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The media that bucks this trend always stands out to me, especially in series. The classic animated series "Avatar" rarely splits stories over multiple episodes
by vczf 4y ago
The media that bucks this trend always stands out to me, especially in series. The classic animated series "Avatar" rarely splits stories over multiple episodes, so that each episode ends in a satisfying way. Another example in a totally different genre is "Atlanta" (2016) which has a similar focused structure.
- huehehue 4y agoEpisodic (vs serial) television has its own problems. It can be done well, but the path of least resistance is to make episodes low-stakes, formulaic, and mindless. Law & Order, The X-Files, The Simpsons et al have vague arcs but are approachable by design, which I see as "convenient but less satisfying".
- autoexec 4y agoIn the case of Avatar, it was a bit of both. Most episodes did have a satisfying conclusion, but it was nothing like the Simpsons or X-files. The show was a serial and it had a story arc that played out over three seasons with each season having a theme. It had been planned out that way very early. I love shows like that where the creator has a beginning, middle, and ending in mind from that start and so it can't just be stretched out forever until they've run out of ideas or the audience gets bored and ratings drop off. It's just better storytelling to have a compete story. In TV animation that sort of storytelling isn't as common here as it is in anime which helped Avatar stand out, especially compared to what other shows were airing on the channel at the time