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uberhamster
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Saturday, January 2nd, 2016 9:15 PM

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Add an "Episodes level" for the vintage Movie Serials format

The IMDB lists individual episodes of TV series. (A long time ago, they did not.)

Would it not be logical to do the same thing for the vintage movie serials of the first part of last century? Their episodes are almost exactly the same as television episodes.

And right now they can't, for example, have their individual titles and release dates.

People sneak that information in under other categories, but that's just a workaround. 


What were movie serials again? They're not made anymore, they haven't been made for a very long time. Movies with weekly new installments in the cinema: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_film

But they are still around. just like (other) silent films, and they were often shown on television.

For example Batman from 1943: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035665/

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1 year ago

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davidah_ca

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9 years ago

I would consider that an interesting idea. However, there would be serious problems in implementing it. TV Series all have Episodes, so the processing is standard across that type, but only a few films do.

I don't think IMDb could allow Episodes to be created for Films in general or some people would try to create, for example, a film of Police Academy with 8 Episodes under it. I believe this would entail creating a new Type: SerialFilm. This would likely be a major undertaking, and I really wonder if it would be worth the trouble since there are so few of these serials (compared to the other types). I expect they will will settle for keywords, plus information on the Episodes in the Plot Summary. If they do decide to make this change, I expect it will not be for a long time, since there are a lot of outstanding items that are likely more important to IMDb than this.

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uberhamster

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Oh I was not thinking of films with many sequels; I was talking about the very old phenomenon of serial films (or chapter plays). The Batman from 1943 for example had a new chapter in the cinema each week. But if you didn't know that, you'd think it was a 15 episode TV series.
There were not many after 1950, so this is all about vintage stuff. But they are now listed as regular movies which is not completely accurate.

(Does anyone know if you can edit your idea afterwards?)

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9 years ago

bluesmansf

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Once there are replies, edits option disappears. You just have to add to or correct comments with replies.

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9 years ago

jay_spirit

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I'd like to see IMDb create series for titles like POLICE ACADEMY, TOM AND JERRY, THE THREE STOOGES, STAR WARS, etc. But I'd like them to do it in a completely different way.

Here's my idea about series with dummy episodes:


Series with dummy episodes that link to the actual titles

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4 years ago

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uberhamster

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9 years ago

PS in addition to my idea: It isn't just about giving movie serials chapters; it's also that right now they are grouped as regular ("single?") movies. That is slightly inaccurate, it would be better if they had their own category.

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uberhamster

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7 years ago

I'm bumping this idea a bit. So to avoid misunderstandings I'm talking about these: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_film

It just doesn't make much sense that for example this one appears as if it was just a very long movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035665/

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patrick_denis_b8qgza003kezc

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194 Points

7 years ago

I think the best would be to add a "Serial" category to which we could add "Chapter". This could help with old serial and wouldn't influence new release since they don't make those anymore. It could eliminated the duplicate as: 
The Vampires (1915)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0006206/?ref_=tt_urv
The chapters:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0006206/?ref_=nm_knf_t1
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2122386/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2122388/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2122390/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2122385/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2122392/?ref_=nv_sr_1
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2122393/?ref_=nv_sr_1
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2122389/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2122384/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2122391/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

For the moment it seems that all we can do about it is adding the chapter as "Edited from"  in the movie connections and "Edited into"  in the chapter connection. 

As: 
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0006206/movieconnections?ref_=tt_ql_trv_6
And:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2122391/movieconnections?ref_=tt_ql_trv_6

That's not so bad but seems a bit complicated for new or inexperienced user to find since you needs to open "More" from the title page then go to connection. Even experimented user can forget this option.

<Hope that IMDB adm can do something about it.>

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uberhamster

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Thank you - the problem is these things are so old and so much a thing of the past. It's like adding a category for stone tablets. Earlier comments often didn't even know what I was talking about (can't say that I blame them)! :o

I hadn't seen your example yet. Other times it's just ONE entry, see for example the 1943 Batman serial - and then sometimes someone listed the chapters somewhere under trivia.
But your example makes just as much sense. This just proves that the situation is chaotic and inconsistent.

The logical way to fix the vintage serials problem* would be their own category. And then that could be similar to the way TV shows have episodes - not necessarily totally identical, but along the same lines when it comes to having many installments with separate release dates.

* I realize that this problem doesn't really affect many titles or people. But when it comes to database logic & consistency, it still is a bit of a problem.

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7 years ago

Marco

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The logical way to fix the vintage serials problem* would be their own category. And then that could be similar to the way TV shows have episodes - not necessarily totally identical, but along the same lines when it comes to having many installments with separate release dates.
I second this.
That said, given the fact that it affects only a small number of titles, I doubt IMDb will implement this anytime soon.

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7 years ago

uberhamster

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5 years ago

Hmm... so far, that prediction has come true.

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Marco

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Even though Col himself has liked this Idea...
(Hopefully more people will vote for this)

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5 years ago

uberhamster

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3 years ago

I still think that this is the logical thing to do.

I know of course that "movie serials" are a half forgotten format from the distant past, so most people aren't even aware of them.

But even so, for pure conceptual reasons they ought to have their own category.

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uberhamster

59 Messages

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1.8K Points

1 year ago

I'm bumping this because it remains a good idea.

The Movie Serial format died in the 1950s but all those films still exist.

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majfoalbkeopaza

332 Messages

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7.4K Points

1 year ago

For this to work, they would have to add a new title type. Currently, all of the movie serials on IMDb are posing as either a single feature film or multiple short films. "Film Serial" as a title type would allow them to operate under different rules, but until then, they will have to squeeze into boxes they don't quite fit in.

They did this with Music Videos recently after years and years of music videos being classified as short films. It's doable, but it may take a long time for them to implement it. Sadly, IMDb may not feel like prioritizing this due to the fact that film serials aren't super popular and haven't been made for several decades.

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jay_spirit

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@timothy_gray_el34lojg1aih1​ 

Yes, I also worry IMDb won't make this change a priority just because serials are defunct.

But they're also an important part of movie history and IMDb has been underserving them for over two decades. It's long past time we have a Movie Serials category and allow contributors to add episode-level information about them.

(edited)

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1 year ago

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