How Did You Get Into Person Of Interest?

[StarBrand]

Me, I watched the pilot, and found it mildly intriguing, and although I DVR'red the first few episodes, I never got around to them, then just stopped following it altogether.  I followed a blog that reviewed each episode, and they weren't exacly glowing. The criticism centered mainly on the same things that people have said made the show hard to get into-the sameness of the case-of-the-week, (Finch and Reese get a number, save the POI, leave the perpetrator at Carter's dooorstep to arrest afterwards, and always one step behind) and JC's whispery portrayal of Reese.  But then I started to notice reviews were starting to get better and better, so I decided to to take another shot. The first half of the 1st season was rather so-so, but the show started to pick up narrative speed midway through, and the rest is history, as they say. It's funny to watch the 1st season and realize how different the show used to be. Little did anyone know how vastly things would change.

What's your story?

Edited June 13, 2016 by StarBrand

[AimingforYoko]

Two words: Michael Emerson. I hung in during the "Procedural Era" and once Amy Acker did her heel turn I was fully on board.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Stealing from @AimingforYoko:

Jim Caviezel. Anything to see The Count of Monte Cristo Caviezel on my small screen, I was going to take it! At first, I didn't recognize him in the previews, but when I read the catchy title for this show on TWoP, you know, Ben Linus, Jesus Christ, etc., a lightbulb went off in my head. I've stuck around for him, and Emerson, who grew on me, or rather amazed me with his talent, because I'd never watched Lost, but did see him play uber creepy serial killers, pedophiles. 

And I'm one of the very few who fucking resented the hiring of Amy Acker and Sarah Shahi. I liked my show the way it was. And I also preferred the first two seasons. Sue me.

[Agent Dark]

When I'd heard Amy Acker had a recurring character in it, I decided to check it out.  When I had caught up on it, it was right around when Relevance first aired (and Root came back) so it was like a double hit of awesome :)

[tessaray]

I got into PoI after seeing references to it on Jenny Crusie's blog, Argh Ink. (I like that she takes tv seriously as storytelling.)  It was probably close to the start of the 3rd season, although I don't remember all that clearly, since I was catching up while the show was airing and would go for weeks being totally confused. :-)

In a way it was good that I came in later, as I didn't have that much attachment to Carter.  I would watch Sarah Shahi and Amy Acker in anything, so they made more of an impact on me.       

[stealinghome]

I got into the show through my parents, appropriately enough given CBS' demographics! My mom started talking the show up around the midpoint of S3, saying it had gotten REALLY good, and I do remember watching Aletheia at home with my family when it aired live and thinking that Root was scary awesome but the rest of the show was solid but not mesmerizing, not enough to make me watch reliably. But then I kept hearing good things and good things throughout the spring and saw a few intriguing gifsets of Shoot, so a few weeks after the S3 season finale aired I watched it online. And then I watched the episode before...and then the episode before...and was totally hooked. Filled in most of the gaps after that.

I AM glad that the show wasn't on my radar before mid-/late S3, though, because it was so utterly bland and boring--and Caviezel so weak--in its first two seasons that I would have watched one episode and never picked it up again no matter what I heard. What made the show for me was Root, Finch, and to a lesser degree Shaw.

Edited June 14, 2016 by stealinghome

[Babalu]

Michael Emerson. And the fact that J.J. Abrams and Jonathan Nolan were attached gave me hope that it would be a smart, intriguing series. I never disliked any of the main/recurring character (except the villains, of course, whom I've appreciated, rather than liked) and grew to love all of Team Machine. I've often been confused and occasionally (very occasionally) been disappointed for an episode or two but have never looked back for a second.

[Cranberry]

Online friends had been going on about Root and Shaw's flirtation for ages, and I finally decided to look into the show. When I found out that JJ Abrams and Jonathan Nolan were involved, I got interested. When I learned the show was about artificial intelligence, I got even more interested. I didn't have time to watch all four seasons until this past Christmas, though; I binged them all over a two-week period and loved pretty much every episode (even the early, more procedural ones). I'm glad I didn't have as long of a wait for season five as most fans did, although it still felt long!

(And yes, I love Root and Shaw, although I got attached to all of the characters, especially Finch... and Bear, of course!)

[juliet73]

 My husband and I have very different tastes in what we watch.  He doesn't watch fiction TV.  He likes Treehouse Masters, car shows,  sports, etc where as I like dramas, procedurals, etc. I was watching this show when it first premiered (like I do with all new shows) and Mr Juliet73 happened to walk in the room when Reese was showing those punks on the subway who was in charge! We've been watching it together ever since. :) 

I agree about the first 2 seasons being the best.  I wasn't a fan of Shaw when she was first introduced. After they toned down her tough guy persona, she grew on me.

I'm going to miss this show!! I love shows where you really have pay attention and there are very few. If anyone has any recommendations on any great shows,  please let me know. 

Edited June 14, 2016 by juliet73

[yellowfred]

I remember hearing good things about it, particularly during the second season, but I'd never made it much of a priority, since it was so hard to get caught up on.  The thing that tipped it for me was finding out that Amy Acker was a recurring guest star.  I ended up binging the first two seasons a few weeks before the third season started, which was probably for the best, because I don't think season one would have held my interest week-to-week (I think the quality was there, but I'm just not a big fan of procedurals).  

[bros402]

I used to read the site The Futon Critic and I read their First Look of Person of Interest.

 

It convinced me to keep an eye out for when the show premiered and I have been watching it every week as it airs.

[Jack Shaftoe]

I tried the first three episodes about a year ago, was not impressed, dropped it. Then several months ago, I started noticing glowing comments about PoI on the Everything Else TV forum, one of my closest friends also raved about it. So I made a mental note to maybe give it another chance some day. Then Cranberry mentioned Person of Interest on The 100 forum, including the funny portmanteau couple name for Root/Shaw (Shoot). Believe it or not, wanting to check out that funny name was as much of an incentive as everything else. Yes, my mind works in mysterious ways. So, thanks, Cranberry!

I ended up loving the show long before Shoot became a reality, though. By mid-season 2 my opinion had changed from "I really like this show" to "OMG, this show is going to have only 5 seasons?!? No, I want more. More!"

Edited June 14, 2016 by Jack Shaftoe

[DeepRunner]

A friend of mine told me about the show a few years ago. I watched some of it and thought it was a little quirky, and stopped watching after a two or three episodes. Then I decided to watch again and found it really good, so I did some binge-watching to get caught up on the story.

Doing so gave me a real appreciation for the writing and acting that have been part of what is the. BEST. SHOW. ON. TV. PERIOD. It's the only thing I appointment-watch. Although the characters are fictitious, they are what make the show go. Sad that the show goes dark next Tuesday.

[Clawdette]

I was a Jim Caviezel fan having viewed Frequency, Pay it Forward, and The Count (never saw Passion of the Christ) and was excited that he was coming to TV. The POI premise sounded awesome to me.  There was a lot of skepticism about him at TWOP; I was one of the ones who encouraged folks not to discount him based on Passion. 

I didn't watch Lost but was familiar with Emerson in character roles and thought he and JC would make an interesting pair.  Been there since the premier and am sad to say goodbye. 

Edited June 15, 2016 by Clawdette

[mtlchick]

I was familiar enough with ME from Lost and JC from Frequency/Count of Monte Cristo (and who I refer as Good Looking Jesus) to be drawn in.  And overall JJ Abrams had enough of a good track record for me to go all in.  It helped that Amy Acker came on board though like many I was annoyed with Root in the early going. 

 

Quote

It's funny to watch the 1st season and realize how different the show used to be. Little did anyone know how vastly things would change.

I wrote this in another thread that I just saw the pilot for the first time in ages. The show now compared to then is night and day.   I'm convinced they found an old mop, dyed it, and slapped on JC's head and said "Ta da! Homeless drunk!"

[tvfanatic13]

As a fan of Lost, I came for Emerson and never left! I am also a huge Sarah Shahi fan. Still miss Carter though!

[basiltherat]

I started watching from the start because of Ben!From!Lost!  Hated Carter because she was the enemy at the time. Once she came on board she earned her stripes.  Same thing with Fusco, and later Root and Shaw.  A lot of people were resentful of Shaw because she was going to "replace" Reese (he was being overworked with all the stunts) 

I have a tendency to latch onto shows that are underdogs (the show itself, not its characters) and quickly cancelled.  The only one I watched religiously was Lost, which ended on its own terms.

[Coxfires]

One of my friends recommended it to me last year, I caught up with "If-then-Else". I liked it right away, but I get that binge-watching helped a lot, because I never felt like the show was a stereotypical procedural. There was a huge "Lost" feeling with it, not only because of the awesome Michael Emerson, but because of the mysteries surrounding him and the Machine, but also how Reese's past tied into it. I also love the way the show managed to depict the evolution of Reese and Finch relationship, plus everything that had to do with Elias and HR.

The episode that "sold" POI to me was "Cura te ipsum", with a fantastic end scene that still resonates this day. I liked Carter and Fusco, but I'll admit that I started to find the show not just engaging but fantastic by mid S2, when Root and Shaw were added, and found S3 mindblowing. To me, the show took a whole other dimension there, and the way it managed to deal with HR, Decima and Vigilance was perfect, up to MIA. It lost a bit of momentum in the second part of S4, but found its way back and I love S5. 

POI is for me a great engaging and intelligent show, with a great writing, especially regarding women. Root and Shaw are fantastic characters, not stereotypical, with a real own personality, not defined by their relationship status and whose storyline don't depend on a man's. Yes, I do appreciate to see such females on my screen. which doesn't mean that I don't like the men, I couldn't see POI without Finch and Reese (although the latter has seen his role decreased lately, which pains me a little, hope it'll be restored in the last 2 eps)

[TigerLynx]

I tuned in from the start because of JC and ME.  I didn't mind the slow beginning in the first season because I was enjoying watching Reese and Finch develop.  I thought killing Carter was a mistake because the team was just starting to come together.  I'll miss the show, but at least it didn't drag on long past its expiration date like so many other shows.  POI is ending while it's still fun to watch.

[Raingirlkm]

I came to POI thru writer Amy Berg, whom I knew from her work on Leverage and Eureka. I was following her on Twitter and she mentioned her new gig as writer /producer on POI. I had seen the ads, but it looked so grim and taking-itself-seriously that I wasn't really interested. But I figured I would check out Amy's episode, Identity Crisis (two people using the same number/name, which is the victim?) and I liked it enough to watch a few more episodes.

While the show is serious, the often dry and/or understated humor scattered thru it is right up my alley. In addition to being sucked into the characters and the world, I find I laugh out loud more at Person of Interest than I do at most so-called comedies. Sometimes I have to pause it so I don't miss anything while I laugh. I much prefer my comedy salted into something serious. The ending may be dark, but I have loved the show's humor and the loving attention to detail and continuity.

[mtlchick]

Quote

The ending may be dark, but I have loved the show's humor and the loving attention to detail and continuity.

Ironically enough, in the pilot, Reese got cut on his right hand and there were many shots showing the bandage.  There was one moment though where the shot was probably flipped around in post production as the bandage was on his left hand (the camera on the phone was flipped as well.)

[Raingirlkm]

I was thinking more of story and character continuity. :-) I read an interview some time back saying that the writers were required to have seen all the episodes so they didn't write something out of character or in opposition to what was previously established. (This was fairly early in the series, so I don't know if they kept that up or not.) What happened had consequences that rippled through subsequent episodes.

[Gigi43]

I started from the beginning because of my superficial view of JC, and being familiar with ME and Taraji enough. I really hate that, for me at least, the great story about the Machine has come at a price especially in season 4 of lacking in direct Reese/Finch interaction because that's the first thing I ever liked about the show itself in the beginning. I liked the slow evolution of watching the original 4 navigate coming to trust each other over season 1 and then seeing that built on in season 2, which I think is why I hate Root's addition so much, all of a sudden we were just suppose to buy that horrible psycho as Okay because she says so, and we've seen this show can really do redemption/character building without the added use of wacky costumes and adventures they've done with her.

 

Bear is just the best addition to any show, ever.

[fastiller]

2 hours ago, Raingirlkm said:

I came to POI thru writer Amy Berg, whom I knew from her work on Leverage and Eureka. I was following her on Twitter and she mentioned her new gig as writer /producer on POI. ...

&

23 minutes ago, Raingirlkm said:

I was thinking more of story and character continuity. :-) I read an interview some time back saying that the writers were required to have seen all the episodes so they didn't write something out of character or in opposition to what was previously established. (This was fairly early in the series, so I don't know if they kept that up or not.) What happened had consequences that rippled through subsequent episodes.

I must say: Leverage & POI are two of my favourite shows - and precisely because of the continuity, esp. w/r/t character growth/development.  So, it would seem that there's a through line on that between the two shows.

12 minutes ago, Gigi43 said:

Bear is just the best addition to any show, ever.

It cannot be repeated enough.  Bear is the best.  They better tell us what's been going on with him lately.

[TigerLynx]

I never got attached to Carter, Shaw, or Root, but I don't think one had to go in order for the others to be added.  I actually liked the different team combinations that were possible once they had more people on the team.  Reese, Finch, Carter, Fusco, Shaw, and Root working together with the occasional assist from Zoey, Elias, etc. could have been interesting.

[elle]

WGN!  

Started somewhere in the middle of season 2 or 3.  I think I've caught up with all the seasons by now, though there are still ones that surprise me that I have not seen.

One thing about the show for which I have wanted to thank the writers is the chance to see Brett Cullen play a good guy, consistently. for a change!

Edited June 15, 2016 by elle

[mtlchick]

Quote

Bear is just the best addition to any show, ever.

When Elementary ends, I need Clyde the Tortoise to team up with Bear for a buddy cop comedy show.  I would SO watch that. 

 

Quote

I was thinking more of story and character continuity. :-) I read an interview some time back saying that the writers were required to have seen all the episodes so they didn't write something out of character or in opposition to what was previously established. 

I know, just watching that scene I was like "You're so good at keeping the characters in line but you couldn't even get this right? COME ON!"

[kaygeeret]

I watched from the beginning for Emerson and - I swear this is true, in 2005ish I read an article in USA TODAY (of all strange places) that talked about a government program that captured/listened to phone calls and read emails - so it seemed like a topical show I should follow.

Very quickly came to love the actors and the growth of the characters.

Also loved the intro of new folks, the recurring ones (RIP Elias) and I even understood the end of Carter.

For me there was something a bit bigger than most shows about POI - clearer and truer to how life might go - and we are definitely seeing that in these last epis.  I fear dire things next week.

One of my all time favorite shows, along with Life.

[janeta]

I'm in it for the Machine and have been since the pilot. :-)

Kaygeeret--that program was called Echelon.

[Rumsy4]

After LOST ended, I gave anything the alum did a shot. The combination of Michael Emerson, Jim Caviezel, the show-creators, and the concept drew me in. I was hooked from the start. 

[DarkRaichu]

I started with episode 1 of season 1 because I was/am a geek and also based on Abrams and Caviezel names. ;)  TBH, the first 6 or so episodes were too slow for me.

Then Veronica Mars' dad guest starred and I thought this show had layers upon layers that other shows lacked.  The rest as they say is history :) 

[pennben]

I got into it just only within the last couple of months.  Alan Sepinwall, a tv critic at hitfix, who I follow mentioned getting back into the show for the final season, and the there was something by Kate Aurthur for Buzzfeed about what a great show it has been.  It is downright embarrassing how quickly I caught up on Netflix! 

[kwnyc]

My wife started raving to me about the show toward the end of season 1. I took it with a grain of salt, because she also loves Blue Bloods and I hatewatch it.

However, I became the bigger fan of POI. The writing! The acting! The deep and well-thought-out huge narrative arc. I'm an old TWOP hand, and have ended up enjoying several shows all the more because of forum interactions (from Miss Alli's recaps of TAR to the old forum hands who watched 'til the bitter end of ER, to us crazy fanatics of The Mentalist.) 

I also loved that I could find really good commentary and critique on the show on TWOP, then here, and several other places; if something is really taken seriously on IO9, I tend to respect it. 

We even got to the point where we willingly shelled out for the Paley Forum panel/Q&A screening, and were total fangirls in a way that I haven't been since early season TAR. (I also had a slight personal connection with the show...I have mentioned how I went to acting school with Rico Colantoni, and that the guy who directed a play of mine here in NYC is a good friend of Michael Emerson's.) And, of course, when my sister and I ran into ME and Carrie Preston in a bar in my neighborhood in Queens, we were just the right level of admiring and not stalkery at all.

And OH! the guest stars/recurring cast: from Lisa Kron* to Camryn Manheim to (Tony winner) Leslie C. Odom. 

Watching this show has been one of the most satisfying fandoms ever.

(One of my good friends refers to POI as the "Bear the Puppy Dog Show.")

*I wonder if any other show has had a Tony/Pulitzer award-winning WRITER as a guest star? (She played the government official who pushed Peter Collier over the edge.)

Edited June 17, 2016 by kwnyc
additional information

[DNR]

I saw commercials for it way back and thought "meh" , I can't fit another show into rotation - doesn't look like a show I'd like.   Then during the hiatus between season 4 and 5 i discovered Sarah shahi was a regular and I started watching on Netflix.  Discovered it's a fantastic show , discovered Amy Acker and then binge watched to get ready for Final season five . I'm going to miss this show and the actors so much . YOU SUCK CBS . 

Would love another show with Amy & Sarah as leads together - their chemistry is off the charts 

[Popples]

I'm a Lost fangirl, so I saw commercials of a show with Michael Emerson before it was due to air and wanted to watch it but didn't realize it came on the exact same time as college football (Thursday night), so I missed the first two episodes. I started on the third one (and had to wait a few months to see the first two because CBS didn't have POI On Demand since it wasn't a homegrown show, boo) and was hooked. I quickly came to love all the cast, especially Fusco, and then they got Bear!

I was really angry and annoyed when they killed off Carter, but I didn't bail because there were so few US shows I watch and it was still pretty good. I don't know how I'll feel after the finale, but at least the show is getting a chance to wrap it all up and we weren't left hanging with no resolution. I will really miss Bear's tweets.

[Camera One]

I decided to check out the show because a "Lost" alum was in it, in this case Michael Emerson (I have watched many shows by ex-"Lost" actors and writers, and many were so painful eg. "Alcatraz", "Intelligence", etc.).  Cop shows aren't usually my thing, and the first episode was so violent that I was turned off.  I hate watching innocent redshirts die off.  But I did like Reese and I found the dynamic between he and Emerson to be interesting, so I kept on.  It wasn't a huge favorite but the show did grow on me over the years.  Carter was a little annoying at the beginning but she grew on me and I too was angry when she was killed off.  I really hated Root's evil, but she grew on me as well (though I've loved Acker's acting since "Angel").  I was really bored by Shaw, but she grew on me too.  I disliked Elias and the gang warfare and HR aspects of the show... I'm actually surprised how many things I disliked but I still like the show.   It's not the type of show I would rewatch again, but I do think it's one of the best written shows I've watched.  I still think it's high quality into its fifth season, and very few shows are that way.  It's a travesty it's being cancelled.

Edited June 20, 2016 by Camera One

[TudorQueen]

Michael Emerson was my primary reason, though the Abrams/Nolan teaming seemed promising, too. I actually didn't like Jim Caviezel prior to this, but within an episode or two I was a big fan, and finally got why so many people thought he was hot. The supporting and recurring characters each added something special to the mix, and I actually sniffled a bit when Elias died. I'm one of those who actually enjoyed it more during the first few seasons because I felt the 'Mythology' overcame the show in a very "X-Files" way, but the good stuff - the acting, the chemistry, the sharpness of the show - held fast and I will miss it greatly.

And Bear. I will miss Bear.

[Hanahope]

Like others, I gave pretty much most of the Lost cast a try in their new shows.  This was by far the best.  Right off the bat I could tell it was more intelligent than other procedural shows, I actually had to pay attention (I have a tendency to multi-task with the TV on).  The characters all had great layers and development, even the non-human ones, and I loved how early stories/characters came back to be important in later episodes.  Someday, I'd love to binge-watch it all over again.  And the ending actually made sense with most of the plot lines resolved (unlike some other shows *cough* LOST *cough*).  

[Princess Lucky]

I was lucky to have watched this show from the start. I, too, was a Lostie and I loved Michael Emerson, plus I always thought Jim Caviezel was a great actor and I've always been into sci-fi. In fact, I remember being a little disappointed that the pilot was more by-the-numbers and not as futuristic/sci-fi as I had hoped. Still, I stuck with the show, and the first moment that really got to me was Reese's "Wait for me" in episode 3. We saw emotion from him, and that changed my view of the character. I still love those early, quiet, slow early episodes, but I'm not gonna lie. The moment that really had me hooked was episode 10. When Carter figures them out and lets John escape with Finch, after Snow (omg RIP, I still miss that asshole) has him shot. That midseason finale turned me from a normal viewer to a fan. And the show kept getting better. I'm happy to say that, after having watched the finale, that still holds true. The show never really let me down, and I can't say that for many shows (if any). I'm glad I was here from the very beginning, and I'm glad I got to see a satisfying ending.

[Syme]

On 06/16/2016 at 7:26 PM, pennben said:

I got into it just only within the last couple of months.  Alan Sepinwall, a tv critic at hitfix, who I follow mentioned getting back into the show for the final season, and the there was something by Kate Aurthur for Buzzfeed about what a great show it has been.  It is downright embarrassing how quickly I caught up on Netflix! 

Alan should be embarrassed of not staying on board. He got his career start by reviewing NYPD Blue a few years back. I was a regular reader...

I was on for 1:1, and have stayed. With Fringe gone, it was an obvious choice. Then Keith Mars err Mathesar showed up....

[Starchild]

Like others here, Michael Emerson. Seeing him on Lost was a revelation, and I would literally watch him read the phone book. I'll follow him anywhere. I'd love to see him join the American Horror Story rep company.

[Jipijapa]

I started watching POI from the beginning because of the JJ Abrams involvement, and because my mom was really into Michael Emerson.  Five years later, I am really into Michael Emerson too.

However, I wasn't very impressed with the show for the first half of season 1 and almost stopped watching.  Then it came back from winter hiatus and well, someone at CBS must have given the producers some notes after the first 13 episodes, because it improved greatly.  I don't think I missed a single episode -- although I did sleep through a few, at least until Root returned as a regular.  How I loved that crazy bitch.  

[Mom x 3]

I actually started watching for Jim Caviezel.  I had never seen Lost at that point, and so I didn't have the Michael Emerson love.  I did love the Count of Monte Cristo and Passion of the Christ, so I was a big fan of JC.  I love it from the start because it was such a different premise from anything else on TV, and really it still kind of is.  I liked that it showed flawed people who tried to make the best decisions they could, without going into too much of the emotional drama.  I also like how some of those decisions were the wrong decisions.  It was just a good damned show.

[Keith1980]

I'm a big Amy Acker fan having seen her in Angel.  I watched a random episode one night on Channel 5 (it was from S4) and liked the look of it.  I started watching it from the start on Netflix last year and got hook pretty quick.   Loved the concept, and how current many of the themes are.  The casting is great, and I really like character driven dramas with good tension and twists in the plot.  I've watched the first four seasons and think it really hits a high during seasons 3 and 4.  The HR story in S3 is one the best written I've seen on TV for a very long time.  Just waiting for the last season to come on now.

[Mabel]

I was browsing high-ranked shows and stumbled upon POI. Was hooked from the pilot - the plot, the cast, the soundtrack - everything was perfect. Just finished binge-watching all 5 seasons. such a pity that the show ended. 

[fastiller]

@Mabel - Right after the series ended, I ordered the full series on DVD and I immediately did a full series rewatch.  It's interesting to go back and see how & when things were set up.

[Mabel]

yes, it is indeed quite interesting to rewatch - you can truly appreciate how well-written the show is (kudos to John Nolan and other writers) and how all the story lines are woven together with great attention to small details. Happens so rarely on TV. I especially liked Finch and Reese's (and later Shaw's) backstories - how their respective pasts inform their present-day decisions. Didn't particularly care for Root - she was so very unlikeable in earlier seasons - but the way her character evolved was impressive.

also, watching the show has made me paranoid about all the surveillance around us)))))) am now uber-conscious of the CCTV cameras that are literally everywhere. who knows, maybe AI on the scale of the Machine is not such a distant future as we might like to think.

I can say that I like POI not only for its (clearly high) entertainment value, but also for the issues it raises - the morality of doing smth nefarious for the greater good (eg Samaritan's 'Correction, but also all the CIA black ops, crimes commited by Vigilance), the whole orwellian big brother theme. all very topical questions, I think. Just recently, reading a story in New Yorker http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-new-c-i-a-deputy-chiefs-black-site-past?mbid=nl_170203_Daily&CNDID=48878211&spMailingID=10361224&spUserID=MTgxMjUyMTc4MDA2S0&spJobID=1100261535&spReportId=MTEwMDI2MTUzNQS2 immediately made me think of Control. So, I believe, POI will continue to be rewatched and will remain popular, unlike so many other shows. at least I'd like to hope so)))))).

[Melopsittacus]

A friend of mine said I should watch POI, so I watched an ep halfway trough season 3. I didn't really like it because it was so serialized by then and I had no idea who all these people were. My friend kept insisting I watch the show, so I decided to start at the beginning (where else?). And from the start I knew this was different (more intelligent) from a lot of other shows. I liked the 'Count of Monte Christo' so I knew JC, but the rest of the cast was new to me. I loved the part when Det. Carter interviewed Reese, beautifully understated and intense at the same time. But I really got hooked on the show when Harold Finch made his job offer. I had no idea who Michael Emerson was, but he had me at "you don't owe me anything mr. Reese." (of course I went and watched LOST and anything else ME was in after I finished POI.)

What I liked most about the show was the character development, the moral and ethical issues, and the cinematography. I also liked the fact that it was a very intelligent show that asked the audience to pay attention to every detail because half a season later that detail came back with a vengeance.

[neuromom]

I just started binge watching this week. Because - I adore Jim Caviezel. And I'm only up to episode 7, but I'm loving this show. It IS intelligent and well written. And the acting is very...understated. I know that may bother some people, but I love it. It doesn't have to be "emotionally charged" to get emotion from me. In fact, my last "binge" was This is Us, which  I dropped after half a season because it was so overly dramatic ,  with lots of emotional manipulation. And not very compelling either. 

 I'm hoping the latter seasons of POI  stay strong. 

And , though I came for JC, I am impressed with Michael Emerson. (Not enough to get me to watch Lost!) 

[Melopsittacus]

@neuromom Even if you're not interested in watching LOST, at least give ep 2x14 a chance. That one is where Michael Emerson is introduced. And from the moment we meet Henry Gale, ME really is the best thing that happened to the show.