For brevity, The Non-Sequitur Express identifies TV series and the networks/affiliates/independents on which they appear by brief 2-to-4-character alphanumeric symbols -- both in the "Upcoming" TV listings and prose. This key/legend appears in condensed format in each issue.
Yes, it would be nicer if this list were available as a searchable/sortable/filterable db-drive list, wouldn't it? I wouldn't have to impose an arbitrary ordering, based on my assumption of utility. I could include extra series data, such as primary and secondary timeslot, typical episode MPAA rating, genre and production house.
r Novelty: * new, r repeat, 3 third time Cle Series symbol: "Cleopatra 2525" Flying Lessons Title 1205 Episode number pg MPAA TV rating 17 Network, or local channel if syndicated z 0401-2000 First airing: Saturday 1 April 20:00 z 0408-1300 Second airing: one week later
A typical program listing occupies a single line and consists of eight fields.
The first indicates whether it's a brand-new first-run episode or a repeat; after it's been repeated many times I don't bother with any symbol.
The next three identify what: the series, episode title, and its sequence. Typically I'll write "123" to indicate the 23rd episode of season (series, year) 1, though sometimes I'll use the show's own proprietary numeration scheme.
The fourth field is the MPAA-designed content rating, shrunk to two characters: y, y7, pg, 14 (for pg-14), etc.
The fifth through seventh are where and when: the network (if it's a network show) or Philadelphia-area channel (if syndicated) on which it appears. Next, two day-date-time stamps: the first airing and the repeat/encore (if any). Days of the week are abbreviated mtwrfzs: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, thuRsday, Friday, "Z"aturday, and Sunday. So "z 0401-2000" is just a compact form of "Saturday, April first, eight p.m." or "sat 4/1 20:00". (Consult your local POSIX documentation for full date-formatting placeholders.)
r Vgr Warlord 852/??? pg upn z 0909-2300 Fut (pre'mp'd by "Speed" (1994)) s 0910-1900 r BB World's Greatest Dad 225052 pg wb f 0915-2000 * Inv Cat & Mouse 113 pg sfc f 0915-2000 f 0915-2300 r PJs Bones, Bugs and Harmony 107 -- wb f 0915-2030 * Fsc A Clockwork Nebari --- 14 sfc f 0915-2100 z 0916-0000 r SG1 ?? --- -- 29 z 0916-1700 mov Patlabor 2: the Movie (1993, 120min) -- plx r 0831-1900 f 0901-0310
The above eight examples illustrate variants you might encounter.
The first (Voyager: Warlord) uses a slashed-dual episode number. In "Star Trek's" case each episode has a "production number" which advances across all four TV series; each series can be individually numbered by season-episode. The third (Baby Blues: World's Greatest Dad) is simply the production number; many shows don't start with "1" or "100" -- "Cleopatra 2525" uses "1200", "The Invisible Man" 400, shows on the WB are mixed alphanumerics. TV sites usually list the first and I don't always know/recall the second (or can be bothered to look it up).
The second is a pre-emption.
The fifth through seventh are all missing data, indicated by hypens and question marks; those fields aren't always listed on the tv listing. The second indicates a pre-emption.
The eighth is a movie listing. The series symbol is "mov" for "movie" and the title block includes the date and running time (in minutes). Episode number is meaningless.
abc wpvi 6 cbs kyw 3 fox wtxf 29 ind wgtw 48 carries BKN, the Bohbot Kids Network ind wfmz 69 nbc wcau 10 pbs whyy 12 pbs wybe 35 upn wpsg 57 wb wphl 17 carries Alliance-Atlantis-Tribune SFF lineup plx MOVIEPlex intermittently carries anime and 1980s SF sci Sci-Fi Channel sfc Sci-Fi Channel sho Showtime tnt Turner Network Television
And Gene Rodenberry's Andromeda /17 Ang Angel wb 7D 7 Days upn B5 Babylon 5 tnt (rerun) BCJ The Adventures of Brisco County Junior tnt (rerun) Buf Buffy the Vampire Slayer wb Chm Charmed wb Cle Cleopatra 2525 /17 EFC Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict /17 FSc Farscape sfc Inv The Invisible Man sfc/48 JAT Jack of All Trades /17 N+A Now and Again --- (canceled) Pry Prey sfc Ros Roswell wb SAM Secret Agent Man upn SG1 StarGate SG-1 sho/29 SI1 Space Island One /35 (rerun) TR2 Total Recall 2070 -- (intermittent) Who Doctor Who /35 (rerun) XF The X-Files fox TOS Star Trek: The Original Series sfc (rerun) DS9 Star Trek: Deep Space 9 -- (rerun) TNG Star Trek: The Next Generation /69 (rerun) Vgr Star Trek: Voyager upn
BB Baby Blues wb FGy Family Guy fox Fut Futurama fox PJs The PJs wb clay-animation (originally Fox) Sim The Simpsons fox Clk Clerks --- (canceled) Dil Dilbert upn (canceled) GDB God, the Devil, and Bob --- (canceled) Mis Mission Hill wb (re-canceled) Sam Sammy --- (canceled)
FtTD Flint the Time Detective fox anime ActM Action Man fox CGI Mainframe C6 Cybersix fox Chan Jackie Chan Adventures wb Digi Digimon: Digital Monsters fox anime Esca Escaflowne fox anime GenO Generation O! wb MIB Men in Black: The Series wb Sony-Raynis MxSt Max Steel wb CGI Netter et al PRLR Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue fox RSTC Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles bkn CGI Foundation et al, Sony-Raynis Sh22 Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century fox TFBM Beast Machines Transformers fox CGI Mainframe TFBW Beast Wars Transformers fox CGI Mainframe Avg Avengers fox (canceled) BGRB Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot fox Sony-Raynis (canceled) CSSM Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys bkn (dropped) D+D Dungeons & Dragons fox (dropped) Gdz Godzilla: The Series wb Sony-Raynis (dropped) Nas Nascar Racers fox (canceled) RCAM Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths and Legends bkn (canceled) SMU Spider-Man Unlimited fox (canceled) X9 Xyber 9: New Dawn fox (canceled) XGB Extreme Ghostbusters bkn Sony-Raynis