small screen

In the decades between the original 1978-79 “Battlestar” and the full-throttle reboot, science-fiction storytelling on the small screen advanced at lightspeed, which may have helped the latter last far longer than the original.

But the combination of prestige television and advanced technology has made it more common for the small screen to showcase the ballet of direction, cinematography, acting and more required to make it feel like an episode or scene is filmed in one continuous take.

These five projects — a combination of celebrity portraits, true-crime thrillers and oddball sagas — suggest the breadth of HBO Documentary Films’ strategy for an art form that has blossomed on the small screen.

Scott added he was delighted the book he's championed for almost two decades has now made it to the small screen, but he says it's up to audiences whether Department Q has a sequel.

Yet while cinema has banked on gaming's mass appeal, it is on the small screen where the depth of modern-day gaming storylines has really shone.