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Are short run series better then the 22 ep. norm?

  • 10-01-2011 12:12pm
    #1
    Richard Dower
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 21,634 ✭✭✭✭


    reading an interesting article/interview with Tim Kring about Heroes and The Walking Dead, Kring states that if Heroes was a shorter run show per season it would have been better for it?

    http://blastr.com/2011/01/why-tim-kring-wishes-hero.php

    Do you agree?....TWD was 6 eps., based on it's thread many commented 6 eps. was TOO short, that it packed too much into it's short run. Ergo what is the best numbers of eps.?

    8, 10, 13?....the standard network length in 22-24, cable generally run 13, some get 16-18 eps.

    Imo i actually like the ABC Family model, they generally run 20 episodes, 10 in the Summer (June-August) and 10 in the Winter (January-March), they have a not too long hiatus period.

    Network shows run from Sept-May which is 39 weeks, so they have major hiatus breaks and repeats, The CW has the worst model of all :rolleyes:

    But getting back to the central point, imo i think 13 ep. runs work best, but crucial is you play each episode week after week with NO breaks!, you want a 13 week straight run. Don't change it's airdate or time...be CONSISTENT!

    What do you think?


Comments

  • #2
    Mr E
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 55,571 ✭✭✭✭Mr E


    I am very much in favour of 13 (or less) episode runs.

    20-24 episode seasons tend to have a lot of filler (not in all cases, though - Supernatural is a good example of a show that is consistantly good). So was 24 for the most part. At least 24 (when it moved to January) didn't have any breaks in its schedule.

    The other advantage of 13 (or less) episodes runs is the ability to schedule episodes back to back. There is comfort in knowing that seasons of shows like Dexter, Breaking Bad, Spooks, Misfits and Being Human are coming up, and they'll have a guaranteed week-after-week run.

    There is a happy medium though. I like the new scheduling structure that SyFy have done with shows like the Stargate shows and Sanctuary. They do two 10 episodes runs per year (originally done by South Park I think). Shows like White Collar and Eureka seem to have taken this on too.


  • #3
    pickarooney
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 35,731 Mod ✭✭✭✭pickarooney


    I agree, 12-13 episodes is the best length to give a season enough time to explore the different themes presented in it but not drag stories out for the sake of filling screen time. I also hate the way they take up to six weeks off between episodes. That said, some series work well over a longer run so it's really a case of what suits the narrative best, but I can think of only a handful of shows where seasons wouldn't have benefited from a bit of trimming.


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