As a freelance screenwriter, I have seen many reasons that TV is a better medium than film. It tends to be easier and smoother to make a transition from one medium of entertainment than in a full-feature film. There are many reasons for the easier transition. First off, most full-length feature movies last between ninety minutes to one-hundred and eighty minutes. That would be between an hour and a half and three hours. TV shows run shorter between twenty-four minutes to forty-five minutes without commercial interruptions.
Why is TV a better medium than film if shows run between those amounts of times?
To answer that question, TV shows are broadcasted in weekly series. If you have a series, there are so many things you can expand on because you’re not confined to time limits. Don’t let the twenty-four to forty-five minutes fool you. If you cannot fill everything in that allotted time, you do not have to worry at all. There is always the next episode. You can carry on the story in the next episode.
In the case of a movie, that is not possible. There is so much you can condense in a movie that would last in between an hour and a half to three hours. In most cases, you’re going to have to butcher the storyline. If you make a non-canon movie based off the series, it probably won’t turn out that well. You’d have to make the movie canon to the storyline in the series.
You can’t go creating movies as fast as you can create episodes for a TV show. I’d like to think Japanese anime counting as TV shows. They are shown throughout Japan and have expanded across the world. I myself prefer watching Japanese anime than watching what’s on TV nowadays.
One of my favorite series is “Fist of the North Start” which is a violent martial arts anime and manga. I have seen the live action movie with Gary Daniels and Costas Mandylor. The movie very much butchered the entire anime series. It was understandable because there was only so much you can put in. For a TV show that has covered a lot of story arcs, it’s impossible to fully cover everything in a movie.
In the case of Japanese anime, most of them are adapted from their manga counterparts. It was easier to transition into both the anime and live-action versions of TV shows. A live action movie, it would be way too difficult.
There are terms of characters in regards to TV shows. While old characters leave, new ones will join. Basically, it gives the TV show a constant fresh outlook on things. Take a look at “Heroes” for example that constantly introduces new characters while doing away with old characters.
TV shows are generally inexpensive to create. Movies in most cases require millions of dollars to produce.
There’s also the lack of redundancy present which is very important for TV shows. Whenever TV shows become redundant in elements, they tend to die you.
In short, you have so many things to work with in regards to TV than you would with a movie.
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