I recently decide to watch Curb Your Enthusiasm and I only really started to enjoy the show after season four.
I feel like a lot of dramas like The Americans, Dark, and Narcos take me a little while to get invested but it’s typically only a season.
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The Wire.
I downloaded the entire series in 2010, hoping I could binge-watch it while I’m still on night shift. Couldn’t get myself to finish the slow boring pilot, set it aside, and forgot about it completely.
More than 10 years later, I see it on HBO Max remastered. Managed to survive EP1, and quickly after that, I couldn’t wait to watch every other episode.
I’ve always said the best shows are the ones wherein you can name every character to even the smallest one and know why they stuck with you. The Wire is one of those and remains my favorite of all time.
I was the same way! I just finally watched it this year, after about my 5th attempt. Once I got past the first 2 episodes I was loving it lol.
It also has a very high rewatch value. Each time through you notice something you missed the previous times.
I find myself rewatching occasionally it when I introduce someone new to the series.
Exactly the same experience for me. I have friends ready to waterboard me over this, but I still haven’t made it past ep2
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The Wire for my parent and myself also.
We watched it once, got a few episodes in, and we were like “we’ll come back to this I’m sure”
Seven years later, we finish The Sopranos. “Well I guess this is kinda like it…”
Nah, but we got through season three at least!
I didn’t really get captivated by The Wire until season 3. It had some really memorable moments, but it was a show I had to force myself through until season 3. Especially season 2, since the dock workers didn’t catch my interest.
It’s kind of a weird show, because season 2 doesn’t really matter. You could skip it, and it would be a better show.
Going in to season 2 can feel a bit jarring if you were expecting it to continue to be about the drug trade, but the show is about Baltimore and each season shows different aspects of the city. The police/drug trade, the docks, government bureaucracy, school system, and the media. For me it’s what makes the wire stand out.
Jersey Shore. I never understood the hype and never watched it. I still haven’t.
I recently decided to dive into It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I always knew I’d like it, but goddamn is it funny. I’m currently at the end of season 4.
I don’t think you understood the question. Lol
Oh shit, I’m so baked. Yeah oops. Oh fuck. Umm. I don’t really give a show a chance if I even suspect I’ll dislike it. So I don’t think any show.
The expanse
It’s very good, has me from very beginning, but there’s a lot going on to keep track of. My wife and I have restarted it about 4 times but haven’t made it through the first season, so we decided we need to find some time to really sit down and binge it, because if we walk away from it for a few days we lose track of everything that was going on and need to start over again.
I had such a troubled relationship with The Expanse S01 as well.
I read the novel and thought the writing was meh, so I dropped it at some point.
Then my friends were telling me the show was great, so I gave it a go but got bored at about the same point and stopped.
So other friends insisted it was great, so I tried it again with my GF. She complained about the show, but we decided to really see what this show was about and stick with it no matter what.
Turns out I thought the story was heading into some sort of “space zombies” tale, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. And the characters I thought were so bland and indistinguishable in S01 gained so much nuance that they’re now so clear in my mind years later.
It’s definitely one of my favorite sci-fi shows of all time. I guess it’s worth listening to your friends and sticking with things sometimes.
About when does The Expanse get good? I’ve tried twice and bailed.
I don’t blame you. 😁 For me, the turning point was in the very last episodes of season one. Stuff happens that really breaks expectations and sends the story in a more interesting direction. I also remember season 2 being vastly superior.
If you made it through season 2 and didn’t like it, the show might not be for you! But if you’re stuck somewhere in season 1, it’s definitely worth powering through that.
My husband and I are stuck a few.eps into season 1. I can’t believe I’m going to try again, lol, but this thread is persuasive. I’m going.to have to read some summaries.of the episodes we’ve watched to remember where we are.in the story… (My husband says the only thing he can recall is that dude’s haircut.) Third times the charm they say.
I love this. I’ve rewatched Succession more than any other show at this point. Although it’s fun to go back to the beginning and see where each of the characters started, I admit the first few eps of the show can feel slow. But god DAMN the way the characters and relationships are written is so sharp.
Around episode 8, but really season 2. I never connected with the Miller storyline, so IMO the show improves as that wraps up.
I finally started GOT when season 7 started. I got to season 5 when season 8 ended. I didn’t finish watching the show after that.
I wonder what other shows people stopped watching because they heard it had a bad ending.
Does source material count? I watched Attack on Titan and loved it and when I found out the final season was not the final season I read the Manga. Was disappointed by the last arc and haven’t picked the anime back up, but at the same time was glad I got through it quick as opposed having the conclusion dragged out over years and then being disappointed like I was with Game of Thrones after a two year long wait. Which wouldn’t have been as disappointing if the wait wasn’t so long, and not a week by week slow delivery of disappointment over it being released all in one day for people to get over quickly.
It played a determining factor of whether I would watch House of the Dragon or not. Had the book not been complete I would not have watched the show not wanting to go through another multi year investment into stories and characters with a one to three year long time gap between season ending in disappointment.
Have you given House of the Dragon a chance?
Nobody should. Fuck that.
You seem pleasant.
I thought it was good, and the book it is based on is actually complete unlike A Song of Ice and Fire. And the book is good too, so I think it’s worth getting into.
My colleague at work told me to stick it out through the first season. Neither of us were really into fantasy, so it was kind of odd at first. But man, it was worth it. Seasons 7 and 8 were a bit rushed, which really fucked with the cadence of the timeline. Seasons 1-6 are still my favorite show ever. May be a bit of a hot take, considering the books are so awesome, or not idk.
Interesting … I’m in a kinda similar boat with GOT. I watched S1-S2, roughly when it came out … and didn’t like it that much. I could see the appeal, but it generally felt like the whole thing was drawn out for the sake of making a long fantasy series without that much character growth or compelling plot lines.
I looked up a summary of plot points from the books that follow and it didn’t really change my mind.
Fast forward to season 6, and I end up at friends house watching episodes together. I haven’t seen any of it since S2, but figure I’ll watch with them. I watch a couple of episodes, and start asking questions generally about how it really wasn’t hard to catch up from S2 … like, it didn’t seem much had really changed apart from the Red wedding … over 3-4 seasons.
And however valid a critique that is … what was interesting was that many of the fans I was asking this of got really awkward about the questions. They had no answer, no defence, and it seemed apparent to me that their excitement about the show was entirely about expectations for what was to come and that they were mostly ignoring how they actually weren’t enjoying the show that much any more. I now know that the show is widely regarded to have gone downhill after S4, though many hadn’t really acknowledged that, and that feeling was the nerve I had probably touched. Fastforward, and S8 is coming out, so I figure I’ll watch it to see the end … may as well. And we all know how good that season was.
So, after basically being part of the GoT generation, and watching a lot of it, including the beginning when it came out … I never got into the show and always thought it was shit.
Funny, my first experience with the show was similar to yours - watched the first season or so and wasn’t into it, then started watching again in season ~five with someone else - but I actually started to really enjoy it from there. Granted it only took like a season for it to really go downhill, but it got me interested enough to watch from the beginning once it was over. Despite the knowledge of the terrible conclusion the first few seasons ended up being some of my favorite TV.
the first few seasons ended up being some of my favorite TV.
Oh I’m sure they’re good … and there were parts I really did enjoy. For me, I just picked up on a sense that they knew they were going to drag this whole thing out, and didn’t really need to make me feel the weight of the current moment, and for some reason, that put me off.
When I revisited … it was late season 6 … but I never saw the ending of season 6, then I saw bits of season 7 and then all of 8 … which was probably the worst sample of GoT you could put together!
Wow, that sounds like the worst GoT viewing experience possible lol. I think I can see what you mean; there are definitely a lot of scenes technically unnecessary to move the plot along, and combined with the number of plotlines it makes the story move glacially (not helped by plotline conclusions not necessarily making the impacts you would expect on the story).
I think that’s actually a big part of what makes it stand out, though. It gives the world- and character-building a uniquely organic feel that wouldn’t be there if the story was the focus, with lots of incidental moments that don’t necessarily need any weight. The enjoyment comes more from learning and immersion than anything.
Admittedly I’m all about characters and atmosphere, as long as those are solid I can enjoy something regardless of whatever else it does or doesn’t have going. Watching with full spoilers I got basically nothing from any progression in the show; though in a way I think it actually made me appreciate the moment-to-moment of it more when I had zero expectations for the destinations and could just enjoy the progression.
Now that I think about it seeing the last few seasons first might be the right way to watch it lol, if someone’s still interested after knowing nothing concludes satisfactorily then it’s for them.
I think, as far as my own tastes are concerned. I like world building … a lot, and would have enjoyed more of that. I like plot and pacing a lot, and get frustrated when it gets muddled. As for character, I prefer my character stuff to be more focused deep. With GoT, it seemed to me that the show struggled to handle all of its characters, at least as deeply as I would have liked.
For me, if a show isn’t good during the first season, then it’s very unlikely that I’ll watch the rest of it. I’m really not someone who plays the game of skipping seasons, unless it’s absolutely called for.
That said, Deep Space Nine is an amazing show, but one that has a bit of a rough Landing. It feels like the show legitimately did not understand that Sisko and not Quark was the main character until a producer cleared up the misunderstanding with the writers. And although Quark is the best part of the show, it does get a bit more interesting when the events revolve around the cardassians and bajorans, after all there are only so many ways you can raise the stakes of a show from inside of a bar.
That being said, when it comes to Classic mst3k, I find the Mike years to be vastly superior to the Joel years, to the point where if I’m rewatching the series just to have noise in the background while I’m doing something else, I’m going to exclusively choose from the list of Mike episodes. If I’m watching it just watch it though the Joel episodes actually have a chance to shine. I understand this is a bit of a controversial take. That being said if we are talking the modern incarnation of the show, then I’m definitely going to go for a Joel episode over anything having to do with Riff trax.
I mean RiffTrax isn’t bad per se, but sometimes I get a aging Rockstar trying to relive The Glory Days vibe from it.
While on the subject, having someone start It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia with the first season is just setting them up to writeboff the show as jist “meh”
One Piece. It took like 300 episodes.
The funny thing is I haven’t gotten to the good part yet.
It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.
Caught a few episodes of the first season but it never stuck with me.
I was told that it gets better after season 3. It did get better in season 2.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is one of those shows where I definitely recommend skipping the first season. Normally even if the first season is kind of bad, I still recommend people watch it in order to familiarize themselves with the show. But the jump in quality after Danny DeVito joins the cast… really is that severe, especially since he brings a whole bunch of other changes to the show. Such as Deandra no longer being the voice of reason, but being just as unstable as everyone else, which is a very welcome change because the woman being the one smart person is a sitcom cliche that is honestly quite tiresome. Plus her delusions of grandeur are funny as hell.
I would dare say that the first season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is painfully unfunny aside, where is the rest of the series is just downright amazing.
Not me but a friend of mine recommended a show… I think it was sons of anarchy. Where they pitched it to me, with no exaggeration on my part, as “you just have to get through the first two or three seasons, then it gets really good”.
I have not watched the show.
I get a lot of anime recommendations that come with the same line
For me it’s “The Mighty Boosh”: https://youtu.be/FiU-oCWPhx0
I fell in love with my now ex-wife (then girlfriend) in no small part because she had great humor and I liked a lot of the shows she liked.
So when one day in 2010 she raved about “The Mighty Boosh”, of which she owned all DVDs including the live stuff, I had to check it out.
I started watching S01E01 and felt like watching someone’s fever dream trying to recreate a kid’s show. Same for the second, third etc episode.
Usually I’d have long given up on that show. But there had to be something to it, if she loved the show so much.
So I started watching season 2 (“Milky Joe” or “The Priest and The Beast”, I can’t really remember) and it clicked immediately. From there I binged all other episodes + season 3 + season 1 again - and I loved it all and couldn’t understand how I didn’t like it initially.
And thanks to that I discovered other gems from the same “circle” like “Snuff Box”, “Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place”, “Luxury Comedy” and “The IT Crowd” (some episodes haven’t aged well, but others are just filled with gold).
The Office
I never watched much TV, and ignored the hype. Then I tried season 1 while on Netflix, and was bored. Recently I skipped season 1, and really got hooked mid-season 2. Now I have my mom and aunt hooked.
There’s only like two series and a couple of specials of The Office anyway, fourteen episodes in total I think.
I think they mean the American office. Which gets significantly better after the first season, when they stop trying to just copy the original and do their own thing.
Then they man The Office - An American Workplace and should say as such. 😉
I’m Amur-can. I can’t be expected to know all these things. 😋
Breaking Bad took me a good 6 episodes or so. It starts off so dark and unappealing.
BSG (the remake) took me 3-4 episodes. Same deal.
But my god, they’re both pure gold.
Breaking Bad was so depressing. I couldn’t binge it - my husband and I could only do an episode at a time once every few days, with sitcoms immediately after or in between. We finished it and it was truly well done and deserves all its praise, but it was a slog just because of how dark it was.
It’s the best show i don’t wanna watch again.
Yeah, you definitely have to be in that right mood for it. I was so grossed out by the bathtub scene in episode 3 or 4 that I never got past that episode the first two tries. Every few episodes has something really traumatizing. But I took it really slow this time (only 2 episodes or so per day) and made my way through it. It definitely had an addictive feel and I found it impossible to predict, which was super intriguing.
I made it through the first season but wasn’t enjoying it enough to continue after that. It seems extremely well executed but man is it bleak, made me sad more than anything
Truly - every few episodes is really traumatizing. But it really is worth finishing, if you can handle it.
Breaking Bad. Watched the first 10 minutes or so of the first episode then gave up on it for over a year. Eventually gave it a second chance and couldn’t binge the whole thing quickly enough…
Yeah Breaking Bad and stranger things are those shows that everyone else loves, that I just can’t get into. I have been meaning to go back to them though.
I don’t know that I ever will.
Probably going to be Lost. I’m 3 episodes in as of 2008 and haven’t gone back yet…if I ever do, it will be the longest to get into for me by far.
In seriousness though…As others have said, The Office and Parks & Rec took me about a season to get into.
Arrested Development, I admit, took me a few episodes.
Always Sunny took me about a season…I think just to get into a groove of the style or something, I dunno.
Arrested Development, I admit, took me a few episodes.
Arrested Development took everyone a few episodes. Much of the humour is about riffing on repeated jokes set up in previous episodes - you’ve got to get through a few episodes first for these to start to click.
That’s partly why it was never successful when broadcast. It’s a show that should have been binge-watched but was released on broadcast TV, an episode a week, but tellingly it only took off in popularity with the DVD release (and later on streaming).
When you reach the point that Arrested Development is dropping punchlines several episodes before the joke, you knew it was too cleaver for normal TV.
Lost was very popular at the time, but it’s not a good show at all.
