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.
ok but why did you watch 3 seasons of a show you didn’t enjoy
It’s not a show I disliked and it wasn’t a show I needed to pay incredibly close attention to so I watched it while I ate breakfast
I think the later seasons are better than the early ones.
I definitely agree. I’m working on season 6 now and really enjoy it.
I’m not too sure why. Maybe it feels a little more structured compared to early seasons.
To me, the seasons that have an overarching plot work better than the early episodes that were each self-contained
extreme boredom and “everyone seems to like it, I must be wrong” are dangerous bedfellows
That’s how I feel about arrested development.
It was just five seasons of watching horrible people be horrible people with like one funny event or joke per episode at best.
I regret the time I wasted watching that show.
You’re definitely entitled to your opinion. But I found the initial run of Arrested Development to be one of the best written sitcoms ever. Also, part of the point is that the main protagonist and his son are good people who stay and support their terrible family members out of loyalty.
I would characterize Michael more by his self-righteousness and ego-driven attempts to be good than his actual goodness; so many of the show’s hijinks stem from his savior complex bringing out the hypocrisy in his attempts to be ‘a good guy’.
To be clear I think it adds to the humor, not complaining at all. Horrible people being horrible makes great comedy and Arrested Development offers far more than just that (probably my favorite comedy show). But it can get kinda depressing, if I’m not in a great mood I can’t take more than a couple episodes at a time.
Michael being self-righteously and self-centered-ly good, and everyone else being earnestly and obliviously (and maybe even endearingly) terrible sounds about right. :)
Horrible people being horrible is a staple of great sitcoms, at least in the UK. Peep Show, IT Crowd, Black Books, Father Ted, Blackadder, Steptoe and Son, The Office, Bottom, The Young Ones, Til Death Us Do Part… the list just goes on.
I guess that’s why I find American stuff like Always Sunny, Arrested Development and Seinfeld more satisfying than stuff like Friends or Modern Family that always has to have a moral.
You know I never noticed that about the UK until you pointed that out but looking back on every British show I’ve ever watched, you are right. With the exception of Doctor Who that is pretty much all of them.
That said I will die on the hill of “Ricky Gervais is not and has never been funny”
I like the Ricky Gervais show but let’s be real that’s all Karl Pilkington.
Whether Gervais is funny in of himself, he knew how to write a great script back in the day, The Office and Extras are solid gold classics.
Sometimes there’s some elements that really shows the potential and brilliance that is interesting enough to keep pushing forward. So while it might not hit the point of must see TV right away, going in with the knowledge that it hits its stride in season X helps keep things in perspective. When I’m informed of something like that I’m willing to put up with the slow burn if the pay off is to be great, and there’s at least some redeeming qualities about the show until then.
Parks and Rec is a great show…If you just straight up skip season 1. Season one did not have its legs and I can’t really believe it didn’t get canceled before season 2.
Season 1 is terrible, they were basically trying to do a The Office spin-off but the humor fell completely flat.
Season 1 was charming but it becomes an excellent show when Chris Traeger and Ben Wyatt show up. It starts running on all cylinders. (It’s one of my favorite shows.)
My friend who recommended it to me before I had ever seen it basically said the same, but I loved it from the beginning.
I can’t really believe it didn’t get canceled before season 2.
I agree … how did it not get cancelled?
it was only 6 episodes and i guess had goodwill from the office writers? idk NBC tried to cancel parks and rec all the time at its peak so its amazing how it didnt get instantly canned
I still think it’s worth watching from season 1 - there are a couple of pretty good episodes and it sets up some stuff that comes back later on, like building the park in the vacant lot. Plus, it’s only 6 episodes IIRC.
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 tried watching an episode of Schitt’s Creek when it started but it just didn’t click for me. My sister convinced me to just watch through the first season earlier this year and it got so much better with each season. So quotable, great comedic timing, character development, loved it.
Going through a similar thing with Star Trek atm. Didn’t give it much attention until I passively watched a couple episodes that my boyfriend had on. Hooked on Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks now.
The SNW/LD crossover episode was one of the most anticipated things of 2023 for me and fully delivered, just the perfect loveletter to being a Trekkie whilst also building on a fair number of personal plot developments.
If you’ve not already watched it I’d check out Prodigy too - it’s probably the most underrated Nu Trek series imo being aimed at younger viewers. That said I loved it as an adult (ostensibly) and am praying season 2 gets picked up soon.
As to the topic, I can’t think of anything as even series heavy on world building/low on action at the start like Andor or The Expense drew me in from the beginning.
Yeah, I was fully expecting Prodigy to be too childish but they nailed it as an “all ages” feel that even as a miserable bloke pushing 40 I could enjoy. Really hop they get another series as that show is miles ahead of Discovery and is a great entry point for the franchise.
The wire. Think I started season 1 about 5 times. Then I stuck it out. Hands down the best show I’ve seen.
I was hooked by episode 4 when Bunk and McNulty are at the crime scene
Fuck
This was my experience as well. I ended up loving it!
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. 😋
British version of the Office. Still not into it.
Actually, why qualify it? Any version of the Office…
American Office is a bit of an acquired taste as Dry Humor often is…
The Office UK is where I became convinced that Ricky Gervais is one of the least funny comedians of all time, nothing has been able to change my mind.
That was my beef with it. “OK, it’s a comedy and the central premise is how not-funny someone is…”
See…
Bad Media is interesting because the ineptitude is usually comedic. It’s why I consider it a step above “Boring Media”
The problem is Bad Media that is intended to be comedic is the most toxic substance known to man. A comedy is supposed to be funny, being inept at a medium can be funny, but being inept at comedy causes the funniness of both to cancel out and create… Anti-Lulz
Ricky Gervais can generate Anti-Lulz no problem
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
I watched the first four episodes of the Expanse, and then just skipped to the second season.
I know that’s not exactly “long”, but I didn’t want to waste my time trying to get into it and it looked promising. Very glad I did it like that. This was back when there were only 3 seasons out.
I still argue that season 3 has to be one of the best seasons of any show made. Period.
Yea … for me … peak modern TV easily.
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.
Exactly the same experience for me. I have friends ready to waterboard me over this, but I still haven’t made it past ep2
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.
For some reason it took me a long time to click with Schitt’s Creek.
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).
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.
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.
Have you given House of the Dragon a chance?
Nobody should. Fuck that.
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.
You seem pleasant.
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.
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.
