Whedonesque : Comments on 11368 : What is your favourite story arc on TV?

Yay for Blackadder being in the top five.

...

Yeah, that's pretty much all I have to say about that. ;)

Buffy is ahead of Lost by 1%. I love Lost but it's no where near as brilliant as BTVS, imo.

Kind of a surprise to see old Edmund in there at all. Have to pick a small nit though because the end of Blackadder 4 is anything but funny. It's sort of quietly moving in its own slightly OTT way and highlights, for me, one of the great strengths of British comedy which is its ability to turn on a sixpence from laughter to pathos.

Of those choices I think 'The Prisoner' has to be up there for me. Self-contained brilliance.

(though Buffy and B5 both also had great story arcs. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me to vote for series that are still running since we don't know how they end yet but I guess a lot of 'Lost' voting people disagree ;)

Saje | September 16, 17:50 CET

How do I compare a pre-planned five-year-arc like Babylon 5 to seven distinct arcs in Buffy? How do compare multiple arc stories melded together in a soap like construct for Twin Peaks to multiple character arc stories in The West Wing? How do any of these compare to current series like Battlestar Galactica and Lost whose arcs have begun and not yet been completed?

And how does Black Adder fit into any of this? As much as I loved it...

I voted for Babylon 5 because for arc stories, you can go past a show that layed out clues years in advance - with an actual pay-off in sight.

crossoverman | September 16, 17:51 CET

Well you could argue that Buffy's journey was the overall plot arc of the entire seven seasons of the show. From quippy troubled teenager to a self contained, at peace with herself matriarch (for want of a better word).

Simon | September 16, 18:31 CET

Buffy's plot arcs each last only one season, but the character arcs span the entire series.

mikejer | September 16, 18:56 CET

That was harder than I expected. How do I compare the brillance of the Prisoner in its short run to Buffy in the 7 years?
But I had to vote for The Prisoner.

Lioness | September 16, 19:10 CET

I had to vote for The X-Files and it's unweildy but very exciting and interesting mythology. I must be the only person in the world who loves that they made it up as they went along and just kept adding to it again and again and again. I knew Buffy would be winning, so, hey.

Gouki | September 16, 19:18 CET

I'd have to go with the miniseries on Noah and the Great Flood.

jaynelovesvera | September 16, 19:23 CET

Which Buffy arc are they talking about? There's some I'd vote for and some I wouldn't.

cityof | September 16, 19:42 CET

No series has ever kept me on the edge of my seat, dying to know what would happen next, like Buffy. I loved Babylon5 and X-files, but I was never hyperventilating.

embers | September 16, 19:56 CET

I'm currently going insane for Battlestar Galactica, so that got my vote.

I really want to see The Prisoner now.

alpha5099 | September 16, 20:13 CET

Okay, with five of my all time favourite series to choose between (24, Battlestar Galactica, Blackadder, Buffy and Lost) this was not an easy choice at all. In the end I went with Buffy using the logic that I only discovered the poll in the first place due to the fact I followed a link from here. Hey, it works for me, okay? :)

To add to Saje's small nitpick, Blackadder the Third didn't end with the death of the title character at all. In fact Blackadder himself came off rather well in that one, as I remember.

A story arc that I might have included in that list would have been that of Farscape. John Crichton's journey was one of the best and most enjoyable that I have ever had the pleasure of watching. Although I suppose that everyone here could mention a show they think deserved a mention. Angel being an obvious example.

Buffysmglover | September 16, 20:30 CET

I had to vote for Babylon 5. Even thought the five-year arc was compressed into four years, it's still the most ambitious ongoing Sci-Fi story to date. Special bonus points for having a time-travel episode in season 1 where we only got to see half of the story, the rest being shown in season 3 from another perspective. Buffy was never quite *that* clever.

The Least | September 16, 20:40 CET

I woudldn't say that Blackadder has an arc at all.

mjwilson | September 16, 20:48 CET

I'd have to go with the miniseries on Noah and the Great Flood.

Tilts head at screen. Three. Seconds. Pass. *Snort*

Pointy | September 16, 21:55 CET

Quite true Demonmosher. BTW, did anyone else notice in the last 'House' that Cameron challenged Wilson and Cuddy to 'come up with a cunning plan' ? Wee nod there methinks ;).

Agreed, mjwilson, Blackadder wasn't really arcy. Maybe a slight tendency to be a bit less of a totally selfish wanker in 'Goes Forth' but nothing that really qualifies as arc, IMO. And storywise each episode was pretty much self-contained.

Saje | September 16, 21:58 CET

Buffy all the way. The only story arc that got me obsessed about 7+ years.

Lince | September 16, 22:26 CET

Since there was a clear story arc in Buffy (at least once we saw all 7 seasons), it has to be Buffy. All the characters changed - some dramatically - from beginning to end.

Note how far ahead Buffy is in the poll now. Did we do that?

Nebula1400 | September 16, 22:49 CET

"Did we do that?"

Hehe, is there any doubt?

Buffysmglover | September 16, 23:10 CET

Went with the Buff-ster -- assumed it was the "Arc of the Series" and therefore the most compelling in my eyes. Saje, most definitely noticed Cameron's reference to a "cunning plan" and associated it with Black Adder, which had a nice Laurie resonance.

Also must register my vote for jaynelovesvera as "Archetypal Punster" -- a highly-coveted honor, which he wins against some serious competition. Congratulations for invariably elicting my Groan of Recognition.

QuoterGal | September 17, 01:27 CET

Yep, jaynelovesvera is, indeed, the punmeister. If punsters were presidents he'd be Punbraham Linc... Nope, that fell apart pretty much straight away. He does have a gift though. And a curse ;).

Saje | September 17, 01:38 CET

QuoterGal, if I elicit the occasional delayed-reaction snort (as long as it doesn't go over 5 minutes) and the time-honored Groan of Recognition, I'm a happy soul. But if I should, though unworthy, perchance win--is there a little umbrella award?

jaynelovesvera | September 17, 01:47 CET

Perhaps a sneeze guard will do, jaynelovesvera. ;-)

billz | September 17, 01:57 CET

*Bigger Snort*

Oh -- 'scuse me.

[ edited by Pointy on 2006-09-17 00:37 ]

Pointy | September 17, 02:09 CET

I loved [...] X-files, but I was never hyperventilating.

I was a latecomer to the X-Files. Watching all of it on DVD in the past five or six months. But, wow, I don't think a series has ever made me go "oh, my god!" so much. Buffy made me cry "Holy SHIT!" a few times, but the sheer number of twists and turns in the X-Files wacky mythology has it beaten.

Krycek alone did this many a time.

And, honestly, besides the Glory/Key arc and the Angelus arc, Buffy's storyarcs haven't been all that great. It's the character arcs that are the real cream. I truly think Angel had better storyarcs overall.

Gouki | September 17, 02:58 CET

I'm with Crossoverman. Not that I didn't love Buffy, but onging and cool character development does not equal plot arc. Buffy's self-contained season arcs were FAR more cancellation-threat-immune than Babylon 5's arc was, but I gotta go with B5 for its sheer audacity and preplanned resilience to character changes. JMS replaced both Sinclair and Ivanova--that's about like replacing Buffy and Willow. Joss did some cool things himself, like writing Oz out gracefully and having Anya replace Cordelia who was needed to jump-start Angel, but he also had the luxury of changing things around in a way JMS couldn't've done.

BSG shouldn't even be on the list. How can you judge an arc's excellence mid-arc? Ditto with Lost, I expect, but I've never watched it. BSG, standing on the shoulders of giants like Buffy and Babylon 5, is doing well and might end up outstripping them all, but it's pretty presumptuous to say that it's done it already, IMHO.

jclemens | September 17, 03:25 CET

jaynelovesvera, here it is for now, but you do deserve something specifically tailored to your singular talent -- possibly made from ingots of purest green. Maybe you'll receive that from us all when we finally do the "WHEDONesque: The BLOG" Member Awards -- whenever that may be.

In that event, I've thought up a few other categories, and many contenders. This includes an award for me, for Veering Most Consistently and Shamelessly Off-Topic.

QuoterGal | September 17, 04:54 CET

tailored to your singular talent

QuoterGal, I think you must have meant 'single' talent. Unless you consider two-finger keyboarding a talent--then I have two.

Seriously, though, if we're talking story machinations instead of character development, I'd go with Profit, followed by Angel, then Wiseguy, then the first season of Twin Peaks. Never could get in to X-Files, myself.

jaynelovesvera | September 17, 06:22 CET

I voted for Buffy, even though I'm a big fan of B5 and JMS. The character arcs - and seasonal arcs - on The West Wing were also compelling. But Buffy continues to intrigue me, no matter how many times I watch the series. And I find that I don't want to let my DVDs out of my sight for any length of time, thus coming around to a friend's way of thinking ;-).

And although I am enjoying the new Battlestar Galactica (thanks to recommendations from many Whedonesquers), as was said above, that series is still in the process of its story arc, so really shouldn't be judged with others that are finished.

samatwitch | September 17, 09:32 CET

Where're Six Feet Under and various other premium cable shows that have either finished their runs or at least concluded a few story arcs?

Kris | September 18, 01:11 CET

September 16 2006