Villain of the week

This article is about antagonists in episodic fiction. For the 1998 song "Freak of the Week", see Marvelous 3. For the tabletop role-playing game, see Monster of the Week.

"Villain of the week" or, depending on genre, "monster of the week" or "freak of the week", is an antagonist that only appears in one episode of a multi-episode work of fiction like a television series.[1][2] As many shows of this type air episodes weekly at a rate of ten to twenty new episodes per year, there is often a new antagonist in the plot of each week's episode. The main characters usually confront and vanquish these characters, often never encountering them again.

Shows that use such characters include Doctor Who, Supernatural, Primeval, Grimm, Charmed,[3] Justified,[4] Smallville,[5] and Scooby-Doo.[6] Some series alternate between using such antagonists and furthering the series' ongoing plotlines (as in Buffy the Vampire Slayer,[1][7] Supernatural,[5] Fringe,[8] and The X-Files),[9][10] while others use these one-time foes as pawns of the recurring adversaries (as in Kamen Rider,[11] Sailor Moon,[12] the Ultra series and Super Sentai[13] and its American equivalent, Power Rangers).[14][15]

In some cases, these villains return reformed in later episodes, becoming invaluable allies or gaining a larger role in the story.

While the defeat of the villain of the week in each episode allows the presentation of heroic action, "satisfying the casual or infrequent viewer", the "domestic melodrama" and personal relationships of the characters in contrast are usually developed over the course of a number of episodes sustaining interest for "regular viewers and fans".[16]

The villain of the week format has been considered a "traditional plot formula"[17] and a "standard format for genre television" until the 1980s.[18] Since then a trend towards longer story arcs has led to villain of the week installments being negatively considered "filler episodes"[18] with "lazy" storytelling.[4]

"Villain of the week" plotlines are attractive to syndicators, as it means that episodes can be rerun in any order and do not need to be aired in sequence as serials with continuing storylines do.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Recht, Markus (2011). Der sympathische Vampir - Visualisierungen von Männlichkeiten in der TV-Serie Buffy [The likeable vampire - Visualisations of masculinities in the TV series Buffy] (in German). Campus Verlag. p. 18. ISBN 978-3-593-39421-3.
  2. ^ Neff-Strickland, Jaymen (2024). "Freak of the Week to Super Serialized: The Complex Narrative Evolution of Smallville". Cinematic Codes Review. 9 (3): 49–69. Retrieved 2026-02-20.
  3. ^ Eirth, Annabelle (January 20, 2019). "25 Things Wrong With Charmed Fans Choose To Ignore". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on May 12, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Sturgeon, John. "Justified". {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  5. ^ a b Leane, Rob (April 1, 2015). "Does Superhero TV need the Villain of the Week Format?". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  6. ^ Sproull, Patrick (September 13, 2018). "The 10 Scariest Scooby-Doo Episodes". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on April 15, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  7. ^ Vinney, Cynthia (March 16, 2019). "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The 5 Best Monsters Of The Week (And The 5 Worst)". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on December 12, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  8. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (March 26, 2012). "'Fringe': 'A Short Story About Love' recap". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  9. ^ Bassett, Jordan (January 8, 2018). "The X Files' scariest 'Monster of the Week' episodes". NME.com. New Musical Express. Archived from the original on February 13, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  10. ^ Navarro, Megan (September 10, 2018). ""The X-Files" Turns 25: The 10 Best Monster of the Week Episodes!". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  11. ^ Eisenbeis, Richard (January 17, 2014). "I Can't Decide if Samurai Flamenco is Brilliant or Terrible". Kotaku. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  12. ^ Wellham, Melissa (November 21, 2016). "Re-watching Sailor Moon as an adult". SBS.com.au. Special Broadcasting Service. Archived from the original on August 28, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  13. ^ Whitbrook, James (April 7, 2016). "The io9 Guide to Super Sentai". io9. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  14. ^ Clements & McCarthy 2015.
  15. ^ Bruce, Amanda (August 25, 2017). "Power Rangers: Every Major Villain, Ranked Worst To Best". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on May 25, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  16. ^ Shimpach, Shawn (2010). Television in Transition: The Life and Afterlife of the Narrative Action Hero. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 36-37. ISBN 978-1-4051-8536-3.
  17. ^ "Analyzing the Avatar of Lois Lane: What We Learn from the Daily Planet Reporter". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  18. ^ a b Harrison, Juliette. "In defence of 'monster of the week' episodes".

Sources

  • Clements, Jonathan; McCarthy, Helen (2015). The Anime Encyclopedia, 3rd Revised Edition: A Century of Japanese Animation. Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 9781611720181.
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