Typically they have been shows that have had to hold to a network formula for a particular length of time before being given the creative freedom to actually be the show it always wanted to be.
Fringe - though having a decent pilot, the following two episodes were generic X-Files light junk, so I forgot to watch the following week and then it just dropped off my radar. A few years later the internet was quietly murmuring about how much the show had grown, so I gave it another chance. If I had caught The Arrival and the Observer-antics I may have stuck around! Now, a firm modern favourite.
Person of Interest - another perfectly decent, if run-of-the-mill pilot with a fascinating central premise. After watching 7 episodes of that years take on Quantum Leap I bailed, seeing only the procedural exterior. I got drawn back in after the internet started exploding about S3. Churning through most of S1 was still a chore, but 1/2 way through S2 the show really started taking shape. It's now a bone finde mini classic for me.
Babylon 5 - bailed 4-5 episodes in. I didn't enjoy any of the characters, compared to that-era Trek it all looked too cheap and most of the stories felt like old re-treads. My mother insisted I revisit it after she watched the S2 finale. With a summer break ahead of me 44 episodes were duly burnt through and I was the one the ranting to her about the show and "when in the hell is S3?"
These days I don't watch shows from the get go. There is so much out there for me to catch up on I no longer feel the need to watch shows "live" or as they air. I am more than happy to let them play out their first seasons, and if SF/F community and critic feedback is strong, and I like the premise, I will give it a go
Hugo - is also too impatient to wait between episodes for the story to continue. Wait 9 months and get it all to play at his leisure, not the networks
