Episode

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An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars. Episodes of news programs are also known as editions.

Episodes which end in the middle of a climatic moment are often called cliffhangers, after the name used for early movie serials. Such episodes can be nearly daily occurrences in soap operas and are frequently used in season finales of many prime time shows.

Episodes can be part of a larger story arc stretched out over a time period covering one or more seasons, or even an entire series run. This is true for some science fiction series such as Babylon 5, Stargate SG-1 and Star Trek.

Shows usually have numbers or codes for each episode. The X-Files, for example, assigned a code in the format "sXnn", with 's' identifying the season number and 'nn' being a two-digit number for each show, starting with '01'. Some programs, such as The Simpsons, use numbering systems that are hard for anyone outside the production company to understand.

Some series often give episodes their own titles which usually refer to the content of the episode, giving both producers and fans a simple identification,these will usually have a pattern such as being a pun on a known item (such as a phrase or title of a of some other media) or follow some naming convention of the series:

Episode titles of Monk always begin with "Mr. Monk "
Episode titles of Friends almost all begin with "The one with" or "the one where"
Episode titles of Scrubs usually begin with "My" as they are narrated by J.D., the main character. They are sometimes called "His Story" or "Her Story", followed by a roman numeral when narrated by another character.
Later seasons of Diagnosis: Murder usually included "Murder" in their titles.

In addition, the word episode can also refer to a portion, or stasimon, of a tragic play; this usually being associated with those of the ancient Greeks.