Where series came from
Long before the screen, novels were printed in parts and in newspaper columns, and later serialized stories went out over the radio. The timeline of that journey is in the History section.
to be continued: a magazine about series, sequels and adaptations
Artxayslike: to be continued
Some stories can't be had all at once in a single evening. They arrive in portions, instalment by instalment, episode by episode, season by season, and in the gaps between parts readers and viewers have time to guess, argue and miss the characters. Our magazine explains how these stories are built and why they hold our attention so firmly.
Three words, “to be continued,” make a short contract. The author promises to come back, and you promise to wait.
Where to start
How to break down an episode
Setup, arc, subplot, cliffhanger: a step-by-step way to see which pieces one episode is built from and how it connects to the season.
The sequel and its debates (in Russian)
How a sequel differs from a prequel or a reboot, what it absolutely has to keep, and why “the same, only bigger” so often disappoints.
From page to screen (in Russian)
A character's inner voice, compressed time, the sheer length of a big novel: what a text gains and what it gives up when it is brought to the screen.
Magazine sections
- Articles
The magazine's main threads and a catalogue of standalone articles written specifically for the English edition.
- History
A timeline from Dickens's monthly instalments and Sue's newspaper novel to daytime radio serials, and on toward the season.
- People & roles
Who stands behind a long story on screen: roles from writer to composer, plus the two names from our timeline.
- Collections
Reading paths by form (sequels, adaptations, sitcoms, anthologies, miniseries) and a starter route for newcomers.
- Events
Festival screenings, retrospectives, talks and clubs, plus a plan for running a home viewing club around a series.
- Close looks
A step-by-step way to break down one episode and a table of its parts: setup, arc, cliffhanger, callback, flashback, finale.
- Archive
The magazine's table of contents and a note on the domain's three archive addresses and the updates page.
How to read a series from its first episode
Who the hero is and what they want
Find the person the camera follows the longest and put their desire into one sentence. If the episode ends without that desire ever being named, that's a signal too: the writers may be building the story around a mystery rather than a goal.
The rule of the world
Every story has a law that can't be broken without consequences: in one, nobody may leave town; in another, nobody may tell the truth. The rule usually appears in the first few minutes, so notice exactly where.
The question left open
A good first episode answers small questions and leaves one big one. Try writing it down: that question is what will carry you through the season.
Tone
Decide for yourself how the show is talking to you: playfully, anxiously, dryly, tenderly. Tone is a promise as well, and a sharp shift in tone without a reason almost always feels like a glitch later on.
Episode rhythm
Notice how many storylines run in parallel and how often scenes change. The rhythm of the first episode hints at what lies ahead: unhurried observation or a race from one twist to the next.
Frequently asked questions
Do you show films and series?
No. Artxayslike is a culture magazine, not a cinema or a video service. We have no videos, no files and no viewing links. Watch films and series through legal sources: at the cinema, on television or on licensed platforms that hold the rights to show them.
Where does the phrase “soap opera” come from?
From American radio. In the 1930s, daytime radio serials in the US were often funded by soap and detergent makers, and the long family stories picked up this teasing nickname. Later it carried over to television series of the same kind.
What is a serialized novel?
A novel that comes out not as a single book but in parts: in a magazine, in a newspaper or as separate instalments. Readers get a new chapter a week or a month later. One of the best-known early examples is Charles Dickens's “The Pickwick Papers,” which came out in monthly instalments in 1836–1837.
How is a sequel different from a prequel?
A sequel tells what happened after the first story, while a prequel tells what happened before it. A sequel usually pushes the characters further and tests their limits; a prequel explains how they became the people we already know, so its interest lies not in the outcome but in the road leading to it.
About the project
This domain used to host a different site, a film catalogue, and later unrelated spam pages took its place. None of their material has survived, and we reproduce nothing from them. The magazine has no connection with either the catalogue or the spam; the name simply came with the domain.
We write about form: how a story is split into parts, why the pause between instalments works for the plot, what a follow-up should take from the original story and what it has the right to change. We do not show or rate films and series, and we do not tell you where to find them. To watch, choose legal sources: the cinema, television or platforms that hold the rights to show them.
Read next
- Articles
The magazine's main threads and a catalogue of standalone articles written specifically for the English edition.
- History
A timeline from Dickens's monthly instalments and Sue's newspaper novel to daytime radio serials, and on toward the season.
- Close looks
A step-by-step way to break down one episode and a table of its parts: setup, arc, cliffhanger, callback, flashback, finale.
- Sequels (in Russian)
A reference note at an old address: how a sequel differs from a prequel, reboot and franchise, and what a follow-up must not lose.
- Adaptations (in Russian)
A reference note at an old address: what a text loses and gains on its way to the screen, and how to compare book and adaptation.
- Sitcoms (in Russian)
A reference note at an old address: what holds a situation comedy together: a fixed setting, familiar characters, self-contained episodes.
Sources
- Reference works on the history of literature and film
- Glossaries of TV and screenwriting terms (in general terms)
Historical facts are based on reference works on the history of literature and film. Different schools read the terms of dramatic writing a little differently, so we explain them in general terms and without tying them to specific productions.