The Meaning Behind a TV 'season'

*gobo* · 09-03-2007, 04:00 AM

Ever wondered why there's only one television 'season' per year? There are four seasons in a year, so why would they use that word instead of 'year'? I figured it out not too long ago. It's one of those things you just don't realize until the clues are right in front of you. There are 365 days in a year. Divide into weeks, and you get 52. Since there are 4 seasons per year, we'll divide again. 52 divided by 4 is 13.

Has anyone else recognized this (and its multiples) as a common amount for television seasons? Apparently, they call it a 'season' because it's enough for a new episode each week for a quarter of a year. ^_^ So, 13 is the ep-count for a traditional season of a Saturday morning cartoon. Shows like Thundercats and The Super Mario Bros. Super Show were traditional as well. They were weekday shows, so their seasons were 13 sets of 5; in other words, 65.

Now, I know there are beyond enough examples of television seasons not following this traditional rule of 13 to make the idea seem a bit iffy. But, you can't deny that this makes more sense than some moronic TV exec who, once upon a time, confused seasons with years. ^_^

09-03-2007, 04:00 AM	#1
gobo Wacky Action Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: on Earth Posts: 12,784	The Meaning Behind a TV 'season' Ever wondered why there's only one television 'season' per year? There are four seasons in a year, so why would they use that word instead of 'year'? I figured it out not too long ago. It's one of those things you just don't realize until the clues are right in front of you. There are 365 days in a year. Divide into weeks, and you get 52. Since there are 4 seasons per year, we'll divide again. 52 divided by 4 is 13. Has anyone else recognized this (and its multiples) as a common amount for television seasons? Apparently, they call it a 'season' because it's enough for a new episode each week for a quarter of a year. ^_^ So, 13 is the ep-count for a traditional season of a Saturday morning cartoon. Shows like Thundercats and The Super Mario Bros. Super Show were traditional as well. They were weekday shows, so their seasons were 13 sets of 5; in other words, 65. Now, I know there are beyond enough examples of television seasons not following this traditional rule of 13 to make the idea seem a bit iffy. But, you can't deny that this makes more sense than some moronic TV exec who, once upon a time, confused seasons with years. ^_^ __________________ Live and let live... or go to hell.