History Main / HalfArcSeason

* The first season of''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' is a text book example. The season's StoryArc dealt with Terry's efforts to bring down [[BigBad Derek Powers]]. This plot was set up in the two-part premiere "Rebirth" and resolved in the season finale "Ascension", with about three episodes sprinkled in the middle to push the narrative while maintaining their own plots. The rest of the season consisted of standalone episodes.

* ''WesternAnimaton/GravityFalls'':

** The second season utilized this heavily. Twice. The first half of the season had [[spoiler: the mysterious portal that Grunkle Stan was working on in the basement]], while the second half of the season dealt with [[spoiler: stopping Bill Cipher from getting a dimensional rift that would allow him to take over our dimension]]. There were more episodes that tied directly in to both of these, but Season 2 still had the occasional episode with [[LoneWolfBoss a villain that had nothing to do with any of it.]]

** In Series 2, a majority of the episodes are standalone, though again midway through there are two episodes which set up and foreshadow the events of the season finale.

Note that seasons mostly devoted to an arc can still have the occasional standalone in them; it's when the majority of episodes are non-Arc that this trope applies. Usually, this is midway in SeasonFluidity. [[IThoughtItMeant When a Season alternates between two major arcs]], the arcs are said to {{Rotat|ingArcs}}e.

* ''WesternAnimaton/GravityFalls'' utilized this heavily in its second season. Twice. The first half of the season had [[spoiler: the mysterious portal that Grunkle Stan was working on in the basement]], while the second half of the season dealt with [[spoiler: stopping Bill Cipher from getting a dimensional rift that would allow him to take over our dimension]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' was like this, with the majority of the episodes being standalone but a handful advancing either the seasonal arc or the overall MythArc about the Omnitrix.

*** Season 2: The flashbacks show the conflict between Oliver and his friends on the island and Dr. Ivo, which led to [[spoiler: Slade's FaceHeelTurn]]. The present day story is about Oliver trying to move from being a vigilante to a true hero, while facing Brother Blood [[spoiler: and Slade]].

** The flashbacks on ''Series/TheFlash2014'' don't have a half-arc themselves, but the show otherwise follows its parent series, ''Arrow'''s format with Barry fighting MonstersOfTheWeek with a slowly building season long plot orchestrated by [[spoiler:his mentor figure Harrison Wells]].

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' has this, though some story arcs bleed into a following season (such as [[spoiler:the containment of the Cluster and the search for Malachite]]).

* In general, {{CBS}} seems to have mandated some version of this for all their drama series. Most of the older ones (The ''[=CSIs=]'', ''Series/CriminalMinds'', ''Series/{{NCIS}}'') contain the arcs to a single season. Several shows (''Series/TheMentalist'', ''Series/NCISLosAngeles'', ''Series/HawaiiFive0'') have constructed a single series-long half-arc.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' has this, though some story arcs bleed into a following season (such as [[spoiler:the containment of the Cluster and the search for Malachite]].

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': The third and fourth seasons. Season 3 had several episodes ("Emotion Sickness", "Bad Boy", "Gorilla Fist") in ''WesternAnimation/KimPossibleMovieSoTheDrama''. Season 4 devoted the subplots of several episodes to forwarding various storylines (Warmonga's planned invasion, Drakken trying to escape from prison, etc.).

** Series 10 starts with five one-off episodes to introduce new companion Bill Potts followed by a three-part storyline involving recurring villain Missy. After that are two more standalone stories, and then Missy returns for the two-part SeasonFinale.

* ''Franchise/{{Arrowverse}}'':

%%* Despite really only having one StoryArc, ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' still fits this trope.
* ''Manga/BlackLagoon'''s layout contained 2-3 episode mini-arcs within both seasons (the Nazi arc, the Roberta arc, and the Triads and Terrorists arc from Season 1, as well as the Vampire Twins and Greenback Jane arcs from Season 2). Season 2, however, also featured the six-episode endgame "Fujiyama Gangster Paradise" which took up the other half of the whole series. The next arc, "El Baile De La Muerte", ended up being so long and continuous that it was adapted into an OVA series instead of a season.
* Approximately the first 15 or chapters/episodes of ''Manga/SoulEater'' follow this pattern, mixing together introductions, MonsterOfTheWeek episodes, {{Breather Episode}}s, and a recurring plot involving [[KnightOfCerebus Medusa]] and Crona. From the [[BallroomBlitz anniversary party]] onward, it's pretty strictly serialized.

%%* Some seasons of ''Series/StargateSG1'', especially the last four.
* ''Series/VeronicaMars'', two ways. Its first two seasons, though technically full arc seasons, had a lot of Mystery Of The Week with little or no movement on the season-arc story. Its third season had two distinct shorter arcs, one six episodes long, with beginning, middle, and end; and the second nine episodes long. The last five episodes of the season are standalone (excepting the last two episodes, which were aired together). The advantage, in a show like ''VM'', is that some of the Mysteries of the Week can actually be key revelations in the arc, but this fact is not obvious until the end of the episode.

* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' revival series are leaning more and more towards this format as time progresses:

** In Series 3, each of the first ten episodes slyly introduced a ChekhovsGun that would be fired in the last three: [[spoiler:the TimeyWimeyBall in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E1SmithAndJones "Smith and Jones"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E10Blink "Blink"]], the chameleon arch in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E8HumanNature "Human Nature"]], Dr. Lazarus' experiments in... well, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E6TheLazarusExperiment "The Lazarus Experiment"]], Mr. Saxon and the government keeping tabs on Martha in "The Lazarus Experiment" and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E742 "42"]], the [[YouAreNotAlone Face of Boe's message]] in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E3Gridlock "Gridlock"]], and the power of words in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E2TheShakespeareCode "The Shakespeare Code"]].]]
** In Series 4, all of the episodes seem very episodic, with seemingly unconnected references. Then the finale comes, and suddenly nearly every episode was part of the story arc. It goes further, bringing in characters and events from all three seasons ''and the [[Series/{{Torchwood}} spin-off]] [[Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures series]]'', all of which were mostly standalone up until then.

** Series 9 is a variation. It is mostly multi-part stories, but the four two-parters that make up its first two-thirds work as standalone adventures, connected by little more than common themes (stories, memories, winning and losing, characters dancing between living and dead, and hybrids) and the Doctor and Clara's increasingly tender relationship. Then, after a one-part FoundFootage {{Deconstruction}}, what ''seems'' like another one-off turns out to be the opening act of a three-part SeasonFinale that separates the Doctor and Clara for good, [[spoiler: has him return to Gallifrey for the first time since the Last Great Time War]], and brings back several plot points, concepts, and characters from the two-parters along with the running themes. In particular, the second two-parter ("Under the Lake"/"Before the Flood") turns out to have been heavily {{Foreshadowing}} the events of the finale all along.

%%* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/{{Angel}}'', ''Buffy'' in particular.

* Season Two of ''Series/BlakesSeven'' has a story arc that is mentioned in passing during the third episode and kicks off with the fifth and sixth episodes before getting partially sidelined until it becomes the center of attention in the last three episodes.
* ''Series/BurnNotice''. Generally, a standalone mission takes up most of the screen time while the burn-related investigation gets only a few scenes scattered throughout the episode. Arguably, most episodes move the arc along a little, but as the investigation moves slowly and with a lot of false leads, you could easily miss a few episodes and still figure it out pretty easily.

%%* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' does things this way.
* In the third season of ''Series/{{Bones}}'', this tactic was employed. The Gormogon arc was often made of awesome, but if you know how it ends it can be deeply unsatisfying, as the arc was cut short by the writer's strike and ended with an AssPull of epic proportions.
* ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' attempted this with its third season, but due to availability, odd timing, lack of scripts, etc. there was only one truly arc important episode between the premier and the finale, with some small hints thrown in here and there. WordOfGod states that these were meant to be spread out more, but shooting schedules clustered them into the back third of the season.

* ''{{Series/Fringe}}'' generally has arc episodes at the beginning of the season, around the half way point (episode 10 and 11), during sweeps (15 and 16) and ending with a big finale. The rest of the episodes are "Freak of the Week" deals.
* ''{{Series/Chuck}}'' does this. Though the show does try to add plot points for the major arc in every episode, some of them are mostly self-contained.

* While most ''Series/{{Glee}}'' episodes are fairly stand-alone, there is the larger arc about the group preparing for competitions (Sectionals, Regionals, Nationals) which strings each season together.
* ''Series/{{Castle}}'', starting in the second season. Individual episodes are almost always independent. Occasionally, however, one will end up touching on the larger issue of Beckett's mother's murder, sometimes very tangentially (X crime is committed in an attempt to get Y to happen so the BigBad can go after Beckett) or very directly (the case just happens to bring Beckett face to face with her mother's killer).
* ''Series/{{CSI}}'' has had several multi-episode arcs, but the one clear-cut example of this trope would be Season 7, in which the Miniature Killer case was the main focus of about half a dozen episodes and was also alluded to in several others. Season 11 might count as well, though some fans think of it as a regular season that got infested by a PlotTumor.
* In general, {{CBS}} seems to have mandated some version of this for all their drama series. Most of the older ones (The ''[=CSIs=]'', ''Series/CriminalMinds'', ''Series/{{NCIS}}'') contain the arcs to a single season. Several shows (''Series/TheMentalist'', ''Series/NCISLosAngeles'', ''Series/HawaiiFive0'') have constructed a single series-long half-arc.
* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' has a format of a main story set in the present, and another from Oliver's five years away, viewed via flashback:
** Season 1: The flashbacks show Oliver first arriving on the island, and being entangled in the conflict with Edward Fyers' mercenaries. The present day story shows Oliver first returning to Starling City, becoming the Arrow, and slowly uncovering the Undertaking conspiracy.
** Season 2: The flashbacks show the conflict between Oliver and his friends on the island and Dr. Ivo, which led to [[spoiler: Slade's FaceHeelTurn]]. The present day story is about Oliver trying to move from being a vigilante to a true hero, while facing Brother Blood [[spoiler: and Slade]].
** Season 3: The flashbacks show Oliver's time as an ARGUS agent in Hong Kong. The present day story is about Team Arrow being caught in the middle of a war between [[spoiler: Malcolm Merlyn]] and Comicbook/RasAlGhul.
* The flashbacks on ''Series/TheFlash2014'' don't have a half-arc themselves, but the show otherwise follows it's parent series, ''Arrow'''s format with Barry fighting MonstersOfTheWeek with a slowly building season long plot orchestrated by [[spoiler:his mentor figure Harrison Wells]].
* The first season of ''Series/LostGirl'' is heavily monster-of-the-week, with little tidbits to move the larger mystery of Bo's parentage forward, with the occasional arc-heavy episode.
* ''Series/{{Justified}}'': While Seasons 2, 3, and to a lesser degree, 4, are almost entirely serialised, Seasons 1 and 5 follow this pattern. Season 1 has Raylan and Boyd pursuing their own agendas, until Bo's release from prison kicks off the final arc, while Season 5 has Boyd engaged in a serialised storyline, while Raylan deals with villains of the week; their storylines eventually collide in the backhalf of the season.
* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' had arcs in seasons 4 and 7. The former finds Jerry and George trying to create a TV pilot for NBC, and the latter sees George getting engaged to his ex Susan, then desperately finding ways to break up with her.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':
** Season 6 had most of the episodes deal with Butters and Tweek as Kenny's replacements, and later Cartman being possessed by Kenny's spirit.
** While they have different plots, most of the "non-issue" episodes in Season 4 tended to revolve around Cartman's various attempts at getting $10 million. In Season 12 it's the boys' gradual discovery of their unpopularity.
** Season 18 focuses on Randy's SecretIdentity as Music/{{Lorde}}, hinted at (in that Randy dressed as Lorde) in "Gluten-Free Ebola", confirmed in "The Cissy", and wrapped up in "#REHASH" and "#HAPPYHOLOGRAMS"
** Season 19, which deals a new, yet accepted, sweep of political correctness.
* Each season of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' except for the entirely arc-based fifth season, where a flashback origin story episode was the only one not related to the current world-travelling plot at hand.

* ''TransformersAnimated'' follows this format to an extent, particularly in the first season. Season 2 has some random, [=AllSpark=]-related hijinks between important episodes, but they were usually still related to the plot in some way, with [[ChekhovsGunman the Blue Racer]] being a prime example.
** The first season of ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' was similar, with various questions springing up ([[EnigmaticMinion Tarantulas]] trying to get a stasis pod, the strange rock formation) to be left unanswered until the end. However, season 2 onwards had a much more serialized plot.
* The first season of ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'' did this.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' in its second, third, and fourth seasons. All of them had their own subtitle with the actual episode titles treated as chapters of it, but all had their share of standalone stories as well.
* The first season of ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' has the heroes going through a main standalone plot for each episode combined with scenes of the villains that advance the MythArc. The [[GrowingTheBeard second season]] was a much more ongoing plot each episode.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' was like this, with the majority of the episodes being standalone but a handful advancing either the seasonal arc or the overall MythArc about the Omnitrix.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' did this in its first and third seasons. Season 2 had only a few self-contained episodes, and they were more important for tying up loose threads left over from the previous season.

* The second season of ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' has the Skrull Invasion arc, which takes up the first half of the season. Once that ends, the season has a lot more standalone episodes, with some episodes that ties up previous loose ends thrown into the mix as well.
* Any episode forces on the [[MythArc history of Franz Hopper]] in ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' until the final four episodes of Season 2 -- "Franz Hopper", "Contact", "The Revelations, and "The Key" where become to story becomes the Main Arc.
* Each season of ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'' has its own story arc and BigBad, but most episodes are filler apart from the beginning, middle, and end of each season.
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' makes heavy use of this beginning with its fourth season.
* ''WesternAnimaton/GravityFalls'' utilized this heavily in its second season. Twice. The first half of the season had [[spoiler: the mysterious portal that Grunkle Stan was working on in the basement]], while the second half of the season dealt with [[spoiler: stopping Bill Cipher from getting a dimensional rift that would allow him to take over our dimension]].

** Series 9 is mostly multi-part stories, but the first four two-parters work as standalone adventures connected by common themes (stories, memories, winning and losing, characters dancing between living and dead, and hybrids). After a one-part FoundFootage {{Deconstruction}}, the key characters, concepts, and otherwise featured in the first three two-parters are brought back and together in a three-part SeasonFinale that separates the Doctor and Clara for good and [[spoiler: has him return to Gallifrey for the first time since the Last Great Time War]].

** In series 1, time and time again Rose and the Ninth Doctor encounter the words "Bad Wolf", but have no idea what they could be referring to. An episode midway through the season then sets the stage for the two-episode season finale where the reason behind the appearance of the Bad Wolf phrase is revealed.
** In series 2, a majority of the episodes are standalone, though again midway through there are two episodes which set up and foreshadow the events of the season finale.
** In series 3, each of the first ten episodes slyly introduced a ChekhovsGun that would be fired in the last three: [[spoiler:the TimeyWimeyBall in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E1SmithAndJones "Smith and Jones"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E10Blink "Blink"]], the chameleon arch in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E8HumanNature "Human Nature"]], Dr. Lazarus' experiments in... well, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E6TheLazarusExperiment "The Lazarus Experiment"]], Mr. Saxon and the government keeping tabs on Martha in "The Lazarus Experiment" and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E742 "42"]], the [[YouAreNotAlone Face of Boe's message]] in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E3Gridlock "Gridlock"]], and the power of words in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E2TheShakespeareCode "The Shakespeare Code"]].]]
** In series 4, all of the episodes seem very episodic, with seemingly unconnected references. Then the finale comes, and suddenly nearly every episode was part of the story arc. It goes further, bringing in characters and events from all three seasons ''and the [[Series/{{Torchwood}} spin-off]] [[Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures series]]'', all of which were mostly standalone up until then.
** Series 5 and 6, in which starting with the first episode of series 5, Silence is mentioned. The Doctor and Amy run forth on their adventures not giving a damn about the mention of Silence or anything else. Several times throughout the series we hear about the Silence, but our focus is drawn more towards the [[spoiler:cracks in time]]. Enter series 6 which features a religious order opposed to the Doctor called the -- (surprise surprise) Silence! Joining this is the wonderful question that cannot be answered: [[spoiler:Doctor ''Who''?]]

* The ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' did this though they leaned more towards every episode being part of the arc. The Season finale/premiers and the mid-season two-parters usually had some kind of game-changing event and the episodes after that were mostly stand-alone, exploring the results of those events and their effects on the characters while only prodding the story along.

** In series 3, almost every episode slyly introduced a ChekhovsGun that would be fired in the three-part finale: [[spoiler:the TimeyWimeyBall in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E1SmithAndJones "Smith and Jones"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E10Blink "Blink"]], the chameleon arch in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E8HumanNature "Human Nature"]], Dr. Lazarus' experiments in... well, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E6TheLazarusExperiment "The Lazarus Experiment"]], Mr. Saxon and the government keeping tabs on Martha in "The Lazarus Experiment" and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E742 "42"]], the [[YouAreNotAlone Face of Boe's message]] in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E3Gridlock "Gridlock"]], and the power of words in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E2TheShakespeareCode "The Shakespeare Code"]].]]

** Series 5 and 6, in which starting with the first episode of series 5, Silence is mentioned. The Doctor and Amy run forth on their adventures not giving a damn about the mention of Silence or anything else. Several times throughout the series we hear about the Silence, but our focus is drawn more towards the [[spoiler:CRACKS IN TIME.]] Enter series 6 which features a religious order opposed to the Doctor called the -- (surprise surprise) Silence! Joining this is the wonderful question that cannot be answered: [[spoiler:Doctor ''Who''?]]

* Seson Two of ''Series/BlakesSeven'' has a story arc that is mentioned in passing during the third episode and kicks off with the fifth and sixth episodes before getting partially sidelined until it becomes the center of attention in the last three episodes.

* Tokusatsu shows go with this if they're meant to last a season. The Monster of the Week will still be sent by the BigBad but otherwise unrelated and the overarching plot will be touched on in the beginning, the end and a few episodes in between. This carries over to ''PowerRangers'' as well.

* ''Series/TheXFiles'' was particularly famous for this, and the fandom still rages over whether it was better with the arc or without the arc and debates over what episodes count as arc related (generally, arc related episodes featured characters like The Lone Gunmen, Th Cigarette Smoking Man, Deep Throat, and Mr. X, and Alex Krychec) but several one-shot episodes featured them as well. The most debated is "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" which was entirely based on the alien arc and showed a scene that was said to have happened before the series started, but added nothing to plot otherwise, and is even hinted at being false at some points.

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime makes heavy use of this beginning with its fourth season.

%%* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime makes heavy use of this beginning with its fourth season.
* ''WesternAnimaton/GravityFalls'' utilized this heavily in its second season. Twice. The first half of the season had [[spoiler: the mysterious portal that Grunkle Stan was working on in the basement]], while the second half of the season dealt with [[spoiler: stopping Bill Cipher from getting a dimensional rift that would allow him to take over our dimension]].

* The ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter'' series has a contiguous arc spanning the original PlayStation trilogy, but the three installments afterwards are stand-alone stories.

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* The ''SyphonFilter'' series has a contiguous arc spanning the original PlayStation trilogy, but the three installments afterwards are stand-alone stories.

* Despite really only having one StoryArc, ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' still fits this trope.

* Some seasons of ''Series/StargateSG1'', especially the last four.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/{{Angel}}'', ''Buffy'' in particular.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' follows this pattern.
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' does things this way.

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime makes heavy use of this beginning with its fourth season.

* The first ten or so episodes of ''SDGundamForce'' were stand-alone, the first major arc not starting until "The Mystery of Lacroa". The second season was entirely arc-based.