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A miniseries, in a serial storytelling medium, is a production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The term is often used in television and comic books. The limited series format is also used in comic books.1 Television
In television, the format dates back to at least a 1966 ABC broadcast of an adaptation of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, produced by David L. Wolper. The series The Prisoner is another early example of the format, having been pitched by Patrick McGoohan for 9 episodes, and expanded to 17 due to studio concerns that such a short series would be difficult to sell.
The term became well-established in the mid 1970s, particularly with the success of Rich Man, Poor Man in 1976. Alex Haley's Roots in 1977 can fairly be called the first blockbuster success of the format. Its success in the USA was due to its schedule: the twelve hours were split into eight episodes broadcast on consecutive nights, resulting in a finale with a 71 percent share of the audience and 130 million viewers.
In British televisionBritish television broadcasting has a range of different broadcasters, broadcasting multiple channels over a variety of distribution media. Free-to-air analogue terrestrial broadcasters: The BBC is the oldest British broadcaster. Its analogue channels are, the term 'miniseries' is almost never used, except in reference to American imports. The term serialThis article is about serials in fiction . You might want, instead: Serial communications for information about computer communication technologies that use a single stream of data; Serialism (music) or Cliffhanger ( plot device). Serial in fiction is a t is preferred for short-run British television drama, which has been a staple of UK schedules since the early 1950sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Years: 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 Events and trends Technology United States tests the first fusion bomb. when serials such as The Quatermass ExperimentThe Quatermass Experiment is a British television science-fiction serial, transmitted by BBC Television in the summer of 1953. Comprised of six half-hour episodes, it was the first science-fiction production to be written especially for an adult televisio ( 19531953 is a common year starting on Thursday (click on link for the calendar). Events January events January 7 President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. January 13 Marshal Josip Broz Tito chosen President of Yugosl) established the popularity of the form.
2 Comic books
In comic books, the format dates from the early 1980sMillennia: 1st millennium 2nd millennium 3rd millennium Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s Years: 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Events and trends, including The Phantom Zone published by DC ComicsDC Comics is one of the largest companies in comic book and related media publishing. DC is responsible for such famous characters as Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman. For decades, DC Comics has been one of the two largest American comic. Early miniseries were 3 or 4 issues in length, with longer series sometimes being termed "maxi-series". Sometimes a miniseries would be planned for a certain number of issues, but would run longer or shorter than originally planned. The series Sonic Disruptors was planned for 12 issues but was cancelled after #7.
The term has been falling out of use in comic books as of the 2000sThis article is about the decade starting at the beginning of 2000 and ending at the end of 2009. For the century or millennium starting in 2000, see the links below. Millennia: 2nd millennium 3rd millennium 4th millennium Centuries: 20th century 21st cen due to the larger number of series which are published with a set length in mind.
