Season long story arcs by est120

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Season long story arcs

POSTED BY: EST120
UPDATED: Thursday, May 25, 2006 01:43
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Thursday, May 25, 2006 1:43 AM

One of the things I like about certain shows is the long story arc. Most shows do very short story arcs that are wrapped up within one episode and it seems to be a big deal when a story goes beyond one episode into "to be continued" territory. Of course, lots of shows carry stuff over from earlier episodes but these themes tend to be more minor and usually not the center of the show (in my opinion). Recently, though, it seems that shows are moving into the LONG story area. Look at some of the most popular shows these days.

Lost - the whole show is one big story arc!
Desperate Housewives - takes the whole season to resolve the Applewhite's story
American Idol - not scripted but it takes a whole season to resolve the contest
24 - a whole season for one single day!

This format seems to be gaining popularity with so many shows having some kind of little mystery or bit of unknown in them to get viewers to watch the next episode. A few more even came out this year (Invasion, Surface) that did not make it. Truly episodic shows like Law & Order or most sitcoms are not really formatted like this and appear to have really lost popularity. Granted, some are still popular like CSI.

My point? I have been watching TV for most of my years on this planet

and I cannot remember a time when these types of shows had such a presence on the schedule. Angel, Buffy and Firefly were shows like this. Is it possible they had something to do with making this format more palatable and popular?

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