Sleepy Hollow (Spoilers)

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Christopher, Sep 17, 2013.

  1. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    No, I think it illustrates that season lengths are becoming increasingly flexible. There is no rigid standard anymore.
     
  2. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

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    Apparently Black Sails' season is only 8 episodes long. Frustrating.
     
  3. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I think Fox will probably do a Breaking Bad / Mad Men and have a 16 episode season and break it into two seasons.
     
  4. Out Of My Vulcan Mind

    Out Of My Vulcan Mind Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I doubt it. That arrangement works on cable, but it would be problematic on a broadcast network.

    Eight to ten episodes is now the standard length for a season on premium cable.
     
  5. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I think they will do 8 episodes in the fall, with a two week break for baseball, and then in the spring, March 20th to May 20th, give or take.

    If it works on cable (which it doesn't really work, AMC is just cheap) then why wouldn't it work on Fox?
     
  6. Out Of My Vulcan Mind

    Out Of My Vulcan Mind Vice Admiral Admiral

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    There's a greater imperative to fill as many air dates as possible with first-run programming on the broadcast networks.
     
  7. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

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    I was hoping for ten. The end of ep 8 just didn't feel like a season-ending cliffhanger (even though there were literally people stand on a cliff! :lol: )
     
  8. 137th Gebirg

    137th Gebirg Admiral Premium Member

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    Sigh...anyone remember the days of 26 episode seasons? And they would be occasionally be cut down to maybe ==>GASP<== 20, due to some writers' or actors' strike or some such thing? And now we treat a 13 episode season as a gift and 10 episodes the norm.

    How times have changed... :(
     
  9. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    And a lot of TV creators are glad to have shorter seasons, and so are a lot of viewers. 26-episode seasons had a lot of padding, a lot of weak or pointless episodes that were just there to meet a quota. Producers had to rush to get something on the air to fill the slots, and thus often had to settle for shooting scripts that didn't work. A 26-episode season might not have had much more than 13 episodes that were really worthwhile. Shorter seasons allow more time to refine the ideas and to focus on the best ones.

    And no, the norm is not 10 episodes, except on a lot of cable shows. Network shows still tend to have a minimum of 13 episodes per season, usually 22 or more.
     
  10. sojourner

    sojourner Admiral In Memoriam

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    I know I don't miss clip shows and bottle episodes.
     
  11. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Oh, bottle episodes can be terrific, because they force the writers to focus on character rather than action or spectacle. Some of the finest episodes of the modern Star Trek series, like TNG's "The Drumhead" or DS9's "Duet," were bottle shows.
     
  12. sojourner

    sojourner Admiral In Memoriam

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    Yeah, on shows that already rely primarily on shooting sets there's not much difference. I'm talking shows that contrive ways to lock characters into a room for an entire episode.
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2014
  13. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Which doesn't affect my point -- there's no reason that can't be a good episode. Two people with conflicting goals talking to each other in an empty room can be more exciting and intense than all the car chases and fistfights in the world.
     
  14. sojourner

    sojourner Admiral In Memoriam

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    You're right. You're absolutely fucking right. There is no reason they can't be good. Unfortunately in my experience most of them aren't.
     
  15. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Vice Admiral Admiral

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    The show was always planned to be a 13 episode season for the show. It became a hit and Fox wants a few more, but not too many more that it wrecks the feel of the show.

    So I don't get your point. They are having more episodes, more first run programing. Just like this year Fox will have a different show fill in the blanks.
     
  16. Out Of My Vulcan Mind

    Out Of My Vulcan Mind Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Yes, I know it was always planned to have 13 episodes and that they're expanding the season. My point is that they probably won't split it into two eight-episode seasons in the style of some cable shows, but will instead air the longer season almost continuously, as Kevin Reilly has indicated, and then bring in another show to take the timeslot in mid-season. That way they maximize first-run programming throughout the season. Maybe you meant they'd air two eight-episode blocks close together, but it came across as if you were saying you thought they'd air them further apart as is the case with some cable shows. That's what I was disagreeing with.
     
  17. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I mean they would 8 episodes in Sept-December time frame, take a break off for wither, then come back in March and do 8 more until the finale in May.

    Kind of like what ABC is doing with Once Upon a Time and Sandal.
     
  18. Out Of My Vulcan Mind

    Out Of My Vulcan Mind Vice Admiral Admiral

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    ^^^
    I don't think they'll stretch the episodes out that much. Reilly has said they plan to air them almost continuously. I think they'll stick to that plan, with a 13-episode mid-season show taking over the timeslot when all of the second season has aired. Here's what Reilly said to Vulture:

     
  19. theenglish

    theenglish Vice Admiral Admiral

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  20. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I'm glad they got more episodes, but that they aren't trying to drag it out to 22 or 24 episode. It seems to me that for a show this heavily serialized, shorter season work better. It helps to keep things fast paced, and not dragged out. I do like they way that Once Upon a Time set up their season. It was a full season, but they basically spit it into two min-seasons. I'm glad they did, because I honestly don't know if I could have taken 22 episodes of Neverland and Peter Pan.