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Mar
9
Written by:
Bill Bonfanti
3/9/2009 9:40 AM
Howdy FILMGOAPHYTES! It's been a while, but Anders has returned to the place that started his writing career (not sure if that's a good thing or not). I like to write something for FILMGO every now and again to express my love and gratitude. Today's topic HEROES. The NBC television program that coined the phrase “Save the cheerleader, save the world". It airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on NBC.
I have been following this show before it even aired back in the fall of 2006. I had heard earlier that year that NBC was going to add a program to its stable that would follow a group of people who were discovering they had amazing abilities. It was right in my wheelhouse and I counted down the days until the pilot premiered. I was not disappointed. It was everything I had hoped it would be. I remember thinking the only thing I didn't like about it was that it ended. I was completely hooked and I have not missed an episode. I have watched all the online vignettes and bought the compilation books of the online graphic novels. I was a head over heels fanboy (a term I am not normally fond of mind you, due to its denoting of geekdom). Season one was magnificent, must see television. I was hooked. I started to devour all things HEROES.
I am telling you all this to illustrate my devotion to this program. Because now I have to do something that is painful for me, I have to criticize it. I am truly upset by this. I actually decided to write this because it's Monday. HEROES is on tonight. I have been hoping all day that tonight's episode will be great, I never had to hope before, it was a given. This show has been on the decline. The writers seem to be unable to recapture the magic of season one, and I have numerous problems with this show right now. I feel like Heroes has become stale. I thought they were on the right track when they brought in Robert Forster to play Arthur Petrelli. This show was at its best when all the characters were ultimately united against the same foe or cause. In season one the cause was saving Claire, the foe, Sylar. They all had different sub-plots, but they were all tied together somewhat. When they first started the Pinehearst / Arthur Petrelli storyline they seemed to be recreating that linear approach. Then they kill him off! I felt like that story arc could have squeezed out at least four more episodes. They make this big deal about the catalyst and then it just floats away? C'mon. This brings me to my next point. Peter's and Hiro's powers disappearing. I can't stand when they do this. I like Peter being all powerful and insecure about it. I liked when we had a good guy to counteract the bad guy. Who can stop Sylar now? Hiro's power totally defines him, and makes him extremely boring when it's missing. I swear the writer's took Peter's powers away because they couldn't keep track of them all (end of season 2 and he is trying to rip the door of the safe off? why didn't he just teleport inside the safe?).
Overall though, it just seems like the plot's have been slow to develop, the storylines seem too familiar (another painting of an exploding city), or the payoffs are totally disappointing. In essence it has just been kind of boring. I almost can't put my finger on it; I can just tell you that something feels off. Whatever it is it's just not as good an experience as it used to be. This just really makes me sad, and I wonder are they too far in, to fix it? I think they might be. I will still watch religiously, hoping that it can get the magic back. I just hope it happens before my favorite show gets cancelled.
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2 comment(s) so far...
Re: Forget the Cheerleader! Save my Show!
My friend, the answer to your question is yes, the show is too far in to its run to be fixed now. There are still moments in each episode that bring the "magic" however. As I noted last week, Sylar remains a compelling character and I believe that Claire always has a good story line. The truth is that these characters have remained consistent throughout the series, but the same cannot be said about the other characters like Peter and Hiro, as you mentioned above. At least after last night's ep we now know whether Nathan is a hero or a villain. The answer he is neither... he is just a moron!
By Bill's Blog on
3/10/2009 9:50 AM
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Re: Forget the Cheerleader! Save my Show!
I have to say last I thought last night's episode was great! I loved it, Sylar and his dad, Nathan vs. Danko, and I think the scene with Angela and Danko was very cool, she has become a really solid character. Maybe there is still hope, however the ratings aren't close to what they were, and I am worried about my show getting the ax. I hope to get at least one more season out of it.
By ANDERS on
3/10/2009 10:11 AM
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