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shadowkatAnd should just go to bed.
But I had keto cookie dough ice cream with chocolate and whipped cream (which kind of renders the keto portion of it null and void?) and it's keeping me awake for a bit.
From another post - I'm struggling to define "stealth anthology series" - this is going to bug me. My mind loves to torture itself with semantics debates - it's the downside of being a professional wordsmith, who has to be precise with phrasing for a living. My work bleeds into my personal life, no matter what I do to separate it.
Found a definition via AI:
"A "stealth anthology" is a series that functions as an anthology but presents itself to the audience as a traditional serial drama with continuing characters and story arcs
The anthology format is hidden, or "in stealth mode," for a portion of the show's run.
The term gained prominence in pop culture criticism to describe shows that subvert audience expectations by featuring a new story or set of characters in each episode or season, despite having a continuous element that keeps viewers engaged.
A prominent example is the television show Quantum Leap, where a time-traveler jumps into a different person's life each episode. While the time-traveler and his holographic guide are continuous characters, the central story of each episode (the person's life they inhabit) and the supporting cast are always new.
How a stealth anthology works
The framing device: A consistent character or small cast provides continuity from one story to the next.
The new cast: Each new installment features a fresh set of characters and a self-contained plot that resolves by the end of the episode or season.
The audience hook: The continuous framing device pulls the audience along, even if they aren't invested in a particular week's story, allowing the show to explore many different genres and premises.
The genre shift: By essentially doing a different show each week, a stealth anthology can seamlessly move between genres like hard-boiled detective fiction, domestic comedy, musical theater, and science fiction.
Critics Pick Their Favorite Anthology Series of All Time
Aug 20, 2019 — How are we defining “anthology,” exactly? A show that tells a new story with new characters each season? In that case, it's probably “Fargo,” even though I had ...
Hmmm.
I'd say a stealth anthology series that is by episode is most like Pokerface or Quantum Leap or maybe Murder She Wrote. I don't know about Doctor Who - it has a serial through line, as does most procedurals. The characters build new relationships. Also Doctor Who has recurring characters. Actually it may be the very definition of "stealth anthology" - since it is a serial whose characters often change entirely with each new Doctor. Fargo, True Detective, American Horror Story, and American Crime are all stealth anthologies.
Okay, my brain has figured it out now and will let it go, so I can sleep.
But I had keto cookie dough ice cream with chocolate and whipped cream (which kind of renders the keto portion of it null and void?) and it's keeping me awake for a bit.
From another post - I'm struggling to define "stealth anthology series" - this is going to bug me. My mind loves to torture itself with semantics debates - it's the downside of being a professional wordsmith, who has to be precise with phrasing for a living. My work bleeds into my personal life, no matter what I do to separate it.
Found a definition via AI:
"A "stealth anthology" is a series that functions as an anthology but presents itself to the audience as a traditional serial drama with continuing characters and story arcs
The anthology format is hidden, or "in stealth mode," for a portion of the show's run.
The term gained prominence in pop culture criticism to describe shows that subvert audience expectations by featuring a new story or set of characters in each episode or season, despite having a continuous element that keeps viewers engaged.
A prominent example is the television show Quantum Leap, where a time-traveler jumps into a different person's life each episode. While the time-traveler and his holographic guide are continuous characters, the central story of each episode (the person's life they inhabit) and the supporting cast are always new.
How a stealth anthology works
The framing device: A consistent character or small cast provides continuity from one story to the next.
The new cast: Each new installment features a fresh set of characters and a self-contained plot that resolves by the end of the episode or season.
The audience hook: The continuous framing device pulls the audience along, even if they aren't invested in a particular week's story, allowing the show to explore many different genres and premises.
The genre shift: By essentially doing a different show each week, a stealth anthology can seamlessly move between genres like hard-boiled detective fiction, domestic comedy, musical theater, and science fiction.
Critics Pick Their Favorite Anthology Series of All Time
Aug 20, 2019 — How are we defining “anthology,” exactly? A show that tells a new story with new characters each season? In that case, it's probably “Fargo,” even though I had ...
Hmmm.
I'd say a stealth anthology series that is by episode is most like Pokerface or Quantum Leap or maybe Murder She Wrote. I don't know about Doctor Who - it has a serial through line, as does most procedurals. The characters build new relationships. Also Doctor Who has recurring characters. Actually it may be the very definition of "stealth anthology" - since it is a serial whose characters often change entirely with each new Doctor. Fargo, True Detective, American Horror Story, and American Crime are all stealth anthologies.
Okay, my brain has figured it out now and will let it go, so I can sleep.
Defining TV Anthologies
Date: 2025-09-05 11:55 pm (UTC)First, you have the "pure" anthologies: different settings, different characters, maybe even different genres every week. This is your Playhouse 90, Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, Thriller, all the way up to Black Mirror today.
Next, you have the "stealth" anthology--a main character, with a loose ongoing plotline, but different settings and different guest characters every week. The classic stealth anthology is The Fugitive (1963-1967), the ongoing story of a man framed for the murder of his wife and his hunt for the real killer. In the final episode, Richard Kimball (David Janssen) finally found the infamous One Armed Man. (For years, it was the most watched episode in TV history.)
The Fugitive was the template for series like The Incredible Hulk and Kung Fu, with their own wandering protagonists.
The next step beyond the stealth anthology is the procedural. Same cast of characters, same setting (an important distinction), but no real continuing plotlines and a different case every week. This is your CSIs, your L&Os, and a series like Monk. (Yes, I know Monk caught his wife's killer in his final episode--just like Richard Kimball--but he rarely left San Francisco, and he always could return to his apartment if the world got too scary...)
As for Doctor Who, it's shown a lot of flexibility over its 60 year history. The classic series was a stealth anthology most of the time--but not always; "The Key of Time" (with Tom Baker) was a fully interconnected plotline stretching over an entire season. The New!Who seasons have followed this model (the recent "Flux" season with Jodi Whitaker as a recent example).
IMO, producers prefer a procedural over the other formats. You don't need to change the setting every week (expensive) or pay different actors every week (very expensive). You can latch onto a familiar cast of characters, but you can tune in at any point during any season and not feel lost.
Re: Defining TV Anthologies
Date: 2025-09-06 01:37 am (UTC)It's a "serialized drama" that doesn't appear to be an anthology series but in reality is. Examples? Fargo the series - each year is a separate story, with separate characters, story, etc. The only constant is the narrative structure, the writers, and the theme, also the location (for the most part) and the genre. Another example? American Horror Story - it's basically the anthology as mini-series. Instead of a series with one different story each week, or an episode with three separate standalone stories each week (see Fantasy Island),it is an entire year of up to 20 episodes serialized for that one story.
Examples include Fargo, True Detective, American Crime, Monsters (Ryan Murphy does a lot of these), Feud...in Murphy's American Horror Story - the same actors often jumped from one season to the next portraying different characters. Often each season will have a new writer, and an entirely different story - but it is a story spread across several episodes not just one, so it appears to be a serial.
I think that's what they mean by "stealth anthology" - which makes a lot more sense than what you are describing above?
Re: Defining TV Anthologies
Date: 2025-09-06 01:50 am (UTC)Re: Defining TV Anthologies
Date: 2025-09-06 02:21 am (UTC)Another example is Bridgerton. It appears to be a serial, but in reality it is an anthology.
An analogy would be short story anthology, Jane Austen Novels - an anthology of romance novels, Sherlock Holmes mysteries (different mysteries, but same characters - that continue into each, can be read stand-a-alone but they connect to each other), vs. say Game of Thrones series of novels that build on each other.
Re: Defining TV Anthologies
Date: 2025-09-06 01:51 am (UTC)I don't think Star Trek Next Generation or Star Gate are stealth or anthology however - since there's not really that much of a new story each week - and you can get lost if you don't watch each episode. Although I might be wrong about Star Gate? And maybe Supernatural is Stealth too? The Procedurals - are somewhat similar in that respect. You can miss episodes, but they have arcs, and aren't really separate stories, just a new problem each week.
As for Doctor Who, it's shown a lot of flexibility over its 60 year history. The classic series was a stealth anthology most of the time--but not always; "The Key of Time" (with Tom Baker) was a fully interconnected plotline stretching over an entire season. The New!Who seasons have followed this model (the recent "Flux" season with Jodi Whitaker as a recent example).
That actually is what they mean by stealth, though? Where you have seasons that are serialized, but then a whole new season that has new characters and is stand-alone, and another season with new characters new doctor that is both. This fits the Fargo, True Detective, American Horror Story models.
I think it depends on how you define it? Which is what was confusing me?
Do you define it as a series that appears to be serialized but has a new story each year, with new characters, and new location, and sometimes new writers? Or do we define it as a series that has different stories each week but one character that engages the audience and their arc pulls you through each of the stories? Or is it a set of characters whose relationships pull you through - but each week it's a different story or genre, like say Strange New Worlds, or Star Trek or Star Gate?
It appears to be a fluid definition, which alas is confusing. I mean that's the difficulty with amateur pop culture criticism? They aren't precise with their definitions. It's basically everything and the kitchen sink...and if that's the case? Why bother?
no subject
Date: 2025-09-06 02:08 am (UTC)There are benefits and risks for any choice, and what works for Chris Carter may not work for Ryan Murphy. Each format has its fans and its critics.
no subject
Date: 2025-09-06 02:35 am (UTC)And it depends largely on the writer and creator? Some people can do serials really well (example the guy who did Babylon 5 had it plotted out entirely) or Breaking Bad by Vince Gillian, who is excellent at plotting a series. David Simon - Homicide Life on the Streets and The Wire was fairly good at it.
Others like Chris Carter suck at it, and do stand a lone better. Murphy can actually do both, as can Tim Minear.
Whedon does better with the hybrid model - he's not a good plotter. The biggest problem with his series is his arc plots. He's better at encapsulated episodes or just a story arc across a few episodes. He's not really a world builder, and more character centric than plot centric.
Noah Hawley can do limited-series arcs really well. And is better at plotting.
Rod Serling was a master at the short form, as was writers like Harlan Ellison.
So yes, it depends a lot on the writer.