diff --git a/package/CHANGELOG b/package/CHANGELOG
index c4966abaf02..b6433cfce90 100644
--- a/package/CHANGELOG
+++ b/package/CHANGELOG
@@ -18,6 +18,13 @@ The rules for this file:
         
   * 0.15.1
 
+Enhancements
+
+  * All classes derived from 'AnalysisBase' now display a ProgressMeter
+  with 'quiet=False'
+  * The 'run' method from all 'AnalysisBase' derived classes return the
+  class itself.
+
 Fixes
   * GROWriter resids now truncated properly (Issue #886)
   * reading/writing lambda value in trr files (Issue #859)
diff --git a/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/align.py b/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/align.py
index 8cd58a4ae55..29be6e85018 100644
--- a/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/align.py
+++ b/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/align.py
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 # vim: tabstop=4 expandtab shiftwidth=4 softtabstop=4
 #
 # MDAnalysis --- http://www.MDAnalysis.org
-# Copyright (c) 2006-2015 Naveen Michaud-Agrawal, Elizabeth J. Denning, Oliver Beckstein
-# and contributors (see AUTHORS for the full list)
+# Copyright (c) 2006-2015 Naveen Michaud-Agrawal, Elizabeth J. Denning, Oliver
+# Beckstein and contributors (see AUTHORS for the full list)
 #
 # Released under the GNU Public Licence, v2 or any higher version
 #
@@ -472,8 +472,7 @@ class AlignTraj(AnalysisBase):
 
     def __init__(self, mobile, reference, select='all', filename=None,
                  prefix='rmsfit_', mass_weighted=False, tol_mass=0.1,
-                 strict=False, force=True, quiet=False, start=None, stop=None,
-                 step=None, **kwargs):
+                 strict=False, force=True, **kwargs):
         """Initialization
 
         Parameters
@@ -516,18 +515,16 @@ def __init__(self, mobile, reference, select='all', filename=None,
         exception
 
         """
-        self._quiet = quiet
+        super(AlignTraj, self).__init__(mobile.trajectory, **kwargs)
         if self._quiet:
             logging.disable(logging.WARN)
 
-        traj = mobile.trajectory
         select = rms.process_selection(select)
         self.ref_atoms = reference.select_atoms(*select['reference'])
         self.mobile_atoms = mobile.select_atoms(*select['mobile'])
-        kwargs.setdefault('remarks', 'RMS fitted trajectory to reference')
 
         if filename is None:
-            path, fn = os.path.split(traj.filename)
+            path, fn = os.path.split(self._trajectory.filename)
             filename = os.path.join(path, prefix + fn)
             logger.info('filename of rms_align with no filename given'
                         ': {0}'.format(filename))
@@ -540,7 +537,8 @@ def __init__(self, mobile, reference, select='all', filename=None,
 
         natoms = self.mobile_atoms.n_atoms
         self.ref_atoms, self.mobile_atoms = get_matching_atoms(
-            self.ref_atoms, self.mobile_atoms, tol_mass=tol_mass, strict=strict)
+            self.ref_atoms, self.mobile_atoms, tol_mass=tol_mass,
+            strict=strict)
 
         self._writer = mda.Writer(self.filename, natoms)
 
@@ -551,7 +549,6 @@ def __init__(self, mobile, reference, select='all', filename=None,
             self._weights = None
 
         logger.info("RMS-fitting on {0:d} atoms.".format(len(self.ref_atoms)))
-        self._setup_frames(traj, start, stop, step)
 
     def _prepare(self):
         # reference centre of mass system
diff --git a/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/base.py b/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/base.py
index 5c6a3dad112..3d7d5efe79f 100644
--- a/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/base.py
+++ b/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/base.py
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 # vim: tabstop=4 expandtab shiftwidth=4 softtabstop=4
 #
 # MDAnalysis --- http://www.MDAnalysis.org
-# Copyright (c) 2006-2015 Naveen Michaud-Agrawal, Elizabeth J. Denning, Oliver Beckstein
-# and contributors (see AUTHORS for the full list)
+# Copyright (c) 2006-2015 Naveen Michaud-Agrawal, Elizabeth J. Denning, Oliver
+# Beckstein and contributors (see AUTHORS for the full list)
 #
 # Released under the GNU Public Licence, v2 or any higher version
 #
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@
 """
 from six.moves import range
 
-import numpy as np
 import logging
 from MDAnalysis.lib.log import ProgressMeter
 
@@ -32,39 +31,85 @@
 
 
 class AnalysisBase(object):
-    """Base class for defining multi frame analysis
-
-    The analysis base class is designed as a template for creating
-    multiframe analysis.
-
-    The class implements the following methods:
-
-    _setup_frames(trajectory, start=None, stop=None, step=None)
-      Pass a Reader object and define the desired iteration pattern
-      through the trajectory
-
-    run
-      The user facing run method.  Calls the analysis methods
-      defined below
-
-    Your analysis can implement the following methods, which are
-    called from run:
-
-    _prepare
-      Called before iteration on the trajectory has begun.
-      Data structures can be set up at this time, however most
-      error checking should be done in the __init__
-
-    _single_frame
-      Called after the trajectory is moved onto each new frame.
-
-    _conclude
-      Called once iteration on the trajectory is finished.
-      Apply normalisation and averaging to results here.
+    """Base class for defining multi frame analysis, it is designed as a
+    template for creating multiframe analysis. This class will automatically
+    take care of setting up the trajectory reader for iterating and offers to
+    show a progress meter.
+
+    To define a new Analysis, `AnalysisBase` needs to be subclassed
+    `_single_frame` must be defined. It is also possible to define
+    `_prepare` and `_conclude` for pre and post processing. See the example
+    below.
+
+    .. code-block:: python
+       class NewAnalysis(AnalysisBase):
+           def __init__(self, atomgroup, parameter, **kwargs):
+               super(NewAnalysis, self).__init__(atomgroup.universe.trajectory,
+                                                 **kwargs)
+               self._parameter = parameter
+               self._ag = atomgroup
+
+           def _prepare(self):
+               # OPTIONAL
+               # Called before iteration on the trajectory has begun.
+               # Data structures can be set up at this time
+               self.result = []
+
+           def _single_frame(self):
+               # REQUIRED
+               # Called after the trajectory is moved onto each new frame.
+               # store result of `some_function` for a single frame
+               self.result.append(some_function(self._ag, self._parameter))
+
+           def _conclude(self):
+               # OPTIONAL
+               # Called once iteration on the trajectory is finished.
+               # Apply normalisation and averaging to results here.
+               self.result = np.asarray(self.result) / np.sum(self.result)
+
+    Afterwards the new analysis can be run like this.
+
+    .. code-block:: python
+       na = NewAnalysis(u.select_atoms('name CA'), 35).run()
+       print(na.result)
 
     """
+    def __init__(self, trajectory, start=None,
+                 stop=None, step=None, quiet=True):
+        """
+        Parameters
+        ----------
+        trajectory : mda.Reader
+            A trajectory Reader
+        start : int, optional
+            start frame of analysis
+        stop : int, optional
+            stop frame of analysis
+        step : int, optional
+            number of frames to skip between each analysed frame
+        quiet : bool, optional
+            Turn off verbosity
+        """
+        self._quiet = quiet
+        self._setup_frames(trajectory, start, stop, step)
+
     def _setup_frames(self, trajectory, start=None,
                       stop=None, step=None):
+        """
+        Pass a Reader object and define the desired iteration pattern
+        through the trajectory
+
+        Parameters
+        ----------
+        trajectory : mda.Reader
+            A trajectory Reader
+        start : int, optional
+            start frame of analysis
+        stop : int, optional
+            stop frame of analysis
+        step : int, optional
+            number of frames to skip between each analysed frame
+        """
         self._trajectory = trajectory
         start, stop, step = trajectory.check_slice_indices(
             start, stop, step)
@@ -72,13 +117,23 @@ def _setup_frames(self, trajectory, start=None,
         self.stop = stop
         self.step = step
         self.n_frames = len(range(start, stop, step))
+        interval = int(self.n_frames // 100)
+        if interval == 0:
+            interval = 1
+
+        # ensure _quiet is set when __init__ wasn't called, this is to not
+        # break pre 0.16.0 API usage of AnalysisBase
+        if not hasattr(self, '_quiet'):
+            self._quiet = True
+        self._pm = ProgressMeter(self.n_frames if self.n_frames else 1,
+                                 interval=interval, quiet=self._quiet)
 
     def _single_frame(self):
         """Calculate data from a single frame of trajectory
 
         Don't worry about normalising, just deal with a single frame.
         """
-        pass
+        raise NotImplementedError("Only implemented in child classes")
 
     def _prepare(self):
         """Set things up before the analysis loop begins"""
@@ -91,7 +146,7 @@ def _conclude(self):
         """
         pass
 
-    def run(self, **kwargs):
+    def run(self):
         """Perform the calculation"""
         logger.info("Starting preparation")
         self._prepare()
@@ -101,5 +156,7 @@ def run(self, **kwargs):
             self._ts = ts
             # logger.info("--> Doing frame {} of {}".format(i+1, self.n_frames))
             self._single_frame()
+            self._pm.echo(self._frame_index)
         logger.info("Finishing up")
         self._conclude()
+        return self
diff --git a/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/contacts.py b/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/contacts.py
index 2f958a92136..ede234f5b93 100644
--- a/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/contacts.py
+++ b/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/contacts.py
@@ -376,7 +376,7 @@ class Contacts(AnalysisBase):
 
     """
     def __init__(self, u, selection, refgroup, method="hard_cut", radius=4.5,
-                 kwargs=None, start=None, stop=None, step=None,):
+                 kwargs=None, **basekwargs):
         """Initialization
 
         Parameters
@@ -404,6 +404,9 @@ def __init__(self, u, selection, refgroup, method="hard_cut", radius=4.5,
             Step between frames to analyse, Default: 1
 
         """
+        self.u = u
+        super(Contacts, self).__init__(self.u.trajectory, **basekwargs)
+
         if method == 'hard_cut':
             self.fraction_contacts = hard_cut_q
         elif method == 'soft_cut':
@@ -413,10 +416,6 @@ def __init__(self, u, selection, refgroup, method="hard_cut", radius=4.5,
                 raise ValueError("method has to be callable")
             self.fraction_contacts = method
 
-        # setup boilerplate
-        self.u = u
-        self._setup_frames(self.u.trajectory, start, stop, step)
-
         self.selection = selection
         self.grA = u.select_atoms(selection[0])
         self.grB = u.select_atoms(selection[1])
diff --git a/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/lineardensity.py b/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/lineardensity.py
index 69df9fbc28b..d0c54bd784b 100644
--- a/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/lineardensity.py
+++ b/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/lineardensity.py
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 # vim: tabstop=4 expandtab shiftwidth=4 softtabstop=4
 #
 # MDAnalysis --- http://www.MDAnalysis.org
-# Copyright (c) 2006-2015 Naveen Michaud-Agrawal, Elizabeth J. Denning, Oliver Beckstein
-# and contributors (see AUTHORS for the full list)
+# Copyright (c) 2006-2015 Naveen Michaud-Agrawal, Elizabeth J. Denning, Oliver
+# Beckstein and contributors (see AUTHORS for the full list)
 #
 # Released under the GNU Public Licence, v2 or any higher version
 #
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
 # MDAnalysis: A Toolkit for the Analysis of Molecular Dynamics Simulations.
 # J. Comput. Chem. 32 (2011), 2319--2327, doi:10.1002/jcc.21787
 #
-
 """
 Linear Density --- :mod:`MDAnalysis.analysis.lineardensity`
 ===========================================================
@@ -29,6 +28,7 @@
 
 from MDAnalysis.analysis.base import AnalysisBase
 
+
 class LinearDensity(AnalysisBase):
     """Linear density profile
     LinearDensity(selection, grouping='atoms', binsize=0.25)
@@ -71,11 +71,13 @@ class LinearDensity(AnalysisBase):
 
     .. versionadded:: 0.14.0
     """
-    def __init__(self, selection, grouping='atoms', binsize=0.25,
-                 start=None, stop=None, step=None):
-        self._ags = [selection] # allows use of run(parallel=True)
+
+    def __init__(self, selection, grouping='atoms', binsize=0.25, **kwargs):
+        super(LinearDensity, self).__init__(selection.universe.trajectory,
+                                            **kwargs)
+        # allows use of run(parallel=True)
+        self._ags = [selection]
         self._universe = selection.universe
-        self._setup_frames(self._universe.trajectory, start, stop, step)
 
         self.binsize = binsize
 
@@ -88,12 +90,13 @@ def __init__(self, selection, grouping='atoms', binsize=0.25,
         # Box sides
         self.dimensions = self._universe.dimensions[:3]
         self.volume = np.prod(self.dimensions)
-        bins = (self.dimensions // self.binsize).astype(int) # number of bins
+        # number of bins
+        bins = (self.dimensions // self.binsize).astype(int)
 
         # Here we choose a number of bins of the largest cell side so that
         # x, y and z values can use the same "coord" column in the output file
         self.nbins = bins.max()
-        slices_vol = self.volume/bins
+        slices_vol = self.volume / bins
 
         self.keys = ['pos', 'pos_std', 'char', 'char_std']
 
@@ -115,10 +118,10 @@ def _prepare(self):
         group = getattr(self._ags[0], self.grouping)
 
         # Get masses and charges for the selection
-        try: # in case it's not an atom
+        try:  # in case it's not an atom
             self.masses = np.array([elem.total_mass() for elem in group])
             self.charges = np.array([elem.total_charge() for elem in group])
-        except AttributeError: # much much faster for atoms
+        except AttributeError:  # much much faster for atoms
             self.masses = self._ags[0].masses
             self.charges = self._ags[0].charges
 
@@ -130,9 +133,10 @@ def _single_frame(self):
 
         # Find position of atom/group of atoms
         if self.grouping == 'atoms':
-            positions = self._ags[0].positions # faster for atoms
+            positions = self._ags[0].positions  # faster for atoms
         else:
-            positions = np.array([elem.centroid() for elem in self.group]) # COM for res/frag/etc
+            # COM for res/frag/etc
+            positions = np.array([elem.centroid() for elem in self.group])
 
         for dim in ['x', 'y', 'z']:
             idx = self.results[dim]['dim']
@@ -140,8 +144,10 @@ def _single_frame(self):
             key = 'pos'
             key_std = 'pos_std'
             # histogram for positions weighted on masses
-            hist, _ = np.histogram(positions[:, idx], weights=self.masses,
-                                   bins=self.nbins, range=(0.0, max(self.dimensions)))
+            hist, _ = np.histogram(positions[:, idx],
+                                   weights=self.masses,
+                                   bins=self.nbins,
+                                   range=(0.0, max(self.dimensions)))
 
             self.results[dim][key] += hist
             self.results[dim][key_std] += np.square(hist)
@@ -149,33 +155,35 @@ def _single_frame(self):
             key = 'char'
             key_std = 'char_std'
             # histogram for positions weighted on charges
-            hist, _ = np.histogram(positions[:, idx], weights=self.charges,
-                                   bins=self.nbins, range=(0.0, max(self.dimensions)))
+            hist, _ = np.histogram(positions[:, idx],
+                                   weights=self.charges,
+                                   bins=self.nbins,
+                                   range=(0.0, max(self.dimensions)))
 
             self.results[dim][key] += hist
             self.results[dim][key_std] += np.square(hist)
 
     def _conclude(self):
-        k = 6.022e-1 # divide by avodagro and convert from A3 to cm3
+        k = 6.022e-1  # divide by avodagro and convert from A3 to cm3
 
         # Average results over the  number of configurations
         for dim in ['x', 'y', 'z']:
             for key in ['pos', 'pos_std', 'char', 'char_std']:
                 self.results[dim][key] /= self.n_frames
             # Compute standard deviation for the error
-            self.results[dim]['pos_std'] = np.sqrt(self.results[dim]['pos_std']
-                                                   - np.square(self.results[dim]['pos']))
-            self.results[dim]['char_std'] = np.sqrt(self.results[dim]['char_std']
-                                                    - np.square(self.results[dim]['char']))
+            self.results[dim]['pos_std'] = np.sqrt(self.results[dim][
+                'pos_std'] - np.square(self.results[dim]['pos']))
+            self.results[dim]['char_std'] = np.sqrt(self.results[dim][
+                'char_std'] - np.square(self.results[dim]['char']))
 
         for dim in ['x', 'y', 'z']:
-            self.results[dim]['pos'] /= (self.results[dim]['slice volume']*k)
-            self.results[dim]['char'] /= (self.results[dim]['slice volume']*k)
-            self.results[dim]['pos_std'] /= (self.results[dim]['slice volume']*k)
-            self.results[dim]['char_std'] /= (self.results[dim]['slice volume']*k)
+            self.results[dim]['pos'] /= self.results[dim]['slice volume'] * k
+            self.results[dim]['char'] /= self.results[dim]['slice volume'] * k
+            self.results[dim]['pos_std'] /= self.results[dim]['slice volume'] * k
+            self.results[dim]['char_std'] /= self.results[dim]['slice volume'] * k
 
     def save(self, description='', form='txt'):
-        """ Save density profile to file
+        """Save density profile to file
         Allows to save the density profile to either a ASCII txt file or a
         binary numpy npz file. Output file has extension 'ldens' and begins
         with the name of the trajectory file.
@@ -185,22 +193,24 @@ def save(self, description='', form='txt'):
         description : str
           An arbitrary description added to the output filename. Can be useful
         form : str {'txt', 'npz'}
-          Format of the output. 'txt' will generate an ASCII text file while 'npz'
-          will produce a numpy binary file.
+          Format of the output. 'txt' will generate an ASCII text file while
+          'npz' will produce a numpy binary file.
 
         Example
         -------
-        After initializing and running a `LinearDensity` object, results can be written
-        to file as follows:
+        After initializing and running a `LinearDensity` object, results can be
+        written to file as follows:
           ldens.save(description='mydensprof', form='txt')
         which will output the linear density profiles in a file named
         <trajectory_filename>.mydensprof_<grouping>.ldens
+
         """
         # Take root of trajectory filename for output file naming
-        trajname = path.splitext(path.basename(self._universe.trajectory.filename))[0]
+        trajname = path.splitext(path.basename(
+            self._universe.trajectory.filename))[0]
         # additional string for naming the output file
         description = description + "_" + str(self.grouping)
-        filename = trajname+"." + description + ".ldens"
+        filename = trajname + "." + description + ".ldens"
 
         if form is 'txt':
             self._savetxt(filename)
@@ -223,11 +233,14 @@ def _savetxt(self, filename):
             output.append(self.results[dim]['char'])
             output.append(self.results[dim]['char_std'])
 
-        density = self.totalmass/self.volume
-        header = "1 coord [Ang] 2-7 mass density (x,sx,y,sz,z,sz) [g/cm^3]" + \
-            "8-13 charge density (x,sx,y,sz,z,sz) [e/A^3]\n Average density: "\
-            + str(density) + " g/cm3"
-        np.savetxt(filename, np.column_stack(output), fmt='%10.5f', header=header)
+        density = self.totalmass / self.volume
+        header = ("1 coord [Ang] 2-7 mass density (x,sx,y,sz,z,sz) [g/cm^3]"
+                  "8-13 charge density (x,sx,y,sz,z,sz) [e/A^3]\n Average "
+                  "density: {} g/cm3".format(density))
+        np.savetxt(filename,
+                   np.column_stack(output),
+                   fmt='%10.5f',
+                   header=header)
 
     def _savez(self, filename):
         bins = np.linspace(0.0, max(self.dimensions), num=self.nbins)
@@ -237,7 +250,7 @@ def _savez(self, filename):
             self.results[dim].pop('dim')
             self.results[dim].pop('slice volume')
             for key in self.results[dim]:
-                dictionary[dim+"_"+key] = self.results[dim][key]
+                dictionary[dim + "_" + key] = self.results[dim][key]
 
         np.savez(filename, **dictionary)
 
diff --git a/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/polymer.py b/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/polymer.py
index 9e54492b114..53e3044f40d 100644
--- a/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/polymer.py
+++ b/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/polymer.py
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 # vim: tabstop=4 expandtab shiftwidth=4 softtabstop=4
 #
 # MDAnalysis --- http://www.MDAnalysis.org
-# Copyright (c) 2006-2015 Naveen Michaud-Agrawal, Elizabeth J. Denning, Oliver Beckstein
-# and contributors (see AUTHORS for the full list)
+# Copyright (c) 2006-2015 Naveen Michaud-Agrawal, Elizabeth J. Denning, Oliver
+# Beckstein and contributors (see AUTHORS for the full list)
 #
 # Released under the GNU Public Licence, v2 or any higher version
 #
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@
 import logging
 
 from .. import NoDataError
-from ..lib.util import blocks_of
 from ..lib.distances import calc_bonds
 from .base import AnalysisBase
 
@@ -51,8 +50,7 @@ class PersistenceLength(AnalysisBase):
 
     .. versionadded:: 0.13.0
     """
-    def __init__(self, atomgroups,
-                 start=None, stop=None, step=None):
+    def __init__(self, atomgroups, **kwargs):
         """Calculate the persistence length for polymer chains
 
         Parameters
@@ -67,17 +65,16 @@ def __init__(self, atomgroups,
         step : int, optional
             Step between frames to analyse, Default: 1
         """
+        super(PersistenceLength, self).__init__(
+            atomgroups[0].universe.trajectory, **kwargs)
         self._atomgroups = atomgroups
 
         # Check that all chains are the same length
         lens = [len(ag) for ag in atomgroups]
         chainlength = len(atomgroups[0])
-        if not all( l == chainlength for l in lens):
+        if not all(l == chainlength for l in lens):
             raise ValueError("Not all AtomGroups were the same size")
 
-        self._setup_frames(atomgroups[0].universe.trajectory,
-                           start, stop, step)
-
         self._results = np.zeros(chainlength - 1, dtype=np.float32)
 
     def _single_frame(self):
@@ -117,10 +114,9 @@ def _calc_bond_length(self):
 
     def perform_fit(self):
         """Fit the results to an exponential decay"""
-        from scipy.optimize import curve_fit
 
         try:
-            results = self.results
+            self.results
         except AttributeError:
             raise NoDataError("Use the run method first")
         self.x = np.arange(len(self.results)) * self.lb
@@ -129,15 +125,16 @@ def perform_fit(self):
 
         self.fit = np.exp(-self.x/self.lp)
 
-    def plot(self):
+    def plot(self, ax=None):
         """Oooh fancy"""
         import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
-        plt.ylabel('C(x)')
-        plt.xlabel('x')
-        plt.xlim([0.0, 40 * self.lb])
-        plt.plot(self.x, self.results, 'ro')
-        plt.plot(self.x, self.fit)
-        plt.show()
+        if ax is None:
+            ax = plt.gca()
+        ax.plot(self.x, self.results, 'ro', label='Result')
+        ax.plot(self.x, self.fit, label='Fit')
+        ax.set(xlabel='x', ylabel='C(x)', xlim=[0.0, 40 * self.lb])
+        ax.legend(loc='best')
+        return ax
 
 
 def fit_exponential_decay(x, y):
diff --git a/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/rdf.py b/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/rdf.py
index a4b54de230e..48f8a225aa2 100644
--- a/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/rdf.py
+++ b/package/MDAnalysis/analysis/rdf.py
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 # vim: tabstop=4 expandtab shiftwidth=4 softtabstop=4
 #
 # MDAnalysis --- http://www.MDAnalysis.org
-# Copyright (c) 2006-2015 Naveen Michaud-Agrawal, Elizabeth J. Denning, Oliver Beckstein
-# and contributors (see AUTHORS for the full list)
+# Copyright (c) 2006-2015 Naveen Michaud-Agrawal, Elizabeth J. Denning, Oliver
+# Beckstein and contributors (see AUTHORS for the full list)
 #
 # Released under the GNU Public Licence, v2 or any higher version
 #
@@ -79,18 +79,14 @@ class InterRDF(AnalysisBase):
     """
     def __init__(self, g1, g2,
                  nbins=75, range=(0.0, 15.0), exclusion_block=None,
-                 start=None, stop=None, step=None):
+                 **kwargs):
+        super(InterRDF, self).__init__(g1.universe.trajectory, **kwargs)
         self.g1 = g1
         self.g2 = g2
         self.u = g1.universe
 
-        self._setup_frames(self.u.trajectory,
-                           start=start,
-                           stop=stop,
-                           step=step)
-
-        self.rdf_settings = {'bins':nbins,
-                             'range':range}
+        self.rdf_settings = {'bins': nbins,
+                             'range': range}
 
         # Empty histogram to store the RDF
         count, edges = np.histogram([-1], **self.rdf_settings)
diff --git a/package/MDAnalysis/lib/log.py b/package/MDAnalysis/lib/log.py
index 3f8d6eba708..d4b8638e852 100644
--- a/package/MDAnalysis/lib/log.py
+++ b/package/MDAnalysis/lib/log.py
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 # vim: tabstop=4 expandtab shiftwidth=4 softtabstop=4
 #
 # MDAnalysis --- http://www.MDAnalysis.org
-# Copyright (c) 2006-2015 Naveen Michaud-Agrawal, Elizabeth J. Denning, Oliver Beckstein
-# and contributors (see AUTHORS for the full list)
+# Copyright (c) 2006-2015 Naveen Michaud-Agrawal, Elizabeth J. Denning, Oliver
+# Beckstein and contributors (see AUTHORS for the full list)
 #
 # Released under the GNU Public Licence, v2 or any higher version
 #
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@
 
 from .. import version
 
+
 def start_logging(logfile="MDAnalysis.log", version=version.__version__):
     """Start logging of messages to file and console.
 
@@ -96,7 +97,6 @@ def stop_logging():
     clear_handlers(logger)  # this _should_ do the job...
 
 
-
 def create(logger_name="MDAnalysis", logfile="MDAnalysis.log"):
     """Create a top level logger.
 
@@ -209,7 +209,8 @@ class ProgressMeter(object):
 
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, numsteps, format=None, interval=10, offset=1, quiet=False):
+    def __init__(self, numsteps, format=None, interval=10, offset=1,
+                 quiet=False):
         """Set up the ProgressMeter
 
         :Arguments:
diff --git a/testsuite/MDAnalysisTests/analysis/test_align.py b/testsuite/MDAnalysisTests/analysis/test_align.py
index 303f1c86404..119330f831e 100644
--- a/testsuite/MDAnalysisTests/analysis/test_align.py
+++ b/testsuite/MDAnalysisTests/analysis/test_align.py
@@ -202,8 +202,7 @@ def different_atoms():
         assert_raises(SelectionError, different_atoms)
 
 
-
-class TestAlignmentProcessing(TestCase):
+class TestAlignmentProcessing(object):
     def setUp(self):
         self.seq = FASTA
         self.tempdir = tempdir.TempDir()
diff --git a/testsuite/MDAnalysisTests/analysis/test_base.py b/testsuite/MDAnalysisTests/analysis/test_base.py
index 038a2baacc4..ee1a1e3d5c8 100644
--- a/testsuite/MDAnalysisTests/analysis/test_base.py
+++ b/testsuite/MDAnalysisTests/analysis/test_base.py
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 # vim: tabstop=4 expandtab shiftwidth=4 softtabstop=4 fileencoding=utf-8
 #
 # MDAnalysis --- http://www.MDAnalysis.org
-# Copyright (c) 2006-2015 Naveen Michaud-Agrawal, Elizabeth J. Denning, Oliver Beckstein
-# and contributors (see AUTHORS for the full list)
+# Copyright (c) 2006-2015 Naveen Michaud-Agrawal, Elizabeth J. Denning, Oliver
+# Beckstein and contributors (see AUTHORS for the full list)
 #
 # Released under the GNU Public Licence, v2 or any higher version
 #
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 from six.moves import range
 
 from numpy.testing import (
-    assert_, dec
+    assert_, dec, raises
 )
 
 import MDAnalysis as mda
@@ -30,19 +30,29 @@
 
 class FrameAnalysis(AnalysisBase):
     """Just grabs frame numbers of frames it goes over"""
-    def __init__(self, reader, start=None, stop=None, step=None):
+    def __init__(self, reader, **kwargs):
+        super(FrameAnalysis, self).__init__(reader, **kwargs)
         self.traj = reader
-        self._setup_frames(reader,
-                           start=start,
-                           stop=stop,
-                           step=step)
-
         self.frames = []
 
     def _single_frame(self):
         self.frames.append(self._ts.frame)
 
 
+class IncompleteAnalysis(AnalysisBase):
+    def __init__(self, reader, **kwargs):
+        super(IncompleteAnalysis, self).__init__(reader, **kwargs)
+
+
+class OldAPIAnalysis(AnalysisBase):
+    """for version 0.15.0"""
+    def __init__(self, reader, **kwargs):
+        self._setup_frames(reader, **kwargs)
+
+    def _single_frame(self):
+        pass
+
+
 class TestAnalysisBase(object):
     @dec.skipif(parser_not_found('DCD'),
                 'DCD parser not available. Are you using python 3?')
@@ -54,29 +64,32 @@ def tearDown(self):
         del self.u
 
     def test_default(self):
-        an = FrameAnalysis(self.u.trajectory)
+        an = FrameAnalysis(self.u.trajectory).run()
         assert_(an.n_frames == len(self.u.trajectory))
-
-        an.run()
         assert_(an.frames == list(range(len(self.u.trajectory))))
 
     def test_start(self):
-        an = FrameAnalysis(self.u.trajectory, start=20)
+        an = FrameAnalysis(self.u.trajectory, start=20).run()
         assert_(an.n_frames == len(self.u.trajectory) - 20)
-
-        an.run()
         assert_(an.frames == list(range(20, len(self.u.trajectory))))
 
     def test_stop(self):
-        an = FrameAnalysis(self.u.trajectory, stop=20)
+        an = FrameAnalysis(self.u.trajectory, stop=20).run()
         assert_(an.n_frames == 20)
-
-        an.run()
         assert_(an.frames == list(range(20)))
 
     def test_step(self):
-        an = FrameAnalysis(self.u.trajectory, step=20)
+        an = FrameAnalysis(self.u.trajectory, step=20).run()
         assert_(an.n_frames == 5)
-
-        an.run()
         assert_(an.frames == list(range(98))[::20])
+
+    def test_quiet(self):
+        a = FrameAnalysis(self.u.trajectory, quiet=False)
+        assert_(not a._quiet)
+
+    @raises(NotImplementedError)
+    def test_incomplete_defined_analysis(self):
+        IncompleteAnalysis(self.u.trajectory).run()
+
+    def test_old_api(self):
+        OldAPIAnalysis(self.u.trajectory).run()
diff --git a/testsuite/MDAnalysisTests/analysis/test_contacts.py b/testsuite/MDAnalysisTests/analysis/test_contacts.py
index 712b5cf6ac4..dbcdad587b7 100644
--- a/testsuite/MDAnalysisTests/analysis/test_contacts.py
+++ b/testsuite/MDAnalysisTests/analysis/test_contacts.py
@@ -162,14 +162,12 @@ def tearDown(self):
     def _run_Contacts(self, **kwargs):
         acidic = self.universe.select_atoms(self.sel_acidic)
         basic = self.universe.select_atoms(self.sel_basic)
-        Contacts = contacts.Contacts(
+        return contacts.Contacts(
             self.universe,
             selection=(self.sel_acidic, self.sel_basic),
             refgroup=(acidic, basic),
             radius=6.0,
-            **kwargs)
-        Contacts.run()
-        return Contacts
+            **kwargs).run()
 
     def test_startframe(self):
         """test_startframe: TestContactAnalysis1: start frame set to 0 (resolution of
diff --git a/testsuite/MDAnalysisTests/analysis/test_lineardensity.py b/testsuite/MDAnalysisTests/analysis/test_lineardensity.py
index 6c861518d95..42ed115038a 100644
--- a/testsuite/MDAnalysisTests/analysis/test_lineardensity.py
+++ b/testsuite/MDAnalysisTests/analysis/test_lineardensity.py
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 # vim: tabstop=4 expandtab shiftwidth=4 softtabstop=4 fileencoding=utf-8
 #
 # MDAnalysis --- http://www.MDAnalysis.org
-# Copyright (c) 2006-2015 Naveen Michaud-Agrawal, Elizabeth J. Denning, Oliver Beckstein
-# and contributors (see AUTHORS for the full list)
+# Copyright (c) 2006-2015 Naveen Michaud-Agrawal, Elizabeth J. Denning, Oliver
+# Beckstein and contributors (see AUTHORS for the full list)
 #
 # Released under the GNU Public Licence, v2 or any higher version
 #
@@ -20,23 +20,21 @@
 from MDAnalysis.analysis.lineardensity import LinearDensity
 from numpy.testing import TestCase, assert_allclose
 
+
 class TestLinearDensity(TestCase):
     def setUp(self):
         self.universe = mda.Universe(waterPSF, waterDCD)
         self.sel_string = 'all'
         self.selection = self.universe.select_atoms(self.sel_string)
-        
-        self.xpos = np.array([ 0., 0., 0., 0.0072334, 0.00473299, 0.,
-                               0., 0., 0., 0. ])
+
+        self.xpos = np.array([0., 0., 0., 0.0072334, 0.00473299, 0.,
+                              0., 0., 0., 0.])
 
     def test_serial(self):
-        ld = LinearDensity(self.selection, binsize=5)
-        ld.run()
+        ld = LinearDensity(self.selection, binsize=5).run()
         assert_allclose(self.xpos, ld.results['x']['pos'], rtol=1e-6, atol=0)
 
 #    def test_parallel(self):
 #        ld = LinearDensity(self.universe, self.selection, binsize=5)
 #        ld.run(parallel=True)
 #        assert_equal(self.xpos, ld.results['x']['pos'])
-
-