Why were the seasons so short on this series, only seven episodes each? I was surprised to discover this when looking on the main IMDB page. The following series, Yes, Prime Minister was only eight episodes per season. I love the show, but can anyone elaborate? It may be obvious to some, but I am honestly curious.
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OK, so what's the speed of dark?
British series have only 6-10 episodes a season. in fact each season is called a series. there are very few british series that have more episodes per season. one exception, is Allo Allo's 5th season, which has 26 episodes, because it was financed by an american company.
shareOne of the reasons British comedy can be so excellent... They concentrate on only a few shows a season; and then when they are out of good ideas, they let it go instead of dragging it out as long as it can make a profit.
shareBefore the advent of satellite tv, it was common practice in the UK to limit series to about half a dozen episodes. Even the big historical epics- Masada; A.D.; Peter the great etc. were broken down to fewer longer episodes, some several hours long. The theory being that audiences would get tired of a show going on for months on end, plus the financial incentives of being cheaper to produce shorter series. There were a few shows which broke this mould, most notably the original Doctor Who (about two dozen episodes per series) and soap operas.
One show which breaks all of the rules is Casualty (a medical drama) officially not a soap, however it is on all year round with just a weeks break here and there, the trick being that the lost weeks are made up for by showing back to back or feature length episodes at other times.
"I'm not really me. Thats me there- that pile of albino mouse droppings!"