There is a long tradition for both forms. Examples of the latter include Quatermass, Francis Durbridge Presents, The Fugitive and, in our time, Homeland. Although sitcoms thrive on the freedom to develop characters over time, they cannot be categorised as serials, and surely most if not all westerns (now an extinct breed) were series? Off hand, I can't think of a single western serial.
I may be wrong but I think that the series gained the ascendancy for many years, say from the 1970s to the turn of the century, and it is only fairly recently that the balance has been redressed with the arrival of the likes of The Sopranos, Mad Men and House of Cards.
Actually, the distinction between the two genres is becoming blurred. For example, is The Good Wife a series or a serial? Each episode provides a satisfying "closure" but the story also develops from one episode to the next, and from one season to another.
The general quality of both series and serials has never been higher. Thanks to the standard of directing, writing and acting, they develop such a momentum that they can afford to go off on a tangent from time to time, as when a whole episode of Enlightened was devoted to Amy's mother (the wonderful Diane Ladd).
I may be wrong but I think that the series gained the ascendancy for many years, say from the 1970s to the turn of the century, and it is only fairly recently that the balance has been redressed with the arrival of the likes of The Sopranos, Mad Men and House of Cards.
Actually, the distinction between the two genres is becoming blurred. For example, is The Good Wife a series or a serial? Each episode provides a satisfying "closure" but the story also develops from one episode to the next, and from one season to another.
The general quality of both series and serials has never been higher. Thanks to the standard of directing, writing and acting, they develop such a momentum that they can afford to go off on a tangent from time to time, as when a whole episode of Enlightened was devoted to Amy's mother (the wonderful Diane Ladd).
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