It is a common enough occurrence to hear in fan discourse that one media franchise or another has been ruined. Some argue, for example, that the addition of Episodes VII–IX to the Star Wars Saga undermined the previous six episodes, with the Sequel Trilogy’s political conflicts lessening the impact and significance of prior events, and with the Sequel Trilogy’s depiction of certain pre-existing...
Would anyone think less of the Terminator franchise if Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) were its final film? The Terminator (1984) and T2 function well as a duology. The franchise has only been able to proceed from Judgment Day by undermining it. Since T2, every Terminator film except Terminator: Salvation (2009) has tried and failed to recapture the same magic. Rise of the Machines (2003)...
While writing my two previous articles, which concerned the concept of fictional canonicity, I had three real-world franchises primarily in mind: Doctor Who, Star Trek, and Star Wars. The former two franchises have simple canon policies, but Star Wars‘ canon policy is relatively complex and has evolved over the franchise’s history. For after being acquired by Disney, Lucasfilm...
My favorite film series is Star Wars, and it has been since I was very young. Despite this, my interest in the franchise waxes and wanes. Currently, my interest in Star Wars is on the upswing, spurred on by my anticipation of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian and the upcoming film The Rise of Skywalker. As I await these upcoming canonical entries in the Star Wars franchise, I am also reading Han...
Many of the most popular and influential books on writing drama and fiction focus on plot structure—and rightly so, for without structure narratives could not function. Considerably less emphasis has been placed on understanding serialized narratives and how their structures differ from non-serialized narratives. Over the next few entries in this blog, I intend to articulate some of my ideas and...
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