Doctor Who Ncuti Gatwa Xmas Special & s1

[The Myopic Sniper]

I prefer having one season companions with a definite storyline and character development that arcs across an entire season and then moves on when the story is told rather than trying to find new ways to use them. On the other hand, with these shorter seasons, you have less opportunity to do as much development. I realize you can do that with fewer "monster of the week," "Doctor-lite" or "companion-lite" episodes which I am sure is going to happen, but I really like the breather episodes as much as the more structural stuff.

We will have to see how they handle it. And we know that Millie has already filmed stuff for the second season even if it is a returning guest star role like Rose and Martha in Series 4.

 

[Staffan]

I prefer having one season companions with a definite storyline and character development that arcs across an entire season and then moves on when the story is told rather than trying to find new ways to use them. On the other hand, with these shorter seasons, you have less opportunity to do as much development. I realize you can do that with fewer "monster of the week," "Doctor-lite" or "companion-lite" episodes which I am sure is going to happen, but I really like the breather episodes as much as the more structural stuff.

Yeah, as a general rule I appreciate "filler" episodes. They're the ones that make the "important" episodes shine, and where we have time to get to know the characters. My preference would really be for 20+ episodes per season, like Buffy, B5, or DS9.

 

[UnplayedRanger]

Yeah, as a general rule I appreciate "filler" episodes. They're the ones that make the "important" episodes shine, and where we have time to get to know the characters. My preference would really be for 20+ episodes per season, like Buffy, B5, or DS9.

8 really isn’t gonna be enough. Strange New Worlds has 10, and even that seems too short.

 

[Ryujin]

8 really isn’t gonna be enough. Strange New Worlds has 10, and even that seems too short.

For me, the sweet spot seems to be around 12-14 episodes in a season.

 

[payn]

For me, the sweet spot seems to be around 12-14 episodes in a season.

Really depends on writing. Those Netflix Marvel shows all had 13 but probably could have settled on 10. Just about anything on Prime seems too long at even 8.

 

[Staffan]

Really depends on writing. Those Netflix Marvel shows all had 13 but probably could have settled on 10. Just about anything on Prime seems too long at even 8.

The Netflix shows mostly weren't episodes, as such. It was just one long narrative split into roughly hour-long chunks. And I agree 13 of those is far too many.

My ideal structure is a season consisting of 20+ single episodes (with the occasional two-parter) that are mostly self-contained while also building up an overall narrative – both plot-wise and character-wise. As an example, the Babylon 5 episode "Ceremonies of Light and Dark" has a main plot where (spoilers for a 28-year old TV show, I guess) some Clark loyalists have kidnapped Delenn and one of the captains of the Minbari ships guarding the station, in order to forde the ships in question to leave so Earthforce can move in and take over again. This is resolved during the episode itself. But in doing so, we see how much Sheridan has come to care for Delenn – character development! And we have our main characters tell Delenn something important about themselves – more character development! And in a B plot, we have Londo meeting with Lord Refa, and threatening his life unless he cuts off all contact with Morden and his associates – long-term plot development! That's what I like to see.

 

[payn]

The Netflix shows mostly weren't episodes, as such. It was just one long narrative split into roughly hour-long chunks. And I agree 13 of those is far too many.

My ideal structure is a season consisting of 20+ single episodes (with the occasional two-parter) that are mostly self-contained while also building up an overall narrative – both plot-wise and character-wise. As an example, the Babylon 5 episode "Ceremonies of Light and Dark" has a main plot where (spoilers for a 28-year old TV show, I guess) some Clark loyalists have kidnapped Delenn and one of the captains of the Minbari ships guarding the station, in order to forde the ships in question to leave so Earthforce can move in and take over again. This is resolved during the episode itself. But in doing so, we see how much Sheridan has come to care for Delenn – character development! And we have our main characters tell Delenn something important about themselves – more character development! And in a B plot, we have Londo meeting with Lord Refa, and threatening his life unless he cuts off all contact with Morden and his associates – long-term plot development! That's what I like to see.

Yeah, I'm just not as enthralled with episodic series anymore. Largely its the feeling that writers are not up to the task of making something interesting for that long, but also a fatigue of filler. I like the current serial style of story telling with a healthy side of anthology based programming.

 

[UnplayedRanger]

Yeah, I'm just not as enthralled with episodic series anymore. Largely its the feeling that writers are not up to the task of making something interesting for that long, but also a fatigue of filler. I like the current serial style of story telling with a healthy side of anthology based programming.

Oh man I love episodic tv. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I started re-watching Doctor Who, and the new Quantum Leap show with my mom. The we started Strange New Worlds, and I was like, yes, more of this please.

 

[Staffan]

Yeah, I'm just not as enthralled with episodic series anymore. Largely its the feeling that writers are not up to the task of making something interesting for that long, but also a fatigue of filler. I like the current serial style of story telling with a healthy side of anthology based programming.

"Filler" episodes are where we get to know our characters. Some of my favorite episodes are "filler", like "The Girl in the Fireplace", "Blink", "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead". Or for Babylon 5, things like "Passing Through Gethsemane", or "By Any Means Necessary".

 

[payn]

"Filler" episodes are where we get to know our characters. Some of my favorite episodes are "filler", like "The Girl in the Fireplace", "Blink", "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead". Or for Babylon 5, things like "Passing Through Gethsemane", or "By Any Means Necessary".

Folks always trot out the occasional hits, but rarely talk about the piles of forgettable misses. Also, they dont talk about the thousands of forgettable series in the episodic dust bin, just a few beloved series in the format.