Main Tropes Index

Troperville

Editing Help

Tools

Toys

Narrative

Genre

Media

Topical Tropes

Other Categories

Custom Search

Like a Story Arc, but longer — spanning the series.

The term originated with The X Files (whose writers referred to its alien conspiracy episodes as, "mythology episodes," a term which itself has fallen into common usage), though Babylon 5 is probably a better example of an effective Myth Arc. Comparing The X Files to Babylon 5 provides an object lesson in the value of knowing where you're headed when you set up a large-scale arc: both series had slow-building (often season-spanning) stories, but Babylon 5 would eventually resolve its stories while The X Files overarching plot just got strung along further and further, until — in what's now called The Chris Carter Effect — its viewers lost confidence that the plots would ever be resolved.

In some shows — such as the aforementioned series — the trend is to alternate between Myth Arc stories and Monster Of The Week episodes, making it easier for new viewers to get into the show and ensuring some short-term gratification while keeping the viewer's interest over the long run. However, heavily arc-based shows like Heroes show that the American public is willing to invest their time over longer periods too.

Anime series very often have arcs running the entirety of their series, which can span hundreds of episodes, with examples such as such as Robotech, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Martian Successor Nadesico, various Gundam shows, Noir (which had a Myth Arc from the very first episode), and others. The predominance of such arc-based plotting in anime (many of which were introduced to foreign audiences in the mid 90s), as opposed to the generally episodic nature of American TV series of the 80s and 90s, is part of what led to the massive rise in anime's popularity with the nerd-core at that time, and many suspect that the development of multiple Myth Arc-based shows on American television in the 2000s was a reaction to that.

Can lead to a Continuity Lock Out.

Examples:

    open/close all folders 

     Anime and Manga  

     Literature  

     Comics  

     Music  

     Television  

     Video Games  

     Web Original  

     Webcomics  

     Western Animation  


Layout Of A SeasonSeasonsOne Season Wonder
Mid Season UpgradeScript SpeakNegative Continuity