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Story Arc
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A Story Arc (arc as in "over-arching storyline") is a sequence of series installments, TV episodes, comic issues, or a certain period of time in a Video Game that puts characters through their paces in response to a single impetus; basically, an ongoing storyline. This can be a few episodes, an entire season, or even the focus of the entire series. Arcs are not necessarily consecutive episodes. The story may reach a point where, although the arc is not completely resolved, it ceases to be of immediate concern to the characters, thus allowing the writers to intersperse (or insert) non-arc episodes. This is the case whenever an episode or a series of episodes have self-contained storylines, which are then cut-off by a continuation of the arc. Usually, the filler/self-contained stories don't have any major effect on the arc itself, set up character development to be used in the arc, or show off character development displayed in an early storyline. Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })Writers may decide to use a stand-alone episode to lighten the mood during a dark arc, or to feature a character not involved in the arc. Episodes that form a story arc cannot be run out of order, or at least they shouldn't be. Not that this always stops networks or syndicators from doing so. While the Soap Opera has been exclusively arc-based since the beginning of television and before, the subsequent popularity of arcs doesn't seem to come from soaps. Back in the '90s, when half-funny Sitcom reruns and poorly constructed Saturday morning cartoons ruled with an iron fist, the consensus among writers was that casual viewers wouldn't be able to get into the show. Hill Street Blues was the first American prime-time drama to rely on arcs, and is probably when the term came into the American TV vernacular. British shows have a longer-standing tradition of arcs (See Doctor Who). Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })According to Doctor Who producer Russell T Davies, the term is not used by UK TV writers. However, it is becoming increasingly well known by UK viewers, and UK Comic Book writers certainly use the term. Story arcs also occur in most other serial media; Super Hero and dramedy comic series (especially online series in the latter case) are well known for them, and since they lack the seasonal format of most Western television shows, some of them take years to resolve. A character who serves as the Big Bad for a story arc is called an Arc Villain. See also Myth Arc, Rotating Arcs, Arc Welding, Half-Arc Season, Plot Threads, Season Fluidity, and Aborted Arc. Sometimes the term is interchangeable with "Saga", especially in Shōnen manga and anime. |
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