Systems and methods for creating aggregations of episodes of series programming in order

Abstract

A viewer of an episode of a series such as a television series may wish to access episodes of the series that the viewer missed when they were originally broadcast. Interactive applications may receive the viewer's indication of interest to record missed episodes of the incomplete series, which may include instructions regarding recording options for including the missed episodes in a series aggregation. Interactive applications may identify the episodes to be included in the series aggregation, and record the missed episodes, which may then be stored and organized to create a series aggregation, in the order that they were first broadcast with episodes that the viewer may already have available. Interactive applications may present the episodes of the series aggregation in the order that they were originally broadcast, by providing the viewer with options on how to access the episodes.

1 . A method for presenting episodes of a series for a user, comprising: 
 receiving an indication of interest in episodes of a series from a user;    collecting the episodes of the series for viewing by the user;    organizing the episodes of the series in the order in which they were originally made available; and    presenting the episodes of the series in the order in which they were originally made available.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein presenting the episodes of the series comprises notifying the user when all episodes of the series will be available for viewing in the order in which they were originally made available.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein presenting the episodes of the series comprises: 
 notifying the user when each episode of the series will be available for viewing in the order in which they were originally made available; and    presenting a sequence of episodes of the series, wherein the sequence of episodes includes the beginning episodes of the series.    
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing the user with a plurality of options for collecting the episodes of the series, the plurality of options comprising at least: 
 a first option that does not require any additional payment and collects the episodes of the series from free sources; and    a second option that does require additional payment and collects at least one episode of the series from at least one of a plurality of different media sources that are not free.    
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the plurality of different media sources that are not free comprises at least two of: 
 a broadcast provider that is not free;    a cable provider that is not free;    a satellite provider that is not free;    a video-on-demand (VOD) server that is not free;    a pay-per-view provider;    a DVD provider;    the Internet;    the user's digital video recorder; and    a telephone.    
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein receiving the indication of interest in episodes of the series comprises automatically receiving the indication of interest in episodes of the series for a season, wherein the episodes of interest are in the season.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising notifying the user of the status of the collecting of the episodes of the series.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein collecting the episodes of the series comprises: 
 identifying the episodes of the series to be collected;    identifying the episodes of the series that are already available to the user; and    identifying and recording the episodes of the series that will be available for recording.    
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein: 
 identifying the episodes of the series to be collected comprises including the identified episodes in a list of missed episodes;    identifying the episodes of the series that are already available to the user comprises removing the episodes that are already available from the list of missed episodes; and    identifying and recording the episodes of the series that will be available for recording further comprises removing the recorded episodes from the list of missed episodes.    
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein collecting the episodes of the series for viewing by the user comprises collecting the episodes of the series out of the order in which they were originally made available for viewing by the user.  
     
     
         11 . A system for presenting episodes of a series for a user, comprising: 
 an interactive media guidance application implemented at least partially on control circuitry configured to:    collect episodes of a series for viewing by a user; and    organize the episodes of the series in the order in which they were originally made available so that they may be viewed by the user in the order in which they were originally made available.    
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to: 
 receive an indication of interest in episodes of a series from a user; and    present the episodes of the series in the order in which they were originally made available.    
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein presenting the episodes of the series comprises notifying the user when all episodes of the series will be available for viewing in the order in which they were originally made available.  
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein presenting the episodes of the series comprises: 
 notifying the user when each episode of the series will be available for viewing in the order in which they were originally made available; and    presenting a sequence of episodes of the series, wherein the sequence of episodes includes the beginning episodes of the series.    
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to provide the user with a plurality of options for collecting the episodes of the series, the plurality of options comprising at least: 
 a first option that does not require any additional payment and collects the episodes of the series from free sources; and    a second option that does require additional payment and collects at least one episode of the series from at least one of a plurality of different media sources that are not free.    
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the plurality of different media sources that are not free comprises at least two of: 
 a broadcast provider that is not free;    a cable provider that is not free;    a satellite provider that is not free;    a video-on-demand (VOD) server that is not free;    a pay-per-view provider;    a DVD provider;    the Internet;    the user's digital video recorder; and    a telephone.    
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein receiving the indication of interest in episodes of the series comprises automatically receiving the indication of interest in episodes of the series for a season, wherein the episodes of interest are in the season.  
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to notify the user of the status of the collecting of the episodes of the series.  
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein collecting the episodes of the series comprises: 
 identifying the episodes of the series to be collected;    identifying the episodes of the series that are already available to the user; and    identifying and recording the episodes of the series that will be available for recording.    
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein: 
 identifying the episodes of the series to be collected comprises including the identified episodes in a list of missed episodes;    identifying the episodes of the series that are already available to the user comprises removing the episodes that are already available from the list of missed episodes; and    identifying and recording the episodes of the series that will be available for recording further comprises removing the recorded episodes from the list of missed episodes.    
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein collecting the episodes of the series for viewing by the user comprises collecting the episodes of the series out of the order in which they were originally made available for viewing by the user.  
     
     
         22 . A method for presenting episodes of a series for a user, comprising: 
 receiving an indication of interest in episodes of a series from a user;    in response to the indication, transmitting to a remote server a request to collect the episodes of the series for viewing by the user and to organize the episodes of the series in the order in which they were originally made available;    receiving from the remote server data indicating the collected and organized episodes; and    presenting the episodes of the series in the order in which they were originally made available.    
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein presenting the episodes of the series comprises notifying the user when all episodes of the series will be available for viewing in the order in which they were originally made available.  
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein presenting the episodes of the series comprises: 
 notifying the user when each episode of the series will be available for viewing in the order in which they were originally made available; and    presenting a sequence of episodes of the series, wherein the sequence of episodes includes the beginning episodes of the series.    
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising providing the user with a plurality of options for collecting the episodes of the series, the plurality of options comprising at least: 
 a first option that does not require any additional payment and collects the episodes of the series from free sources; and    a second option that does require additional payment and collects at least one episode of the series from at least one of a plurality of different media sources that are not free.    
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the plurality of different media sources that are not free comprises at least two of: 
 a broadcast provider that is not free;    a cable provider that is not free;    a satellite provider that is not free;    a video-on-demand (VOD) server that is not free;    a pay-per-view provider;    a DVD provider;    the Internet;    the user's digital video recorder; and    a telephone.    
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein receiving the indication of interest in episodes of the series comprises automatically receiving the indication of interest in episodes of the series for a season, wherein the episodes of interest are in the season.  
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising notifying the user of the status of the collecting of the episodes of the series.  
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein collecting the episodes of the series comprises: 
 identifying the episodes of the series to be collected;    identifying the episodes of the series that are already available to the user; and    identifying and recording the episodes of the series that will be available for recording.    
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein: 
 identifying the episodes of the series to be collected comprises including the identified episodes in a list of missed episodes;    identifying the episodes of the series that are already available to the user comprises removing the episodes that are already available from the list of missed episodes; and    identifying and recording the episodes of the series that will be available for recording further comprises removing the recorded episodes from the list of missed episodes.    
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein collecting the episodes of the series for viewing by the user comprises collecting the episodes of the series out of the order in which they were originally made available for viewing by the user.  
     
     
         32 . A system for presenting episodes of a series for a user, comprising: 
 an interactive media guidance application implemented at least partially on control circuitry configured to:    receive an indication of interest in episodes of a series from a user;    in response to the indication, transmit to a remote server a request to collect the episodes of the series for viewing by the user and to organize the episodes of the series in the order in which they were originally made available;    receive from the remote server data indicating the collected and organized episodes; and    present the episodes of the series in the order in which they were originally made available.    
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 32 , wherein presenting the episodes of the series comprises notifying the user when all episodes of the series will be available for viewing in the order in which they were originally made available.  
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 32 , wherein presenting the episodes of the series comprises: 
 notifying the user when each episode of the series will be available for viewing in the order in which they were originally made available; and    presenting a sequence of episodes of the series, wherein the sequence of episodes includes the beginning episodes of the series.    
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 32 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to provide the user with a plurality of options for collecting the episodes of the series, the plurality of options comprising at least: 
 a first option that does not require any additional payment and collects the episodes of the series from free sources; and    a second option that does require additional payment and collects at least one episode of the series from at least one of a plurality of different media sources that are not free.    
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 35 , wherein the plurality of different media sources that are not free comprises at least two of: 
 a broadcast provider that is not free;    a cable provider that is not free;    a satellite provider that is not free;    a video-on-demand (VOD) server that is not free;    a pay-per-view provider;    a DVD provider;    the Internet;    the user's digital video recorder; and    a telephone.    
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 32 , wherein receiving the indication of interest in episodes of the series comprises automatically receiving the indication of interest in episodes of the series for a season, wherein the episodes of interest are in the season.  
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 32 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to notify the user of the status of the collecting of the episodes of the series.  
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 32 , wherein collecting the episodes of the series comprises: 
 identifying the episodes of the series to be collected;    identifying the episodes of the series that are already available to the user; and    identifying and recording the episodes of the series that will be available for recording.    
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 39 , wherein: 
 identifying the episodes of the series to be collected comprises including the identified episodes in a list of missed episodes;    identifying the episodes of the series that are already available to the user comprises removing the episodes that are already available from the list of missed episodes; and    identifying and recording the episodes of the series that will be available for recording further comprises removing the recorded episodes from the list of missed episodes.    
     
     
         41 . The system of  claim 32 , wherein collecting the episodes of the series for viewing by the user comprises collecting the episodes of the series out of the order in which they were originally made available for viewing by the user.