History Main / SeasonFluidity

|| ||"Adventure of the week" or GenreAnthology series without arcs || ''StarTrekTOS'', early seasons of ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' ||
|| ||Usually stand alone, but occasionally has arcs || SpongeBobSquarePants, TransformersGenerationOne, SonicX, DuckTales, AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog. Most children's cartoons which don't fall under one of the first two. ||

|| ||Usually stand alone, but occasionally has arcs || SpongeBobSquarePants, TransformersGenerationOne, SonicX, DuckTales, AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog. Most Childrens' Cartoons, in fact. ||

It's worth noting that a series can have NegativeContinuity and still have abrupt season transitions. Take ''DrawnTogether:'' usually it has NegativeContinuity, but "The One Wherein There Is a Big Twist" had actual continuity, as the first season ended with the housemates stranded on a desert island and the second season began from there. Similarly, the third season ended with the housemates being sent home because the show may be canceled. Also, a series can be perfectly fluid, but a PostScriptSeason or one that comes about through ArcWelding is itself toward the Abrupt end.

The far Abrupt end would feature shows that do a complete series reboot with each season, not just in plot but in ''cast'' as well, to the point where they really are entirely different shows joined under the same name. An example of that would be ''{{Skins}}'', which starts with a completely new group of characters (maybe save a few [[AscendedExtra Ascended Extras]]) and, therefore, plots, every two seasons. Fans of ''{{Skins}}'' tend to view the separate "generations" as entirely different shows.

|| ||Usually stand alone, but occasionally has arcs || SpongeBobSquarePants, TransformersGenerationOne, SonicX, DuckTales, AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog ||

|| '''Abrupt''' ||Complete series reboot each season || ''{{Skins}}'' (every two seasons) ||

The far Abrupt end would feature shows that do a complete series reboot with each season, in cast ''as well as'' plot, to the point where they really are entirely different shows joined under the same name. An example of that would be ''{{Skins}}'', which starts with a completely new group of characters (maybe save a few [[AscendedExtra Ascended Extras]]) and, therefore, plots, every two seasons. Fans of ''{{Skins}}'' tend to view the separate "generations" as entirely different shows.

|| ||Series-long MythArc || ''{{Babylon 5}}'', most anime and NoughtiesDramaSeries ||

It's worth noting that a series can have NegativeContinuity and still have abrupt season transitions. Take ''DrawnTogether:'' usually it has NegativeContinuity, but "The One Wherein There Is a Big Twist" had actual continuity, as the first season ended with the housemates stranded on a desert island and the second season began from there. Similarly, the third season ended with the housemates being sent home because the show may be canceled. Also, a series can be perfectly fluid, but a PostScriptSeason or one that comes about through ArcWelding is itself on the Abrupt end.

The far Abrupt end would feature shows that do a complete series reboot with each season, in cast ''as well as'' plot, to the point where they really are entirely different shows joined under the same name. An example of that would be ''{{Skins}}'', which starts with a completely new group of characters (maybe save a few [[AscendedExtra Ascended Extras]]) and, therefore, plots, every two seasons. Fans of these shows are likely to view each successive "generation" as an entirely different show.

The far Abrupt end would feature shows that do a complete series reboot with each season, in cast ''as well as'' plot, to the point where they really are entirely different shows joined under the same name. An example of that would be ''{{Skins}}'', which starts with a completely new group of characters (maybe save a few [[AscendedExtra Ascended Extras]]) and, therefore, plots, every two seasons.

The far Abrupt end would feature shows that do a complete series reboot with each season, in cast ''as well as'' plot, to the point where they really are entirely different shows joined under the same name. An example of that would be ''{{Skins}}'', which starts with a completely new (save maybe a few [[AscendedExtra Ascended Extras]]) group of characters and, therefore, plots, every two seasons.

|| ||Highly distinct seasons; seasons with ArcWelding || ''SailorMoon'', ''{{Pokemon}}'' post Zordon ''PowerRangers'' ||

|| '''Abrupt''' ||Complete series reboot each season (i.e., new cast as well as new plots) || ''{{Skins}}'' (every two seasons) ||

|| ||Purely self-contained [[LayoutOfASeason seasons]] || ''PowerRangers'', ''{{Pokemon}}'', ''{{Lexx}}'' ||
|| ||Highly distinct seasons; seasons with ArcWelding || ''SailorMoon'', post Zordon ''PowerRangers'' ||
|| '''Abrupt''' ||Complete series reboot each season || ''{{Skins}}'' (every two seasons) ||

|| '''Abrupt''' ||Complete series reboot each season || ''{{Skins}}'' (every 2 seasons) ||

|| '''Abrupt''' || Complete series reboot each season || ''{{Skins}}'' (has a completely new cast and plot every 2 seasons) ||

|| ||Purely self-contained [[LayoutOfASeason seasons]] || ''PowerRangers'', ''{{Pokemon}}'' ''{{Lexx}}'' ||
|| ||Highly distinct seasons; seasons with ArcWelding || ''SailorMoon'', post Zordon ''PowerRangers''||

|| ||Self-contained season-[[StoryArc arcs]], with some overarching plots || ''TwentyFour'' by virtue of its format, ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', ''{{Skins}}'' (between odd and even seasons) ||
|| ||Purely self-contained [[LayoutOfASeason seasons]] || ''PowerRangers'', ''{{Lexx}}'' ||

|| '''Abrupt''' || Complete series reboot each season || ''{{Skins}}'' (between even and odd seasons) ||

||Highly distinct seasons; seasons with ArcWelding || ''SailorMoon'', post Zordon ''PowerRangers''

|| ||Self-contained season-[[StoryArc arcs]], with some overarching plots || ''TwentyFour'' by virtue of its format, ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', ''{{Skins}}'' (seasons within a generation) ||

|| '''Abrupt''' ||Highly distinct seasons; seasons with ArcWelding || ''SailorMoon'', post Zordon ''PowerRangers'', ''{{Skins}}'' (separate generations) ||

|| ||Self-contained season-[[StoryArc arcs]], with some overarching plots || ''TwentyFour'' by virtue of its format, ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', ''Skins'' (seasons within a generation) ||

|| ||Self-contained season-[[StoryArc arcs]], with some overarching plots || ''TwentyFour'' by virtue of its format, ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' ||

|| '''Abrupt''' ||Highly distinct seasons; seasons with ArcWelding || ''SailorMoon'', post Zordon ''PowerRangers'', ''{{Skins}}'' ||

|| '''Abrupt''' ||Highly distinct seasons; seasons with ArcWelding || ''SailorMoon'', post Zordon ''PowerRangers'' ||

|| ||Usually stand alone, but occasionally has arcs || SpongeBobSquarePants, TransformersGenerationOne, SonicX, DuckTales, AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog

To quantify this, the ''Sliding Scale of Season Transition Fludity'' (SeasonFluidity for short) puts episodic series on one end, and series with self contained seasons on the other. For example, ''GilligansIsland'' is [[StatusQuoIsGod unchanging]] from season to season, while a show like ''{{Stargate SG-1}}'' has no distinct seasons, it is threaded together by multiple subplots while staying episodic. Shows like ''SailorMoon'' are basically separate series with an identical cast.

|| ||Usually stand alone, but occasionally has arcs || SpongeBobSquarePants, TransformersGenerationOne, SonicX

|| || Usually stand alone, but occasionally has arcs || SpongeBobSquarePants, TransformersGenerationOne, SonicX

|| ||Self-contained season-[[StoryArc arcs]], with some overarching plots || ''TwentyFour'' by virtue of its format, ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' ||

|| ||"Adventure of the week" or GenreAnthology series without arcs || ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' ||

|| '''[[RotatingArcs Dammed]]''' ||Multiple [[HalfArcSeason smaller arcs]] not directly tied to seasons || ''{{Stargate SG-1}}'', except for [[PostScriptSeason season 8 -> 9]], ''XenaWarriorPrincess'', ''SuzumiyaHaruhi'' ||
|| ||Self-contained season-[[StoryArc arcs]], with some overarching plots || ''TwentyFour'' by virtue of its format ||