[[http://www.viruscomix.com/subnormality.html http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Owlman.jpg]]
[[caption-width:217:Now you're just embarrassing yourself.]]

->'''T-Bone''': "Crud! What ''is'' that thing?"\\
'''Razor''': "Giant monster of the week?"
-->--from the ''SwatKats'' episode "Unlikely Alloys"

Episodes where the characters fight a villain and the whole story is wrapped up at the end never to be dealt with again. Can be seen as the complete antithesis of a StoryArc. Can also be seen as a BigBad arc compressed into one episode.

The term (a play on Movie Of The Week) was originally coined by the writing staff of ''TheOuterLimits'' (1963), which sought to distinguish itself from its biggest competitor, ''TheTwilightZone'', by promising viewers a new monster every episode.

Variations crop up from time to time. ''{{The 4400}}'' and ''{{Smallville}}'' for example are sometimes discussed in terms of the "Freak of The Week." MysteryOfTheWeek is the [[CrimeAndPunishment detective series]] version of this trope.

Sometimes, the monsters get [[AttackOfTheKillerWhatever ridiculous]], especially in {{filler}}s, where they are almost always [[MonsterOfTheAesop themed after the plot of the episode.]] ''FutariWaPrettyCure'' had a giant vacuum cleaner early in its run, for example; ''DigimonAdventure'', a walking garbage dump.

Often used in collaboration with an AdventureTown, may or may not be MonogenderMonsters. Contrast MonsterMash.
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!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime ]]

* ''{{Pokemon}}'', ''SailorMoon'' and others in their genres are notorious for this. This trope is very common in some varieties of ''{{anime}}'', and in anime it tends to take a very [[TVTropesWikiDrinkingGame egregious]] form that, after watching a few episodes, causes the audience to start asking uncomfortable questions like "Well, why don't the bad guys attack all at once instead of one at a time?" Writers usually stoop to [[HandWave handwaving]] if they deal with the question at all.
** Which caused a DubInducedPlotHole in the English {{Macekre}} of ''TokyoMewMew''. If there's now an "army" of Monsters of the Week, why do we only see one at a time?
** Both parodied and played straight in ''[[PrettySammy Magical Project S]]'', which has Pixy Misa summoning a new "Love-Love Monster" in half of the episodes. The show and its characters are quite aware of both the futility of these creations (as the incantation of "Calling Mistakes" suggests) and their formulaic nature (in an episode where Misa introduces a small army of them, Sammy dryly says "I've seen all those already").
* ''FistOfTheNorthStar'', moreso in the anime than in the manga, varies between these and genuine story arcs.
*''{{Voltron}}'', the 1980s paragon of the trope.
*And ''MazingerZ'', of course, is the 19''70s'' paragon, although Dr. Hell sometimes sent two or three at a time as well. Subverted in ''{{Mazinkaiser}}'', where Dr. Hell a large number monsters at once against Z and GreatMazinger, and ''wins''.
*''SamuraiPizzaCats''. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in one episode, where the Big Cheese introduced the robot menace he'd prepared for this episode with "Monster of the week, please enter and sign in."
* The N.M.E. in ''Kirby: Right Back at Ya'' would provide King Dedede with a new monster with which to try to kill Kirby just about every episode. Naturally, Dedede is just too cheap to buy more than one at any one time.
** Of course, he did go into debt buying them. N.M.E. actually had to send a monster to collect the debt without him realizing (At first). Still was defeated though.
* Some early episodes of FullMetalAlchemist had a version of this: If there's a plot important character in the episode we have not seen before, he is probably the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Villain Of The Week.]] The main exception to this rule is Roze. 'Course, a fair share of these episodes turned out to be important to the plot later.
* Played with and used straight by ''RahXephon''. The Dolems mainly show up on a one-a-week basis, although some of them survive their initial appearance and go on to reappear later.
* ''JoJosBizarreAdventure'' arguably boils down to this... except it's "villain for the next month and a half", due to the length of the fights.
** The series didn't adopt this format until Part 3 began and Stands were introduced, as Parts 1 & 2 were arc based. Interestingly enough, this format helped the popularity of the series, as the fights were unique and the Stand users diverse.
* For about the first half of SpeedGrapher, Suietengu's plan to recapture Kagura is to have his henchmen sic a different Euphoric on Saiga. They never live more than two episodes after being introduced.
* Early chapters of ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh}}'' generally featured a "Bully Of The Week." His role was typically to scam or beat up Yugi's friends, at which point Yugi would challenge him to a CookingDuel or the local equivalent. Most notably, TheRival Kaiba started out like this.
*Every season of ''{{Digimon}}'' starts out this way as the new characters learn the ropes and the viewers learn the new characters (and in some seasons, new universe.)
** Save maybe the fourth season where it pretty much states that most all monsters are entire sub races of digimon, save a few, from the start.
* The anime ''Dai-Guard'' [[LampshadeHanging hangs a lampshade on this one]] by having scientists predict that the conditions necessary for the alien giant monster invaders to appear will repeat themselves roughly once every week.
* ''{{Figure17}}'' plays this completely straight, although there is strong continuity as well. By the end of the series the monsters don't even look different from each other- they just get slightly upgraded powers.
** This does become less prominent as the plot goes on, however, as emphasis shifts toward Tsubasa and Hikaru's relationship, with some episodes not featuring a Maguar at all, and others being dedicated to particularly large and important, multi-episode fights.
* ''WitchHunterRobin'' got a new witch every week for the first half. Then things changed rather abruptly...
* ''MobileSuitGundam'', while extremely arc-based, still managed to introduce a lot of new enemy mobile suits in a monster-of-the-week fashion.
** G Gundam is a better example of this trope than just Gundam in general, really.
** G Gundam is THE best example in gundam, because this was the entire ''point'' behind the series, to draw on the MonsterOfTheWeek fan base, or more specifically the robot of the week fanbase, because that was how most robot shows were done prior to Gundam.
* Played straight in ''GaoGaiGar'' with the Zonders, though taking things in canon time passage it could more likely be considered the "Monster-of-the-half-a-week".
* The majority of MartialArtsAndCrafts opponents in ''[[RanmaOneHalf Ranma 1/2]]'' ended up like this, from the [[RuleOfFunny comical and ridiculous]] (Sentaro Daimonji of the Martial Arts Tea Ceremony School, Picolet Chardin of [[BigEater La Belle France School]]) to the [[MoodWhiplash serious and dramatic]] ([[KiAttacks Prince Herb]], [[TheDrifter Ryu Kumon]], [[AGodAmI Saffron]].) Then the anime took it above and beyond with outlandish Rivals of the Week who used toys, eggs, calligraphy, or even ''crepes''. Only rivals who had preexisting relationships with the cast, such as Ryouga, Mousse, and Ukyou, were given the chance to stick around and become regular characters.
* Played straight by ''GenesisOfAquarion'', though at first the monsters were just regular Cherubim Soldiers with some kind of new ability that the team had to find a way to overcome by using lessons from earlier in the episode to unlock a new attack.
* ''Bleach'' started out like this, with Ichigo fighting a different hollow each chapter. Though after Rukia got taken back to Soul Society, it became more StoryArc focused.
* InuYasha was literally this for nearly every episode outside the last anime story arc. Once the manga got past the point of the anime ending, it changed up a little bit.
* MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha started out like this, then [[IncrediblyLamePun Fate intervened.]]
* Often overlooked, but NeonGenesisEvangelion also started like this. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUqdYo-2iU8 A review]] even calls it the best MonsterOfTheWeek show ever.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* The {{Doc Savage}} novels are always this [[spoiler: except one]] because Doc is so good at [[TechnicalPacifist what]] he does [[spoiler: (lobotomies)]].
* In the books of the StarWarsExpandedUniverse, earlier-written ones in particular, the vast majority of villains are only there for the book or trilogy, and books set later or earlier completely forget that these villains ever existed. Odd, considering that they tend to be Imperial forces. The exceptions are AaronAllston's run on the XWingSeries, which had the campaign against Warlord Zsinj; the Coruscant Nights trilogy, which had one-book guest appearances by Prince Xizor and Aurra Sing; and roughly anything TimothyZahn writes.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* ''TheXFiles'' occasionally had a weekly monster, for a while. ''TheXFiles'' is famous for not quite wrapping up a [=MOTW=] and closing with an OrIsIt ending.
** Unusually, while most fandoms considers [=MOTWs=] to be fillers, a large group of TheXFiles fans considered the weekly monster episodes to be superior to the MythArc episodes, especially in later seasons... mostly because the latter were [[TheChrisCarterEffect made up as they went along.]]
* ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' interspersed MonsterOfTheWeek episodes with StoryArc episodes, especially toward the beginning of the season. This became less common in later seasons.
* Just under half of the episodes of ''{{The 4400}}'' were like this. Several episodes would focus on a specific person out of the fourty-four hundred people who had dissapeared and been returned (and, later on, [[spoiler: people who had taken the promicin shots handed out by Jordan Collier)]], what sort of supernatural power they had developed, and a problem they had created (either willingly or otherwise) that would be resolved by the end of the episode. As stated above, it could in this case perhaps be more accuratley called something like 'Freak of the Week', as the people in focus weren't always deliberately antagonistic.
* In SF author David Gerrold's book about writing the ''StarTrek'' episode "The Trouble With Tribbles", he recounts seeing the first episode broadcast, which featured a creature that sucked all of the salt out of people's bodies, thereby killing them. He hoped ''Star Trek'' wasn't g oing to turn out to be a MonsterOfTheWeek show.
** While later series rarely had weekly ''monsters'', ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' and especially ''StarTrekVoyager'' had stellar [[NegativeSpaceWedgie anomalies]] of the week that were always solved by a healthy amount of {{Technobabble}}.
* ''DoctorWho'' was originally supposed to be an edutainment program... until the Daleks showed up, whereupon it careened irreversibly into MonsterOfTheWeek territory.
** Notably, the old series was made up of serials, usually three or four parts...making it more like monster of the ''month''. Though, the new series follows this trope straight.
* ''KolchakTheNightStalker'' could be considered the ultimate archetype. It was, in fact, even mockingly dismissed by some as "Kolchak's Monster of the Week" when its transfer from a pair of movies to a TV series ended up not quite panning out.
* The second season of ''DarkAngel'' is a good example of this trope, and suggests that it was supposed to be a OneSeasonWonder.
* In the ''{{Tremors}}'' series, monsters of the week were produced by a chemical compound called "Mix Master" which, once released into the valley, randomly scrambled together the DNA of all living things except humans. This created monstrosities ranging from acid-shooting plants to giant shrimp.
* ''Extremely'' common in {{Toku}}, especially ''KamenRider'' and ''SuperSentai'' (and by extension, ''PowerRangers''). This isn't terribly surprising, as the action and fights are the main draw of these shows (not that's a bad thing, nor that good storytelling can't go along with that) Indeed, ''Super Sentai'' has multiple-stage monster of the week fights, culminating in a [[SuperRobot robot]] vs. [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever daikaiju]] showdown.
** ''PowerRangers'' may well be your average Westerner's introduction to the very concept.
** The 51 Undead in ''KamenRiderBlade'' are actually in conflict with one another to see which will be the dominant species on Earth (the human Undead was the winner of the last such competition, hence ''us''). It can probably be assumed most of them are simply laying low and gathering their strength at the beginning of the series.
** Lampshaded in one episode of ''PowerRangersNinjaStorm''. The BigBad tries to send two giant monsters at once against the heroes, only to be informed by his henchman that they can only afford to enlarge one at a time.
** ''{{Kamen Rider Den-O}}'' is a slight variation on this, as almost every episode is a two-parter (or more); therefore, almost every MonsterOfTheWeek actually lasts at least two weeks - and that's not counting the ones that were just slightly rebranded and reused, or those [[spoiler:revived to serve as the BigBad's army in the GrandFinale]].
*** The same can be said for each world's monster race and/or Big Bad ''KamenRiderDecade''
* The escaped souls from ''{{Reaper}}'' fit the title more literally than most examples of this trope.
* ''{{Supernatural}}'' usually has actual monsters, more so in the first two seasons.
*''Series/{{Heroes}}'' seems to be drifting into this territory with the [[spoiler: escape of the inmates from Level 5.]]
*''{{Big Wolf On Campus}}''. Since it's technically a [[MonsterMash Monster Mash]], that's [[JustifiedTrope reasonable enough]].
* {{House}}, except the monsters in this case are microscopic.
** Actually, in this case, it's a PatientOfTheWeek.
* {{Ultraman}} is probably one of the most fitting examples of this trope.
* ''{{Highlander}}'' often has an "Immortal of the Week" that Duncan [=MacLeod=] has to fight at the end of each episode.
* ''{{Charmed}}'' utilized this, although it became less prevalent in later seasons.
* ''{{Primeval}}'', just what will come through the [[NegativeSpaceWedgie Anomaly]] this week?
* {{Smallville}} has [[{{Green Rocks}} Meteor Freak of the Week]], mutants created by kryptonite. Season 6 also gave us the Phantom Zone escapees-of-the-week. As the series has progressed, it has much more of a StoryArc, but of keeps the Monster of the Week format.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* Although a different medium, episodic RPG campaigns also fall into this pattern, as gaming groups usually get together to play once a week.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* The monthly Full Moon Shadows that the party fights in ''{{Persona 3}}'' at first seem to fall into this category; however, later on, it is revealed that [[spoiler: they are all actually fragments of a single Shadow, [[TheGrimReaper Death]], who is the [[EnigmaticMinion herald]] of [[CosmicHorror Nyx]], the one destined to bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt]].
*A ''literal'' example in TheWorldEndsWithYou for the DS: each week of the Reaper's Game is presided over by a "game master". These are especially powerful reapers who, what do you know, transform into monstrous versions of themselves when you get to fight them.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

*The web fiction serial DimensionHeroes often has the Dimensional Guardians fighting a new monster in every chapter, though it must be pointed out the fights still help to advance the story arc.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* The various varieties of ''ScoobyDoo'' usually had a Guy In A Monster Suit Of The Week.
* ''{{Ben 10}}'' lives on this. Considering the strange and varied varieties of trouble that tend to occur wherever Ben goes, one feels sorry for this kid's hometown if summer vacation ends.
** [[DoomedHometown Yeah, it gets toasted.]]
* ''LiloAndStitchTheSeries'' uses a kid-friendly variant, the titular pair try to find a peaceful place for each monster to live.
* ''{{The Spectacular Spider-Man}}'' has Spider-Man fight a {{Supervillain}} of the week.
** Though a lot of these were the result of the machinations of one or more of the show's three [[BigBad Big Bads]]- Tombstone, Doc Ock, or [[spoiler: Norman Osborn]], rather than isolated encounters.
* ''MegasXLR'' practically lives off this, along with a fair bit of lampshade hanging. "Cool. Lets go see what kinda monster I get to beat up this week!"
* ''{{Martin Mystery}}''
* The various ghosts of both ''TheRealGhostbusters'' & ''ExtremeGhostbusters'' fit neatly into this trope.
* On ''{{Swat Kats}}'', this phenomenon also cropped up as the "Missile of the Week" used to deal with the current problem at hand. And no complaint from this troper about the SK quote. ;)
* ''AquaTeenHungerForce'' usually follows this rule, with the monster somehow spawning out of Shake or Carl's short-sighted actions or [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere out of nowhere]].
* When not facing their RoguesGallery, the PowerpuffGirls mostly just take on different monsters.
*Spoofed in ''Sev Trek: Puss in Boots'' (an Australian parody of ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'').
-->'''Lt. Barf''': Captain, we are being hailed. I recommend we go to RedAlert!
-->'''Captain Pinchhard''': We haven't even met them! Isn't that a little premature?
-->'''Lt. Barf''': Every week we encounter aliens who try to destroy or take over the ship. It would save a lot of time if we assumed the worst now.
*Martin Morning demonstrates this, with the odd twist of the protagonist being the new monster each episode.
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