TV.com

The following is a list of guidelines that set out what is expected in terms of submissions to this guide. Following these guidelines will greatly improve your chances of having your submission accepted. Failure to follow them means that your submission is liable to be rejected.

General Guidelines
Summary Form
Cast/Crew
Notes/Trivia/Allusions
Quotes
Approvals and Rejections

General Guidelines

Use correct English

This may be an internet site, but that doesn't mean that anything goes. Good writing is essential to understanding. This guide requires the same standards as apply in any book or newspaper. All submissions should use correct spelling and grammar, with appropriate capitalisation and punctuation. I won't reject a submission for minor errors: we all make mistakes, and part of my job is to proofread your submission and tidy up any minor errors or unfortunate grammatical construction. Take the time to proofread your own contribution before submitting it.

If your submission is so poorly constructed that I cannot understand what you are saying, I won't be able to do anything with it. I don't have the time to rewrite every submission from scratch — if I wanted, I could have written it myself, after all. If you repeatedly make low-grade submissions in pidgin English or txt-spk, I will reject your submissions without hesitation.

If you struggled at school and failed to master the basics of English, you may not be able to compose an Episode Summary or Note that will pass muster. Similarly, if English is not your native language, you may it difficult to write to an acceptable standard. My French isn't good enough to submit to a French-language site, so I don't. Stick to the things you can do. Cast and crew submissions don't require the same facility with language as Recaps do.

I am a little bit of a stickler for character names. These are in the episode guide. Take the time to spell them correctly. If you cannot be bothered to check and spell a name correctly, who would I take the rest of your submission seriously?

This is an international site, but this show is for a British audience, and the characters in it speak English. Please try to use the appropriate English spellings and vocabulary. If you submit in American English, I will try to catch and amend all the American spellings and constructions, but may miss some.

There is a series of tips on the use of English in the User Submission Support forum:

Write Like You Talk
Know Your Capitals!
Soundalikes and You!
Periods and Commas and Colons, Oh My!
Apostrophes, Hyphens, and Quotation Marks, Oh My!
Numbers and You

Don't copy the work of others

Plagiarism, or passing of the work of other people as your own, is simply against the rules. See Can I cut and paste information from other sites and contribute it to a guide? in the Knowledgebase. Unbelievably, there are persistent offenders out there who think that they can copy a summary from a press release, listings magazine or fan site and submit it here. I didn't get to be editor of 200+ guides without having a basic grasp of English idiom, or access to the internet. I'm not a fool: I can easily recognise a copied submission, and can readily identify the source. By all means, feel free to read episode synopses and use them as a basis for your submission, but such submissions should be in your own words. If you copy-and-paste (or copy-type, Sean) from another website I will reject your submission. Do it repeatedly, and I will report you, and campaign to have you banned from the site. One day, Sean.

Formatting

You may be used to writing in a word-processing programme such as MS Word, where the programme will automatically convert certain keystrokes to the desired symbol. That doesn't apply here. If you want to use a dash (—) between words, you can use ALT+0151: don't use a hyphen instead. If you want to end a summary with an ellipsis (…), you can use ALT+0133: don't use a bunch of full-stops instead.

Please don't indent paragraphs, or use double-spacing between sentences. These are unwelcome carryovers from the days of the manual typewriter, and it takes me ages to go through a recap and remove repeated formatting errors.

Correcting existing entries

If you see something in the guide that needs fixing, such as incorrect spelling or grammar, I would be grateful if you would correct it. Please, however, tell me what specific errors you are correcting. And be especially careful not to add more of your own!

If you are amending a credit (consolidating or splitting person guides) please tell me the ID number of the person guide you are removing and the ID number of the person guide you are adding.

Adding hyperlinks

Hyperlinks are good. They allow those who come after you to follow a story through. Under the current rules, you are encouraged to provide links to a page of any relevant CNET site, but not any other site. If referring to an episode of another show, please link to that episode, and not the show summary page.

User Comments

Use the User Comment box properly: use this box to tell me what you are doing, and why. Do not attempt to bypass this requirement by entering a blank space, or "none". Don't use it to tell me that "this was a good episode".

Sourcing your material

There is useful guidance in Submission Tips - Column #2 - Sourcing Your Material in the User Submission Support forum.

If you are submitting something you got, and that I can check, from watching the episode, that's well and good. If you are moving a credit from one person to another, or correcting an error in formatting, spelling or grammar, a source would not normally be required. If you are submitting anything else, you must tell me where you got the information from, so I know where to check. If the information comes from the DVD commentary, tell me. If the information comes from a book, tell me the title, edition and page number. If the information comes from a magazine, tell me the title, issue number and page number. And if it comes from an internet site, provide a hyperlink to the relevant page.

Episode Summary and Recap

Please follow the guidelines set out by TV.com.

There is useful guidance in Submission Tips Column #13 - How to Submit an Episode in the User Submission Support forum.

Summary Form

If you are adding a new episode you must add two of the following three elements: Episode's Name, Episode Synopsis and/or First Aired Date. There will be no exceptions. And you must provide a hyperlink to a relevant source, such as the network press release, or a legitimate TV listings magazine. Unofficial fan sites, illegal download sites, and IMdB/Wikipedia are not relevant sources to cite when adding new episodes.

The Episode's Name is the title of the episode, as seen on-screen, or as given in a network press release or TV listings magazine.

Use standard title case: capitalise the initial letter of the first and last words, and all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs and subordinating conjunctions. Do not capitalise the first word of articles, coordinating conjunctions or prespositions (unless they are the first or last word of the title). The only time not to use title case is if the episode uses non-title case for effect.

You may see some guides incorporate a (1) or (2) at the end of an episode title to indicate a continuing story. This practice, inherited from TVTome, is unhelpful, as it creates false titles and corrupts the workings of TV.com's TV listing's service. Use Part 1 (or Episode Two) if these are part of the true episode title, but don't add numbers of your own.

The Episode Synopsis should be a brief overview of each of the key plot points in an episode. Do not place spoilers/cliffhangers in the Episode Synopsis. Please do check the summaries for other episodes of the show to get a feel for what a summary should look like, and for character naming conventions.

Good sources of episode summaries include:

ITV Press Centre — detailed episode summaries published in advance of the broadcast of the first episode for key shows; a detailed episode summary published on Fridays, 15 days ahead of the broadcast week
RedBee Broadcasting Dataservices — a brief episode summary provided by BBC/ITV, published on Fridays 15 days ahead of the broadcast week and finalised on Thursdays, 9 days ahead of the broadcast week
Radio Times — the brief episode summary from Broadcasting Dataservices, published 13 days ahead of broadcast; one summary replaced by an episode review a week ahead of broadcast
ITV.com — a brief episode summary published 9 days ahead of broadcast

Other sources are not good: they are invariably copied (with or without approval, directly or indirectly) from ITV Press Centre/Broadcasting Dataservices/ITV.com.

The Episode Recap is a detailed recounting of the episode's events. Forget the mandatory 100-word minimum requirement; a great amount of detail is expected, with every scene included. Quotes are optional, but please avoid submitting the same quotes to both the Recap and Quotes sections. Realistically, noone can write a recap without having first seen the episode. As everything is included in a recap, spoilers are expected, so there is no need to add a SPOILER warning to a recap.

The Season Number is the series number. Please use the series number referred to by the network. Special episodes should be aligned to the most appropriate series.

The Episode Type indicates the type of episode. Most episodes are "Regular" episodes. Only use "Pilot" to indicate pilot episodes, made before a full series is commissioned. Only use "Special" to indicate episodes billed as specials by the network (generally outside a regular season, and/or of extended running time) or spin-off/tribute episodes broadcast alongside a series.

Episode Number (season) is used to indicate the number of the episode within each series (season). Episode Number (lifetime) is used to indicate the number of that episode within the lifetime of the show. Episode Numbers indicate the order in which episodes were broadcast on the originating network, and not the order in which they were produced. If there were 13 episodes in the first series, and you're adding Episode 6 to the second series, the Season Number is 2, the Episode Number (season) is 6 and the Episode Number (lifetime) is 19.

First Aired Date is when the episode first aired on its originating network. Some episodes of ITV shows get broadcast first in overseas territories, but the first ITV broadcast date should be used when this is known. Episodes 2 to 9 of Spooks are shown a week early on BBC Three, but this site follows the BBC in treating the BBC One date as the first aired date.

Make sure that the Did this Episode Air box is unticked, unless you are submitting or editing an episode that has not yet been scheduled for broadcast.

The Episode Production Code is a code identifying an episode inside its production company. These are rarely used on-screen on British television. Please, do not submit a production code of "206" or "S2Ep06" because the episode is the sixth in the second season. I am not aware of any British TV production company that uses such schemes and, in the absence of any supporting evidence, all submissions containing such a number will be rejected, regardless of the quality of the rest of the submission.

Cast/Crew

The cast section should include only those actors who appeared in an episode. Use the import section of the form to add show stars and recurring guests. Use the Add a Person section and Search function to add guests. When adding actors, use the character names as they appear in the closing credits of the episode.

A Star credit should only be attached to someone who is a regular on the show, and, for most British shows, named in the opening credits. Some of the star credits attached to older (pre-2005) episodes are inaccurate, and include actors who did not appear in the particular episode. This is as a result of the method used by TV.com to import star details from TVTome. Feel free to delete such entries, if you have watched the episode and have confirmed that the actor does not appear. Do not rely on listings magazines or fan sites such as Wikipedia or IMdB, as these do not necessarily list everyone who appeared in the episode, so cannot be relied upon as an indication of who did not appear.

A Recurring Role is one where someone other than a show star appears in 5 or more episodes, across two or more storylines, playing the same character. Some of the Recurring Role credits in the guide are inaccurate because, prior to July 2007, the site automatically reclassified any guest with 5 or more appearances as Recurring. Some performances were not reclassified in this way because of bugginess in the system. Feel free to reclassify any actor from Recurring Role to Guest Star if this was his or her only appearance as that character. Similarly, any guest actor playing the same part in 5 or more appearances across two or more storylines may be reclassified from Guest Star to Recurring Role.

Cast additions and corrections should must be made in a single submission. If you have five guests to add/edit, add/edit them all at once. Do not attempt to make five separate submissions. If adding the cast for a new episode, wait until the cast list is published and add everyone who will be appearing in the episode. Do not simply add some of the stars, and offer to come back later when the guests are known. The reason that the cast has not yet been added to the guide is that everyone else is prepared to waiting for the cast list to be published.

The crew section should include any writers, directors, producers, and any crew members who are named in the closing credits, and whose job title is available at this site. I appreciate that some positions are more essential than others, and writer/director submissions are particularly appreciated. Submissions of credits for only one person are less so, and those for producer only are largely redundant for a show that has had only one producer. Do not submit a story credit for the episode writer: a story credit is only needed if one person comes up with the plot and another person writes the screenplay. Do not submit a creator credit for any episode, even if the creator is named in the closing credits: at TV.com, the creator is credited at show level only.

You can use the Import function to add crew members who are already attached to the show guide at summary level. As currently designed, the form allows you to add a "Character Name" as well as selecting a Role. Please don't: any entry added here will be hidden from view in the person's Appearances page, but will appear instead of the role type if your entry ends up as one of the 6 writer, director or "other" credits that appear on the person's Summary page. The same will happen if you leave n/a in the Character Name field. You should delete everything in this field before adding the credit.

If you import a crew member who has more than one job on the show, the system will try to allocate one of those jobs, even if you specify the other job when adding the credit. To get round this, you may need to edit the role type (and delete the n/a again) before submitting the form.

Be particularly careful when adding cast and crew credits. Search for the actor or crew member. If you get a hit, view the person profile to check that it relates to the correct person. Remember that, while members of British Equity all have a unique stage name, there could be an American or Australian actor with the same name. There are many thousands of people who have worked in the U.K. television industry, as writers, directors or technical staff, and many of these will happen to have the same name as someone else. If you cannot find a match for your actor or crewmember in the database, add a new one. If you manually add a new person, you must wait until your submission is approved, and the new person guide becomes searchable, before adding the same person to another episode. If you don't wait, each submission will create a new person guide, and someone will have to come along later to correct the offending credits and to arrange for the duplicate(s) to be deleted.

Good sources of cast and crew credits include:

ITV Press Centre — full cast and crew credits published in advance of the broadcast of the first episode for key shows; actor names for some of the cast included in parentheses within a detailed episode summary, published on Fridays, 15 days ahead of broadcast.
RedBee Broadcasting Dataservices — a summary with partial cast listings (6-8 actors, no character names) published on Fridays 15 days ahead of the broadcast week and finalised on Thursdays, 9 days ahead of the broadcast week
Radio Times — partial cast listings (6-8 actors, no character names) and director details published 13 days ahead of broadcast; replaced by comprehensive cast credits, and writer and director details, a week ahead of broadcast
ITV.com — a brief episode summary with partial cast listings (10-15 actors, no character names) published 9 days ahead of broadcast
Tiscali.film & tv — as ITV.com, but not so heavily truncated, providing more cast details (up to 20 actors, no character names) published 6 days ahead of broadcast

The later you leave submission of cast credits, the more accurate you can afford to be. I won't accept a partial cast list in advance of broadcast if a more comprehensive cast list has already been published. The best source of credits is from the end credits of the episode itself. Feel free to submit corrections or additions to cast lists once an episode has aired.

The whole cast list, as you know it, should be added on a single submission. It is not acceptable to split the cast list for a single episode between multiple submissions in an attempt to secure what you regard as a just reward for the effort being made. It is acceptable to identify several key positions and submit credits for those positions to every episode in a guide. It is unacceptable to make a bunch of submissions adding, say, the director of photography to every episode, then more to add the camera operator to the same episodes, then more to add the focus puller to every episode. See the Knowledgebase entry on What is "gaming" and what is the penalty for it? in the Knowlegebase. If, as editor, I can see that your pattern of submissions is designed to garner maximum points rather than to work towards a comprehensive and accurate show guide, I will report your practices to staff. Members whom I have accused of gaming in the past have all subsequently been banned from the site.

Notes, Trivia, and Allusions

Please follow the guidelines set out by TV.com.

There is useful guidance in Submission Tips Column #14 - Episode Notes, Trivia, and Allusions in the User Submission Support forum.

Notes are for off-screen activities. Production details, and reminiscences by cast or crew, go here.

Trivia is for on-screen events, specifically details that might not be obvious to casual viewers. All production and continuity errors should be recorded as Trivia.

The Allusions section is where we provide background to an allusion made on-screen by one of the characters in the episode. An allusion is an oblique references to other media or events, and presume a knowledge on the part of the person being addressed.

If you want to expand on a point raised in an existing Note, Trivia item or Allusion, edit it. If you want to add something that is not covered in an existing Note, Trivia item or Allusion, add a new Note, Trivia item or Allusion!

The following are not valid items, and will not be accepted:

Statements of opinion — keep these for your reviews.

A "reply" to an earlier Note or Trivia item, in which you attempt to rebut what the earlier item says, or rationalise away a goof. If the existing item is wrong or unclear, edit or delete it. If the existing item repeats a popular misconception, it's better to leave it in place and rebut it. If you delete it, someone else will try to add it back.

Unsubstantiated gossip. I don't care how convinced you are that someone said something about working with that actor, or why a contract was broken. If you cannot substantiate the statement with a reliable source, it doesn't get in the guide.

Plot points — these belong in the Summary or Recap.

Basic cast information (so-and-so plays such-and-such) — this is held in the Cast section

BARB viewing figures - these are simply too dull for words.

Noting the first or last episode of a series — we can see this from the episode numbering.

Noting the first appearance of a show star against the first episode of the show. Or noting the final appearance of a show star against the last episode of the show. Such information is redundant.

Items from an actor's C.V. If we need to know where we have seen an actor before, we can click on the link. Don't tell us what role an an actor is best known for — we already know, or we disagree. The fact that two actors have worked together before is not worthy of a Note unless one or other actor was cast on this episode specifically because of a prior relationship, or because they are related by blood or marriage. The fact that two actors who appear in this episode will work together in the future on some other show is never worthy of a Note. British television is a small world, and a minority of actors get the majority of roles. Ultimately, we might expect every actor to have worked with every other actor. In short, episode Notes are not the place to record the minutiae from an actor's C.V. If you have something to say about an actor, submit it to the person guide.

Continuity references (a direct reference within one episode to events in earlier episodes) need not be noted, unless the observation of continuity is surprising and noteworthy.

Quotes

Please follow the guidelines set out by TV.com.

There is useful guidance in Submission Tips Column #15 - Episode Quotes in the User Submission Support forum.

Stage directions dealing with solely with the actions of a character, or a narrative needed to set up a quote for the benefit of the reader, should be in the form of a complete sentence. This should be correctly punctuated, in parentheses and italics, and on a separate line from any dialogue. Character stage directions, on the other hand, are used indicate how a person is speaking, or what he is doing while talking, or to whom he is talking. These are short phrases or single words, and should not be punctuated, although they are still in parentheses (or brackets) and italics. In the manuscript of a play, these would normally appear on a separate line, below the character name, but here at TV.com, they appear between the character name and the line of dialogue. Despite what you might read elsewhere, basic language structures require that these character stage directions should appear before the colon, not after it.

(Smith starts to rummage through the top drawer of the bedside table. Jones enters.)
Jones [ to Jean ]: And what is he doing there?
Jean [ shaking her head ]: Not a lot…

A good quote should be of dialogue that is funny, memorable, or character defining. As a general rule, a quote should stand up with little or no scene-setting. It may be the funniest scene you have viewed, but if a quote only works when you have to explain what happened before, during and after a line of dialogue, then it's not a good quote. A good punchline might be preceded by seven or eight lines of dialogue. If it would work just as well without the first four or five lines, drop them!

Profanity should be as originally aired. If the character swears, use the swear word. If the swear word was censored on broadcast, use asterisks instead.

The best place to get quotes is from watching the episode itself. You are allowed to copy quotes from elsewhere, but bear in mind that you will be relying on the accuracy of whoever submitted it to the other place. Please do not copy-and-paste a lot of quotes from a single source: such an approach is officially deprecated, and might mean that I have to disallow all of them.

A substantial number of quotes on this site were added at TVTome, and do not meet current standards. If you see a quote that is incorrectly formatted (character name not present, or not emboldened, no space between colon and dialogue, quotation marks used, blank line between lines of dialogue) please do submit a correction.