I hope not. Episodic television has run its course.
I don't think either format will ever run its course. There's room for both and there are certain types of series that are better suited to one over the other.
Yes sitcoms for instance are suited for the episodic format(although Roseanne at times was effective in doing arcs) but most other shows benefit from being serialized otherwise the writers just fall back on the old chestnuts but just plug in new characters which leads to very formulaic predictable episodes.
Episodic storytelling has been around for decades and by this point it has been my experience that older shows mastered and did it very well. Shows that try doing it now either make the episodes feel very recycled with a "been there done that" feel. That's why I simply don't find cop/lawyer/hospital shows interesting any more--you've seen one you've pretty much seen them all. Then take for instance TOS and TNG really did great seasons of nothing but such standalones. But VOY and ENT ended up recycling those and their standalones were dull. DS9 and ENT came into their own only when they transitioned over to serialization with the Occupation Arc, Circle trilogy, Final Chapter, Xindi arc.
Arcs force the writers to carve out their own unique identity in my opinion and help infuse some unpredictability and risks into storytelling that episodes really can't do.
Same goes for The X-Files--a wonderful series that made original standalone stories its bread and better. But shows like Fringe attempt to do standalones don't work because the writers really have no idea how to add a new spin on them to make them fresh. Only when they focus on their myth does it seem like a fresh exciting show.
Plus there's the middle way option of shows that are largely episodic, but which have light arcs.
The middle ground is probably the worst of the three options. I don't know about anyone else but if you are going to arcs and serialization I'd rather all episodes be arc-based and all episodes focus on that core material in dealing with it and advancing it.
I loved DS9's arcs. But it frustrated me to no end when they would set aside the Dominion War and do a series of one-offs. It just ruins the momentum. 9 times out of 10 the standalone stuff can't hold a candle to the more engrossing arc stuff and the worse thing you can do is pull away from it when you are on a roll and the viewer wants the new installment to see what happens next. This has led to the whole idea of "filler" in my opinion. Who wants to watch episodes "Extinction", "North Star", "Doctors Orders", "E2" when you are in the middle of the Xindi arc-who wants to have to wait another week or two weeks or 2 months to get back to it. Who wants to watch a lot of S3 and S4 episodes in BSG like "Day in the Life"that were standalones-those were the weakest. And which BSG season is constantly said to be its best--S1 no surprise a heavily serialized tightly written arc with no real filler.
There's a reason people stopped being frustrated with LOST in S3,4 and 5--the show stopped dicking around and started furiously moving the story full steam ahead with heavy serialization, no stalling filler episodes like "how Jack got his tatto" and made sure every thread each episode was dedicated was in service of the arcs.
Another example that shows if you are going to do arcs then be all serialized is Fringe--ask most fans and they'll tell you the show has a terrible habit every season of being uneven because of its tendency to dabble with a couple of great myth episodes then force on us stale one-offs that the writers try to peripherally make relevant to the bigger arc.
Personally, my issue with serialization is that some writers/producers think that serializing something involves dragging out plot threads that could be wrapped up in one episode over the course of a season, instead of having each episode be more like a chapter of a book, just with self-contained beginning, middle, and end. BSG season 1 managed to get that right,
Agreed. BSG S1, S1 of Heroes in the sff genre, many seasons of Dallas/St Elsewhere/Melrose Place 1.0 illustrate how to do season long arcs with no filler that manage to introduce a series of arcs that are resolved within the year and aren't dragged out frustratingly for years with either a weak pay-off or none at all.
I think the reason many don't care for recent serialization is that it was too complicated to follow and the mythology was poorly handled after years of investment. By going back to a more traditional format of serialization with fewer characters, more manageable threads that you have to resolve by the end of the season before launching into another one next year people are more satisfied--the story has time to develop over a year so it isn't wrapped up too soon yet it doesn't drag on where you get frustrated by the constant delays.
I'd pair up The Secret Circle andThe Vampire Diaries, and pair Supernatural with Awakenings. Heavenly sounds too CBS-ish to really fit CW well.
