Wikipedia:WikiProject Family Guy/Episode citation style
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- Further information: Template:Cite episode
[edit] Episode citation style for events and character actions
Many FG articles read like this:
<Statement about character>, as when <character action> in "[[Long Episode Name]]", and also evidenced by <character action> in "[[Another Episode name]]" and "[[Maybe Another]]". <Continuing statement about character> ...
This is really hard to read, and the better-referenced the article is, the worse this problem becomes.
Readability can be improved by moving episode citations to footnotes, like so:
- Before
Quagmire opposes homosexuality, refusing for example to sign a petition for gay marriage in "You May Now Kiss the...Uh...Guy Who Receives". He said "two halves cant make a whole without a hole!" This sets up several homophobia gags and ...
- After
Quagmire opposes homosexuality, refusing for example to sign a petition for gay marriage.[1] This sets up several homophobia gags and ...
Besides making text easier to read, offloading episode references has the side effect of makes this article more about the character, and less of a joke book. Not everything makes sense with the episode not mentioned, but usually with a little rewriting it is unnecessary to explicitly name every episode.
The best citation template for this is {{Cite episode}}. Syntax:
<ref name="s04e25">{{cite episode
| title = You May Now Kiss the...Uh...Guy Who Receives
| episodelink = You May Now Kiss the...Uh...Guy Who Receives
| series = Family Guy
| serieslink = Family Guy
| network = Fox
| airdate = 2006-04-30
| season = 4
| number = 25
| minutes = 5:56
| quote = Two halves cant make a whole without a hole!
}}</ref>
The <ref> name is taken from the season and episode (2 digits each) — always including this makes it easier to cite the same episode in different sections of the article. The reference reads like this:
- ^ "You May Now Kiss the...Uh...Guy Who Receives". Family Guy. Fox. 2006-04-30. No. 25, season 4. 5:56 minutes in. “Two halves cant make a whole without a hole!”
There's plenty to be done. Helps a lot to have the DVDs (or handy AVI bootlegs) so you can find timings for events referenced.
