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60-577: Long Vacation ( ロングバケーション , also known as ロンバケ ) is a Japanese television drama series from Fuji Television , first shown in Japan from 15 April to 24 June 1996. The show's high ratings in Japan made Takuya Kimura popular in the Asia-Pacific region and is known as "The King of Ratings". It also made Tomoko Yamaguchi a known actress in Japan. The characters in the series have something in common: if not jobless, they can do no better than secure

120-434: A serial is a show that has a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode-by-episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the complete run of the series, and sometimes spinoffs, which distinguishes them from episodic television that relies on more stand-alone episodes. Worldwide, the soap opera is the most prominent form of serial dramatic programming . In

180-531: A demand on episodes to be run in order, without which story arcs stretching over many episodes may be difficult for new viewers to delve into. Desperate Housewives also falls into the category while each season involves a new mystery that spans an entire season (and on one occasion, half the season) while planting hints throughout the episodes until the climax in the finale. To a lesser extent, series such as House and Fringe may also feature ongoing story arcs, but episodes are more self-encapsulated and so

240-405: A different story, though the concept is also nothing new. In the 1960s, ABC aired the first real breakthrough nighttime serial, Peyton Place , inspired by the novel and theatrical film of the same name. After its cancellation, the format went somewhat dormant until Norman Lear produced Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman in 1976. In 1977, ABC created another comedy soap (aptly called Soap ). Although

300-1243: A disadvantage at major awards shows such as the Primetime Emmy Awards . Such shows generally have to submit an atypical self-contained episode in order to gain recognition. Despite this, since 2000, every winner of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series has been a Serial Drama: The West Wing (2000–2003), The Sopranos (2004, 2007), Lost (2005), 24 (2006), Mad Men (2008–2011), Homeland (2012), Breaking Bad (2013–2014), Game of Thrones (2015–2016, 2018–2019), The Handmaid's Tale (2017), Succession (2020, 2022), and The Crown (2021). In terms of DVD sales, however, strongly serialized shows often perform better than shows which are strongly procedural. 24 (Season 6 ), Lost (Season 4 ), Heroes (Season 2 ), True Blood and even ratings minnow Battlestar Galactica (Season 4.0 ) sell significantly more units than hit procedurals such as CSI (Season 6 ), NCIS (Season 3, Season 5 ), CSI: Miami (Season 4, Season 5 ) and Criminal Minds (Season 2, Season 3 ). Serialized shows tend to develop

360-436: A drama that airs in the mornings and six days a week. Finally, rating percentage plays a heavy role in the success of a drama artist. The numbers of an artist's previous work are used by TV producers to determine whether or not the artist is a marketing success. If the ratings drawn by the artist's previous work are good, he or she would be able to receive offers to star in dramas that are better written and produced. Likewise if

420-408: A few (two to three) weeks before it is aired. Many fans have even been able to visit their idols while shooting scenes as the show is airing. Most people associate today's Japanese dramas with the modern style of screenwriting which has coined the term "trendy dramas". The ultimate inspirations for many Japanese dramas are The Big Chill (1983) and St. Elmo's Fire (1985). The "trendy" formula

480-507: A major reduction in serialized storytelling. To highlight the situation, in the 2006–2007 season, no fewer than five high-concept serials were introduced, including Jericho , Kidnapped , Vanished , The Nine , and Drive , all of which experienced fairly quick cancellation due to low ratings. In 2010 and 2011, more high-profile, high-cost serials failed to achieve success, including V , The Event , and FlashForward . Some reviewers have also noted that serialized dramas are at

540-565: A more independent stand-alone format. Procedural drama television programs are commonly episodic, sometimes including a serial subplot . Shorter serial programs known as telenovelas (and earlier, radionovelas ), originating and often produced in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Latin America , have become popular worldwide. The term "serial" refers to the intrinsic property of a series – namely its order . In literature,

600-512: A more serial structure, and now there are a much wider range of shows in serial form. The serial began with the advent of movie serials of the early 20th century. With the emergence of television and subsequent decline of the movie-going audience, production of movie serials ceased due to the decreasing revenues. But the serial lived on, moving instead to the small screen and the world of Broadcast syndication television reruns . The television serial format as known today originated in radio, in

660-485: A negative effect on ratings by making entry more difficult for new viewers as well as confusing fans who have missed an episode. Networks see them as riskier than dramas that focus on a self-contained story of the week. Tom O'Neil of the Los Angeles Times notes: "They're chancy because these shows are hard to join midway through." As of 2012 CBS has not aired a serial drama in many years, in part because of

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720-558: A particularly popular format for children's serials on the radio. Guiding Light and such other daytime television program serials such as Search for Tomorrow , Love of Life , The Secret Storm , As the World Turns , The Edge of Night , The Doctors , Another World , Dark Shadows , One Life to Live , and All My Children were popular in the Golden and Silver Ages of television and still are today. Aside from

780-476: A popular time slot in the past in which dramas generally brought in high ratings during the season, the popularity of "Getsuku" dramas appears to have declined in recent years, with most dramas not crossing the 20% mark for average rating. Most modern "Getsuku" dramas have also abandoned the traditional love story format. Other Japan television networks have their own focuses. TV Asahi , for example, focuses heavily on jidaigeki and crime stories (famous examples of

840-411: A professional photographer, Sugisaki, who proposes marriage. Although Sugisaki fits Minami's ideal, she feels unsure about her feeling. Meanwhile, Sena has a chance of winning a piano competition and going to Boston, joining the symphony orchestra. After he wins the contest, he proposes Minami to marry and go with him to Boston. The theme song was La La La Love Song by Toshinobu Kubota. Long Vacation

900-533: A radio or television production with a continuously evolving, unified plot and set of characters, spread over multiple episodes. In the United States, daytime soap operas have long had a serial structure. Television mini-series also commonly come in a serial form. Starting in the mid-1970s, series with soap opera-like stories began to be aired in prime time (e.g. Dallas , Dynasty ). In the 1990s, shows like The X-Files and The Sopranos began to use

960-570: A research study conducted by NHK in 2009, the bulk of viewers were those who were teenagers (13 or older), at 40% of viewers, the second group were from those in their twenties at 34%. The series was popular with viewers in Hong Kong thanks to pirated VCD copies sold there before the show was legally broadcast. On 11 November 2019, Fuji TV announced that photos and props from the show were on display at Fuji TV's Headquarters in Odaiba to highlight

1020-673: A series composed of mostly standalone episodes. According to Todd A. Kessler , the second season of Damages will be less serialized in order to render the show more accessible to new viewers. Tim Kring , creator of Heroes , has also suggested that his show may move away from serialized storytelling: "I think the show needs to move towards [standalone episodes] in order to survive." Networks also discourage complex story arcs because they are less successful in reruns, and because standalone episodes can be rerun without concern for order. Entertainment Weekly and Chicago Tribune have expressed concern that declining ratings may lead to

1080-460: A series of a specific season. Most of the dramas air on weekday evenings between 9pm and 11pm. Daytime dramas are typically broadcast daily, and episodes of the same drama can be aired daily for several months, such as NHK 's asadora , which usually span six months each. Evening dramas air weekly and are usually ten to fourteen hour-long episodes. In many cases, instead of being episodic, drama series are serial , with one story running throughout

1140-436: A show if they have missed some episodes. Cheers co-creator Les Charles regrets helping to make serialization common: "[W]e may have been partly responsible for what's going on now, where if you miss the first episode or two, you are lost. You have to wait until you can get the whole thing on DVD and catch up with it. If that blood is on our hands, I feel kind of badly about it. It can be very frustrating." Another problem

1200-470: A television executive at Nippon Television (NTV), believes that although the Internet is popular among drama fans, "We don't regard broadband as mainstream media. It will never happen. Broadband is a complementary medium." Television ratings are calculated by several researching firms. Video Research Ltd. is one of the more reliable firms. More television networks, advertisers, and Japanese drama fans use

1260-506: A temporary job. This is a portrayal of a time when Japan was plagued by deep recession , when its people suffered profound depression from constant failure to earn a stable income. The series also portrays how relationships are made and broken, and explores how people come to depend on each other for solace. Minami and Sena meet when Sena's apartment-mate, Asakura, jilts Minami on their wedding day. Minami learns from Sena that Asakura has left, whereabouts unknown. Sena allows Minami to move into

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1320-405: A total of 15,762 episodes air on CBS. Some of the characters in soap operas have been portrayed as long-suffering (a common theme even in some of today's serials along with the social and economical issues of the day). Children's adventure serials were more like film serials , with continuing characters involved in exploits with episodes that often ended in a cliffhanger situation; Westerns were

1380-462: A week on WENR in Chicago during the early 1930s was credited as the "great-granddaddy of the soap operas" by radio historian Francis Chase, Jr. One of the other shows that helped pioneer the daytime soap opera/serial was The Guiding Light , which debuted on NBC radio in 1937, and then switched to CBS Television in 1952. The Guiding Light 's final episode aired on September 18, 2009, having

1440-551: Is a general term used in Japan to refer to drama series and soap operas , regardless of the country where they were filmed or produced. In the Western world, the word dorama was initially used to refer exclusively to Japanese television dramas, however in recent years it has become a general term used to refer to all Asian television dramas due to the international rise of Korean and Chinese dramas. Serial (radio and television) In television and radio programming ,

1500-553: Is arguably the most important media type. A survey completed in 2000 by NHK, Japan's public broadcasting network, showed that 95% of Japanese people watch television every day. Eighty-six percent said they consider television an indispensable medium, and 68% said the same of newspapers. There are other forms of media that can be used to promote products and services, such as the Internet. Most of television network, such as Fuji TV (CX) where operates Fuji Network System , also have online streaming website for service. However, Shinji Takada,

1560-479: Is that many fans prefer to record these shows and binge watch the whole season in one session. These viewers are not included in TV ratings as they are much less likely to watch commercials than live viewers. The move away from live viewing and toward DVR or internet-streaming services has hurt many shows' prospects because there are fewer or no commercials and they may be fast-forwarded or out-of-date. Concerned about

1620-443: Is tweaked to fit the television viewers' changing taste. Even today, the success of Japanese dramas is a result of sticking with the trendy drama formula. Many of these shows employ young actors who use them as springboards to bigger projects. Although some people consider Super Sentai and tokusatsu type shows as dramas, they do not fit the "trendy" definition. Generally, most evening dramas aired nowadays are "trendy dramas", and

1680-454: The 21st century in the United States. In the 1990s, American serial dramas included Twin Peaks , Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Babylon 5 . The trend continued in the 2000s with 24 . Cable networks also produced serial dramas such as The Sopranos , Battlestar Galactica , Dexter , The Wire , Breaking Bad and its spin-off Better Call Saul . Series such as Buffy

1740-487: The Hero series. When the series debuted in Japan, it was so popular with the female audience that the expression The Office Lady disappears on Monday from the city ( 月曜日はOLが街から消える , Getsuyōbi wa OL ga machi kara kieru ) was used to highlight its fanbase. This was because the series was broadcast on Monday evenings. The episodes had an average rating of 29.5% of viewers, with the final episode reaching 36.7%. According to

1800-542: The UK the first serials were direct adaptations of well known literary works , usually consisting of a small number of episodes. Serials rely on keeping the full nature of the story hidden and revealing elements episode by episode, to encourage spectators to tune in to every episode to follow the plot. Often these shows employ recapping segments at the beginning and cliffhangers at the end of each episode. The invention of recording devices such as VCRs and DVRs along with

1860-516: The Vampire Slayer , Veronica Mars , Homicide: Life on the Street , The Good Wife , The X-Files and Damages fall somewhere between, featuring self-encapsulated plots that are resolved by the end of each episode, but also having overarching plots that span multiple episodes. The more serialized its storytelling, the less likely a show is to fare well in repeats. The format places

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1920-448: The apartment, since she is penniless, having given all her money to Asakura, and cannot pay the rent on her apartment. This is the beginning of a romance between Sena and Minami. Minami and Sena confide in and console each other about their relationship problems and their lack of success in life. Sena has a crush on his junior, Ryoko. However, Ryoko does not feel the same, instead, she falls for Minami's little brother Shinji. Minami meets

1980-570: The biggest names in the Western recording industry. This practice has disadvantages. When the Japanese drama is licensed outside Japan, theme music licensing becomes very costly. For example, in the Fuji TV drama Densha Otoko , the opening song and some of the background music had to be replaced in the release that aired on Hawaii's Nippon Golden Network because they couldn't get the rights to them. As in many other countries, Japanese television

2040-505: The episodes. Since they are of a fixed length, dramas have a definite ending, and since they are relatively long, they can explore character, situation, and interesting dialog in a way that is less possible in most movies. Structurally, Japanese dramas can be compared to American or British miniseries . Dramas are rarely canceled mid-season, but they usually do not continue into the next season, even if extremely popular. Popular dramas do, however, often give rise to "specials" that are made after

2100-416: The final episode if the show has been a huge success. Some genres such as jidaigeki , police procedurals , or family dramas, however, feature series that are episodic or that sometimes continue for years on end, with Mito Kōmon , Taiyō ni Hoero! , or Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari being famous examples. A characteristic of Japanese drama that differentiates it is that each episode is usually shot only

2160-459: The form of children's adventure shows and daily 15-minute programs known as soap operas (so-called because many of these shows were sponsored by soap companies, such as Colgate-Palmolive and Procter & Gamble ). Soap operas were specifically engineered to appeal to women (with the intention of increasing sale of soap). They usually ran from Monday through Friday at the same time every day. A show called The Smith Family which ran only one night

2220-474: The growing popularity of streaming services has made following this type of show easier, which has resulted in increased success and popularity. Prior to the advent of DVRs, television networks shunned serials in prime time as they made broadcast programming reruns more difficult and television producers shunned them because they were tougher to go into broadcast syndication years down the road. Serials contrast with episodic television, with plots relying on

2280-405: The last of the 1980s nighttime soaps ended during the first years of the following decade, then a second wave came with series like Beverly Hills, 90210 , Melrose Place , Models, Inc. , Savannah and Central Park West . But as the 1990s came to a close, the primetime soap as an official format gradually faded away, where it largely seems to remain as of the middle of the first decade of

2340-448: The latter are the long-running series Tokyo Detective Duo , now on its 21st season. Kasouken no Onna , now on its 21st season). NHK puts more effort into programming that reaches an older demographic, focusing mostly on epic period shows of historical significance, often with all-star casts, called taiga dramas, as well as inspiring dramas that focus on a young, strong-willed hero or heroine . Theme music and background music set

2400-612: The market size. Finally, the numbers are published on the research firm's website. A hard copy is also produced. There is no solid science on how to interpret these rating percentages. For fans, simply the drama with the highest percentage is the "winner" for the week. The fans use these numbers to decide which dramas they should watch during the remainder of the season. Despite this simple interpretation, there are one or more factors that may come into play that explain why some dramas receive higher percentage points than others. For example, evening dramas draw better ratings than those that air in

2460-408: The mood. There is a sub-genre of Japanese drama fans that are also huge fans of the drama's original soundtrack. Most television networks work with music companies to produce original soundtracks. Most opening and closing theme music is written especially for the drama series, while other theme music is licensed from other sources. Once the library is put together, the television network will release

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2520-533: The mornings and afternoons. Although the transmission size is virtually the same in the mornings, afternoons and evenings, the evenings draw higher numbers because most evening viewers work during the day, and fewer people are at home watching television. There are, however, some exceptions: For example, the NHK Asadora drama Oshin drew an average rating percentage of 52.6%, a number that would be extremely good for an evening drama but even more extraordinary for

2580-708: The most popular dramas viewed through the Heisei Era in an exhibit until January 2020. According to Television, Japan and Globalization , the themes of finding happiness are embodied through Minami when she mentions of her right to seek happiness by herself instead of getting married. This view is centered on people's lives when they look for existential meaning. Japanese television drama Japanese drama series are broadcast in three-month seasons: winter (January–March), spring (April–June), summer (July–September), and autumn or fall (October–December). Some series may start in another month though it may still be counted as

2640-507: The numbers from this firm than any other. The ratings focus on the Kanto (Tokyo) and the Kansai (Osaka) areas, which are believed to be a good representation of what most of Japan watches. The ratings become available for the general public every Wednesday. The rating system is very simple. All the major Japanese television networks make up the television market, so a research firm must determine

2700-517: The original soundtrack compact disc, usually a few weeks after the start of the drama. Closing themes are often sung by a popular J-pop singer or band. NHK produces its own theme music and is one of the only Japanese television networks that has its own orchestra. Most of the theme music heard in their taiga and asadora dramas were written and produced in-house. In recent years, many theme songs have been licensed from sources outside Japan. In some instances, theme songs have been licensed from some of

2760-415: The overall tone of Japanese drama series. Most dramas will start off with one or two minutes of theme music during the opening credits. Other dramas will have, at the very least, a catchy melody in the beginning, displaying the show's name for a few seconds, and then one to two minutes of ending theme music during the closing credits. Background music is placed and used at strategic points of the episode to set

2820-607: The ratings drawn by the artist's previous work are good, some artist could build their career as acting singer. In evening dramas, cast members are carefully selected and tend to be famous actors that audiences are very fond of. The choice of cast members frequently affects the drama's audience rating, and pairing the right male and female artists is especially important in a renzoku ren'ai (romantic or love) drama. Cast members of morning and afternoon dramas are not as popular as those of evening dramas, as reflected by ratings, but with time good actors can gain popularity. Dorama ( ドラマ )

2880-598: The re-imagined Battlestar Galactica , showrunner Ronald D. Moore was also pressured to make episodes more stand-alone. This move resulted in negative criticism from both fans and critics, and Moore revealed in the Season 3 finale podcast that the network finally accepted that standalone episodes simply do not work for the story he is trying to tell. Moore has also stated that the network was reluctant to greenlight Caprica mainly because story-arc-heavy series notoriously have difficulty in picking up new viewers, as compared to

2940-475: The series fall into a more conventional drama category. Fringe has experimented with "myth-alones", a hybrid that attempts to advance the story arc in a self-contained episode. In addition, it has been noted that the use of cliffhangers is still prevalent in adventure shows; however, they are now typically used just before a commercial break and the viewer need only wait a few minutes to see its resolution. In addition, many series have also made extensive use of

3000-442: The show goes on, by its nature, it might find itself becoming a little more serialized." Early in their runs, shows such as Lost , Buffy , Angel , Dollhouse and Torchwood put greater emphasis on the "story-of-the-week", but over time story arcs begin to dominate. In contrast, Alias became more focused on standalone stories in later seasons, because of pressures by network executives. Complex story arcs may have

3060-767: The show was controversial for its time (with a homosexual character among its cast roster), it was (and still is today) a cult classic. The success of Dallas popularized serial storylines on prime-time television. Its end-of-season cliffhangers , such as " Who shot J. R.? " and "Bobby in the Shower?", influenced other shows like Dynasty (ABC's answer to Dallas ), Knots Landing , Falcon Crest , The Colbys , Flamingo Road , Hotel , The Yellow Rose , Bare Essence , and Berrenger's . There were some serial shows such as Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere that did not officially fit into this category, but were nonetheless ratings hits season after season. While

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3120-405: The size of an average audience. The audience size is determined using two factors: the amount of content that is transmitted and the amount that is received, as market size varies from firm to firm. The viewer count of a given episode is calculated using a variety of polling methods. Ratings are calculated using a percentage or point system. This is based on the episode's viewership numbers divided by

3180-407: The social issues, the style and presentation of these shows have changed. Whereas in the 1950s and 1960s the drama was underscored with traditional organ music, and in the 1970s and the 1980s a full orchestra provided the score, the daytime dramas of today use cutting-edged synth-driven music (in a way, music for soaps has come full-circle, from the keyboard to the keyboard). The nighttime serials are

3240-777: The success of its non-serial procedurals . Marketing for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022) emphasized its episodes being standalone, which cast and crew described as being similar to Star Trek: The Original Series . Scott Collins of the Los Angeles Times stated that "serialized storytelling ... though popular with hard-core fans and many critics, requires more dedication from viewers and has almost certainly tamped down ratings for many shows". He quoted an ad executive who states that close-ended story lines "[make] it easier for new viewers to tune in and figure out what's going on". According to Dick Wolf , serialized elements also make it more difficult for viewers to return to

3300-576: The term does not apply to other types of dramas such as asadora . Dramas that are broadcast on Fuji Television (Fuji TV), NTV , and TBS are generally the most popular in any given season. Fuji TV is widely known as the inventor of the drama formula. During the 1980s and 1990s, Fuji TV popularized trendy dramas with their use of young and popular actors/actresses. The network's 9:00 p.m. dramas shown on Monday nights are commonly called " Getsuku " (a shortened phrase meaning Monday at 9), which historically have revolved around love stories. Although

3360-512: The term is used as a noun to refer to a format (within a genre ) by which a story is told in contiguous (typically chronological ) installments in sequential issues of a single periodical publication. More generally, "serial" is applied in library and information science to materials "in any medium issued under the same title in a succession of discrete parts, usually numbered (or dated) and appearing at regular or irregular intervals with no predetermined conclusion." The term has been used for

3420-433: The toll on ratings of complex story arcs, networks sometimes ask showrunners to reduce serialization. Network executives believe that standalone episodes serve as a better jumping on point for new viewers, although this may result in a conflict with regular watchers who tend to prefer more focus on story arcs. Alias began as a more serialized show but later became more stand-alone under network pressure. During season 3 of

3480-400: The traditional end-of-episode cliffhanger format. This is most common in season finales which often end in a cliffhanger that would only be resolved in the next season's premiere. Over the course of its run, a show may change its focus. Matt Cherniss, executive vice president of programming at Fox says: "Sometimes early on, being a little more episodic allows more people into the room. And as

3540-423: Was invented in the late 1980s when screenwriters decided to reach the television audience with themes that covered real-life Japan , at a time when the Japanese were experiencing a bubble economy . The "trendy" formula was improved in the early 1990s, when the story lines changed with the times. By gambling on harder issues, including teenage violence , child abuse , and modern family life, the trendy drama formula

3600-649: Was released on DVD in Japan on 21 November 2001. At the time it was released, it had a limited edition booklet released alongside the first 5,000 DVD copies. A novelization of Long Vacation was written by Eriko Kitagawa . It was formerly broadcast in Hong Kong. In the US, it was formerly aired via KTSF TV with English subtitles. On 22 July 2020, Viu announced that they have acquired the streaming rights to broadcast Long Vacation to Southeast Asia with regional subtitles alongside Love Generation , A Sleeping Forest , The Ordinary People , Hundred Million Stars From The Sky and

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