Season Fluidity: Difference between revisions

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Most stories have a beginning, middle, and end. Even a show about nothing has something zany and inane happen to our characters every episode, while getting some amount of resolution by the end. However, the same isn't necessarily true for a series as a whole. Some series are so homogeneous in plot you could air a season 1 and 5 episode side by side without telling the difference. Others have such intricate plots, you can tell which quarter of which season you're watching just by looking at the subtle nuances of the main couple's relationship.

To quantify this, the Sliding Scale of Season Transition Fluidity (Season Fluidity for short) puts episodic series on one end, and series with self contained seasons on the other. For example, Gilligan's Island is unchanging from season to season. Toward the opposite extreme, seasons in Sailor Moon and Blackadder are basically separate shows with an identical cast (and some shows don't even have that commonality between seasons - see Skins, below). In the middle, a show like Stargate SG-1 has no distinct seasons, but is threaded together by multiple subplots while staying episodic.

Put another way, you can watch any episode of Gilligan's Island and be equally entertained, without worrying that you've missed important plot points (it's not like they'll ever get off the island or something). While that's also mostly true with Stargate SG-1, seeing more episodes in order lets you see character development over time and several subplots rise and get resolved, letting you get more enjoyment over time. A slightly-less fluid series, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Mad Men, needs to be seen with all the seasons in order if one wants to fully "get" it. Further toward the abrupt end, you can start with the beginning of any particular season of Sailor Moon, but you will be left scratching your head if you start in the middle of a season.

The far Abrupt end would feature shows that do a complete series reboot with each season, in both plot and cast, to the point where they really are completely different shows joined under the same name. An example of that would be Skins, which starts with a completely new group of characters (save an occasional Ascended Extra or two) and storylines every two seasons, as the old characters graduate from Roundview College and leave Bristol. Other than the setting and the general focus on sex, drugs and parties, each new "generation" (as these two-season sets are known) is completely distinct from the others, and many Skins fans see them as entirely separate works.

Note: For simplicity's sake, this scale is excluding Genre Anthology shows, sketch shows, and other works where there is no status quo to either follow or violate, or semi-consistent set of characters/themes. If these works fit on the scale at all, they would mostly fall on the extreme Fluid end.

Sliding Scale of Season Transition Fluidity
Fluid	Status Quo Is God on the series level, even possibly including Negative Continuity	Most Golden Age and Dark Age Western Animation plus more recent works that follow those formats (e.g. Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures), most traditional SitComs, South Park in its early seasons
	All stand-alone episodes, no arcs, but with some degree of continuity (e.g. dead characters stay dead)	Star Trek: The Original Series, early seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and most other shows that follow the Adventure Towns or Monster of the Week format. Most adult animated comedies, including Family Guy, The Simpsons, and South Park in its later seasons. Most modern Sit Coms.
	Usually stand-alone, but occasionally has arcs	Law & Order and its various spin-offs, The Vicar of Dibley and other standard Brit Coms, SpongeBob SquarePants, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Transformers Generation 1, Futurama. Typical abruptness limit for Western Animation and SitComs.
	Series-long Myth Arc	Babylon 5, most anime and Noughties Drama Series
Dammed	Multiple smaller arcs not directly tied to seasons	Star Trek: The Next Generation (later seasons), Glee, Xena: Warrior Princess, Suzumiya Haruhi, Stargate SG-1 (except for seasons 8 & 9), most Soap Operas
	Self-contained season-arcs, with some overarching plots	24, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Buffy and Angel, Mad Men, Skins (seasons with the same cast), most Teen Dramas and Prime Time Soaps
	Highly-distinct seasons with Arc Welding	Sailor Moon, Pokémon, Power Rangers, Digimon (first two seasons)
	Highly-distinct seasons, purely self-contained	Lexx, Blackadder
Abrupt	Complete series reboot each season	Skins (every two seasons), Digimon (third season onward), Super Sentai, American Horror Story

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-{{trope}}
+{{Useful Notes}}
-Most stories have a beginning, middle, and end. Even a [[Seinfeld|show about nothing]] has something zany and inane happen to our characters every episode, while getting some amount of resolution by the end. However, the same isn't necessarily true for a series as a whole. Some series are so [[Status Quo Is God|homogeneous]] in plot you could air a season 1 and 5 episode side by side without telling the difference. Others have such [[Myth Arc|intricate plots]], you can tell which quarter of which season you're watching just by looking at the subtle nuances of the [[Will They or Won't They|main couple's relationship]].
+Most stories have a beginning, middle, and end. Even a [[Seinfeld|show about nothing]] has something zany and inane happen to our characters every episode, while getting some amount of resolution by the end. However, the same isn't necessarily true for a series as a whole. Some series are so [[Status Quo Is God|homogeneous]] in plot you could air a season 1 and 5 episode side by side without telling the difference. Others have such [[Myth Arc|intricate plots]], you can tell which quarter of which season you're watching just by looking at the subtle nuances of the [[Will They or Won't They?|main couple's relationship]].
-To quantify this, the ''Sliding Scale of Season Transition Fluidity'' ([[Season Fluidity]] for short) puts episodic series on one end, and series with self contained seasons on the other. For example, ''[[Gilligans Island]]'' is [[Status Quo Is God|unchanging]] from season to season. Toward the opposite extreme, seasons in ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' and ''[[Black Adder]]'' are basically separate shows with an identical cast (and some shows don't even have that commonality between seasons - see ''[[Skins]]'', below). In the middle, a show like ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' has no distinct seasons, but is threaded together by multiple subplots while staying episodic.
+To quantify this, the ''Sliding Scale of Season Transition Fluidity'' ('''Season Fluidity''' for short) puts episodic series on one end, and series with self contained seasons on the other. For example, ''[[Gilligan's Island]]'' is [[Status Quo Is God|unchanging]] from season to season. Toward the opposite extreme, seasons in ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' and ''[[Blackadder]]'' are basically separate shows with an identical cast (and some shows don't even have that commonality between seasons - see ''[[Skins]]'', below). In the middle, a show like ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' has no distinct seasons, but is threaded together by multiple subplots while staying episodic.
-Put another way, you can watch any episode of ''[[Gilligans Island]]'' and be equally entertained, without worrying that you've missed important plot points (it's not like they'll [[Failure Is the Only Option|ever get off the island]] or [[Just Eat Gilligan|something]]). While that's also mostly true with ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', seeing more episodes in order lets you see character development over time and several subplots rise and get resolved, letting you get more enjoyment over time. A slightly-less fluid series, like ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' or ''[[Mad Men]]'', needs to be seen with all the seasons in order if one wants to fully "get" it. Further toward the abrupt end, you can start with the beginning of any particular season of ''[[Sailor Moon]]'', but you will be left scratching your head if you start in the middle of a season.
+Put another way, you can watch any episode of ''[[Gilligan's Island]]'' and be equally entertained, without worrying that you've missed important plot points (it's not like they'll [[Failure Is the Only Option|ever get off the island]] or [[Just Eat Gilligan|something]]). While that's also mostly true with ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', seeing more episodes in order lets you see character development over time and several subplots rise and get resolved, letting you get more enjoyment over time. A slightly-less fluid series, like ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' or ''[[Mad Men]]'', needs to be seen with all the seasons in order if one wants to fully "get" it. Further toward the abrupt end, you can start with the beginning of any particular season of ''[[Sailor Moon]]'', but you will be left scratching your head if you start in the middle of a season.
-The far Abrupt end would feature shows that do a complete series reboot with each season, in both plot ''and'' cast, to the point where they really are completely different shows joined under the same name. An example of that would be ''[[Skins]]'', which starts with a completely new group of characters (save an occasional [[Ascended Extra]] or two) and storylines every two seasons, as the old characters graduate from [[British Education System|Roundview College]] and leave Bristol. Other than the setting and the general focus on [[Everybody Has Lots of Sex|sex,]] [[Everybody Must Get Stoned|drugs]] [[A Party Also Known As an Orgy|and parties]], each new "generation" (as these two-season sets are known) is completely distinct from the others, and many ''Skins'' fans see them as entirely separate works.
+The far Abrupt end would feature shows that do a complete series reboot with each season, in both plot ''and'' cast, to the point where they really are completely different shows joined under the same name. An example of that would be ''[[Skins]]'', which starts with a completely new group of characters (save an occasional [[Ascended Extra]] or two) and storylines every two seasons, as the old characters graduate from [[British Education System|Roundview College]] and leave Bristol. Other than the setting and the general focus on [[Everybody Has Lots of Sex|sex,]] [[Everybody Must Get Stoned|drugs]] [[A Party - Also Known as an Orgy|and parties]], each new "generation" (as these two-season sets are known) is completely distinct from the others, and many ''Skins'' fans see them as entirely separate works.
 Note: For simplicity's sake, this scale is excluding [[Genre Anthology]] shows, sketch shows, and other works where there is no status quo to either follow or violate, or semi-consistent set of characters/themes. If these works fit on the scale at all, they would mostly fall on the extreme Fluid end.
+{| class="wikitable"
-'''''Sliding Scale of Season Transition Fluidity'''''
+!colspan=8|'''''Sliding Scale of Season Transition Fluidity'''''
-||align=center border=1 width=100%
-|| '''[[Reset Button|Fluid]]''' ||[[Status Quo Is God]] on the series level, even possibly including [[Negative Continuity]] || Most [[Golden Age of Animation|Golden Age]] and [[Dark Age of Animation|Dark Age]] [[Western Animation]] plus more recent works that follow those formats (e.g. ''[[Animaniacs (Animation)|Animaniacs]]'', ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]''), most traditional [[Sit Com|SitComs]], ''[[South Park]]'' in its early seasons||
+|-
-|| ||All stand-alone episodes, no arcs, but with some degree of continuity (e.g. dead characters stay dead)|| ''[[Star Trek TOS]]'', early seasons of ''[[Star Trek the Next Generation]]'', and most other shows that follow the [[Adventure Towns]] or [[Monster of the Week]] format. Most adult animated comedies, including ''[[Family Guy]]'', ''[[The Simpsons]]'', and ''[[South Park]]'' in its later seasons. Most modern [[Sit Com|Sit Coms]].||
+| '''[[Reset Button|Fluid]]''' ||[[Status Quo Is God]] on the series level, even possibly including [[Negative Continuity]] || Most [[Golden Age of Animation|Golden Age]] and [[Dark Age of Animation|Dark Age]] [[Western Animation]] plus more recent works that follow those formats (e.g. ''[[Animaniacs]]'', ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]''), most traditional [[Sitcom|SitComs]], ''[[South Park]]'' in its early seasons
-|| ||Usually stand-alone, but occasionally has arcs || ''[[Law and Order]]'' and its various spin-offs, ''[[The Vicar of Dibley]]'' and other standard [[Britcom|Brit Coms]], ''[[Spongebob SquarePants]]'', ''[[Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', ''[[Transformers Generation One]]'', ''[[Futurama]]''. Typical abruptness limit for [[Western Animation]] and [[Sit Com|SitComs]]. ||
+|-
-|| ||Series-long [[Myth Arc]] || ''[[Babylon 5]]'', most anime and [[Noughties Drama Series]] ||
+| ||All stand-alone episodes, no arcs, but with some degree of continuity (e.g. dead characters stay dead)|| ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'', early seasons of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', and most other shows that follow the [[Adventure Towns]] or [[Monster of the Week]] format. Most adult animated comedies, including ''[[Family Guy]]'', ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'', and ''[[South Park]]'' in its later seasons. Most modern [[Sitcom|Sit Coms]].
-|| '''[[Rotating Arcs|Dammed]]''' ||Multiple [[Half Arc Season|smaller arcs]] not directly tied to seasons || ''[[Star Trek the Next Generation]]'' (later seasons), ''[[Glee]]'', ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'', ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]'', ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' (except for [[Post Script Season|seasons 8 & 9]]), most [[Soap Opera|Soap Operas]] ||
+|-
-|| ||Self-contained season-[[Story Arc|arcs]], with some overarching plots || ''[[Twenty Four]]'', ''[[Star Trek Deep Space Nine]]'', ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|Buffy]]'' and ''[[Angel]]'', ''[[Mad Men]]'', ''[[Skins]]'' (seasons with the same cast), most [[Teen Drama|Teen Dramas]] and [[Prime Time Soap|Prime Time Soaps]] ||
+| ||Usually stand-alone, but occasionally has arcs || ''[[Law & Order]]'' and its various spin-offs, ''[[The Vicar of Dibley]]'' and other standard [[Britcom|Brit Coms]], ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'', ''[[Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', ''[[Transformers Generation 1]]'', ''[[Futurama]]''. Typical abruptness limit for [[Western Animation]] and [[Sitcom|SitComs]].
-|| ||Highly-distinct seasons with [[Arc Welding]] || ''[[Sailor Moon]]'', ''[[Pokémon (Anime)|Pokémon]]'', ''[[Power Rangers]]'', ''[[Digimon]]'' (first two seasons) ||
+|-
-|| ||Highly-distinct seasons, purely self-contained || ''[[Lexx]]'', ''[[Black Adder]]'' ||
+| ||Series-long [[Myth Arc]] || ''[[Babylon 5]]'', most anime and [[Noughties Drama Series]]
-|| '''Abrupt''' ||Complete series reboot each season || ''[[Skins]]'' (every two seasons), ''[[Digimon]]'' (third season onward), ''[[Super Sentai]]'', ''[[American Horror Story]]'' ||
+|-
+| '''[[Rotating Arcs|Dammed]]''' ||Multiple [[Half Arc Season|smaller arcs]] not directly tied to seasons || ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' (later seasons), ''[[Glee]]'', ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'', ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]'', ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' (except for [[Post Script Season|seasons 8 & 9]]), most [[Soap Opera]]s
+|-
+| ||Self-contained season-[[Story Arc|arcs]], with some overarching plots || ''[[24]]'', ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'', ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|Buffy]]'' and ''[[Angel]]'', ''[[Mad Men]]'', ''[[Skins]]'' (seasons with the same cast), most [[Teen Drama]]s and [[Prime Time Soap]]s
+|-
+| ||Highly-distinct seasons with [[Arc Welding]] || ''[[Sailor Moon]]'', ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'', ''[[Power Rangers]]'', ''[[Digimon]]'' (first two seasons)
+|-
+| ||Highly-distinct seasons, purely self-contained || ''[[Lexx]]'', ''[[Blackadder]]''
+|-
+| '''Abrupt''' ||Complete series reboot each season || ''[[Skins]]'' (every two seasons), ''[[Digimon]]'' (third season onward), ''[[Super Sentai]]'', ''[[American Horror Story]]''
+|}
 {{reflist}}
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 [[Category:Meta Concepts]]
 [[Category:Season Fluidity]]
-[[Category:Trope]]
-[[Category:oldtable]]