Can "Heroes" be fixed?

I resisted this show at first - I think I may have mentioned that before. And here I am, a year later, pissed off that I have given so much of my Tivo to this show that has suddenly become mired in wandering plotlines and plodding character arcs.

But before I jump on the "sophmore slump" bandwagon, let me say that I truly relished the scene in last night's "The Line" in which Claire and her new super-boyfriend used their powers to haze the head-bitch cheerleader. Finally, using their powers for a lesser good!

I've also enjoyed the introduction of Monica, and I LOVE her power. TV has played a critical role in so many of our lives, teaching us what's funny, what's not, how to handle certain social situations. This just goes one step further, and who among us hasn't harbored fantasies of being able to replicate Martha Stewart's German Chocolate Cake after just one viewing?

Back to the problem at hand: LEAVE JAPAN!! No one cares about Kensei and White Beard and all that crap. Bring Hiro back to Ando (they are like a modern-day Japanese version of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo...sort of) and get them back in action. The writers did such a great job of bringing all the heroes together over the course of last year, only to disperse them back across the globe and across time. We need to see forward progress, and we need to see our heroes working toward a common goal.

Other issues: Peter's new girlfriend is BUTT. He is waaay too hot for her. And it was truly a loss seeing George Takei's character killed off. I find Kristin Bell annoying, but I know she's a cult favorite for "Veronica Mars" so I'm witholding judgement (not really, I just won't go into it).  And it's taking Sylar and the Dominicans (btw, how did he end up in Mexico anyways?? ) too long to get to America.

I'm not even going to go into how all the storylines do or don't match up. I can't devote enough brain power to it. Unlike "Lost", "Heroes" is not sustaining enough momentum to make me care. Forget "Save the Cheerleader" (which they seem to have done): save the damn show!

Image courtesy NBC

Comments

[rawkerdude]

um... Mexicans???

[Erick]

Are all people from latinamerica "mexicans" now?

[Erick]

Are all people from latinamerica "mexicans" now?

[Steeve]

How about a character with super gaydar--maybe working their way through the halls of Congress?

[TreyVrai]

An ensemble cast scattered geographically and throughout time needs to have some interesting story lines with more connectivity. The show needs focus and not new cast additions seemingly every week.

[Phaedra]

Take out some of the love and goodness. The show is getting squishy.

[debiie]

i just recently got hooked on heroes, they had a marathon on g4 and i watched the whole season straight through. i saw the remainder of the season online and although i wanted to catch up on everything, it was just too boring, too slow, and just not making any type of sense. why doesnt peter remember anything? why is hiro in japan 100's of years ago? why does nathan look like he never took a shower b4? all these questions need to be answered! they just need to get back to the subject of saving the world! let sylar get back to killing and make those twins (maya & alejandro) two new villains! then save the world!

[Nikki]

I agree with most of what you said except..you like Monica? She's such an annoying character and I'm so sick of the cloying Hurricane Katrina "the winds of fate flooded the levees of my heart" crap. I also disagree about Peter's new girlfriend - she's totally hot! And yes, if the Mexicans (yes, they're Mexicans...coming from Mexico to the US) don't get to the states or get killed or do something remotely interesting soon I'm going to send the border patrol after them myself.
In all, this season has been so disappointing so far. I think a big part of the problem is that writer Brian Fuller left the show. He wrote all of the best episodes last season (Company Man) and now he's writing for Pushing Up Daisies, which is a brilliant show. Actually, to be more correct, he's writing for Pushing Up Daisies until Monday when he'll be on strike with the rest of the writers. Which means all of scripted television is going to suck anyway. Anyone for I Want to Marry a Millionaire Midget Bachelor?

[mrav8r]

First of all, the twins are from Guatemala, not Mexico. They first crossed the Guatemala-Mexico border through that pipe. Just last week they crossed the Mexico-US border with the fake police. Who knew it would be so easy to cross the border?

Second of all, we need to get back on track with the main characters. Did Nathan gain a second power to conceal his radiation burns? Why does Noah Bennett work at a copy store and live in a consipcious mansion? And how many more Star Trek actors are we going to encounter, one per season? These and other questions will probably remain unanswered as the writers justifiably get more money (and a little vacation).

[Greg]

I agree with the article 100% but would like to add that Peter (Milo) should let his hair grow back. He was much cuter. (I mean, he's still smoking but it looked better)

[StudioTodd]

Heroes seems to have fallen with blinding speed into the same sort of syndrome that afflicted both "Lost" and "Battlestar Galactica"--they don't know how long they need to stretch out the overall story arc (since they don't know how many seasons they will be on air), so they are shoving in lame touchy-feely episodes built around boring romances and annoying character angst to take up space. They are basically vamping.

At least "Lost" and "Galactica" waited until their third seasons to start jerking their audience around. And at least with these shows there is reason to hope that they will quickly get back on track now that they both have end-dates.

Start killing some key characters off. Start explaining what happened after the season finale (why the fuck wouldn't they pick up where they left off?). Shoot some action sequences--and lots of them--and get rid of the cloying lovefest.

I want to see fighting and gore and amazing special effects, not Mohinder and Parker crying and wringing their hands at a saccharine-sweet child's bedside.

I want complex intelligent unexpected and exciting stories that blow my mind and challenge me and have me dying to find out what happens next, not Claire's latest existential crisis stemming from cheerleader peer pressure and boyfriend troubles.

And they'd better get to it soon. They are boring the shit out of me...

[T]

Last season the show was scary, funny, smart and wonderful. This season it's like a totally different show. It sucks. And it pains me to say that. The Hiro storyline is awful. Nobody cares. This show is so far off track that I'm ready to give up.

[StudioTodd]

It's almost like a MadTV parody of itself...

[Paul Toetschinger]

Have you ever read a comic book it takes time to set-up the story. we really don't need to see betty crocker in the kitchen as a super power but what they are doing is building a story line that will all come together. this is a foruma used in creating intrest and depth. This is not something new hang on and the pay out will be in how they all come back together. Comic creators have been doing this for years. Don't be so quick to judge what did you expect a happy family of super heroes. This is not Disney. This is why TV shows can stand up to more than one season, what are they supposed to be doing?. It seems to me that people are interested but are expecting a huge pay out like the death of the nemisis Sylar not gonna happen yet the past is conected to the future thats why were there Duh lets try and be patient and give the show a chance to tell the story with out rushing it a long just enjoy it like a good wine.

[Maurice]

I thought it was me? Thank you!!!! Do writers do this sort of thing on purpose to see who is really paying attention? They GRAB you in the first season (or two, then throw out the baby (etc...). I thought it was our attention span that was short? If we are to be subjected to this type of writing, then do what was done with "Noah..."...cancel it!!!!

[StudioTodd]

"Have you ever read a comic book it takes time to set-up the story. we really don't need to see betty crocker in the kitchen as a super power but what they are doing is building a story line that will all come together"

They had to build a storyline in season one as well and they managed to do it in a way that was innovative, smart and exciting from the very first episode. I don't think it's too much to ask that they maintain the same caliber of storytelling in the second season.

[Paul Toetschinger]

Really how is this season an different than Hiro going to the Diner in Texas to save Charlie the waitress? No different, people are trying to squeeze the more oj out of the same orange the writing is the same. its fucking entertainment not classical music and do you realize how many writers are actually writting that show a ton not just the one or two who get the credit. like I said before its very formulaic to the comic style which this is being written by comic creators.They have to establish new characters to set them up for new story lines this is not Friends either they will have new people come in and if they do that too quickly then you whiners will be complaining where did that come from. when you show some more sublime type things it shows the depth of the character. take Claire for example she is now using her powers as a real person whould with caution and trepiation yet still trying them out like cutting her toe off. having her boyfriend drop her to her death. they are creating a whole person not just a one dimentional flat character. give them a break wait till you see how fucked up the writting gets if they don't settle the strike then the janitor over at NBC will be writting the show . Now you would have something to complain about.