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{{trope}}{{Needs Image}}
A
Arcs are not necessarily consecutive episodes. The story may reach a point where, although the arc is not completely resolved, it ceases to be of immediate concern to the characters, thus allowing the writers to intersperse (or [[Filler|insert]]) non-arc episodes.
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See also [[Myth Arc]], [[Half Arc Season]], [[Plot Threads]], [[Season Fluidity]], and [[Aborted Arc]].
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==▼
▲== Anime ==
* The vast majority of [[Anime]] series are built around arcs, which further distinguishes them from American cartoons, which are very often episodic (though less exclusively so in recent years).
* ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi|The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya]]''{{'}}s six-episode arc was broadcast with eight [[Breather Episode
** Helped largely by the fact that the Arc episodes were still in order, just with the Breathers inserted in-between.
* According to a fansite's unofficial commentary, ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' can be divided into four arcs:
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== Film ==
* ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]'', ''[[Star Trek III: The Search For Spock]]'' and ''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]'' form a story arc within the larger ''[[Star Trek]]'' movie series centered around the Genesis device and the consequences of its use. All other ''[[Star Trek]]'' movies have self-contained plots.
** Though ''[[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country]]'' does contain multiple references to this particular trilogy.
== Live
* The canonical British TV show with a
▲* The canonical British TV show with a [[Story Arc]] is ''[[The Prisoner]]'', which was created from the get-go with a beginning, middle and end, and is also used as an example of the TV Novel.
* ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]''
▲* ''[[The X-Files|The X Files]]'' (see [[Myth Arc]])
▲* ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]'' -- So heavily, in fact, that there was significant [[Continuity Lock Out]] experienced by casual viewers.
* ''[[Babylon 5]]'' (another [[Myth Arc]])
* ''[[The Adventures of Brisco County Jr]].'' had two intertwining story arcs throughout the series (The Search for The Orb and The Capture of the John Bly Gang).
* ''[[Star Trek:
* ''[[Star Trek:
* Previously episodic in format, ''[[Star Trek:
* Each season of ''[[Lost]]'' has a main
** Season One is about the Losties learning how to survive on the Island and dividing into two camps: one on the beach and one at the caves.
** Season Two is about finding the Hatch, pushing the button and the psychological effect of it; the Tailies, another group of plane survivors, are introduced.
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** Season 8's arc introduced the Master, who was a common villain in each serial and was captured by UNIT in the [[Season Finale]].
** ''The Key To Time'' arc (all of Season 16) - the search for pieces of a [[Cosmic Keystone]].
** ''The E-Space Trilogy'' (''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S18
** Following directly on from this was the season-crossing ''Return of the Master'' trilogy, comprising ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S18
** ''The Black Guardian Trilogy'' (''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S20
** ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' (Season
** In addition, thematic arcs showed up in the classic series: season 18 concerned the theme of entropy and decay, in preparation for the regeneration in the final episode; each serial of season 20 involved the return of a classic enemy, building up to the movie-length special "[[Doctor Who/Recap/20th AS the Five Doctors
** Since the revival, the series has opted for season-long loose arcs, mostly linked together through [[Meaningful Background Event|recurring phrases and motifs]], though usually unnoticed and not really interfering with the episode's main plots. Series 6 has adopted a tighter arc format, though the [[Monster of the Week|episodic format]] remains.
*** Series 1: {{spoiler|'Bad Wolf' was either mentioned or written in the background in every episode apart from "Rose" and "The Empty Child". It was discovered that this was a link between the Doctor and Rose, written through time and space; by the time vortex itself.}}
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*** Series 6: {{spoiler|The Doctor's (ultimately faked) death and the identity of River Song. The mystery of Amy's pregnancy was bought to our attention at some point in the first six episodes; either by her mentioning it or the doctor scanning her to see if she was positive or negative. At the climax of "The Almost People", it turned out she was taken hostage by Madame Kovarian to give birth to a Time Lord hybrid to defeat the Doctor, and Amy had been "piloting" a Ganger body without realising. The season also tells us that River Song is a Time Lord hybrid and Amy and Rory's daughter, who appeared to kill the Doctor, but it was actually a Teselecta duplicate, the Teselecta having appeared earlier to punish River for the "crime" she hadn't done yet.}}
* Surprisingly, ''[[The Beverly Hillbillies]]'' used story arcs in a Network [[Sitcom]] all the way back in the early 1960s.
** Mrs.
** The
** Ellie May's engagement to a "Naval Frogman" and Granny's belief that this means he turns into a frog from the bellybutton down when he gets wet. Lasted most of a season.
* Probably the oldest one in television is ''[[I Love Lucy]]'', which featured several long-running arcs. The most famous is Lucy's pregnancy, which took up a full season from her first learning of it to giving birth and bringing Little Ricky home. Subsequent seasons followed the Ricardos and Mertzes on long trips through Europe, the US, and a stay in Hollywood.
* The re-imagined series of ''[[Battlestar Galactica
** Finding Earth.
** Roslin's
** Baltar's
** Starbuck's
** The
* [[Britcom]] ''[['Allo 'Allo!
* ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' has one every season so far, generally building on the previous arc and moving toward the series' overall [[Myth Arc]].
** Season One has the boys' search for their father, and the demon that killed their mother by extension.
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** Season Six has multiple interconnected plot lines: {{spoiler|the loss and return of Sam's soul (and in turn, the potential return of his memories of Hell), the civil war in Heaven, Crowley's search for Purgatory, and the coming of the Mother of All to Earth.}}
** Season Seven deals with the fallout from {{spoiler|Castiel opening Purgatory}} at the end of the previous season, primarily the release of the [[Eldritch Abomination|Leviathans]] and their plans to [[Take Over the World]].
* In any given season, ''[[The Wire]]'' [[Viewers Are Geniuses|tends to have half-a-dozen story arcs at one time. At least. And they are all awesome]].
* Disney's ''[[Zorro]]'', which ran in the late 1950s, was organized into arc stories, rather than simply being episodic. Each episode set up a new set of troubles that Zorro would have to deal with in the next episode in logical, linear fashion.
* Each season of ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' has an arc spanning [[Half Arc Season|half
** Season 1: The Master's attempts to escape his [[Sealed Evil in a Can|can]] and [[The End of the World as We Know It|open the Hellmouth]].
** Season 2: Technically the fights between Buffy and Spike count as an arc, but the ''real'' arc doesn't start until [[Face Heel Turn|Angel loses his soul]] and becomes [[Enemy Within|Angelus again]].
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** Season 6 opts for a religion-centric plot, where a mysterious force dubbed the Doomsday Killer strikes in Miami and uses his victims' bodies to enact tableaus from the Book of Revelations. It also sees the {{spoiler|promotion of Debra Morgan to the position of Lieutenant, and further explores her relationship with her brother.}}
* ''[[Weeds]]'' contains over-arcing storylines, although they aren't necessarily clearly-defined between seasons, and they sometimes aren't so much resolved as they are escaped from. This gives it a quality of drifting from situation to situation that fits its stoner subject matter, while characters from unresolved plotlines sometimes resurface later.
* ''[[
* ''[[Seinfeld]]'', despite being a "show about nothing", did have a few plotlines that ran in the background of several seasons: Kramer writing and publishing a coffee table book ([[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|about coffee tables]]), Jerry and George writing a [[Show Within a Show|TV pilot]], George's engagement to Susan, etc.
* ''[[Wizards of Waverly Place]]'' is known for
** Season 2: The "Wizards vs. Vampires" arc, which dealt with Justin's relationship with Juliet and her parents.
** Season 3: The "Chronicles of Moises" arc, which dealt with Justin becoming a monster hunter, and Max releasing his conscience. This arc ended with Juliet being captured by the mummy. The next arc in Season 3 was the "Wizards vs. Werewolves" saga, which detailed Alex's growing relationship with Mason, and eventually tied itself with the "Chronicles of Moises" arc. The "Stevie" arc followed, and dealt with Stevie's arrival in New York and her wizard revolution. The "Wizards Exposed" arc came next, where the Russo's are captured and taken to a government facility.
** Season 4: The beginning of Season 4 continued the "Wizards Exposed" arc, which ended with Alex and Justin having to start over in the wizard competition, and Alex deciding to get back in so she could be with Mason. The next arc was the "Maxine" arc, where Max was transformed into a little girl named Maxine. It began with "Three Maxes and a Little Lady", and concluded with "Back To Max". The "Maxine" arc ran concurrently with the next major arc, the "Wizards vs. Angels" saga, which dealt with the Angels of Darkness. The last major arc was the "Apartment 13B" arc, starting with "Wizards of Apartment 13B" and ending with "Wizards vs. Everything". The last arc merges the "Wizards vs. Angels" arc with the "Wizards vs. Werewolves" arc.
* Each of season ''[[White Collar]]'' revolve around a specific overarching storyline that continues from the previous one
** Season 1: Neal's search for Kate and {{spoiler|the music box that would lead to her}}.
** Season 2: {{spoiler|The mystery of Kate's music box, and its connection to [[Big Bad|Vincent Adler]].}}
** Season 3: {{spoiler|Vincent Adler's U-boat treasure that the box hid, Matthew Keller's return, and Neal's commutation.}}
== Newspaper Comics ==
* ''[[Beetle Bailey]]'' doesn't usually have much continuity, but over the decades, there have been a handful of arcs connecting the strips (actual longer stories for albums notwithstanding), including at least "Beetle arrives at college," "Beetle joins the army," "Beetle goes home on holiday alone," "Beetle goes home on holiday with Sarge," "Beetle goes on holiday at home with Sarge and Otto," "Zero goes on holiday home with Beetle and Sarge," and "Sarge briefly tries to leave the army but comes back."
* ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]''
== Video Games ==
* The ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' series has had a three-game
▲* The ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' series has had a three-game [[Story Arc]] dealing with Shadow. It started in ''[[Sonic Adventure 2]]'', continued in ''[[Sonic Heroes]]'' and resolved in ''[[Shadow the Hedgehog]]''.
* In ''[[City of Heroes]]'' series of missions are actually referred to as story arcs, another way to capture the feel of comic books.
* Each of the original games in the ''[[When They Cry]]'' series are their own arc. Later remakes tend to have multiple arcs in one game though.
* ''[[The King of Fighters]]'' splits up its ongoing, [[Continuity Creep|sometimes confusing]] plot into arcs, each with rotating [[The Protagonist|protagonist]] duties. ''{{'}}94'' was a stand-alone title meant to kick off this [[Mascot Fighter]], but is now commonly referred to as "The [[Starter Villain|Rugal]] Saga". ''{{'}}95'' simultaneously ends this story with [[Blood Knight|Rugal's]] [[Karmic Death]] via [[Superpower Meltdown]] and begins "The [[Orochi]] Saga", which climaxes in ''{{'}}97'' when [[The Hero|Kyo Kusanagi]] [[Megaton Punch|literally]] [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|punches out Orochi]] with help from [[The Rival|Iori Yagami]] and [[Barrier Maiden|Chizuru Kagura]]. ''{{'}}99''-''2001'' was "The [[Nebulous Evil Organisation|NESTS]] Chronicles", chronicling an evil cartel's [[Take Over the World|plans for world domination]] using the DNA of a captured Kyo to create human bioweapons. One of these <ref>[[Cloning Blues|Clones]] in this case referring to regular humans injected with the DNA of another person; there ''are'' more atypical clones in the series, but most adhere to the former definition.</ref> is [[Anti-Hero Substitute|K']], a [[The Stoic|stoic]] [[Knight in Sour Armor]] who ends NESTS' ambitions by defeating their top-ranked executives. ''2003'' started "The Tales of [[Trickster Archetype|Ash]]", detailing Ash Crimson, [[Hidden Agenda Villain|a enigmatic man]] [[Manipulative Bastard|who uses others for his own purposes]], and [[Standard Evil Organization Squad|Those From the Past]], a mysterious cult intent on [[Sealed Evil in a Can|unsealing]] Orochi. ''XIII'' seems to be the conclusion of this part of the story, as {{spoiler|Ash, [[Good All Along|really a]] [[Guile Hero]], enacts a [[Cosmic Retcon|time-rewriting]] [[Heroic Sacrifice]] to stop Those From the Past and [[Big Bad|their leader Saiki]].}} Fans can generally expect a new arc to pick up if the last title was a [[Dream Match Game]] (''[[Obvious Beta|XII]]'' [[In Name Only|notwithstanding]]).
* The ''[[Kirby]]'' series had a
* ''Mass Effect'' basically runs on one big story arc involving the Reapers and the Normandy's battles against them. (with a ton of little subplots and side story arcs added in). Each game has the crew facing a diffrent threat which is related to the Reapers.
** Game 1: The fight against Saren and his attempts to grant the Reapers access to our universe.
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** Game 3: The crew and everyone else fighting the Reaper invasion of Earth.
* You'd be hard pressed to find a ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' strip that ''doesn't'' lead up to or follow up on another strip. Most of them do both. Even if you counted sub-chapters (technically called stories, so calling them arcs as well is a bit redundant) or even chapters for "episodes", there are still storylines arcing over those, up to [[Myth Arc]] level. Even the [[Filler Strips]] often come in series (of stories, not just strips): The Return of Stick-Figure Week!▼
▲== Webcomics ==
▲* You'd be hard pressed to find a ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' strip that doesn't lead up to or follow up on another strip. Most of them do both. Even if you counted sub-chapters (technically called stories, so calling them arcs as well is a bit redundant) or even chapters for "episodes", there are still storylines arcing over those, up to [[Myth Arc]] level. Even the [[Filler Strips]] often come in series (of stories, not just strips): The Return of Stick-Figure Week!
* In the tradition of old-style [[Newspaper Comics]] serials (the author/narrator has mentioned a fondness for [[Mandrake the Magician|Lee Falk's]] catchphrase, "Next--New Adventure!"), the story arcs in ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]]'' each have a clear beginning and ending, usually with a couple of [[Breather Episode|stand-alone]] strips in between arcs. These arcs run for months, although they usually only cover a day or two in-universe.
* Everything except filler in ''[[El Goonish Shive]]''. Also has a [[Myth Arc]], though it has spent the past few years lurking in the background.
* ''[[Living with Insanity]]'' used to be a comic strip with the occasional story arc, but now is mostly story arcs.
* Both ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20130719023505/http://www.drunkduck.com/Dragon_City/ Dragon City]'' and ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20130719183412/http://www.drunkduck.com/Jix/ Jix]'' both started off as a gag-a-day strips, despite having an ongoing story, but both became arc
* ''[[The Packrat]]'' had only one
* ''[[User Friendly]]'' was fond of arcs lasting days or weeks, and mostly followed the common US newspaper comics' tradition of having a non-arc-related strip every Sunday. Several arcs involved the [[Running Gag|long-running]] [[She Is Not My Girlfriend|non-relationship]] between AJ and Miranda, {{Spoiler|which was arguably one huge arc since they eventually got together - and it took them most of the strip's 13-year run.}}
== Web Original ==
* The web fiction serial ''[[Dimension Heroes]]'' has an ongoing story arc, broken up into several smaller books.
* The ''[[Epic Tales]]'' series ''Shadow Hawk'' has an ongoing arc about Shadow Hawk wanting to get revenge on the Shapeshifter, who killed his father. It also has a subplot arc about how he got a girl pregnant in the first story.
* Each 'chapter' of ''[[The Mad Scientist Wars]]'' is usually a self contained storyline -- but as the gae has been going on, more and more storylines will run somewhat through other chapter. For instance, 'Chic's Family' has been going on since the Mad Sci Con chapter.
* ''[[Atop the Fourth Wall]]'' has had these ever since Mechakara's introduction.
* [[The Nostalgia Critic]]'s had a long-running, slightly [[Yo
* [[The Nostalgia Chick]]'s had a few, the most obvious being the Dark Nella Saga.
== Western Animation ==
* The first season of the
▲* The first season of the ''[[Dilbert]]'' animated series had a story arc regarding the company's new flagship product: The Gruntmaster 3000. It covered things such as producing, marketing, and site-testing. The story was frequently broken up with non-arc episodes.
* ''[[Exo Squad]]'' had not only the primary story arc (the struggle between the Terrans and the [[Designer Babies|Neo Sapiens]]), but it was also broken into smaller four or five episode long mini arcs, with the action typically focusing on a particular theater of the war. On the DVD release, each mini-arc gets its own name in addition to the episode titles.
* ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'' had one in the second season, dealing with the fight between the League and Project Cadmus, and another in the third season focusing on the Secret Society''/''[[Legion of Doom]].
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* The second season of ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'''s "SatAM" cartoon started off more continuity-based to begin with, then kicked into full-on, development-a-week arc mode with the launch of the Doomsday Project.
* ''[[Iron Man: Armored Adventures]]'', in addition to it's main [[Myth Arc]], features other story arcs, usually following a specific character over the course of the show (for example, the Living Laser's origin and him figuring out what to do with his new powers and then his eventual downfall). These story arcs also end up combining and become more narrow as the show goes on (The Living Laser story arc ends up fusing with the A.I.M story arc later on).
* ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender
* ''[[The Secret Saturdays]]''
** Season One: The Kur Stone Puzzle
** Season Two: Finding Kur
** Season Three: {{spoiler|Zak IS Kur}}
* Though ''[[Batman: The Brave
* Each ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' season has an overarching plotline, related to one of the core characters:
** Season One focuses on Robin, with [[Manipulative Bastard|Slade]] as the [[Big Bad]]; the story is mostly about how the two characters are and aren't [[Not So Different]].
** Season Two focuses on Beast Boy and moreso on {{spoiler|[[Sixth Ranger Traitor]]}} Terra, who is {{spoiler|manipulated by Slade to become [[The Mole]] and ultimately [[The Dragon]]}}.
** Season Three deals with Cyborg and his escalating enmity with [[Diabolical Mastermind]] Brother Blood, who has stolen and abused Cyborg's own technology.
** Season Four is about Raven and her attempts to avert her destiny- opening a portal to allow her demonic father Trigon the chance to escape his [[Sealed Evil in a Can|can]] and conquer the universe.
** Season Five focuses on the team as a whole and their efforts to stop [[Legion of Doom|the Brotherhood of Evil]] from wiping out a generation of superheroes.
* ''[[Jackie Chan Adventures]]'' and its seasonal arcs.
** Season One: The search for Shendu's talismans.
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** Season Four: Finding the Shadowkhan masks.
** Season Five: The search for the chi of the demon sorcerers.
* Each season of the ''[[Total Drama]]'' series is essentially this, with a different cast lineup, elimination order, and winner in each one.
* ''[[Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated]]'' is notably for being a [[Scooby Doo]] series that actually ''has'' a
* ''[[South Park]]'' has had several story arcs along with multi-part episodes. Season 3 brought a three-part story arc often called "[[Fan Nickname|The Meteor Shower Trilogy]]", in which each episode was a seperate story about different members of the main cast which all take place on the same night. A three-part mini-arc in season 4 involved Mr. Garrison coming out of the closet, and an arc lasting through the entirety of season 6 involved the absence of Kenny and attempts to replace him.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Tropes of Legend]]
[[Category:Script Speak]]
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[[Category:Series Tropes]]
[[Category:Lit Class Tropes]]
[[Category:
▲[[Category:Story Arc]]
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