Modern classics like Breaking Bad, The Wire, Community, and Bojack Horseman are notorious for “starting slow” and are often recommended with a disclaimer like “Give it a few episodes; I promise it gets good!”
This is a bit of a falsehood though, IMO.
Those shows (although I’ve never really watched BH) all ARE good from the start, as a rewatch will invariably reveal.
It’s just that the worlds they conjure sometimes take a while to get used to. But once used to them, those early episodes are often absolute gold.
The Wire in particular has absolutely nothing to apologise for in any of its first few episodes (or indeed virtually all of the other ones) but for someone unfamiliar with the Baltimore drug markets and the hierarchical structures within and around them, it took me a few episodes to get up to speed.
It’s not that it “gets” good after a few episodes. It’s just that it might take a few to realise just how good it is.
This is a bit of a falsehood though, IMO.
Those shows (although I’ve never really watched BH) all ARE good from the start, as a rewatch will invariably reveal.
It’s just that the worlds they conjure sometimes take a while to get used to. But once used to them, those early episodes are often absolute gold.
The Wire in particular has absolutely nothing to apologise for in any of its first few episodes (or indeed virtually all of the other ones) but for someone unfamiliar with the Baltimore drug markets and the hierarchical structures within and around them, it took me a few episodes to get up to speed.
It’s not that it “gets” good after a few episodes. It’s just that it might take a few to realise just how good it is.