Wikipedia contains many articles on television episodes. The following guideline aims to promote the creation of high-quality articles about television shows and their episodes. This includes lists of episodes, television series/season articles, and television program articles.

• Create page for the television PROGRAMME.

Once there's enough verifiable information independent of the show itself, then:

• Create a page for each series/season, or a "List of episodes" page with every season/series.

If there is enough verifiable information from secondary sources about individual episodes, then:

• Create pages for outstanding episodes.

All television pages must conform to Wikipedia content policies, including, but not limited to, Wikipedia:Verifiability and Wikipedia:No original research. In addition, Wikipedia:Manual of Style (writing about fiction) has its own requirements, most particularly since:

Wikipedia is an out-of-universe source, and all articles about fiction and elements of fiction should take an overall out-of-universe perspective.

In other words, the articles do not exist merely to retell the story (which is classed as a derivative work or a copyright violation) but to provide encyclopaedic information about the creation, production and reception of television programmes. Remember, the article should not attempt to be a replacement for watching the show itself, it should be about the show.

What a page should contain

• A brief summary of the episode's plot (see below)
• How the episode was received by critics
• Information on production and broadcasting of the episode
• Real-world factors that have influenced the work or fictional element

Plot summaries

The only purpose of plot summaries is to provide context for the rest of the information. Wikipedia:Manual of Style (writing about fiction) states:

As the Wikipedia servers are located in the U.S. state of Florida, Wikipedia articles must conform to U.S. copyright laws. It has been held in a number of court cases that any work which re-tells original ideas from a fictional source, in sufficient quantity without adding information about that work, or in some way analysing and explaining it, may be construed as a derivative work or a copyright violation...Information about copyright fictional worlds and plots of works of fiction can be provided only under a claim of fair use, and Wikipedia's fair-use policy holds that "the amount of copyrighted work used should be as little as possible".

As a rough guide, this amounts to no more than ten words per minute of screen time. For example, a 45 minute episode would warrant no more than 450 words.

Reliable sources

Wikipedia is not the place to record original research or speculation. All discussion and interpretation of television episodes must be supported by reliable, published sources. Wikipedia:Reliable sources states that:

Reliable sources are credible published materials with a reliable publication process; their authors are generally regarded as trustworthy, or are authoritative in relation to the subject at hand...Using reliable sources assures the reader that what is being presented meets the Wikipedia standards for verifiability and originality. Accurate citation allows the reader to go to those sources and gives appropriate credit to the author of the work.

An actual episode may be used as a source for information about the episode and constitutes a primary source. Such use does not constitute original research if it is used to verify a fact. However, the episode cannot be used to justify an interpretation.

Non-free images

The primary purpose of non-free images on Wikipedia is for information rather than decoration. Non-free images (copyrighted images such as screen shots, DVD covers or publicity posters) must meet the non-free content guidelines which allows them to be used only to aid critical commentary or discussion. Add images only when you are familiar with Wikipedia:Image use policy.

Using an "out-of-universe" approach

Wikipedia:Manual of Style (writing about fiction) states:

Wikipedia is an out-of-universe source, and all articles about fiction and elements of fiction should take an overall out-of-universe perspective.

This means writing about television programmes from a real-world perspective (ie. discussing the piece as fiction, rather from the perspective of one of the characters, or as if the events had really happened).

Things to avoid

Trivia sections

Trivia sections are unencyclopaedic, and Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information. Relevant information should be integrated into the body of the article.

Quotations

Extensive use of these may breach copyright. Also, Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information. Consider adding these to Wikiquote instead.

Lists of featured music or song lyrics

Original song lyrics for a television episode breach copyright. References to featured music should be supported by reliable sources to establish notability. Do not just list music: Wikipedia is not a directory.

Technical errors and continuity issues ("bloopers" or "goofs")

Unsourced sections about technical errors or continuity issues should generally be avoided. If there is a major mistake that is discussed by a reliable source it can become a part of the production section.

If the article(s) contain little content, consider merging or redirecting them into another article (e.g. an article about the show itself, an article that is a list of episodes of the show, or an article that summarizes the plot for one season of the show).

To start this process, tag the article(s) with {{notability|episode}} on the page. (A proposed process for reviewing problem articles can be found at: Wikipedia:Television article review process.) If the same editor appears to have created a large number of problematic articles, please refer them to this page. Avoid listing episodes for AfD unless they are completely unverifiable and original research.

Note: Stubs are allowed on Wikipedia and many articles are stubs. It may be inappropriate to merge or redirect an article about a television episode just because it is a stub. Before executing a merge, ask yourself:

• Will the merge reduce the quality or coherence of the target article?
• Are more sources available? (Do some basic looking for additional source material that could be used to improve the article.)

If the answer to either of these questions is "yes", it is probably better to avoid merging or redirecting. Instead, consider improving it, or offer suggestions for its improvement on the talk page.

Below are examples of each type of article that have all reached featured article or featured list status.

Programme pages

• Only Fools and Horses
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Doctor Who

"List of" pages

• List of Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes
• List of Lost episodes
• List of The Sopranos episodes

Season pages

• The Simpsons (season 8)
• Lost (season 3)

Episode pages

• "Abyssinia, Henry" - episode of M*A*S*H
• "Pilot" - first episode of House
• "A Streetcar Named Marge" - episode of The Simpsons
• "Through the Looking Glass" - episode of Lost

• Wikipedia:Notability (fiction)
• Wikipedia:Manual of Style (writing about fiction)
• Wikipedia:WikiProject Television/How to write an episode article - WikiProject guidelines and tips for articles on television episodes
• WikiProject Films guidelines on plot summaries
• WP:DEADLINE & Wikipedia:The world will not end tomorrow - 2 essays