Resist the FOMO. If episode 1 doesn’t pull you in, just stop. Why waste time giving shows a second chance? You might miss out on something good, sure, but does it really matter? You don’t owe the creators anything, it’s your life.
I’ve quit many shows after 10 minutes and many mid season, or even multiple seasons in.
If it’s not entertaining anymore, don’t watch it
Interesting read. I think episode 3 is the magic number. The first episode is actually a pilot they worked on and maybe rewrote or recut to get the actors and tone, etc. Sometimes the pilot is very different from the rest of the series. Episode 2 should be the actual tone and feel of the series but sometimes that can be difficult to get right so episode 3 is a make or break for me. By that time I should understand if I like the characters, understand motivations and something should have happened to peak my interest to keep watching. “Story of the week” or “non-serialized” shows I think are fine to check out another season episode if people are talking about it.
It episode 1 sucks I’m not going to watch it at all.
Yeah, 3 is the sweet spot.
It really depends on the type of show and the theme. A comedy can be judged in less than an episode. For a drama I think it’s acceptable for 2-3 episodes being required. If it’s a theme I enjoy, a mediocre show can get half a season of runway.
My answer: Two. If a show hasn’t grabbed me after two episodes, then I have to assume it’s not a show for me.
Of course, plenty of shows get better as they go and find their feet in later seasons, like Star Trek TNG for example. But even after Episode 1 of Season 1, I would already be thinking “Yes, this is a show I’m gonna be into!”
As far as I see it, the job of the first couple of episodes is to set up the premise, tone and vibe of what the show is going to be like to watch. If a show can’t manage to sell itself in the first two episodes, then it’s doing something wrong.
If you value your time, then maybe only watch finished shows with excellent word-of-mouth/ratings? If it declines instead of ending while still good, then stopping where people suggest? Possibly also skip the initial seasons if it only gets good later.
If you want to talk around the water cooler about the most popular zeitgeist shows, then maybe make exceptions for those that are the buzz after their 1st few episodes like Game of thrones, tho you should be prepared to quit the show after a few consecutive poorer episodes indicating its almost certain decline. (PS: I’d recommend stopping before Game of thrones’ 6th season).
Shows literally don’t hit my radar anymore until they end and get a proper finish.
Like I seriously don’t give a fuck about your product if you can’t be bothered to even finish it in the first place.
Idunno ive watched some trash too (like from for example) and had a good time. You just gotta know when it’s time to drop a show.
1, if you don’t like it, then try something else. You could even read a book.
How many chapters of a book should you read before quitting the book?
If you don’t want to keep reading, then don’t. I’m not your mom.
There’s so much media that I’m sure can hook people and if something fails, then just move on to something else. We have the world’s knowledge accessible to us and more information than any one person can ever hope to consume. It’s OK to be picky about what you spend your time doing when time is your most valuable resource.
If you want to have commitments, make them to communities and those important to you, not to media.
Usually I get an idea of what the book is about from the cover, then get an idea of the writing style from the first few pages. If I don’t vibe with either, I stop
I started watching The Leftovers, and stopped after 3 episodes because it was so depressing I wanted to jump off a building. I tried to clear that experience from my mind, and was successful, until a couple years later I started noticing the second, and what was then the third season of the show had been getting constant 8-10 star user ratings, which had me questioning my own sanity. I decided just for the halibut I’d reinvest some time muscling through the remainder of the first season of pain … so much pain, to see what all the hubbub was about in the next season. Glad I did, because it became amazing, as was it’s third and last season. But I would not revisit that first season if you backed a Brinks truck up.
