1 | A series which, by design, does not run regularly. It may be a series of annual made-for-TV movies, or a series composed of MiniSeries airing every few years (But lacking the regularity of a TelevisionSerial). Often happens when a PilotMovie sparks enough interest to prompt a second movie, but not enough to prompt a regular series. |
2 | |
3 | In the US, these are typically {{revival}}s of series which were originally regular in format. They are far more common in the UK. British Irregular Series are often aired on public television in the US as part of a GenreAnthology such as ''Series/{{Mystery}}'' or ''Series/MasterpieceTheatre''. |
4 | |
5 | See also InconsistentEpisodeLengths for when the length of each episode is what's irregular, rather than the publication schedule. |
6 | |
7 | ---- |
8 | !!Examples |
9 | |
10 | [[AC:{{Anime}} & {{Manga}}]] |
11 | * ''Anime/LupinIII'' has made six regular anime series, but has run for over twenty years as an annual series of made for TV movies in Japan. Link to the list: Anime/LupinIIIYearlySpecials |
12 | * Creator/RumikoTakahashi's ''Manga/MermaidSaga'', a manga variation of this, was periodically released in episodic stories over the course of ten years. |
13 | * ''Manga/ThusSpokeKishibeRohan'' has no set schedule, with gaps between installments ranging from one month to over a decade. |
14 | |
15 | [[AC:ComicBooks]] |
16 | * ''ComicBook/{{Robin}}'': When [[ComicBook/Robin1993 Tim Drake]] was introduced as the new Robin, he appeared in numerous mini-series before his ongoing started. |
17 | * For its first few years, Creator/IDWPublishing's ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' series consisted of [[ComicBook/TheTransformersMegaseries multiple mini-series]] and [[ComicBook/TheTransformersAllHailMegatron a 12-issue event series]] before receiving [[ComicBook/TheTransformersIDW an ongoing]]. |
18 | |
19 | [[AC:LiveActionTV]] |
20 | * ''Literature/AdamDalgliesh'': The Roy Marsden adaptations consisted of [[MadeForTVMovie TV movies]] and mini-series, with releases spanning from 1983 to 1998. |
21 | * Unlike regular [[PanelGame panel shows]], ''Series/BigFatQuizOfTheYear'' is a yearly feature-length special that airs around Christmastime. Big Fat Quizzes with other topics (BFQ of Everything, decade-themed quizzes) vary from year to year with no set release schedule. |
22 | * ''Series/{{Columbo}}'' started life as a MadeForTVMovie, then became a series which aired as every third episode of ''The NBC Mystery Movie''. Later, it became a series of TV Movies which aired with decreasing frequency. |
23 | * The ''Series/FoylesWar'' series that were produced following the show's [[UnCanceled un-cancellation]] became more noticeably irregular in their release, with gaps of 2-3 years between series. |
24 | * ''Series/HettyWainthroppInvestigates'': The pilot aired in 1990, whereas the four series aired 1996-98. |
25 | * ''Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977'': A four-year regular series sandwiched between two pilot movies and three [[MadeForTVMovie made-for-TV-movies]]. |
26 | * ''Series/InspectorMorse'' aired as a number of MiniSeries. |
27 | * ''Series/JonathanCreek'': Aired as a combination of specials and series, most notably with three specials released during 2009-2013, which came between the fourth (2003-2004) and fifth (2014) full series of the show. |
28 | * ''Series/{{Marple}}'': Each of the six series, aired between 2004 and 2013, contains 3-4 feature-length episodes. |
29 | * ''Franchise/PerryMason'' ran regularly from 1957-1966, then was revived for a series of TV movies in the 90s. |
30 | * ''Series/{{Poirot}}'' ran from 1989 to 1993, then became a series of feature-length specials whose releases spanned almost two decades. |
31 | ** The format switched to "series of TV movies" in 2009 to allow the actors to follow up on other commitments that a full-scale TV schedule would conflict with. |
32 | * ''Series/PrimeSuspect'': Aired one series per year from 1991-96 (skipping 1994) then the final two series aired in 2003 and 2006, respectively. |
33 | * ''Series/{{Psych}}'' became one following its original eight-season run, as installments thereafter are [[MadeForTVMovie made-for-TV movies]]. |
34 | * ''Series/TheRockfordFiles'' became a series of TV {{Film}} for a time after the regular series ended. |
35 | * ''Series/RumpoleOfTheBailey'': Released intermittently from 1978 to 1992. |
36 | * ''Series/{{Sharpe}}'': Also ran like this, with a really noticeable time skip between the most recent installments. |
37 | * ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' consists of four three-episode series, with a two-year gap (or three, in the case of the fourth series) between them. |
38 | * The German language crime television series ''Series/{{Tatort}}''. 1971 saw 11 episodes, 2008 saw 31, and not evenly distributed to boot. In the first twenty years, the [[InconsistentEpisodeLengths length of episodes varied]], too, up to two hours; more recently things settled on about one and a half hours. |
39 | * ''Series/TheThickOfIt'': The first two series aired in 2005, followed by specials in 2007, a third series in 2009, then a fourth and final series in 2012. |
40 | * The British documentary series/social experiment ''Series/{{Up}}'' takes this to extremes by airing a single instalment ''every seven years''. It started by showing the participants at seven years old, and has gradually charted their lives in seven-year intervals ever since. |
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