The thing about serials is that they can really outstay their welcome after a bit. In the UK serials have been the standard format for TV dramas since year dot (or thereabouts), and have traditionally been really, really short. That's starting to change recently but I'd say that it's generally been nine episodes tops, six episodes average, and three episodes not unheard of. And no, that's not just seasons. I'm talking about entire series here. Not series that have been cancelled mid-run, either - simply series that were designed to be short.
I'd be happy to watch a 13-epper like Lain or Paranoia Agent. But all 291 episodes of Dragonball Z...? See, a number like that's fine in an episodic series where you're not expected to watch the whole thing, but as serials go it's not always the best approach to storytelling. It follows that the longer a series is hoped to run by its producers, the more episodic it'll be.
And while we're here let's not forget that it's not too hard to tell a long-running story when you're just adapting a pre-existing comic that also has a long-running story.
Or has that been mentioned already? I've lost track.
I'd be happy to watch a 13-epper like Lain or Paranoia Agent. But all 291 episodes of Dragonball Z...? See, a number like that's fine in an episodic series where you're not expected to watch the whole thing, but as serials go it's not always the best approach to storytelling. It follows that the longer a series is hoped to run by its producers, the more episodic it'll be.
And while we're here let's not forget that it's not too hard to tell a long-running story when you're just adapting a pre-existing comic that also has a long-running story.
Or has that been mentioned already? I've lost track.