Anthologies have completely different characters in each episode. Stargate, Star Trek, X-Files, etc are just episodic television. Pretty much every tv show back then was episodic. The modern idea of a tv show being an 8 hour movie with one plot cut into ten episodes didn't exist back then. Every show was 20-26 episodes with a totally new plot that had nothing to do with the others. They weren't anthologies though. Anthologies don't even have the same characters from one episode to the next.

Also that's not what a "filler" episode is. A filler episode is a term that comes from anime. If an anime is contracted to have 12 episodes, but the manga or light novel it's based on only has enough material for 10 or 11, the anime studio would write their own 11th or 12th episode from scratch to complete the season. The catch is that those episodes aren't allowed to do anything that impacts that actual canon story from the manga or light novel, because if more material is written by the real author, he can't be written into a corner by the anime studio. You can't kill a character or have two characters get together in a non canon filler episode, because the real author has to be free to do that stuff how he wants. That's the origin of a ton of beach or hot springs episodes in anime. Just a fun little adventure that has nothing to do with anything else because it has to be able to be treated like it never happened in the canon story. Filler doesn't just mean "side story that doesn't relate to the main plot". It's a totally disposable episode that isn't allowed to move any character, plot, relationship, or any other aspect of the story forward in any way. Can't have the rival of the hero die in filler episode 12 of season 1 because the actual manga or LN author writes them suddenly being alive again in episode 1 of season 2. That's what filler is.

What people erroneously call filler now is just an episode that doesn't move the overall main plot forward. But those aren't actually filler because in most of those cases, the stuff that happened in that episode is acknowledged as having happened and might be relevant later on. The early episode "Broca Divide" in SG1 for instance has nothing to do with the overall plot of the war with the Goa'uld. But the characters make references to "the one time the men got turned into cavemen" several times throughout the series. Not a filler episode. Just a standalone episode, and they're not the same thing.

Anthologies have completely different characters in each episode. Stargate, Star Trek, X-Files, etc are just episodic television. Pretty much every tv show back then was episodic. The modern idea of a tv show being an 8 hour movie with one plot cut into ten episodes didn't exist back then. Every show was 20-26 episodes with a totally new plot that had nothing to do with the others. They weren't anthologies though. Anthologies don't even have the same characters from one episode to the next.

Also that's not what a "filler" episode is. A filler episode is a term that comes from anime. If an anime is contracted to have 12 episodes, but the manga or light novel it's based on only has enough material for 10 or 11, the anime studio would write their own 11th or 12th episode from scratch to complete the season. The catch is that those episodes aren't allowed to do anything that impacts that actual canon story from the manga or light novel, because if more material is written by the real author, he can't be written into a corner by the anime studio. You can't kill a character or have two characters get together in a non canon filter episode, because the real author has to be free to do that stuff how he wants. That's the origin of a ton of beach or hot springs episodes in anime. Just a fun little adventure that has nothing to do with anything else because it has to be able to be treated like it never happened in the canon story. Filler doesn't just mean "sure story that doesn't relate to the main plot". It's a totally disposable episode that isn't allowed to move any character, plot, relationship, or any other aspect of the story forward in any way. Can't have the rival of the hero die in filler episode 12 of season 1 because the actual manga or LN author writes them suddenly being alive again in episode 1 of season 2. That's what filler is.

What people erroneously call filler now is just an episode that doesn't move the overall main plot forward. But those aren't actually filler because in most of those cases, the stuff that happened in that episode is acknowledged as having happened and might be relevant later on. The early episode "Broca Divide" in SG1 for instance has nothing to do with the overall plot of the war with the Goa'uld. But the characters make references to "the one time the men got turned into cavemen" several times throughout the series. Not a filler episode. Just a standalone episode, and they're not the same thing.

Anthologies have completely different characters in each episode. Stargate, Star Trek, X-Files, etc are just episodic television. Pretty much every tv show back then was episodic. The modern idea of a tv show being an 8 hour movie with one plot cut into ten episodes didn't exist back then. Every show was 20-26 episodes with a totally new plot that had nothing to do with the others. They weren't anthologies though. Anthologies don't even have the same characters from one episode to the next.

Also that's not what a "filler" episode is. A filler episode is a term that comes from anime. If an anime is contracted to have 12 episodes, but the manga or light novel it's based on only has enough material for 10 or 11, the anime studio would write their own 11th or 12th episode from scratch to complete the season. The catch is that those episodes aren't allowed to do anything that impacts that actual canon story from the manga or light novel, because if more material is written by the real author, he can't be written into a corner by the anime studio. You can't kill a character or have two characters get together in a non canon filter episode, because the real author has to be free to do that stuff how he wants. That's the origin of a ton of beach or hot springs episodes in anime. Just a fun little adventure that has nothing to do with anything else because it has to be able to be treated like it never happened in the canon story. Filler doesn't just mean "sure story that doesn't relate to the main plot". It's a totally disposable episode that isn't allowed to move any character, plot, relationship, or any other aspect of the story forward in any way. Can't have the rival of the hero die in filler episode 12 of season 1 because the actual manga or LN author writes them suddenly being alive again in episode 1 of season 2. That's what filler is.

What people erroneously call filler now is just an episode that doesn't move the overall main plot forward. But those aren't actually filler because in most of those cases, the stuff that happened in that episode is acknowledged as having happened and might be relevant later on.

Anthologies have completely different characters in each episode. Stargate, Star Trek, X-Files, etc are just episodic television. Pretty much every tv show back then was episodic. The modern idea of a tv show being an 8 hour movie with one plot cut into ten episodes didn't exist back then. Every show was 20-26 episodes with a totally new plot that had nothing to do with the others. They weren't anthologies though. Anthologies don't even have the same characters from one episode to the next.

Also that's not what a "filler" episode is. A filler episode is a term that comes from anime. If an anime is contracted to have 12 episodes, but the manga or light novel it's based on only has enough material for 10 or 11, the anime studio would write their own 11th or 12th episode from scratch to complete the season. The catch is that those episodes aren't allowed to do anything that impacts that actual canon story from the manga or light novel, because if more material is written by the real author, he can't be written into a corner by the anime studio. You can't kill a character or have two characters get together in a non canon filter episode, because the real author has to be free to do that stuff how he wants. That's the origin of a ton of beach or hot springs episodes in anime. Just a fun little adventure that has nothing to do with anything else because it has to be able to be treated like it never happened in the canon story. Filler doesn't just mean "sure story that doesn't relate to the main plot". It's a totally disposable episode that isn't allowed to move any character, plot, relationship, or any other aspect of the story forward in any way. Can't have the rival of the hero die in filler episode 12 of season 1 because the actual manga or LN author writes them suddenly being alive again in episode 1 of season 2. That's what filler is.

Anthologies have completely different characters in each episode. Stargate, Star Trek, X-Files, etc are just episodic television. Pretty much every tv show back then was episodic. The modern idea of a tv show being an 8 hour movie with one plot cut into ten episodes didn't exist. Every show was 20-26 episodes with a totally new plot that had nothing to do with the others. They weren't anthologies though. Anthologies don't even have the same characters from one episode to the next.