Know Your English (Jan 2002)-10

Know your English

What is the difference between a "television serial" and a "television series"?

The soap operas that so many people watch religiously every day are examples of serials. A "serial" is usually a fictional story, which is divided into parts and broadcast perhaps every day or every week. The story is ongoing; today's episode is a continuation of what happened yesterday. Some of the television producers have taken up well-known novels and have made them into serials.

A series, unlike a serial, need not always be based on a work of fiction. The programmes that we see on the National Geographic Channel or the Discovery Channel can be thought of being as part of a series. For example, sometimes for an entire week, there may be programmes on sharks. All the programmes form part of a series about sharks. When you think of a series you are thinking of a set of related programmes. You may for example have a programme on lions, tigers, leopards, etc under the title "carnivores". It is also possible to have a series that is based on fiction. But in the case of a series, each programme is usually self-contained. In other words each episode has a beginning, middle and an end and the story from one episode does not usually carry over to the next. For example, Martial Law, NYPD Blue, and Friends are all examples of series. By the way, the plural of series is series.

Source:

The Hindu daily, Tuesday, Jan 08, 2002