The serialisation of television is a phenomena that evolved from the remnants of ongoing radio serials. The serialisation of television, in its most basic sense, can be broken up into these genres:
• Soap operas are stories that are continuous and indefinite, usually left open-ended or unresolved in order to sustain and perpetuate its eternal existence. Examples include the primetime Neighbours (Grundy, 1985-) and or the daytime Dallas (CBS, 1978-91). (Creeber, 2004:8)
• Series have a self-contained episodic format, events are usually resolved within the episode. Examples could include most situational comedies, such as Frasier (NBC, 1993-2004) [moment of subjectivity: arguably the greatest show ever created], or a primetime drama series like Law & Order and its countless spinoffs. (Creeber, 2004:8)
• Serials usually have continuing story arcs lasting several episodes which may or may not witness any kind of closure, climax or resolution. Ironically, it tends to lack the on-going nature of soap operas, or the consistently self-resolving, self-contained nature of series, opting for a trajectory towards a conclusion. Examples include The West Wing (NBC, 1999-2006), 24 (FOX, 2001-) and The Sopranos (HBO, 1999-2007). (Creeber, 2004:8)
Later on, I will examine how the boundaries and distinctions between series and serials generally approaching oblivion. Both are beginning to overlap in highly ambiguous ways, adopting elements of one another to form hybrids which become difficult to classify without considering the grey area.
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