
30 | ** ''Series/DarkSeason'' (which managed to have ''two'' mostly but not entirely separate serials within a single 6 episode season). |
31 | |
32 | [[AC:Non-British series:]] |
33 | |
34 | * ''Series/RockyJonesSpaceRanger'' |
35 | * On radio, ''Radio/YoursTrulyJohnnyDollar'' during the late 1950s, as well as ''Superman'' and lots of other shows. |
36 | * ''Series/DrKildare'' (TV show) used this format for it's fifth and final season. |
37 | * ''Manga/GhostHunt'' is an example that's rare both for being {{anime}} and for happening in 2006-2007. |
38 | * ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' is another modern anime example. |
39 | * ''Series/MoonlightMask'' |
40 | * ''The Space Giants'' (a.k.a. ''Series/AmbassadorMagma'') |
41 | * ''Series/{{Ghostwriter}}'' |
42 | * Creator/TheCW's Series/{{Arrowverse}} has been doing this since 2016 -- first that year with the ''Series/Invasion2016'' event, told over four installments (as episodes of ''Series/{{Supergirl|2015}}'', ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', ''Series/{{The Flash|2014}}'', and ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'') over two nights. ''Series/CrisisOnEarthX'' followed in 2017. 2018 saw the three-part ''Series/{{Elseworlds}}'' (the Legends sat this one out, to reduce the behind-the-scenes logistics; however, ComicBook/{{Batwoman}} appeared as a backdoor pilot for [[Series/Batwoman2019 her own show]], and the Barry Allen of the [[Series/TheFlash1990 early 1990s Flash series]] appeared for the first time since his show was cancelled). Finally, there came ''Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths2019'' -- an adaptation of the [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths comic event]] which saw an epic, multiverse-threatening event -- and the requisite number of cameos to back it up, from all over DC media (including, much to everyone's shock, [[spoiler:the Film/DCExtendedUniverse version of The Flash]]); the Crisis unfolded across five shows, as well as a RedSkiesCrossover episode of ''Series/BlackLightning'' (who then proceeded to join the other heroes beginning in part 3, and whose Earth, along with Supergirl's Earth-38, was amalgamated with the main Arrowverse Earth, Earth-1, into a singular "Earth-Prime"). |
43 | * The Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse uses this format for its Creator/DisneyPlus shows, with each series playing out as if it were an extra-long film split into several installments. The main exception is the AnimatedAnthology ''WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021'', but even that has each episode play into the GrandFinale. |
44 | * ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' was an animated example prior to the ''Unlimited'' {{retool}}, with ''every'' episode being a two-parter. |
45 | |
46 | [[AC:Used as a format for a segment within a VarietyShow:]] |
47 | |
48 | * The namesake segments of ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle''. |
49 | * ''Mathnet'' on ''Series/SquareOneTV'' |
50 | * ''The Bloodhound Gang'' on ''Series/ThreeTwoOneContact'' |
51 | * ''Around the World in 79 Days'' on ''WesternAnimation/TheCattanoogaCats''. |
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/context.php
FollowingContext Main / TelevisionSerial
Go To
- Show Spoilers
- Night Vision
- Sticky Header
- Wide Load