I got a bit bored with PoI at first but I've heard enough good things that I really should dive back into it.
PoI really suffered from being on network television with their really long seasons. Had it been done with only 10 episodes a season and all the filler removed it would have been much stronger.
Since it's a TV series, there are a lot of generic filler episodes that are just like Law & Order whodunnits + AI. But the high points, which eventually take center stage in latter seasons, are indeed the best depiction of AI and the issues surrounding it that I've ever seen on a screen.
Re:The science of Westworld
by lobster_johnson on Saturday January 07, 2017 @06:13PM
(#13347236)
Someone should compile (if possible) a list of essential episodes that takes out the fillers. The equivalent X-Files list is great.
I tried PoI myself and couldn't get through it, because it was just so dull -- run-of-the-mill low budget procedural with that glossy network-TV feeling of Hollywood reality to it (e.g., everyone in the show looks like a model, except eggheads or villains, where they're allowed to cast someone unattractive).
Several people have told me it gets much better, but I just don't want to have to wade through all the mediocre episodes.
It's been done: http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/04/22/person-of-interest-th...
No idea how good the list is or how well it works.
Fun fact: PoI basically predicted Snowden and his revelations - the episode with NSA whistleblower aired before Snowden did his thing.