Person of Interest is atypical in that it actually improves as you progress through the seasons.
Initially, it's a procedural action. Most of the stories are self-contained and largely involve John pulling big guns out of thin air and shooting people. The actual detective work is minimal and overly convenient. The guy we're looking for spends time in this neighbourhood? Of course he'll be heading into his brownstone just as John walks by.
I thought about giving up as my interest in the premise centres on the ethical ramifications of such substantial surveillance. I have zero interest in watching people going around shooting each other, bad guys or not.
I persevered, though, using it as something easy to have on in the background while I got on with chores. Surprise, surprise - it got better. We got broad story arcs. The episodes were no longer self contained but dealt with big topics over entire seasons, sometimes several seasons - e.g. Corruption within the police force. We gained additional secondary characters who added a lot of personality, not least a Dutch-"speaking" dog, Bear. And we looked at the difficulties of trying to build compassionate AI and the potential horrors of an AI without limits. Still plenty of action, should that be your thing.
I would have liked to explore the ethics further, as rarely do the main characters consider that the Machine might not be a positive entity. I'd also like to have seen more problems solved without guns... but still, if you've already started and aren't sure whether to continue, it's worth sticking it out.
Initially, it's a procedural action. Most of the stories are self-contained and largely involve John pulling big guns out of thin air and shooting people. The actual detective work is minimal and overly convenient. The guy we're looking for spends time in this neighbourhood? Of course he'll be heading into his brownstone just as John walks by.
I thought about giving up as my interest in the premise centres on the ethical ramifications of such substantial surveillance. I have zero interest in watching people going around shooting each other, bad guys or not.
I persevered, though, using it as something easy to have on in the background while I got on with chores. Surprise, surprise - it got better. We got broad story arcs. The episodes were no longer self contained but dealt with big topics over entire seasons, sometimes several seasons - e.g. Corruption within the police force. We gained additional secondary characters who added a lot of personality, not least a Dutch-"speaking" dog, Bear. And we looked at the difficulties of trying to build compassionate AI and the potential horrors of an AI without limits. Still plenty of action, should that be your thing.
I would have liked to explore the ethics further, as rarely do the main characters consider that the Machine might not be a positive entity. I'd also like to have seen more problems solved without guns... but still, if you've already started and aren't sure whether to continue, it's worth sticking it out.