// BEGIN editorial data var i = 0; var Ent_FiveTop_060915 = new Array(); Ent_FiveTop_060915.ID = "Ent_FiveTop_060915"; Ent_FiveTop_060915.ID_WB = 14806632; Ent_FiveTop_060915.sPubDate = "9/15/2006 6:45:14 PM GMT"; Ent_FiveTop_060915.navsectionID = "3032083" Ent_FiveTop_060915.appFmt = 2; Ent_FiveTop_060915.itemsPerPage = 5; Ent_FiveTop_060915.nTeaseW = 198; Ent_FiveTop_060915.nTeaseH = 198; Ent_FiveTop_060915.appWidth = 624; Ent_FiveTop_060915.appHeader = ""; Ent_FiveTop_060915.appFooter = "   By Wendell Wittler"; Ent_FiveTop_060915.rowSpacer = "20"; Ent_FiveTop_060915.rowAlt = "F7F7F7"; Ent_FiveTop_060915.appNavStyle = 3; Ent_FiveTop_060915.appLayout = 1; Ent_FiveTop_060915.copyMargin = 9; Ent_FiveTop_060915.copyBorder = 0; Ent_FiveTop_060915.sBodyFont = "font-size:12px;"; Ent_FiveTop_060915[i++] = new Array("","","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060912/060912_5top_fugitive.small.jpg","","The Fugitive", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "CBS", "198", "143", "1", "", "", "", ""); Ent_FiveTop_060915[i-1].body = "The Fugitive: In 1963, it was said that an America accustomed to clearly defined good guys and bad guys couldn't possibly accept a hero unjustly convicted of murder and on the run with an obsessed detective tracking him down. But they did, and \"The Fugitive\" was not just a hit, but one of the decade's most compelling shows. When the show inevitably ended, Creator Roy Huggins and his writers knew exactly what to do, and the two-part finale was as dramatic as anything that came before: complex, credible (none of those unbelievable coincidences too common nowadays) and a genuine happy ending. It was America's first successful series-long story arc."; Ent_FiveTop_060915[i++] = new Array("","","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060912/060912_5top_prisoner.small.jpg","","The Prisoner", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "A&E Home Video", "198", "143", "1", "", "", "", ""); Ent_FiveTop_060915[i-1].body = "The Prisoner: Back in jolly old England, where they call a season a “series” and creative types gladly sign up for 6 or 12 episodes with no intent to stay on, story arcs have long been commonplace. But in 1968, Patrick McGoohan's \"The Prisoner\" still shocked the States with McGoohan's often brooding, sometimes explosive performance, the surreal setting of The Village, deep symbolism, weird science and a real conclusion after 17 episodes (albeit with an extra dose of symbolism). Number 6 could easily have gone on for years matching wits with a Special Guest Number 2 every week, but knowing when and how to quit made \"The Prisoner\" classic."; Ent_FiveTop_060915[i++] = new Array("","","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060912/060912_5top_blackadder.small.jpg","","Blackadder", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "BBC Warner", "198", "143", "1", "", "", "", ""); Ent_FiveTop_060915[i-1].body = "Black Adder: The British appreciation for short-run series also applies to comedy, and the best of those was Rowan Atkinson's four \"Black Adders.\" Set in different historical eras (Dark Ages, Elizabethan, Regency, World War I) each followed the misadventures of another member of a questionable family tree -- all of them cynical, sarcastic and more confident than competent. Every Black Adder had a long-suffering peasant sidekick named Baldrick (always played by Tony Robinson) and some of England's best comic actors (including the future Dr. House, Hugh Laurie) filled multiple rolls in multiple eras. And every series ended with the title character painfully but hilariously killed off."; Ent_FiveTop_060915[i++] = new Array("","","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060912/060912_5top_babylon5.small.jpg","","Babylon 5", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "Warner Home Video", "198", "143", "1", "", "", "", ""); Ent_FiveTop_060915[i-1].body = "Babylon 5: Creator J. Michael Straczynski told the world he had everything planned for a five-year run and an ending that was really an ending. But it was a bumpy road to the pre-ordained conclusion, with major cast changes and the shutdown of the show's syndicator at the end of year four. The show was rescued by TNT (becoming the
first real primetime series made for basic cable), but not before
Straczynski picked up the pace in season four, wrapping up a Galactic War instead of making it a season-ending cliffhanger. He produced a last episode that was successfully kept under wraps until the real
finale a year later, and none but the most devout nitpicking fans ever
noticed."; Ent_FiveTop_060915[i++] = new Array("","","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060912/060912_5top_24.small.jpg","","24", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "20th Century Fox", "198", "143", "1", "", "", "", ""); Ent_FiveTop_060915[i-1].body = "24: The current King of Story Arcs has to be Kiefer Sutherland with his annual bad day at the office as Special Agent Jack Bauer. Its
season-filling crises and strict chronological structure are a perpetual challenge for the show's producers and writers, but with most critics picking either season four (Marwan and the missile) or season five (the presidential double-cross) as the best, things are looking up
for seasons six, seven and ib. Still, you never know if an arc was
really good until the whole series (American definition) is over, and if Jack's death-defying stunts include jumping a shark before the last day ends, \"24\" will be replaced by this list's worthy runner-up, \"Buffy the Vampire Slayer.\""; // END editorial data