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A recap sequence (or recap, often announced as "Previously on...") is a narrative device used by many television series to bring the viewer up to date with the current events of the stories' plot. It is usually a short (between 20 and 40 seconds) Montage sequence of important scenes cut directly from previous , usually short bursts of dialogue, which serve to lay the background for the following episode.
These montages are inserted as the first thing into an episode so that viewers who had not seen the previous episodes or who do not remember what happened can understand from where the current episode will begin, also so that the viewers may decide to catch up on missed episodes, usually buying the DVDs. They usually begin with a voiceover or subtitle proclaiming, "Last week on... the", "Last night on... the", "Previously on... the" or "Last time on... the". Many shows have begun to use a main character's voice for this voiceover rather than a neutral narrator ( Chuck), and some series such as Boston Legal and Stargate Atlantis alternate which main character says "Previously on... the". Some shows also have a full season recap sequence that usually begins with "This season on... the".
On the NBC show ER, main cast members rotate turns saying the phrase "Previously on ER..." which is then followed by scenes from previous episodes which are pertinent to the current episode.
In some cases, the scene leading up to the previous episode's ending is shown instead of a montage. This was common on British television shows from the 1950s to 1990s, although now most adopt a recap montage. An example of this is Doctor Who, which during its original run (1963–1989) used the final scene of the previous episode to begin the next, whereas from the series relaunch (2005–present) the recaps are made up of a collection of short clips.
Recaps are also used for several soap operas, most notably in Australia. The Australian prison soap opera Prisoner (commonly known as Prisoner: Cell Block H) used a recap sequence throughout its eight-season run. In the early years it only showed the final scene of the previous episode before the opening credits. However, in later years it began to show several select cuts from the previous episode during the recap sequence, often, a new scene would directly follow the recap before the opening credits. In the early years of Australian soaps Home and Away, Neighbours and Sons and Daughters a recap showed directly after the opening credits, which may have been confusing for viewers who would have started watching them, not realizing they were viewing a recap sequence and not a new opening scene. The layout was changed in later years as recaps for Home and Away and Neighbours started before the credits, but currently they again show after the credits in such a way not to confuse the viewer. British soap operas, apart from Hollyoaks, do not use a recap sequence, however, they may be relevant.
In the English dubs of various episode anime series that were edited for time or censorship reasons, recaps are sometimes extended or introduced where they did not exist originally, to cover any shortfalls in running time. Some examples where this occurs are Robotech, the FUNimation English dub of Dragon Ball Z, and the 4Kids English-language version of One Piece. The original Japanese version of One Piece did not always have recaps, though many episodes did have recaps as the first scene following the opening credits.
Recaps can also refer to entire episodes, where such explain a backstory or plot point the viewer has not seen up to that point. Such episodes usually happen after a plot twist, for the recap to explore what led up to that point that the viewer does not know.
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