Person of Interest

[Snarf Zagyg]

That is... incorrect. CBS noted that it got the highest test ratings of any drama in 15 years. CSI had been on Thursday nights for a decade, and they moved it out of the way for PoI when they saw how well it was Testing. It became the fastest growing drama between its first and second seasons, and its second season reached the #5 spot on TV at the time. It won a couple People's Choice awards as well.

The show was finally cancelled, not for bad ratings, but because it was owned by Warner Brothers, but made by CBS. Which meant that while it performed well, CBS was getting a smaller cut of the pie than they wanted. They at least had the good graces to inform the writing staff of the shortened final season, so they could wrap up the plot.

You misunderstood what I was saying.

CBS is hardly the home of cutting-edge television. The idea that there was a Nolan (other one!) penned show about AI that was airing on CBS was missed by many people in the "nerd/geek" target demo. As you acknowledge, you didn't watch it when it aired. Neither did I (I watched it after it finished, when I saw an article that basically said, "If you love great TV, you have to watch this program that you missed.")

That it did OK in CSI's time slot and following the biggest show on TV- Big Bang Theory (not better, not the same ... okay), and, more importantly, placed last in the target demographic of 18-49, indicates that it maintained its appeal with CBS's traditional, procedural viewers, but didn't manage to "sell itself" to the more desirable demo for the Tiffany network.

As it continued to de-emphasize the procedural nature of the show in order to emphasize "the good stuff," the ratings declined given that it became less similar to the other CBS shows (Criminal Minds, Blue Bloods, Elementary, The Mentalist) that did not require the earlier buy-in, culminating in the the disastrous ratings decline of season 4 and 5.

 

[payn]

I'll have to circle back on this. I was one of the folks who assumed this was just another run of the police procedural mill.

 

[Ryujin]

I'll have to circle back on this. I was one of the folks who assumed this was just another run of the police procedural mill.

It's more of a "Imagine if Bill Gates, Peter Norton, and Mark Zuckerburg were all one person, very adverse to fame, but... you know... actually good people."

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I'll have to circle back on this. I was one of the folks who assumed this was just another run of the police procedural mill.

Yeah, it's one of those shows (like Fringe) that just got lost in the shuffle with a lot of people that would be the target audience.

At least Fringe had the misconception of "Like the X-Files" - this was misunderstood as one of those procedural gimmick shows that are constantly getting churned out. Which it isn't. In fairness, and without giving anything else away (DO NOT READ OTHER POSTS FOR SPOILERS!), Nolan and company do a great job of misdirection during the first season.

 

[payn]

Yeah, it's one of those shows (like Fringe) that just got lost in the shuffle with a lot of people that would be the target audience.

At least Fringe had the misconception of "Like the X-Files" - this was misunderstood as one of those procedural gimmick shows that are constantly getting churned out. Which it isn't. In fairness, and without giving anything else away (DO NOT READ OTHER POSTS FOR SPOILERS!), Nolan and company do a great job of misdirection during the first season.

Sounds good. I'm approaching a show hole at the moment so this timing is great.

 

[Umbran]

I'll have to circle back on this. I was one of the folks who assumed this was just another run of the police procedural mill.

It starts out as a kind of police procedural with a novel hook. It does not stay that way.

 

[MarkB]

Yeah, I only caught it a few years ago, when it came to Amazon Prime in the UK. It was very enjoyable, and not at all what I was expecting.

It did set a high bar for the subject matter, such that when I tried to watch the similarly-themed Next on Disney+, I stalled out in the first episode.

 

[Mad_Jack]

I liked it enough to start buying hard/digital copies of the seasons, I think I'm only missing the last two. I did feel that the taking out Elias was a bit of a cop out imo.

I still need to find the last season on hard copy. I loved it when it first aired, but my life schedule changed after the first two seasons and I couldn't catch it anymore. Found the first two seasons used on dvd at a Game Exchange about three years ago and after rewatching it I had to go hunt down the rest.

It's definitely one of my top five favorite tv shows. I always recommend it to anybody who's even remotely interested in similar types of shows.

 

[WayneLigon]

I'll have to circle back on this. I was one of the folks who assumed this was just another run of the police procedural mill.

Oh yes, you do. Seeds are laid through first season and yeah it's very police procedural - then at the end of first season you realize you're watching a near-future sci-fi show while at the same time the procedural elements slowly morph from 'crime' to 'espionage/conspiracy' as they bleed over into the 'mythology' of the show's backstory. So many great characters, and nobody really has plot immunity.

It has an ending, and even the potential to be continued at some point. There have been some rumbles about it, now and again, but since Caviezel has probably carpet-bombed himself out of any future projects that might be off the table.

 

[Khelon Testudo]

(reads article): Oh, dear. But then, I think John Reese was the least interesting character on the show. Not only that, but I thought the ending implied that his part in the conspiracy was going to be taken up by others anyway.