TV shows that hooked you in from the first episode.

[razor343]

Being Human.

For a show about creatures which have been bastardised in recent years, it does an excellent job of making you care about the main characters and their lives just from the Pilot episode.

I can't say the same for the U.S version.

 

[ckam]

Madoka. First few seconds of that show told me to start paying attention.

 

[Nielas]

Justified had me hooked after the first scene. Firefly had me hooked the moment Mal kicked that guy into the engine. Person of Interest hooked me with the twist that the supposed victim was actually the villain and the heroes essentially duped themselves.

 

[[Kira Must Die]]

Death Note was sorta a big deal for me, as at the time I was out of the anime loop. I saw the first few episodes on demand and decided to check it out. When the first episode ended, I was like "Shit... what happens next?" and before I knew it I was plowing through the episodes. I don't think any other show had me as hooked by the first episode as much as Death Note, and I have it to thank for getting me back into anime.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Completely hooked me in one episode? While I often really like shows from the first episode, here I only count shows that really blew my socks off. Only three come to mind.

The first is The Knick:

The main reason why it absolutely pulled me in is because it's directed by one of my all-time favourite movie directors, Steven Soderbergh. His signature, stark style is just all over this. From the high contrast visuals and genius cinematography to the minimalist electronic soundtrack which fits oddly yet amazingly well with the whole thing. The show's setting and themes, helped by fantastic set and costume design, only helped draw me in further. I absolutely cannot wait for the second season.

The second would be BBC's Utopia:

I'd say it's the finest show the BBC ever produced. What pulled me in here can be surmised by that it really emulates David Fincher's directing style, which is also one of my favourite directors. Which is funny because Fincher is going to make the American remake, though I think even he can't top the original. What draw me in here was the sheer brutality contrasted by the stark, bright and highly stylized visual style of the whole thing. It also manages to be incredibly brutal without relying on grossing the watcher out. It's a fantastic conspiracy-theory show that just grabs you by the throat and doesn't let you go. It's completely fucked up in the best possible way.

And I can't help but list my all-time favourite anime, Cowboy Bebop:

It was the first real, mature anime I ever saw and I have yet to top it. The first episode already hit it off by throwing you in this sci-fi universe that really feels alive and lived-in and then rapidly starts throwing in the best hand-to-hand combat I've ever seen in any anime. And boy not only that, but then they start choreographing the whole affair on a genius jazz and blues soundtrack. It can't get any better for me.

Honourable mentions go to House of Cards, Samurai Champloo, Breaking Bad, Tremé and Vicious. I must say, while I adore most of HBO's shows I don't list them, mostly because most HBO shows (The Wire, GoT, The Sopranos, etc) take their time to build up, they start more calmly. Tremé here being the exception mostly thanks to the music in it. Man do I love jazz.

 

[Vault101]

The first is The Knick:

The main reason why it absolutely pulled me in is because it's directed by one of my all-time favourite movie directors, Steven Soderbergh. His signature, stark style is just all over this. From the high contrast visuals and genius cinematography to the minimalist electronic soundtrack which fits oddly yet amazingly well with the whole thing. The show's setting and themes, helped by fantastic set and costume design, only helped draw me in further. I absolutely cannot wait for the second season.
.

huh I've heard of it...maybe I should check it out

I think there's a difference between being "hooked" and "hmmm I'll see where this goes" the only show where I can say that [I/]honestly[/I] would be Bob's Burgers...and shows like that are MADE to be easily approachable/digestible

I did fall in love with OITNB but it wasn't until the second episode I was "hooked", I suppose that's close enough

The Fall took me a few episode to *really* get into due to the fact it looked like a standard British crime drama on the outside...but once I was in I was in

 

[Glongpre]

Breaking Bad was really good, I enjoyed it from the get go.

Most recently was True Detective. I just love mysteries, and the acting was just phenomenal. I can't wait for season 2!!!!

With both of these shows, I also really feel like they ended well. Both the stories were wrapped up nicely, and there weren't really any questions that came up. Everything seemed to be finished. I like when a story finishes with a good ending. It can make or break the story honestly, and that's why both of these will always stick in my head as great shows.

I have become interested in watching Justified now. I saw a few minutes one day, and it was actually good, but I never really followed up. I will look into it...

 

[Z of the Na'vi]

If I remember correctly, the first episode...hour-long special...movie...whatever of Samurai Jack involved an extended kickass fight sequence involving Jack easily massacring an army of robotic beetles. The imagery during those moments (IE, the use of oil as an allegory for blood when said beetles were sliced in half) was very cool and still holds up to this day.

From that episode on, I knew that Samurai Jack was going to be something special. From my understanding of the series' reputation, many individuals would agree with me.

 

[Tiger King]

Recently I decided the start seeing House of Cards, and the show grabbed me from the first episode, the political intrigue, the scheming, the main character. I just finished Season 1 and I've really enjoyed it, I find Frank Underwood an extremely compelling and interesting character, he's evil but interesting, you want to see what his plan is and what he's going to do next.

Its the first time a show has managed to make me so interested with just one episode, even shows as good as Game of Thrones took a couple of episodes to get me fully invested in them.

So what shows managed to hook you in with their first episode?

Count me in on the house of cards!
I am always late to watch these amazing shows, one good thing about that is I can watch all the episodes on demand.

The one that drew me in the most was breaking bad. I watched the pilot episode on a flight to san Francisco in xmas 2013.
I was so hooked I watched almost every season within a week.

Lately I have gotten into game of groans. I had listened to the hype of this show and was very sceptical, all I heard from friends was 'loads of tits and fanny' so I kinda avoided it assuming that was why it was so popular.
A few weeks ago I gave it a chance and yeah there was plenty of weird sex scenes but it was really good, the nudity has died down in later episodes too.

Other shows that grabbed my attention are Bottom, Red dwarf, The fast show.
Gunna add better call saul too, watched the first episode last night and it looks pretty good so far

 

[crazygameguy4ever]

hmm.. there's been a lot of shows that have hooked me from the first episode...Bleach, The Flash( 2014 version) Gotham, Legend of Korra, Beast Wars Transformers, Cowboy Bebop, Durarara, Stargate Sg-1, Stargate Atlantis, Family Guy, Ed, Edd & Eddy, Batman the Animated Series, School Rumble, FLCL, X-Men the Animated Series, Persona 4 animated.. probably others too..

 

[Rylot]

The first episode I ever watched of Community was the first paintball episode. I freaking loved it and was hooked. I'm glad it was the first episode I'd watched since the pilot was okay but not really all that great.

 

[AliasBot]

There are a surprising number of shows where I didn't watch the first episode first, so...hm. As other people above have already said, Leverage. It was gold from the start and never really stopped. That's about all I can think of, though.

 

[Joe Cain]

Game of Thrones, Firefly, Agent Carter, FMA Brotherhood.

 

[SNCommand]

Game of Thrones, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Band of Brothers, Gravity Falls

Probably more, but I can't remember them right now

 

[putowtin]

Supernatural... just had everything I needed, a ghost, mullet rock and a classic car!

 

[Vigormortis]

I can think of several. In fact, quite a bit more than several, so this list may go long...

The Walking Dead
Fringe
Gumball
Adventure Time
Rick and Morty
Better Call Saul
Battlestar Galactica (new)
The Simpsons
Firefly
John Doe
Breaking Bad
Turn
Cowboy Bebop
Ed, Edd, & Eddy
Dexter's Lab
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
Regular Show
Samurai Jack
Top Gear
Doctor Who
House, MD
Farscape
Halt and Catch Fire
Archer
Squidbillies
Robot Chicken
Harvey Birdman
Eureka
Warehouse 13

I could probably go on, but the list is already long enough.

 

[Johnny Impact]

Breaking Bad
Samurai Jack
Stargate SG-1
Archer
The Venture Brothers
Doctor Who (old episodes with Baker and Pertwee, watched on BBC America late at night when I was a kid)
Doctor Who (yes, again, for the revival with Eccleston)
Firefly
Samurai Champloo
Adventure Time
Farscape

I'd say Game of Thrones also, but I was already going to watch that all the way through to compare it to the books. I was quite pleased to see a good job done with it, though.

 

[WinterSoul]

The Sopranos and some others old series: X-files, Twin Peaks...

 

[visiblenoise]

A bunch of British sitcoms, old and new. I just think comedy tends to be much more immediate in its gratification. My favorite shows are ones that are hilarious, but eventually also build up to something deeper, like character development or new perspectives.