ITT we ask how many episodes of a TV show we should watch before we nope out

you learn to love all the succession characters, is the thing

I'm nearing the end of the second season of The Americans, and I haven't been grabbed yet, though I'll say that it's watchable and not boring. But then it also gave Oliver North a writing credit, so I'm not sure if I'm going to go beyond this season.

I've been told I have to watch the fuck out of Star Trek: TNG before it gets good. is this true?

I'm not sure if I'm going to go beyond this season.

If you're not into it by now, you won't be. It doesn't change. It gets more intense later on, but the fundamentals are all there.

xpost Not if you're watching the first two seasons, you don't. I'm rewatching TNG s1 atm and, hoooo boy, I always forget it contains like three legit good episodes max (lots more that are entertaining but nit necessarily in the way they intended). It's shocking that it survived past that point but I'm glad that it did. Start with s3 and you should be okay.

Yeah I dunno who told you that you have to watch early seasons of TNG -- its whole MO is that it's episodic and tells largely one-off, self-contained stories (like most primetime TV from the era), and starting with S3 is completely fine.

Time Squared and Q Who are great episodes from the second season. And ‘Conspiracy’ from Season 1 is worth slogging through for the incredible WTF ending. But yeah, start with season 3 (although it has several duff episodes). Or better yet, find a watching guide and pick the best ones - there must be at least a few dozen classics.

I'd salvage these from season 1:
Datalore <-- bonkers evil twin episode -- not really good but Spiner is never as creepily menacing as Lore as he is the first time around
Conspiracy <-- just bonkers

Season 2:
Where Silence Has Lease <-- bonkers Enterprise as funhouse nuthouse
Time Squared <-- bonkers time loop (not as good as the later season time loop episode, but definitely more bonkers)
Q Who <-- probably the first "good" episode (and first Borg episode)

Season 3 is a lot more even, but you can still skip until The Defector and not really miss any stellar episodes.

Agreed. And NB if you start to love the characters and the vibe, then basically any episode becomes watchable, or at the very least bad in a curiosity-inducing way

I do wish someone would make "last time on TNG" clip compilations for episodes that are pretty bad but still have interesting scenes, or series milestones that get called-back later.

Up the Long Ladder is notoriously bad, but chock-full of clip-worthy nonsense:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjYQi7BVkG4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L31S2frVnOc

In addition to your list of s1 keepers, I would add 'Encounter at Farpoint' (the pilot) and 'Heart of Glory' (the first Klingon-centric episode, which are some of my favorites of the series).

Yeah trishyb otm re: Americans. I was totally sucked in by S2 and don't think there's a huge change in the show from there (except that S5 was slower)

Nobody shares this opinion, but I think Farpoint is overall actually pretty good, and not as cringey as you'd think (except for the bad, cringey parts).
But yeah if you decided to jump off the TNG train at that point, I get it.

Counter point: I think that I only watched Farpoint after watching the series finale, which directly references the premiere, and had no problem following the plot. (I would not recommend the premiere to someone who's curious about getting into TNG.)

Reservation Dogs.

/ducks

I actually stopped Reservation Dogs myself in S2 - may come back but really wasn't in the mood - and I didn't feel it got much better or worse from what I've seen. Pretty well-formed from the beginning

Leee i thought you enjoyed TV

i found it too far along the emo annoying axis that taika (love him tho i do) has struggled with *badly* since thor 3 (at least)

I got a box set of The Wire for pennies, we’ve watched 8 episodes and it’s not really grabbing us. Do I bail or soldier on?

Definitely carry on, the later seasons are better (except S5). It didn't grab me at first either but I persevered with the aid of the detailed plot summaries of each episode on Wikipedia which really helped me work out what was going on.

Thanks. Will persevere. I think the hype (“greatest TV show ever”) is colouring my expectations.

i dont want to presume anything dan but ive read where a lot of people needed subtitles early on to get into the slang across the various groups (cops and criminals) nb not starting with big explainers is imo one of the genius decisions but i do see where it makes an additional challenge

finish season 1 and if it gets you by that point carry on, if not don't (but beware that season 2 is another slow build esp on first viewing)

the best show ever thing doesn't necessarily help and may have hurt its reputation a little in the long run - I've aired my criticisms of the show before - but the things it does pull off welll are impressive enough to keep going with it if you're at all engaged with the characters and the world by the end of the season

I've tried better caul saul a couple of times over the years and both times my engagement sort of petered out at some point during the first season - is this a sign that it's not for me? or do I just need to give it more time?

I enjoyed BCS from the first season but it definitely does build over time and pay off later

The tone of s1 might leave you assuming that it's just gonna be a lighter and more playful take on the BB universe but, well. It ends light years away from where it begins. And is well worth the ride.

Yeah BCS is really worth sticking with, it gets better and better each season

i watched breaking bad far longer than i wanted to before cutting it dead and its v much affected my attitude towards BCS

I found it a lot more motivating to watch BCS ‘collectively’ during the final season when people were discussing each week’s episode. Going back to some of the very early episodes that I’d missed felt a bit flat.

How about Jury Duty? I'm in, but my partner wasn't super into it (just the nature of the humor, plus the constant distraction of thinking about how it was made etc). Does it really build on itself or is the vibe pretty much the same throughout?

The neat thing about Vince Gilligan's two shows is that they really do not go as you expect.

Like I got tired of BCS at times but the last half of the last season was totally worth it, and again, confounded what you were expecting.

Jury Duty is kind of the same joke in different iterations over and over again, though the outlandishness gets cranked up over the course of the season.

also Jimmy McGill is a way more interesting and likeable protagonist than Walter White

Jury Duty, tbf, did not need to be quite as long as it is, but it's an incredible achievement imo, both logistically and formally, and I also found it utterly hilarious

If you watch the whole thing, at the end you do get to see a bit about how the show was made, which is INCREDIBLY satisfying

Like I would definitely have watched a 15-minute companion "making of" episode along with every single regular episode. They had no way of knowing how well the show would do so there's no way they would have gotten the budget for that but I bet I'm not the only fan who would have absolutely eaten that up

Yeah I was grateful they spent so much of the last episode on the nuts and bolts, I had so many questions as I was watching

Every episode has a cast/crew commentary extra.

!!!! i had no idea

Jury Duty first half I was loling a ton then it kinda settled into normal funny, prob shoulda been 2 episodes less. overall worth a watch tho.

Signed up for Disney+ because they've got a 3 months for $6 deal, and so:

Bluey (I watched the first episode, was pretty meh)
Owl House (2-3 episodes, doesn't care for the humor, Luz kinda annoying)

For Bluey, you should just seek out the lists of the best episodes: they're basically all standalone. "Sleepytime" and "Escape" are two of my favorites, though I more passively watch the show when my son has it on than really sit down and watch

This is a good place to start - Sleepytime is #1

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/mar/21/the-10-best-bluey-episodes-for-both-kids-and-parents-sorted

Awesome, thanks!

i self-yeeted out of 'english teacher' in the middle of the first episode

i like it!

episode 2 is a+

maybe i'll stick it out, i wanted to like it

its a show about being a teacher in texas, that is literally me (minus being gay and latino)

its way harder to enjoy shows based on yr own job/industry, i get it

A Baltimorean I follow on Bluesky is taking about all the locations used in Homicide. Apparently they stuck to filming in the gentrified neighborhoods and had them stand in for the grittier parts.

I watched the first three episodes of English Teacher, and found it pretty dire. It felt like an inferior version of other recent comedies with similar settings (Abbott Elementary) and sensibilities (The Other Two).

wrong, it’s good

For Bluey, you should just seek out the lists of the best episodes: they're basically all standalone. "Sleepytime" and "Escape" are two of my favorites, though I more passively watch the show when my son has it on than really sit down and watch

― Vinnie, Friday, September 13, 2024 4:19 AM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

i love sleepytime but it really only works if you already know the characters. I agree that the first episode is pretty meh, folks who want to "get into" Bluey should start with "keepy uppy" then skip to "BBQ" and move forward from there.

Also it's a kids show and I'm only this well-versed due to having a 6-year-old child haha