Eva's been watching the new Duck Tales

[conuly]

Which, tangent, reminds me that the other Disney Afternoon shows, especially Darkwing Duck as it's in the same universe, are all ripe for reboots as well. But I digress.

We were talking about Duck Tales and about how that sort of show had no continuity in the 90s at all, and how in general arc based shows and real continuity only started going mainstream around that time. Previously, most shows assumed that viewers wouldn't watch every episode, and if they did they couldn't be trusted to remember what had happened before and whether or not it was important.

And this put a thought in my head but I don't have the data to know if I'm right or not. Is it the case that a. when a show starts off with a recap, "previously on whatever", it's shorter than it used to be and b. less likely to talk about events of the exact previous episode instead of stuff from half a season ago or more? Or am I completely wrong? Has anybody been keeping track of this?

Comments

[topaz_eyes]

Until Hill Street Blues (1981-1987), story arcs and continuity were basically limited to daytime soap operas. Nighttime soaps were a thing too, given Dallas (1978-1991), Knots Landing (1979-1993) and Dynasty (1981-1989). Yet the story arc format in HSB was considered the "game changer" because it was a "primetime drama", not a soap.

I find that the "Previously on..." recaps can be very long, up to a minute or so depending on the show and arc.

[chazzbanner]

Yeah! I thought of Hill Street Blues immediately. :-)