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The problem in the discussion is that we're conflating a lot of different terms under the umbrella of "serialized storytelling." Yes, soap operas were serialized but they were usually character based arcs, not so much plot arcs, and they played out in their seasons....
...and then they moved on, nobody did foreshadowing and nobody was required to remember things from before and most importantly *those series were never meant to end*, they were meant to keep going indefinitely (over 20 years in some cases); what B5 brought to the table...
...was a *five year arc* that treated the entire thing as one big story that would reference things years past or foreshadow things years ahead, with a definite and clearly defined end. Once we did it, Lost and Battlestar picked up the technique of a multi-year story...
...and ran with it, taking it to the next level which grabbed the attention of the business and at that point the idea of a five-year or multi-year arc hit critical mass and now it's all over the place.
