Current Events > how do you prefer TV shows: a really long movie or distinct 'episodes'?

(+) Yeah! (+)

we basically have two formulas for TV dramas. there's the "episodic" style where each episode was relatively self contained, as in there was an entire plot arc that started and was resolved during that episode, but there was still a 'larger' story arc that each episode contributed to. then you have series that are basically really long movies chunked up into 1-hour segments suitable for TV broadcast.

personally, i love this relatively new 'movie style' for TV shows because of how deep and involved they can get. see Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul.

Episodic, because it made me think of The X Files. Those 'monster of the week' episodes were awesome.

In between. Multiple plotlines with complexity that can't be done in movies, maybe somewhat of an arc each episode, but always moving forward. I think most modern tv shows fit this, and have moved beyond the episode of the week feel.

The Marvel shows are often just really long movies and I am getting annoyed by that.

And your example of Breaking Bad is NOT a long movie. That is in between.

Procedural

Both.

Self-contained episodes and main plot episodes, preferably mixed together in such a way that youre not always sure which episodes are important until later.

I like both ends of the spectrum, but for different reasons. Like sometimes I just want something episodic and formulaic. Easy watching, satisfying, can often do other things while watching without worrying about missed details/scenes being too important. Othertimes I want to be drawn into a narrative, disconnect from reality and immerse myself in another world.

If it's just 12 episodes, I prefer a connection.

I'm middle ground. Serialization is the best thing that has happened to TV storytelling. It has given us all of best TV shows of this era and its part of the reason we are in the golden age of television. But just because a story is serialized doesn't mean that the episode isn't important. A lot of the binge shows of this era have gone all in for long form story-telling at the expense of the episode. Episodes themselves don't have any specific story to tell or thematic elements outside of the long-form or arc story of the show. They are more like arbitrary hour long blocks of a single story. The Netflix Marvel shows are really bad about this. Every episode blends together without identity and it makes the shows claustrophobic and small. The characters, the world, the story have no time to breathe.

Episodes being their own defined thing also let creators get more creative with their story telling. It let's them cover more subject matter without the slavish pull towards the master arc. BtVS was one of the pioneers of serialized television, but it never came at the cost of the episode. And while there were probably a few too many non-arc episodes by modern standards, the television episode gave us things like Hush, The Body, and Once More With Feeling. Episodes that felt like nothing else in the show, while also moving the arc forward. And I'm not saying that every show needs a musical episode (please no), I struggle to even name or identify individual episodes of any of the Netflix Marvel series. I would just settle for a couple of Jessica investigates a weird case that's unrelated to the Kilgrave. Explore the world and the characters you created with a different lense.

To their credit, the best of today's TV, like the aforementioned BCS, still very much cherish the episode. Each one has a specific story to tell, with specific themes, and specific feelings. They do this while still moving the ball forward on the arc. So it's hardly like the art of the episode is dead, you just have to look for it harder.

I prefer serials for serious dramas. Some degree of serialization is good even in most shows though.

I enjoy both for what they are. But episodic works best for comedies and cartoons. I enjoy the continuity of it being one long story with more serious shows.

I prefer in the middle as well. If it's purely episodic, I have trouble caring enough to keep watching because it doesn't build up to anything. The ones that are like a long movie are too exhausting. I like each episode having its own subplot, but I want everything to have a larger overarching plot as well.

I prefer mostly episodic, but with overarching character plots and world development that carries across the series.

Like the silver-age Marvel formula where the stories were told in a single issue but the events that happened would continue to effect things in later issues.

No preference. Both have their merits. Although I am fascinated by that often times blurry line between television and cinema. Some television films and miniseries feel like movies, and some do not, and I'm not quite sure where the line is.