When did storylines becomes 'story arcs'?

whitecrook · 11 Oct 2011 at 14:02

OK I know that techincally an arc is a line. But what is wrong with using the word storyline, why does a character now have to have a story arc? what's this all about, when did it start. Sounds like an americanism to me

cm1179 · 11 Oct 2011 at 14:05

didn't even know it was in use

Shamikebab · 11 Oct 2011 at 14:08

Just another way of describing it :confused:

An arc is often over several episodes/seasons while a storyline could be a single episode, that's the way I see it anyway.

HeX · 11 Oct 2011 at 14:11

Storyline is more where a single plot is the focus and they story is followed through to its completion.

Story Arc is more where there is an 'overarching' storyline, but individual episodes may not focus on that story, and may only further the over all storyline a little.

A bit like in the recent Dr Who series, the Story Arc is that of 'Who is the Impossible Astronaut and how will the Doctor get out of it!', but every ep of the season doesn't focus entirely on that plot, and instead has many other episode specific storylines that add to the greater story arc.

whitecrook · 11 Oct 2011 at 14:16

Thanks, but not buying it. All just sounds like a storyline to me.

HeX · 11 Oct 2011 at 15:38

whitecrook said:
Thanks, but not buying it. All just sounds like a storyline to me.

It is a storyline, but it is one that spans an entire series, or number of episodes, rather than being tied up in a single episode.

PondPikey · 11 Oct 2011 at 16:02

Started hearing it on Lost a few years back.

Weirdness.

arknor · 11 Oct 2011 at 16:04

whitecrook said:
Thanks, but not buying it. All just sounds like a storyline to me.

its really a new term for "plot" a series of storylines connected by a main plot
its what ties the episodes together and makes the viewer want to watch the next episode incase they miss something integral to the series "storyline"

i think in a way your right and its probably an americanism , SG1 for example used to be a series where the episodes didnt connect together it was just about off world exploration , maybe they would encounter the same species again but there was no overall plot spread across the series, they eventually moved onto having a series wide plot with a few filler episodes for when they needed to save money on CGI

The Dread Pirate · 11 Oct 2011 at 16:07

A storyline is limited to a single piece of media a story arc can encompass multiple storylines in a series of media.

nydryl · 11 Oct 2011 at 16:16

A story arc I tend to think of as something bigger going on in the background that is referred to and furthered over the episodes of a season/series, whilst the main focal point of these episodes could be something entirely different. It is something that would encompass an entire season of a show. For example, Coronation Street being a continuous soap opera has a number of storylines running concurrently, but Doctor Who being a season based show has an omnipresent story arc which often takes a back seat in episodes allowing for shorter storylines to unfold.

lsg1r · 11 Oct 2011 at 16:32

story arc - underlying plot of entire series
storyline - plot of episode

Just look at babylon 5 versus star trek tng. Both had a storyline per episode but babylon 5 had a massive story arc that only really finished come series 4/5. TNG never really had that massive arc except on a few episodes which brought back old characters/species (think q and the borg) but even those were more singular in their plots

Gustov · 11 Oct 2011 at 20:50

3 act structure. Google it.

Point of attack.

Disequilibrium / Equilibrium

All ways of describing the narrative in conventional cinema.

qqg3 · 11 Oct 2011 at 23:50

Capn' $qu!ff said:
A storyline is limited to a single piece of media a story arc can encompass multiple storylines in a series of media.

Gustov said:
3 act structure. Google it.

Point of attack.

Disequilibrium / Equilibrium

All ways of describing the narrative in conventional cinema.

Something along these lines is how I'd put it.

Anybody whos ever done any scripting for television or film or studied it will know the difference I think.

A 'storyline' is very static, kind of a term only usable for print media (books etc) these days.

A story arc is a more flexible and effective way of describing the goings on in something multi-episodic. You could perhaps even go so far as to describe storylines within or pertaining to a story arc. :cool:

THMRK · 12 Oct 2011 at 00:14

The term "story arc" actually pertains to a narrative in which a storyline or plot is told in an episodic nature.

It actually comes from comic books. A story arc often spans six (or less) issues all of which contribute to the overall continuity of the on going series. Story arcs are easy to compile into trade hardback or paper backs, without the publisher having to release one huge book with every single issue in it because, as you can imagine, that'd be hugely impractical.

It's used in TV in a similar way. A story arc takes place over a number of episodes and is a METHOD of storytelling, as opposed to a replacement for it. A multi-episode storyline is a story arc.

A good example is older Doctor Who, actually. Each series of "classic" Doctor Who would take place over 26 episodes but within those episodes there would be multiple story arcs all of which contributed to that particular Doctor's storyline.

THMRK · 12 Oct 2011 at 00:25

Also, another thing worth mentioning is that a story arc can be something which happens to characters individually too. A story arc is about character development, and each character has a different arc where that character is moved from one particular state to another. In good TV shows their story arc is something of a personal journey (or hero's journey, if you like) yet they also act as agents in the series' overall storyline/plot.