MovieChat Forums > No Heroics (2008) Discussion > 6 episodes?

6 episodes?

posted 15 years ago by Formerror
22 replies | jump to latest

Has it already stopped or what?

Last release was 16-10, thats 2 weeks ago..

It's usual practise in the UK for each series of a TV show to be six episodes. Shows which are already established and proven to be popular might get slightly longer runs (eight - ten episodes), and recently various shows that are aimed at the American/international market (for example, the BBC's Robin Hood, Merlin, Torchwood, and the revived Doctor Who) have had thirteen episodes.

[–] Formerror 15 years ago

soooo this is actually it.. no more episodes?

bummer, it was entertaining ^^

(7/10)

[–] tsl04 15 years ago

Spot on. Comedies in particular frequently have six-episode series, unlike in the US where 22-24 is more typical. But then US comedies are usually produced by a big writing staff who share the writing between them, whereas UK ones tend to be done by a single writer/creator working in isolation or with a partner - think of Steven Moffat and Coupling, or Ricky Gervais/Stephen Merchant and The Office. It would be asking an awful lot of one person to come up with 20+ quality episodes a year!

[–] persephonae_a 15 years ago

I think it's less of a creativity issue than it is a monetary issue. Especially in these difficult economic times, finding financial support for new artistic endeavors can be quite challenging. Established arts and media that already enjoy commercial success may have an easier time of it, but newer works have to work harder to garner confidence. That's why we all need to keep talking about No Heroics - the more people that talk, the more we encourage the hands holding the purse strings to loosen up. :-)

[–] tsl04 15 years ago

To be honest, I think it's a bit of both.

Not sinking shed-loads of money into a project which might fail miserably is certainly a big consideration. (Although that's not a policy which is new to the credit crunch era - it's always been that way on British TV. Fawlty Towers: 2 series of 6 episodes, Blackadder 4x6 etc.)

But I do think we shouldn't underestimate the effort involved in a single person (or two) producing even six episodes of good comedy a year. It is very much part of the culture of British TV to write comedy in this way, whereas in the US you tend to have a writing staff of ten people or more either writing or contributing to 20+ (not necessarily funny) episodes a year.

We aren't driven by a national TV culture which requires the same show to be on at the same time every week of the year (more or less), as is the case in the US - or for the need to accumulate enough episodes to package up for the future revenue-generator that is syndication. (Even now, there is an episode of Friends being shown somewhere in the US every day, generating revenue in repeat fees.)

Call me a bluff old traditionalist, but I'll talk quality over quantity any day. Always leave them wanting more.

Sadly, I doubt that a few people posting on an internet message board will make much difference to the powers that be. Ratings are what count in the TV world, because it's viewing figures that bring in the advertising money. My understanding was that the numbers on No Heroics have been pretty decent, and ITV have managed to sell the series in a number of foreign markets too, which can only be good for the future of the show. Anyone got any actual numbers?

[–] slangislayer 15 years ago

Very good post, I second that opinion wholeheartedly!

It´s a strange world.
Let´s keep it that way.

[–] icelandknight 15 years ago

With the internet the way it is today, TV shows are getting a MUCH larger distribution and fan base than was possible just through broadcast TV. Hopefully they will realize this and set up some kind of web site that measure the number of visitors and interest in the show... and not just rely on TV viewers to get numbers. - Today one has to take into consideration torrent, Miro and TVU type players, that allow one to watch TV over the internet.

[–] tsl04 15 years ago

You're right, of course - sadly, it seems the TV companies have been slow to catch up with this. As far as I know, there's still no reliable independent system anywhere in the world for capturing online views, iTunes downloads etc, which is what's neeeded. (Let alone counting the impact of message board traffic, website visits etc)

The BARB rating system in the UK does account for time-shifted viewing (i.e. videos, Sky+,. PVRs etc), but only within seven days of the original broadcast - so if someone in one of the surveyed households watches something 8 days or more after, it doesn't count. That's why you get two types of ratings numbers: the "overnights" for live viewing and then the "final" audience numbers taking into account time-shfted viewing.

(Apologies to anyone who already knows this ...)

Of course, I'm not actually on the BARB panel, so what I do, at least in terms of TV viewing, doesn't count for anything anyway ... :-(

[–] dwarfmax 15 years ago

Ok, hold on. When you say a show has a 6 episode "series", do you mean season, or the entire show from beginning to end with no new episodes planned? This show is BRILLIANT, and I so want more! I can live with several quality 6 episode seasons before it ends, but seriously, if it's just 6 episodes total then it's gone, that TOTALLY sucks!

[–] tsl04 15 years ago

I meant "season" ... :-)

[–] misbegotten 15 years ago

To clarify, in the UK we call each run of a TV show a 'series', while in the US they call each run a 'season'.

There's word yet on whether No Heroics will be returning for a second series.

.

[–] JediShaft 15 years ago

The British use "series" to mean "season". For example. Doctor Who's first season would be refered as Series 1.

So if No Heroics comes back it would be for series 2.

[–] deathbytalkshow 15 years ago

Still no word about a 2nd series? I merely discovered this gem last night.

[–] PingMachine 15 years ago

Difference between US and UK terminology. Series only means its done for this year, it'll be back. Well if the ratings were good. So yes, Season to all you folk in Yankeeland.

[–] TayVanis 15 years ago

In the UK series can mean season.
It is also the case with the ABC in Australia and in the business in Australia.

Originally there were "series" of episodes (shows that didn't have an ongoing plot) and "serials" which each episode continued on from the last, however, except for the original Doctor Who (a series of serials) the term series became king.

Meanwhile in the US, the series were shown during television "seasons", as since in the US a year's worth of shows filled an entire television season the shows for that year became seasons.

Since, as already noted above UK shows are shorter and didn't fill a season the term didn't become interchangable, except as imported from the US.

[–] Mitaka 15 years ago

Shows which are already established and proven to be popular might get slightly longer runs (eight - ten episodes)

Just look at Red Dwarf. 6 episodes, each, for the first 6 seasons, then 8 for seasons 7 and 8.

"The moment a person finds his voice is the moment his life takes on grace."
Story

[–] TheSausageKingOfChicago 15 years ago

Comedies seem to always be 6 episodes while dramas are around 13

But they really do need to stop using series for season because when the last episode airs its a "series finale" and its very confusing since it makes you think the show will be over forever.

im glad the aussies have caught on and use season instead of series.

[–] tsl04 15 years ago

Not all UK dramas run to 13 episodes a season - although many do (e.g. Doctor Who).

The BBC in particular often commissions shorter runs of episodes even for its more successful, more established dramas. For instance, Life On Mars' two seasons were 8 episodes each, while Hustle has run for 5 seasons (so far), each of 6 episodes.

There are a lot of reasons why this can happen. Budget is one, particularly for a series which has expensive or complicated productions. Sometimes the writers & producers will agree that 6, 8 or 10 episodes is just the right organic length to tell all the stories that need to be told without having to resort to padding it out. And sometimes it's to keep the writing quality high - many UK series are written by just one or two people rather than a large writing room as is more common on US shows, and it's asking a lot for an individual or a pair to churn out 13 or more episodes a year.

[–] JuiceKrew 15 years ago

Personally I rather prefer 'Series' over 'Season' since if you take the wording literally a 'Series' is a collection, sequentially, of programs whereas a 'Season' is a time period generalisation.

Additionally, in Blighty a 'Season' of programmes can encompass several weeks connected by a loose theme with felxible scheduling. Whereas if a programme is shown as a series it is scheduled to be broadcast at the same set time throughout it's run.

Not having thought about this until reading this thread, I find myself having an opinion on the matter.

Strange indeed.

"I Blame Television...."

[–] Chief_Watches-Many 13 years ago

I'm English and have adopted 'season'.
It works better for me because 'series' becomes what you say when referring to the whole run of the show and is a word for the collective of all seasons which we don't actually have one for.
Funnily enough I used 'series' in the US sense to an English person today without thinking at first (I generally swap back and forth depending on if I'm talking to somebody in normal life or are on a English shows board, compared to if I'm on an American shows board).
Today I spoke of finding the last few episodes I was missing from a show, and said how nice it was to complete the series.
Ultimately I was completing the set from the season AND the series, but I meant series in terms of the whole collection.
Christ, I'm boring myself saying this!

My Votes - http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=20920835

[–] Viltrumite 13 years ago

ITV really didn't market this show well at all. As it was, I discovered it by accident, some advert flashed by with a guy dressed like a superhero, so I had to find out more about it. A lot of people I know didn't even hear about it until I loaned them my DVD.

"Why do you say this to me when you know I will kill you for it?"

[–] sambuca 13 years ago

As it is, I find that 6-episode seasons are way too short, especially since there are no regular intervals (e.g. there can be a 2 year gap in between 2 seasons). This does not give viewers enough time to get into the show, get used to the characters, etc. By the time you start getting used to a show, it is over. I have felt that even with very popular UK shows, like Fawlty Towers and The Office.

In Greece TV series (both comedies and dramas) run for a period that generally lasts from October to May, much like the US TV season. Scripts are generally written in advance, so by the time a series starts airing, all episodes for this season have been written.

I can't blame short seasons of UK shows on low budgets, after all Greek shows are made on a much lower budget. That said, in recent years the number of scripted shows has dropped dramatically (about 10 years ago, the 6 major channels aired 25-30 shows between them, this number has now dropped to around 10) while some channels in the last couple of years have sadly adopted the awful American practice of cancelling shows mid-season.

But, in general, the short running seasons of British shows have often put me off watching many of them. Now, I prefer to wait for the DVD to come out, and watch seasons back-to-back.

-Goodnight, mother of six!
-Goodnight, father of two!