Television Template‑class

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Could someone please add a "Based on" field to this infobox, perhaps after the "Created by" field? Many television series are based on existing series, films, novels, comics, and so on. For example, the editors of the Sherlock (TV series) article have resorted to a [makeshift solution] with a bolded note about Arthur Conan Doyle's source material shoehorned into the field intended for the names of the creators, and the editors of Hannibal (TV series) have inaccurately [given] Thomas Harris creator credit for the TV show, with parentheses explaining the nature of his involvement.

I think that it would be much neater, more informative and more straightforward to add a field specifically for the source material and its author; this would have the added benefit of being consistent with Template:Infobox film, which already has exactly the feature I'm proposing. —Flax5 19:26, 23 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I second this, was actually about to ask the exact same thing before finding it already posted. Many TV series (True Blood, Hannibal, Elementary, The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, Game of Thrones, Haven to name a few off the top of my head) are based on novels or pre-existing materials and right now there is no good way of acknowledging them. I think a based on template should be added. -- SchrutedIt08 (talk) 10:11, 29 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It's been nearly three months, can we get a decision on this? —Flax5 22:07, 9 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

 Done. Thanks for the suggestion - I've implemented it. For the future, note that you'll usually get a quicker response if you add your suggested template code to the sandbox. Best — Mr. Stradivarius ^{♪ talk ♪} 07:53, 13 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the tip. —Flax5 14:44, 13 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I feel the explanation for the location parameter should be edited slightly, by simply removing the part that says "Leave blank if same as country of origin above." This is rarely ever followed (rightly so), so it'd be nice to just see that sentence eliminated. Strictly speaking of American-produced TV, 95% of the time, a show will be shot in the U.S., obviously. Just because an American show is shot in America, doesn't make it's actual shooting location not important. It's important and notable that say, Breaking Bad shoots in New Mexico, or Homeland shoots in North Carolina, and The Walking Dead shoots in Georgia. The only time using the location parameter is unnecessary if it's for like a sitcom that shoots on sets in a warehouse in Los Angeles. Anyway, I just feel that part is dated and rarely followed, thus, should be updated. Thanks. Drovethrughosts (talk) 20:26, 15 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I would have to disagree that this guideline "is rarely ever followed". The only person I have ever seen reverting the guideline is you. As you suggest, 95% of US shows are filmed in the US. Shooting in numerous states the US has become more common, with production companies choosing to go where it will be cheapest (i.e. incentives). Is it that notable that a show is not filmed in California that it needs to be mentioned in the infobox? Not really. There is plenty of room in the production section to discuss the exact location(s). This isn't the 1950s, when most shows were shot on an LA soundstage. --Logical Fuzz (talk) 00:05, 22 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I've only really reverted/added back the info a few times, filming location info has pretty much always been included in the infobox as far as I can remember. Anyway, you said, "This isn't the 1950s, when most shows were shot on an LA soundstage", correct...meaning aren't the filming locations notable? How is the filming location any less notable than say, the audio format, the ending theme, or editors, etc. Most of everything in the infobox is discussed in the article, in more detail, that's not really a good excuse. Drovethrughosts (talk) 22:42, 1 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

ITV's Endeavour (TV series) is a show written and devised by Russell Lewis. As enumerated in BBC Commissioning, a "deviser" is a standard showrunner role; it is similar to the creator role, though devising is based on another creator's work, similar to the "developer's" role that Ronald D. Moore had on Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series). As a standardised role defined by the BBC and also used by ITV, I believe "Devised by" should be added to the infobox. Thanks. 72.244.204.252 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 07:02, 15 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, I floated this question by WP:TV. I was curious to find out if there's a rule/guideline that governs the appropriate usage of the genre parameter. I've seen a number of TV show infoboxes with very specific descriptions of the show's humor styles, e.g., "gross-out humor", "slapstick", "off-color humor". Some examples of these: Sanjay and Craig, Fanboy and Chum Chum, Ren and Stimpy. I've also seen a number of shows where very broad, obvious, indisputable genres were used, e.g., "Sitcom", "Adult animation", "Animated sitcom", like for Seinfeld and Family Guy. The Infobox television template points to Television program#Genres for examples, and I don't see categories like "black comedy" or "farce". How detailed should these genre descriptions should be? Obviously we should use sources if we're going to get into nuance, but I also see this being a perpetual source of frustration-- editors battling over their specific interpretation of a show's genre. "No, it's surreal humor!" "Nuh-uh, it's surrealism!" Thanks for your input. Cyphoidbomb (talk) 18:16, 7 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

While we're at it, it would be great if we could get a more descriptive explanation for the "format" parameter. It currently reads "The format of the show", and no one really seems to know what that means – most articles don't use it at all, and many that do (such as The Simpsons and Family Guy) use it interchangeably with "genre". —Flax5 18:36, 7 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, I was confused by that as well! Thought maybe it had something to do with UK shows. Cyphoidbomb (talk) 18:56, 7 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

That's it, we're gonna handle this {{format}} parameter once and for all! (I say, hoping that my sheer enthusiasm will lead to wide community interest and a permanent resolution.)

FACT: Template:Infobox television has a {{format}} parameter, and nobody seems to know how/if it should be used, or why it's still there. The lack of proper explanation is harming television articles, because well-intentioned editors, many of whom are children, have no idea what to put in these fields, so they guess. "Hmm, [[Booger humor]] sounds about right." Or editors will look at other articles to see what a "proper" usage of {{format}} is. But of course, there is no proper usage, because {{format}} was replaced by {{genre}}.

BACKGROUND:

Jan 2005: The template as it was originally created. {{format}} is there. All is quiet.

Dec 2005: Jeff Q proposes that format be changed to genre because "format" is ambiguous. Jeff Q is a sage man!

Feb 2006: Discordance changed format to genre but then changed it part-way back anticipating collateral damage.

Feb 2007: A time when format doesn't exist, having been replaced with genre

Mar 2007: Format returns inexplicably.

Sep 2007: KyuuA4 says format implies medium, such as Live Action, Broadway Play or Animation. The ambiguity continues!

Mar 2009: TheDJ explains that format is deprecated, having been replaced by genre. AnmaFinotera proposes its removal.

Mar 2010: Other editors are still confused. AnmaFinotera again proposes its removal.

SOLUTIONS:

PROPOSAL A: Listen to Jeff Q and AnmaFinotera! Cut the {{format}} parameter. What type of fallout will occur? Is there an easy way to fix it? Are there any cheats we could exploit? Anyone talented enough to write a bot that can delete the parameter and its contents from every page that uses the parameter? Or can we generate a list and team up to do it manually?

PROPOSAL B: Change the description of the {{format}} parameter from "The format of the show" to something like, "Do not use. This parameter was replaced by {{genre}}." Suppress {{format}} from showing on pages that use the infobox. Re-word {{genre}} with clear examples, so that children know "booger humor" doesn't belong there, but "sitcom" does.

PROPOSAL C: Keep both genre and format, but clearly differentiate the two. Genre=comedy, drama, thriller, news. Format=animated series, sitcom, soap opera, magazine. (Or whatever.)

Whatever we decide, we need a solution that improves clarity, to help cut down on the extra work and confusion. We've ignored Jeff Q and AnmaFinotera for too long! Thank you for your time. Cyphoidbomb (talk) 20:43, 30 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]