 | This guideline documents an English Wikipedia naming convention. Editors should generally follow it, though exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page. |
As is the general practice across Wikipedia, the article title for any topic related to television should be simply the most common word or phrase used to describe that topic. In particular, if the title of a television program is sufficiently unambiguous compared to any other topics or is considered to be the primary topic, then let that also be the title of the article; for example, The Prisoner or Guiding Light.
If the common title of the show is ambiguous, an alternate article title will need to be used to distinguish it from other similarly named programs, series, movies, books, terms, or other topics. Natural disambiguation may be used if the show has an alternate title that is also commonly used to refer to it. Failing that, then parenthetical disambiguation may be needed – use the most appropriate method as described in the sections below.
For guidelines relating to television broadcasting (networks, channels, stations, etc.), see Wikipedia:Naming conventions (broadcasting). - is also at the "See also" section. Can this be removed?
General guidelines edit
Use English names edit
WP:English: The title of an article should generally use the version of the name of the subject which is most common in the English language, as you would find it in reliable sources (for example other encyclopedias and reference works, scholarly journals, and major news sources). It can happen that an otherwise notable topic has not yet received much attention in the English-speaking world, so that there are too few sources in English to constitute an established usage. Very low Google counts can but need not be indicative of this. If this happens, follow the conventions of the language in which this entity is most often talked about (German for German politicians, Turkish for Turkish rivers, Portuguese for Brazilian municipalities etc.).
It can happen that an otherwise notable topic has not yet received much attention in the English-speaking world, so that there are too few sources in English to constitute an established usage. Very low Google counts can but need not be indicative of this. If this happens, follow the conventions of the language in which this entity is most often talked about (German for German politicians, Turkish for Turkish rivers, Portuguese for Brazilian municipalities etc.).
If, as will happen, there are several competing foreign terms, a neutral one is often best. Wikipedia:Naming conventions (geographic names) § Multiple local names and § Use modern names express some ideas on resolving such problems.
Avoid special characters edit
WP:MOSTM: Avoid using special characters that are not pronounced, are included purely for decoration, or simply substitute for English words or letters (e.g., "♥" used for "love", "!" used for "i") or for normal punctuation, unless a significant majority of reliable sources that are independent of the subject consistently include the special character in the subject's name. Similarly, avoid special stylization, such as superscripting or boldface, in an attempt to emulate a trademark.
- Use Numbers (TV series), not NUMB3RS.
- Use Once (TV series), not O11CE.
- Use Seven (1995 film), not SE7EN.
- Use Alien 3, not ALIEN³.
Primary Topic edit
Television programming edit
Series television edit
Episodic shows are made of episodes which may relate part of an unfolding story, feature recurring settings or characters, or express a unifying narrative theme. These shows are typically aired only part of the year, and are produced as a set or cycle of episodes usually called a "season" or a "series".
- For a TV series article whose name does not conflict with any other article, use the TV series title.
- When disambiguation is required, use
TV series name (TV series). - Do not disambiguate by genre or format, i.e. "sitcom", "telenovela", "soap opera", etc., unless further disambiguation is required (see Additional disambiguation below).
Examples edit
- Breaking Bad – No other article with that name exists.
- Revenge (TV series)
- Portlandia (TV series)
- Fixer Upper (TV series)
- Life on Earth (TV series)
Special cases edit
When disambiguation is required in special cases, use one of the following:
- For episodic television known as "miniseries", or "serial", use:
TV series name (miniseries)orTV series name (TV serial)according to common usage in reliable sources. - For TV series which produced only a pilot, use
TV series name (TV pilot). - The Best of Times (TV pilot) - should this be added? - For television plays, use
TV series name (TV play). - Double Dare (play) - should this be added? - For web series, use
TV series name (web series). - Nocturnal (web series) (see also Category:Web series) - should this be added? - For articles about a radio series that was later produced on television, use
TV series name (radio and TV series). - House Party (radio and TV show), Beulah (radio and TV series), Strike It Rich (radio-TV), You Are There (series), The Goldbergs (broadcast series) (see also Category:Radio programs adapted into television programs) - should this be added?
Examples edit
- Taken (miniseries) – Originated in Canada and uses the Canadian(?) term "miniseries".
- The Second Coming (TV serial) – Originated in the UK and uses the British term "serial". - Changed to TV serial as all articles were using this anyways
Non-series television edit
Non-series television shows tend to be produced on either an on-going basis (airing daily or weekly) or as a one-time event. Each episode of an on-going show usually is self-contained with little connection to other episodes, other than title, format, hosts, and other on-air personalities. These shows generally lack on-going narrative or story elements.
- For a non-series television article whose name does not conflict with any other article, use the TV program title.
- For game shows, use
TV program name (game show). - For talk shows, use
TV program name (talk show). - For all other programs use
TV program name (TV program)orTV program name (TV programme)according to common usage in reliable sources (Note: For Australian uses see this).
Examples edit
- Hollywood Squares – A game show that does not share a name with any other article.
- The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien – A talk show that does not share a name with any other article.
- Password (game show) – Password, is considered to be the primary topic, so the game show is disambiguated.
- My Generation (talk show) – "My Generation", the song, is considered to be the primary topic, so the talk show is disambiguated.
- Extra (TV program) – Extra is a disambiguation page because there is no primary topic. Originated in the U.S. and uses the American term "program".
- The Hub (TV programme) – The Hub is a disambiguation page because there is no primary topic. Originated in the UK and uses the British term "programme".
Season articles edit
TV shows are typically aired only part of the year, and are produced as a set or cycle of episodes usually called a "season" or a "series". A season can be numbered in order or can have a unique name for each season. A consistent naming scheme should be used for all season articles of a TV show – if one season is named something special, this should be noted through redirects and in the article's WP:LEAD, but the article should be named in the same fashion as the other season pages. Similar names should continue even if one version of the show has several more seasons than the other; for example, the U.S. version of The Apprentice has had four more seasons than the UK version, but the naming continues up through all of them, including "The Apprentice (U.S. season 11)". Hatnotes should be used to provide links to the other shows' existing season pages if needed. For further disambiguation see Additional disambiguation below.
Navigation to other season pages and to the main show page should be provided by navigation boxes at the bottom of the article, and it is often useful to include preceding and following seasons within the infobox (if one exists) for that season. Redirections should be created for ease of searching by the end user. - This has nothing to do with naming, is this needed?
- For a season article, use
TV series name (season x)orTV series name (series x)according to common usage in reliable sources. "x" represents the season number in numerals not words. Is cycle valid? America's Next Top Model (cycle 1) - For seasons that use that use a distinctive name, that should be used instead.
- For a season that uses a distinctive name, while the rest of the seasons use a season number style, use the consistent style instead of the distinctive name.
Examples edit
- 24 (season 1), 24 (season 2), 24 (season 3), ... – Originated in the U.S. and uses the American term "season".
- Doctor Who (series 8) Doctor Who (series 9), Doctor Who (series 10), ... – Originated in the UK and uses the British term "series".
- Survivor: Borneo, Survivor: The Australian Outback, Survivor: Africa, ... – Each season had a distinctive name and uses that name instead of the season numbers.
- Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Spartacus: Vengeance, Spartacus: War of the Damned – Each season had a distinctive name and uses that name instead of the season numbers.
- The Amazing Race 6, The Amazing Race 7, The Amazing Race 8 – The Amazing Race 8 was known as "The Amazing Race: Family Edition", but maintains the naming format as other seasons with the season's distinctive name being a redirect to the consistently named season page.
Additional disambiguation edit
Additional disambiguation is needed when there are two or more television productions of the same type and name.
- Prefix with the country of broadcast using the country adjective. Generally the preferred disambiguation when additional disambiguation is needed. Used to distinguish shows with the same title from different countries. Only one country should be used.
- For TV series articles, use
TV series name (Country-adjective TV series)as in(American TV series)[a],(Argentine TV series)[b],(British TV series)[a] ,(Canadian TV series).- For multi-country TV series articles, use ?? So You Think You Can Dance (Belgian and Dutch TV series), My Name is... (Belgium & The Netherlands) - check valid style
- For TV season articles, use
TV series name (Country-adjective season/series x)as in(Canadian season x),(British series x),(American season x).- For multi-country season articles, use ?? So You Think You Can Dance (Belgium and the Netherlands, season 6) - check valid style
- For TV series articles, use
- Prefix with the year of release or program debut. Generally used when there are shows with the same title within the same country.
- For TV series articles, use
TV series name (year TV series)as in(1997 TV series). - For TV season articles[c], use
TV series name (year TV series, season/series x)as in(1997 TV series, season x),(1997 TV series, series x).
- For TV series articles, use
- Prefix with the year of release or program debut and country of broadcast using the country adjective.
- For TV series articles, use
TV series name (year Country-adjective TV series)as in(1997 Canadian TV series). - For TV season articles, use
TV series name (year Country-adjective TV series, season/series x)as in(1997 Canadian TV series, season x),(1997 British TV, series series x).
- For TV series articles, use
- If the year, country, or a combination of both is still insufficient to disambiguate the topic, an appropriate genre or format word ("sitcom", "telenovela", "soap opera", "animated" or "anime", etc.) can then be considered for use via a page move request.
Disambiguation using television network identification is deprecated, but in certain cases, when programs air in the same region within a few years of each other, it may be advisable to create redirects in order to aid searching, linking, and prevent duplicate articles from being created (e.g. The Frank Sinatra Show (CBS TV series) for The Frank Sinatra Show (1950 TV series) vs. The Frank Sinatra Show (ABC TV series) for The Frank Sinatra Show (1957 TV series)).
Do same name TV series and TV programs/talk shows/game shows/miniseries need country/year prefix? Standing Room Only (TV series) vs Standing Room Only (1991 TV programme)
Examples edit
- Prefixing the series with the country adjective:
- Prefixing the season with the country adjective:
- Prefixing the series with the release year:
- Prefixing the season with the series release year:
- Prefixing the series with the country adjective and the release year:
- Hunter (1984 American TV series), Hunter (1984 Australian TV series) as there are both Hunter (1977 TV series) (American) and Hunter (1967 TV series) (Australian) TV series
Episode articles edit
- For an episode article whose name does not conflict with any other article, use the episode title.
- For episode articles whose name conflict with another article, use
Episode title (TV series name). - For an episode article where the title is the same as a character or other element from the show which has its own article, use
Episode title (TV series name episode).
Although editors should avoid preemptive disambiguation, they are encouraged to create extra redirects to help with internal linking and avoid creation of duplicate articles. For example, for the Lost episode, one could create the following redirects:
Examples edit
- Bart the Genius – No other article with that name exists.
- The Sting (Futurama) – The Sting, the 1973 film, is considered to be the primary topic so the episode is disambiguated.
- Serenity (Firefly episode) – To further disambiguate between the episode and Serenity (Firefly vessel) and Serenity (2005 film).
Character and element articles edit
- For an article about a character or element whose name does not conflict with any other article, use its name as the article title.
- For an article about a character or element that belongs to a shared universe or franchise, use
Title (Shared universe name)orTitle (Franchise name). - For an article about a character or element that belongs to a TV series, use
Title (TV series name). - For an article about a character or element that is the same name as the Shared Universe/Franchise/TV series, use
Title (character/element)orTitle (TV series name character/element).
Examples edit
- Bart Simpson – No other article with that name exists.
- Claire Temple (Marvel Cinematic Universe) – Claire Temple, the comics version, is considered to be the primary topic, so the article is disambiguated with Marvel Cinematic Universe, the shared universe the character is a part of.
- Quark (Star Trek) – Quark, the elementary particle, is considered to be the primary topic, so the article is disambiguated with Star Trek, the franchise the character is a part of.
- John Locke (Lost) – John Locke, the philosopher, is considered to be the primary topic, so the article is disambiguated with Lost, the TV series the character is a part of.
- Kim Possible (character) – The character name is the same as its TV series name, Kim Possible, so the article is disambiguated with the word "character".
- Serenity (Firefly vessel) – Serenity, is a disambiguation page because there is no primary topic, and in addition, the vessel has has the same name as "Serenity", an episode from the same series, so the article is disambiguated with the TV series and vessel (its type).
Television films edit
- For television films whose names conflict with other uses, use
TV film name (film). - For television films whose names conflict with other films, use
TV film name (year film), where year corresponds to the year in which the film first aired on TV. - For television films whose name conflicts with a theatrical film released in the same year, use
TV film name (year TV film)andTV film name (year theatrical film)respectively.
Examples edit
- Their Eyes Were Watching God (film) – Their Eyes Were Watching God, the novel, is considered to be the primary topic so the film is disambiguated.
- Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (film) – "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town", a song, is considered to be the primary topic so the film is disambiguated.
- The Challenge (2003 film) (television film), The Challenge (1938 film) and The Challenge (1982 film) – None of the films are the primary topic so they are all disambiguated.
- Savage (1973 TV film) and Savage! (1973 theatrical film) – None of the films are the primary topic so they are all disambiguated.
edit
When the content presented in a TV program or series spans other media formats such as radio, film, video game, or print, then an associated overview page (an article describing and summarizing the items of the franchise or shared universe) should occupy the primary article title.
- For franchise or shared universe articles whose name does not conflict with any other article, use the franchise or shared universe title.
- For franchise or shared universe articles that need to be disambiguated, use
Shared universe name (franchise)orOfficial franchise name (franchise)orSeries name (franchise).
Examples edit
- Arrowverse – A shared universe article that does not share a name with any other article.
- Star Trek – A franchise article that does not share a name with any other article.
- Big Brother (franchise)
- Chicago (franchise)
- Dragnet (franchise)
List articles edit
Disambiguation for list articles related to television productions should be used where necessary to make clear which title is being discussed. If the main TV series page title was disambiguated from other entertainment properties (e.g. other TV series, films, novels, etc.), related list pages may or may not need to be further disambiguated, depending on whether other list articles exist. Otherwise, the series title is sufficient. If one List of article needed further disambiguation, all List of articles should use the same naming style.
Examples edit
- NCIS: New Orleans and List of NCIS: New Orleans episodes – No other article with that name exists, so List of articles do not need additional disambiguation.
- Fargo (TV series) and List of Fargo episodes – Fargo is a disambiguation page because there is no primary topic but there are no other TV series that share this name, so List of articles do not need additional disambiguation.
- List of Oz characters vs. List of Oz (TV series) characters – A List of exists for the Oz books, so the TV series uses (TV series) as the disambiguation.
- The Flash (1990 TV series) vs. The Flash (2014 TV series) and List of The Flash episodes and List of The Flash characters – No List of articles exist for the 1990 series so the 2014 List of articles use base name.
- Scream Queens (2008 TV series) and List of Scream Queens (2008 TV series) episodes vs. Scream Queens (2015 TV series) and List of Scream Queens (2015 TV series) episodes – List of articles exist for both US versions, so both List of articles use the release year prefix.
- Mistresses (U.S. TV series) and List of Mistresses (U.S. TV series) episodes vs. Mistresses (UK TV series) and List of Mistresses (UK TV series) episodes – List of articles exist for both series, so both List of articles use the country-adjective prefix.
Programming blocks edit
Articles about television edit
Articles which relate to general concepts related to television technology, terminology, and industry (but not programming) should use Title (television).
Examples edit
See also edit
- Wikipedia:Naming conventions (broadcasting), for additional guidelines relating to television broadcasting (networks, channels, stations, etc.)
- Wikipedia:Naming conventions (geographic names)#Fictional cities
Notes edit
- ^ a b See RFC: What disambiguation should shows from the United States and United Kingdom use?
- ^ See Argentine or Argentinian.
- ^ See RfC about double parenthetical disambiguation regarding TV season articles with year prefix.