Editing Template talk:Episode Data

= Usage =

This template should be used for all [[Episode Guide|episode pages]].  For the code, please see [[Template:Episode Data]]. 

== Guidelines ==

All fields, with the exception of the chronology field, will not print if the information is blank. However, all fields have to be defined when using the template -- leaving a variable out without defining it will cause some asthetic displeasure. 

Other guidelines:

* Images should be widescreen. Max width is 350px. Images that are in a portrait format should not be used with this template.
* Guest stars must be separated by line breaks, using <tt>&lt;br/&gt;</tt> (the closing slash is for valid XHTML).

= Talk =

==Apply to all Episode Guides==
Is this template intended for use in all episode guides? If so, I'll likely start in converting the TOS and 1980 pages. Would duplicate/redundant info be removed from the "Stats" section at the bottom? --[[User:Steelviper|Steelviper]] 12:29, 6 January 2006 (EST)
: Yes, this should be applied to all episode guides.  The Stats at the bottom should be removed as well.  (Actualy, this template is supposed to remove that section, as I think it was fairly ugly to begin with anwyay... IMHO, of course.) -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 12:39, 6 January 2006 (EST)
::Template updates completed on the RDM episodes to last aired (1/6). There is still the matter of using a version of this to pretty up (and condense the data on) the [[Miniseries]] article, and Steelviper and Co. have been working hard on updating the TOS articles. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 16:54, 9 January 2006 (EST)
::Template updates completed on the TOS and 1980 sides as well (not that it's a competition or a race or anything... but your progress on the RDM side was pretty motivating). I think we're good to go as long as we keep applying it forward. We just need a few pictures for filling in the template (TOS and RDM), but I think those will come quickly (especially with all the recent help that has been going on with the TOS side!). --[[User:Steelviper|Steelviper]] 17:06, 9 January 2006 (EST)

==Formatting==
Joe, the template works and looks generally good, except in the formatting guest stars. Steelviper figured out how to add multiple guests, but the width of the template on the page, once done, really makes a page butt-ugly, or at least unbalanced. We may need to limit the area to guest names (no characters), or use actor names with redirects to their character if a page exists to shorten the page. We need to set a picture size maximum as well. Thoughts on this? --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 13:36, 6 January 2006 (EST)

: Yeah. I think we should fix the width of this thing at about 300px (to allow the largest thumb size), and spoecify some padding and margins to it. Right now, on [[33]] the text inside and outside the template run right up tot he [[Red Line]] and, to me, looks bad (italics leans over the line). I also think, a la the [[Template talk:Character Data|Character Data talk page]], we should lay out some guide-lines... I think the pic at the top of the template should always be a wide-screen shot of a whole frame from the episode. Anything taller will bulk this up enormously. --[[User:Day|Day]] 14:25, 6 January 2006 (EST)

:: Agreed. For the guest stars, the format should be: Actor Name (Character). We should probably avoid any titles or ranks; though, if we do use ranks, we should abbreviate them. -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 14:57, 6 January 2006 (EST)

:::I think ranks are more problematic than they're worth. Three things come to mind immediately:
:::#Ranks can change - thus, an S1 cast template that specifies Lee Adama as captain won't be useable on episode which take place after his promotion to major.
:::#What about episodes in which a promotion takes place? Goerge Birch was both a Lieutenant and a Captain in Home, pt. I
:::#What about civillian "ranks"? 
:::In general, I'd just rather not open the can of worms. (And the width thing is a serious issue. Why don't we separate the cast date and put that on the bottom of the page, leaving the image, airdate and episode order on top?) --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 15:18, 6 January 2006 (EST)

After seeing the results, I think that this new template is unwealdy and we should stop using it.  It scrunches the top of each article (simply making them look awkward), and we can't fit in the full name and title of several characters.  I think it's more trouble than it's worth.  Does anyone agree? --[[User:Ricimer|Ricimer]] 15:53, 6 January 2006 (EST)

: As Peter stated, ranks (and, to an extent, titles) are more problematic then they're worth. (We can always do what the [http://midwinter.com/lurk/lurker.html Lurker's Guide to B5] has done and put the guest characters immediately after the overview/summary.) Also, the issue that makes the template "unwieldy" is the damn table of contents box which fills the top of the page... I think we need to compact it. -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 16:06, 6 January 2006 (EST)

::For an example of a page without a TOC in the upper left, see [[Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I]].  I haven't added back in the (empty) analysis, official statements, etc. so there isn't a TOC up there. --[[User:Steelviper|Steelviper]] 16:10, 6 January 2006 (EST)

:::A compact TOC is not the solution - it will look fine as soon as we remove the cast info from the template and place it somewhere in the text. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 23:41, 6 January 2006 (EST)

I agree that the template is too wide. My suggestion would be to place the guest stars elsewhere in the article (near the bottom maybe), and to make the episode chronology a seperate template. It could go at the bottom of the page (like memory alpha has it) and replace the template that lists every episode, which is going to be ridiculously big in a couple of seasons time.--[[User:Undc23|Undc23]] 20:47, 7 January 2006 (EST)

:No idea if this has already been said, but I don't like the size of the font. [[Template:Ship_Data|This template]] is a good example of the size of the text that I think is better than this bold text. Also we should always wikicode the templates. I put up a number of examples on how they are created. --[[User:Shane|Shane]] <sup>([[User_Talk:Shane|T]] - [[Special:Contributions/Shane|C]] - [[Special:Editcount/Shane|E]])</sup> 12:13, 20 March 2006 (CST)
::I also noticed that there should be a <nowiki> valign="top" </nowiki> where special guest is so it's not in the middle of the listings if there is more than one. More visusally appealing. --[[User:Shane|Shane]] <sup>([[User_Talk:Shane|T]] - [[Special:Contributions/Shane|C]] - [[Special:Editcount/Shane|E]])</sup> 13:25, 20 March 2006 (CST)

==Guest Stars==
I strongly feel that cast information needs to be removed from this template. If anyone disagrees, we should call a vote. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 18:46, 9 January 2006 (EST)

: I agree. Maybe, if someone wishes a compromise, we could decide on some filtering of guests. I mean... "Micheal Hogan (Saul Tigh)"? I wouldn't have guessed. I don't think anyone else listed in the template on "[[33]]" needs to be at the top of the page. Now, if we had some one-time guest star, that might be worth mentioning. Or some character that doesn't show up very often at all, like Cain or someone, then I could see a case for making a big deal of it. However, listing all the 2nd tier characters as guest stars is only slightly different from listing all the 1st tier characters and we're not listing all of ''them'' at the top of every episode article. --[[User:Day|Day]] 10:18, 10 January 2006 (EST)

:: I agree with Day. If you go to sci-fi.com's episode pages, down the bottom along with writer, etc, is special guest stars (except for episodes with no special guest stars). There are only 3: Richard Hatch (season 1 only, I guess he's not considered a special guest star after as he's too regular), Michelle Forbes, and Lucy Lawless. I suggest we change "guest stars" to "special guest stars" and go with these. The TOS pages do not have this, but I'm sure those familiar could work out some equivalent guest stars.--[[User:Undc23|Undc23]] 03:35, 20 January 2006 (EST)

:: So if I went ahead and moved guest stars from the template to the body of the articles (and added special guest star for the few episodes with one, see above), would anyone have a problem with it? --[[User:Undc23|Undc23]] 03:27, 31 January 2006 (EST)

:::Which episodes explicitly list "special guest stars"? --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 04:00, 31 January 2006 (EST)

::::[[Bastille Day]], [[Colonial Day]] ([[Richard Hatch]] as [[Tom Zarek]]).
::::[[Final Cut]] ([[Lucy Lawless]] as [[D'anna Biers]]).
::::[[Pegasus (episode)]], [[Resurrection Ship, Part I]], [[Resurrection Ship, Part II]] ([[Michelle Forbes]] as Admiral [[Helena Cain]]). --[[User:Undc23|Undc23]] 05:51, 31 January 2006 (EST)
::::edit: oops, missed [[Epiphanies]] ([[Colin Feore]] as President [[Richard Adar|Adar]])
::::[[Black Market]] ([[Richard Hatch]] as [[Tom Zarek]], [[Bill Duke]] as [[Phelan]])
::::Weird that Richard Hatch is listed for some episodes he's in, and not others, like Home

:::::Interesting. Well, no problem if you want to go ahead. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 10:21, 31 January 2006 (EST)

It's done. By the way, it may now be feasible to reduce the width of the table a fraction, though I wouldn't be the one to do it. --[[User:Undc23|Undc23]] 20:46, 31 January 2006 (EST)

== Population ==

I would like to expand the template to include the population of the fleet as listed in the opening credits of each episode (I suppose this would apply only to RDM Season 2 at present).  Any objections / thoughts?  My proposed modification to the code would look like this:
<pre>
|-class="hiddenStructure{{{Population}}}"
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | '''Population'''
|colspan=2 | {{{Population}}} Survivors
</pre>
…and be placed between DVD Release and Chronology.  I have created a [[User:Mayosolo/Template:Episode Data|mockup]].  If folks approve the idea, I'd be happy to tackle making the changes to the episode entries as well.

-- [[User:Mayosolo|Mayosolo]] 03:05, 20 January 2006 (EST)

: Great idea.--[[User:Undc23|Undc23]] 03:36, 20 January 2006 (EST)

:: Done. -- [[User:Mayosolo|Mayosolo]] 15:49, 21 January 2006 (EST)

== Nielsen ratings ==

Not sure if this is really the right spot to ask this, but I couldn't think where else. I've added the ratings to episode pages for season 2 from gateworld, but their news doesn't go far back enough to find out the ratings for all but the last episode of season 1. I've found ratings from tv.com for the early episodes of season 1 (though I'm not sure how reliable they are), but I can't find ratings for the others. Anyone know a good site to find nielsen rating information? --[[User:Undc23|Undc23]] 23:18, 4 February 2006 (EST)

== Hard Coded ==

Alot of the Data, including the inter-wiki links are hard coded. This could be done right in the template so the only thing people have to worry about is the data. I know some things can't be hardcoded, but I know there is a way for "Case Switching". I just have to look it up, as it would have to be a "Case Switch" for the "Series". This would make for none-familiar people to create a Data Block and not worry about that extra field that they may have to enter. I know the only problem is we have to go back and fix all the shows, but in the end you might like the difference when creating each page. --[[User:Shane|Shane]] <sup>([[Special:Contributions/Shane|C]] - [[Special:Editcount/Shane|E]])</sup> 23:57, 17 March 2006 (CST)

Also, any disabution text that can mean more than one thing, should go above the Episode Data template. Not below it. This makes it much clearer than it being in the middle of the valley. --[[User:Shane|Shane]] <sup>([[Special:Contributions/Shane|C]] - [[Special:Editcount/Shane|E]])</sup> 00:09, 18 March 2006 (CST)

== New Code Example with Usuage Example Also ==

=== New Code ===

<pre>
<nowiki>
{| class="toccolors" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; width: 20em; font-size: 90%; clear:right; border: 1px solid #a60003;" align="center"
|- style="text-align: center;" class="hiddenStructure{{{image}}}"
| colspan=3 | {{#if:{{{image|}}}|[[Image:{{{image}}}|300px]]|[[Image:Universal logo.jpg|300px]]}}
|- style="text-align: center;"
! style="background: #461919; color: #FFFFFF;" colspan=3|'''"{{{title}}}"'''<br />An [[Episode Guide|episode]] of ''{{#switch: {{{series|}}}
| tos = [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|the Original Series]]
| 1980 =[[Galactica 1980]]
|#default=[[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|The Re-imagined Series]]
}}''
|-
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | '''Episode No.'''
| colspan=2 | Season {{#switch:{{{series|}}}
| tos = [[Season 1 (1978-79)|1]]
| 1980 = 1
| #default = {{#switch: {{{season|}}}
| 1 = [[Season 1 (2004-05)|{{{season}}}]]
| 2 = [[Season 2 (2005-06)|{{{season}}}]]
| 3 = [[Season 3 (2006-07)|{{{season}}}]]
}}
}}, Episode {{{episode}}}
|-
| '''Writer(s)'''
| colspan=2 | {{{writer|}}}
|- 
| '''Story by'''
| colspan=2 | {{{story|}}}
|-
| '''Director'''
| colspan=2 | {{{director|}}}
|-class="hiddenStructure{{{guests|}}}" valign="top"
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | '''Special guest(s)'''
| colspan=2 style="white-space:nowrap;"| {{{guests}}}
|-
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | '''Production No.'''
| colspan=2 | {{{production}}}
|-class="hiddenStructure{{{rating|}}}"
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | '''Nielsen Rating'''
| colspan=2 | {{{rating}}}
|-class="hiddenStructure{{{US airdate|}}}"
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | '''US airdate'''
|colspan=2 | {{{US airdate}}}
|-class="hiddenStructure{{{UK airdate|}}}"
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | '''UK airdate'''
|colspan=2 | {{{UK airdate}}}
|-class="hiddenStructure{{{dvd|}}}" valign="top"
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | '''DVD release'''
|colspan=2 | {{{dvd}}}
|-class="hiddenStructure{{{population|}}}"
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | '''Population'''
|colspan=2 | {{{population}}} Survivors
|- style="text-align:center;"
! style="background: #461919; color: #FFFFFF;" colspan="3" | Episode Chronology
|- style="text-align:center; font-size:smaller;" 
|style="width: 33%;" | Previous
|style="width: 33%;" |
|style="width: 33%;" | Next
|- style="text-align:center; font-size:smaller;" 
|style="width: 33%;" | {{{prev}}}
|style="width: 33%;" | {{{title}}}
|style="width: 33%;" | {{{next}}}
|- class="hiddenStructure{{{podcast|}}}" style="text-align:center;"
! class="hiddenStructure{{{podcast|}}}" style="background: #461919; color: #FFFFFF;" colspan="3" | Relating Information
|-class="hiddenStructure{{{podcast|}}}"
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | '''Podcast Transcript'''
| colspan=2 | {{#if:{{{podcast|}}}|[[Podcast:{{{title|{{PAGENAME}}}}}|View]]}}
|}
<noinclude>
[[es:Plantilla:Episode Data]]
[[Category:Data Blocks]]
[[Category:Templates using ParserFunctions|{{PAGENAME}}]]
</noinclude>
</nowiki>
</pre>

=== Example Text ===

<big>This would be posted on the template page for instructions --[[User:Shane|Shane]] <sup>([[User_Talk:Shane|T]] - [[Special:Contributions/Shane|C]] - [[Special:Editcount/Shane|E]])</sup> 13:20, 5 August 2006 (CDT)</big>

View it here: [[Template talk:Episode Data/Example Syntax]]

:I cannot understand what you are suggesting by looking at code like this; could you perhaps show an example of what an actual episode article would look like using it, and the differences between that and our existing one?  You know, a mock up?--[[User:The Merovingian|The Merovingian]] <sup>([[Special:Contributions/The Merovingian|C]] - [[Special:Editcount/The Merovingian|E]])</sup> 15:03, 6 August 2006 (CDT)
::no problem.. posting...

The current code ([[Flight of the Phoenix]]):
<pre>
{{Episode Data|
  Image = [[Image:Blackbird_FotP.JPG|300px]]
| Title=Flight of the Phoenix
| Series=[[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|the Re-imagined Series]]
| Season=[[Season 2 (2005-06)|2]]
| Episode=9
| Guests=
| Writer=[[Bradley Thompson]]<br/>[[David Weddle]]
| Story=
| Director=[[Michael Nankin]]
| Production=2.09
| Rating= 1.9
| US Airdate=September 16 2005
| UK Airdate=March 7 2006
| DVD=December 20 2005 (US Season 2.0)
| Population=47,853
| Prev=[[Final Cut]]
| Next=[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]
| Podcast=Y
}}
</pre>
If where to be upgraded:
<pre>
{{Episode Data
| image= Blackbird_FotP.JPG
| title= Flight of the Phoenix
| season= 2
| episode= 9
| writer= [[Bradley Thompson]]<br/>[[David Weddle]]
| director= [[Michael Nankin]]
| production= 209
| rating= 1.9
| US airdate= 2005-09-16
| UK airdate= 2005-03-07
| dvd= 2005-12-20
| population= 47,853
| prev= [[Final Cut]]
| next= [[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]
| podcast= Y
}}
</pre>
--[[User:Shane|Shane]] <sup>([[User_Talk:Shane|T]] - [[Special:Contributions/Shane|C]] - [[Special:Editcount/Shane|E]])</sup> 15:09, 6 August 2006 (CDT)


Thanks alot.  I like what you fixed up, but there are a few things:  you took out the "series" tag, and we atually need that to destinguish Original Series stuff from Re-imagined stuff, and soon we'll need them to destinguish the "Caprica" prequel.  You took out the separation between "Story by" and "Teleplay by", leaving only "writer":  we actually need those Story/Teleplay divisions, when some episodes get their writing credits split along those lines, i.e. "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]".  For the airdates I like it more when we say the name of the month, "September" instead of just the number as the name is more recongizable, however I don't think that would really affect the new template fixes you're making.  --[[User:The Merovingian|The Merovingian]] <sup>([[Special:Contributions/The Merovingian|C]] - [[Special:Editcount/The Merovingian|E]])</sup> 15:17, 6 August 2006 (CDT)
:Posting a TOS example of the new code to show you what happens....
<pre>
{{Episode Data
| image = BattleofKobol.jpg
| title= Lost Planet of the Gods, Part II
| series= tos
| episode= 3
| writer= [[Glen A. Larson]] <br> [[Donald Bellisario]]
| director= [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0638527/ Christian I. Nyby II]
| production= 50205
| US airdate= 1978-10-01
| UK airdate=
| dvd= 2004-12-28
| population=
| prev= [[Lost Planet of the Gods, Part I|Lost Planet of the Gods, Part I]]
| next= [[The Lost Warrior]]
}}
</pre>

Since there is only one season of TOS and 1980, there is no need for the season field and the series just has to be shown. BY default, if not ented it assumes RDM because there are a lot more Episodes than TOS and 1980 combined. As far as the date thing... if it is put in this format, it should mediawiki should autoformat the date to your preference if you have one set in your preferences. It's just a compact version. It can always be added in layer. It still "section" still shows even if the field is not entered. I could even have a little link like ''Requested'' show up, but it defaults to just being empty. --[[User:Shane|Shane]] <sup>([[User_Talk:Shane|T]] - [[Special:Contributions/Shane|C]] - [[Special:Editcount/Shane|E]])</sup> 15:28, 6 August 2006 (CDT)