Part work

It's generally accepted that Dickens' The Pickwick Papers set the hare of serialisation running, released in 20 parts over 19 months between 1836 and 1837. Many other writers followed this path - Wilkie Collins, Conan Doyle, Henry James, Herman Melville, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Alexander Dumas, Gustav Flaubert and Leo Tolstoy all played the game.  Perhaps the most recent success of this evaporating trend was Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of Vanities, serialised in 27 parts by Rolling Stone in 1984.

Few magazines continue in this way. The People's Friend is currently up to Episode 37 of Murder at Muirfield and Episode 6 of The Life We Choose.

It's tv drama that has taken over the mantle. HBO, Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Apple are thirsty for 'returning' series - seeing it as the gift that keeps on giving. The BBC, in its own small way, prefers drama that establishes a long-term connection - Call The Midwife, Line of Duty, Peaky Blinders, etc. Gentleman Jack is coming back, as is the plodding World On Fire. Anyone remember a one-off play recently ?

Now BBC supply chain leader Tim Davie has opined that there may be too much tv product in general, telling the CBI: “It’s hyper-competitive, everyone’s got too much television to watch, even if you’re not a television fan. The market is sated with stuff".

I'd argue that both the BBC and ITV are making too many dramas, at the expense, particularly, of comedy, music and popular arts. We are sated with expensive serials, thinned out with quizzes, cooking, antiques and 'reality' documentary strands. Linear channels need a rich mix of evening viewing, and those controlling the pipeline need a better, more balanced strategy. Drama serials are the tail wagging the dog.