Writing for TV ain't easy-- coming up with fresh plots on a weekly basis can be tough. Fortunately for writers, most shows follow the same basic format week-to-week, so they don't have to come up with radically different plots every seven days. One of the most popular show types is the "Of The Week" format, in which a core cast of {{Regular Character}}s deals with a new problem every week. This combines the stability of a template show with the possibility of new, exciting stories.

Most of the time, the problem the cast encounters disappears by the end of the episode, never to be mentioned again. It's becoming increasingly common for a show to have an overreaching seasonal StoryArc as well, but writers of the past generally preferred to stay low on continuity; less continuity means it's easier to re-air the show in syndication.

In script terms, the OneShotCharacter who comes in with a problem and disappears after is called a '''client'''.
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!!Tropes:
[[index]]
* GirlOfTheWeek: One of the main characters gains a love interest who is never seen beyond the love interest's debut episode.
* MonsterOfTheWeek: Every episode or most of the episodes have the heroes fight a one-shot antagonist.
** MonsterOfTheAesop: The episode's villain also fits with the episode's moral.
* MysteryOfTheWeek
* PatientOfTheWeek
* SubcultureOfTheWeek
* [[AdventureTowns Town of the Week]]
** [[{{Planetville}} Planet of the Week]]
* VictimOfTheWeek: An unlucky individual, {{innocent|Bystander}} or [[AssholeVictim otherwise]], who serves as the first person in the episode to be attacked by the antagonist of the week.
** BodyOfTheWeek: If they end up dead, then they become a murder mystery for the protagonists to solve.
** MonsterMunch: Their only purpose in the plot amounts to being preyed upon by he MonsterOfTheWeek.
** VillainPossessedBystander: When the victim gets mind-controlled by (and/or transformed into) the VillainOfTheWeek.
* WoobieOfTheWeek
[[/index]]
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