I've been developing a theory that there are basically three types of series currently in existence on American/Canadian/British TV: ones that require 6 episodes a season, ones which do well with 13, and ones which can withstand 20-24 (all numbers approximate).
The six-episoders are the ones with incredibly tightly-structured plots that generally take place over a few days/weeks/months rather than a year, and focus on a smallish main cast. (See my new favorite show, Slings & Arrows.)
Shows like BSG, with a small core cast and a large second-tier cast, as well as incredibly intricate plotlines and arcs, do nicely with thirteen episodes. Enough room to give all the characters some time and to give enough detail to the multiple plot arcs, but no filler necessary to pad out the season.
Shows which tend to avoid continuing plot arcs (i.e., practically every cop, lawyer, or doctor show ever made) can stand to have as many episodes as can be made while still giving everyone a summer vacation. Shows that don't have plot arcs, but do have character arcs (I'm thinking Northern Exposure here, although I'm sure there's a more recent example I'm just not thinking of...Buffy, maybe?) and a reasonably large cast can also do this. I think DW would fall into this category but for the fact that there are only two (sometimes three) main characters at any given time, so that probably makes scheduling dicey.
I'm definitely finding that the shows with fewer episodes per season are much more tightly-plotted, have less filler, etc., and I prefer them over more episodes of lower quality, for sure. First season BSG was by far the best. It seems like we still get about ten or twelve good episodes in a season now, it's just that they're broken up by boring ones and everyone gets frustrated from continually asking "Is this the one that'll advance one of the five plots going on???"
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2007-02-13 02:15 am (UTC)The six-episoders are the ones with incredibly tightly-structured plots that generally take place over a few days/weeks/months rather than a year, and focus on a smallish main cast. (See my new favorite show, Slings & Arrows.)
Shows like BSG, with a small core cast and a large second-tier cast, as well as incredibly intricate plotlines and arcs, do nicely with thirteen episodes. Enough room to give all the characters some time and to give enough detail to the multiple plot arcs, but no filler necessary to pad out the season.
Shows which tend to avoid continuing plot arcs (i.e., practically every cop, lawyer, or doctor show ever made) can stand to have as many episodes as can be made while still giving everyone a summer vacation. Shows that don't have plot arcs, but do have character arcs (I'm thinking Northern Exposure here, although I'm sure there's a more recent example I'm just not thinking of...Buffy, maybe?) and a reasonably large cast can also do this. I think DW would fall into this category but for the fact that there are only two (sometimes three) main characters at any given time, so that probably makes scheduling dicey.
I'm definitely finding that the shows with fewer episodes per season are much more tightly-plotted, have less filler, etc., and I prefer them over more episodes of lower quality, for sure. First season BSG was by far the best. It seems like we still get about ten or twelve good episodes in a season now, it's just that they're broken up by boring ones and everyone gets frustrated from continually asking "Is this the one that'll advance one of the five plots going on???"
And wow, I didn't mean for this to be an essay.