Person Of Interest - Part 2

[Batmannerism]

Considering POI is CBS' 3rd rated show in the 10 PM hour (behind Blue Bloods and NCIS: LA), they actually aren't in a bad position, except for the fact they lost about 2 million viewers over the course of the season. Their one saving grace is that they're also one of the most DVR'd shows, ranking typically in the top 10 in 18-49 demo and overall audience once the C+3 and L+7 are looked at. The networks are taking serious looks at those now as a greater portion of the viewing audience is no longer tied to a set schedule to watch shows.

I hope we get at least one more season to resolve the plot points.

To be honest I'm not surprised that the show lost a lot of viewers this season. I found the story arcs in season 3 better, but also the creators seem to have forgotten that an audience likes to see the good guys win - whereas our heroes have pretty much spent the whole season running and are still running.

While I don't think the season should have ended in victory over Samaritan, I think it should have ended with the balance of power shifting back in our team's favour. So, really this episode should have been at the mid-point of the season. I guess this is just my personal taste, but I feel like a lot of this season has been filler - which lacked the zing of the earlier episodes. But that's just me. Sure, some great stuff has happened this season.

Spoiler

Also, killing off both Elias and Dominic ? Come on ! There had to be a better way to resolve that conflict than having Samaritan take them both out. Sure it makes sense, but isn't very captivating as drama.

I can't believe I'm going to say this, because I love POI, but I feel like the show has actually lost its way over the second half of this season. There have been some good episodes, but as a cohesive whole I just haven't managed to get that excited about it - and before season 4 I would NEVER miss a POI episode, no matter how crazy or hectic work/life got.

A lot of folks seem to have really enjoyed season 4, which is a good thing for the show - and though I wasn't really one of them, I am hopeful season 5 will happen, and that it will be a return to the absolutely stellar form of seasons 1 and 3.

Ah well. We'll find out soon enough. Cheers.

 

[Webfoot Hero]

I agree with you that they've sort of lost their way in going so heavy towards the AI battle and forgetting that the show was initially built on the team having human interactions with the numbers they saved or took out. I just find it odd that the show started off with such great character interactions that brought warmth and depth to the team but it now feels like the characters have lost themselves once they got their new IDs and are getting dragged along in this cold, heartless battle of machines. I also pointed out that it'd be nice to see Team Machine get some type of palpable win instead of just keep getting beat down at every corner. I'm not sure Nolan and Plageman are really listening to the fans in what they'd like to see since they're so locked in to their original plan for the show.

 

[rashad]

They didn't lose jack.

 

[Snow Queen]

They didn't lose jack.

I spent the week prior to the finale re-watching season 4 in preparation, to see things paid off and such. I like doing that before finales and rewatching shows prior seasons before their new premiere. While the season isn't quite as tight as season 3, I feel it's not too far behind and yields about as many great episodes, give or take. I definitely don't think the characters get lost in the plot in the second half, especially not with episodes like M.I.A. and Terra Incognita. I thought it did a good job balancing those out. While it'd be nice to see them get a victory, I don't think it's a bad thing putting our heroes through the ringer like this at all. It'll make the payoff more satisfying when they finally do get to win. As they said their plan is 6-7 seasons, I imagine that this season and last were something of an Empire Strikes Back phase in the series. Beating the heroes down and giving the villains the upper hand, just simply played out longer due to the differences between film and TV. And with that cliffhanger, it puts us in a fascinating position for season 5. Wonder what improvements will be made on The Machine 2.0. Will it have a new personality based on the experiences it will have or does that come about through the core codes that got transferred? It'll be interesting to see where they go with that, there's a lot of potential there.

When it comes to episodes this season:
1. 4x13 M.I.A.
2. 4x22 YHWH
3. 4x11 If-Then-Else
4. 4x21 Asylum
5. 4x19 Search and Destroy
6. 4x10 The Cold War
7. 4x12 Control-Alt-Delete
8. 4x5 Prophets
9. 4x20 Terra Incognita
10. 4x9 The Devil You Know
11. 4x2 Nautilus
12. 4x15 Q&A
13. 4x8 Point of Origin
14. 4x18 Skip
15. 4x16 Blunt
16. 4x7 Honour Among Thieves
17. 4x6 Pretenders
18. 4x4 Brotherhood
19. 4x1 Panopticon
20. 4x17 Karma
21. 4x14 Guilty
22. 4x3 Wingman

 

[Paradox1]

What I can't believe is the creative team behind this sold CBS on this being some kind of procedural action drama and it's evolved into something so much more.

 

[kvz5]

I actually felt more optimistic at this season's finale rather than last season's. I mean, sure, Team Machine lost but at least they're all fighting together whereas last season there was some inclination that Finch was so over it. Don't get me wrong, I definitely would've preferred a better victory (like Control killing Greer) but I'll take what I got.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

Very good finale, I was on the edge during most of the ep.
If the show isn't renewed for at least one more season it will be my first nerdrage over a show cancellation.

"Do ... you ... hear ... me"
"Hell yes"
"One o'clock" shot
"Tree o"clock" shot
Excellent.

 

[THUNDERSTRIKE]

They didn't lose jack.

agreed... this series didn't lose s**t in the way of how it's going... almost every episode this season had me on the edge of my seat... there's been VERY few shows that I've made time for and to NOT miss and that's had me almost biting my nails as to what will happen within an episode and beyond... 24 was one and POI is another... as to how this show never receives any sort of attention or awards of recognition is still beyond me... this show will eventually get it when it finally goes off the air and when it's on Netflix, possibly with a final season, if CBS does NOT renew it, or with their streaming deal and then in the years ahead, when it'll probably be rerun ad nauseum on the USA network... and that's when some people will say to themselves, "hey, this is a pretty damn good show... wonder why I didn't get into it when it was on CBS originally?"... and THAT'S when the hardcore fans will always lament, that if MORE persons had had an interest in the show, POI could and WOULD have had even MORE seasons to it's history and legacy, had there been more of a recognition factor for it when it was still on it's original network run...

 

[Kaleb]

agreed... this series didn't lose s**t in the way of how it's going... almost every episode this season had me on the edge of my seat... there's been VERY few shows that I've made time for and to NOT miss and that's had me almost biting my nails as to what will happen within an episode and beyond... 24 was one and POI is another... as to how this show never receives any sort of attention or awards of recognition is still beyond me... this show will eventually get it when it finally goes off the air and when it's on Netflix, possibly with a final season, if CBS does NOT renew it, or with their streaming deal and then in the years ahead, when it'll probably be rerun ad nauseum on the USA network... and that's when some people will say to themselves, "hey, this is a pretty damn good show... wonder why I didn't get into it when it was on CBS originally?"... and THAT'S when the hardcore fans will always lament, that if MORE persons had had an interest in the show, POI could and WOULD have had even MORE seasons to it's history and legacy, had there been more of a recognition factor for it when it was still on it's original network run...

I was listening to an interview the other day with Michael Emerson and he was asked this question and he thought it had to do with the fact that they spend more time filming on different locations than any other show on the network and they leave very little time to market the show properly.

 

[Sensi]

That's a shame because it is an amazing show with an extraordinary cast. This season has been very good.

 

[Webfoot Hero]

I was listening to an interview the other day with Michael Emerson and he was asked this question and he thought it had to do with the fact that they spend more time filming on different locations than any other show on the network and they leave very little time to market the show properly.

I think that's partially true. I've never seen any of the cast do talk show interviews while in-season, save for a couple Taraji did after she got killed off and Shahi when she was out promoting a movie. You'd at least think they could have gotten someone on like Letterman, Fallon or another NY-based talk show.

 

[Kaleb]

I get the feeling that this series is gonna go through the same thing Breaking Bad did ,whereas people are only going to discover how great it is once the series is in its final run or once its over.

 

[Man in the Suit]

Also because it's a CBS show. People just think it's another procedural and don't think twice about it.

I'm still surprised it doesn't have more coverage on non-TV sites considering it's Jonah Nolan and a Bad Robot production.

 

[Kaleb]

@TheMattFowler
Among all the hopeful renewal tweetage today I saw a #renewPOI hashtag. Is this a bubble show? Do I need to join in? #renewPOI #renewPOI

do your part

 

[Snow Queen]

God I need to remember not to read comments on this show's Facebook page.

 

[Webfoot Hero]

God I need to remember not to read comments on this show's Facebook page.

I stopped reading them around the time Carter got killed off. It's basically a bunch of people who don't like serialized shows. I may not like some of the choices Nolan/Plageman have made, but the show for the most part is still a must watch every week (mainly because if you miss a episode, you'll likely miss some connector to a future episode.)

 

[Kaleb]

I swear the best thing this show could do is to change networks (just not Fox)

 

[THUNDERSTRIKE]

jeez, everytime I see a new post here, I almost expect it to be bad news... fingers crossed we see a renewal, guys...

 

[Arrowshieldfan]

I am pretty sure there will be a season 5.....I think CBS will at least give the show at least 100 episode...

 

[Snow Queen]

I stopped reading them around the time Carter got killed off. It's basically a bunch of people who don't like serialized shows. I may not like some of the choices Nolan/Plageman have made, but the show for the most part is still a must watch every week (mainly because if you miss a episode, you'll likely miss some connector to a future episode.)

This time it was misogyny and homophobia too on top of complaining about serialization.

 

[Kaleb]

Due to not living in the States I tend to stay away from facebook fan/official pages to avoid spoilers.

 

[Man in the Suit]

This time it was misogyny and homophobia too on top of complaining about serialization.

Yep. I saw somebody ranting about the writers' "PC agenda" and it got tons of likes which is sad.

It's been surprisingly positive about the serialization (at least after the finale when I looked at it). Last year it was nothing but "CARTERRRRRRR!!!!!!!! MORE NUMBERSSSSSSSS!!!!"

 

[Sawyer]

I always like how people trot out the old "agenda" accusation anytime anything happens. They're more guilty of having an agenda than anyone.

 

[Webfoot Hero]

With how many other shows CBS has canceled today, POI should be safe. Only worry is that CBS will give it a kiss of death timeslot on Sunday or Friday at 8 PM.

 

[ravn0s]

this show needs to get renewed. they cant end it like that.