Heroes #17:Cold Wars-Season 3-2009

[Darth Shoju]

Ratings continue to decline: 'Heroes,' 'Chuck' hit lows; 'Beauty' finishes solid--The Live Feed

Ouch. It had 2 million fewer viewers than Medium. Not that Medium is a bad show -- it's pretty good, I just see it as one of those "just popular enough to quietly stay on TV" type shows. Heroes was once one of the biggest shows on TV. I guess the damage done since last season has been too much to overcome.

We'll have to see if it gets renewed for next season.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Aside: I don't know how expensive it would be to coreograph a large fight, but it seems to be something Heroes all too often shies away from. The episode it really should have happened in was "Exploding Man" when they fought Sylar.

The season 1 closer, yes? Everything leading right up to that "fight" was excellent, and then... nothing. What I understand from the DVD commentary, etc, is that they screwed themselves. They knew they should have a big fight, but no longer had time and money to film it.

It was probably the sign that they really truly were just making it up as they went without a single clue what direction to take it in at any point. If they had planned ahead as they should have they'd have been able to spend half the season 1 closer on a proper knock-down/drag-out and denouement.

Still, there have been many opportunities, and they've all been squandered.

Pretty much defines the show since the end of the first season - squandered opportunities. Which is why we care enough to be really really annoyed.

One other inconsistency: how did Peter grab Matt and manage to fly away? He should have absorbed Matt's powers.

By not touching the skin? I'd have to look at it again.

 

[Banshee16]

[EDIT]One other inconsistency: how did Peter grab Matt and manage to fly away? He should have absorbed Matt's powers.

They didn't actually fly. In fact, Peter grabbed Matt, took his power, created an illusion that they flew away, but is actually still there. Next week, they do something to the whole troop of hunters.

There ya go

Banshee

 

[LightPhoenix]

Or may require some skin contact (I sort of remember that he only got Mohinder's super-strength in the plane after touching his hand). If new-Peter is smart-Peter, he might have avoided that.

By not touching the skin? I'd have to look at it again.

I didn't realize it required skin contact. I know that's how he got Mohinder and Tracy's powers, but I could have sworn that Peter took Nathan's flight the second time without it. I'm probably wrong.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

Ouch. It had 2 million fewer viewers than Medium. Not that Medium is a bad show -- it's pretty good, I just see it as one of those "just popular enough to quietly stay on TV" type shows. Heroes was once one of the biggest shows on TV. I guess the damage done since last season has been too much to overcome.

We'll have to see if it gets renewed for next season.

Except that Medium has far far superior writers and caters to the general audience far better than a supers show. Medium succeeds in part because it is a show about real people (unlike Heroes post 1st season) with real problems. Mom is not an emaciated stick figure, the daughters are not all super pretty (OK Ariel is but that way lies jail), and the marriage has real marriage problems. I have been watching both series since their beginnings and if I had to choose I would choose Medium every time.

 

[Elodan]

...
We still have Ando and Hiro's scene from the beginning of the third season to deal with - a scene in which the issue of the formula has not been wholly resolved and in which Hiro had a power of some kind (we know this as Ando's red charge up lightning power had an effect on Hiro when it zapped him).
...

I'm not sure this future has to happen. Let's not forget the future with bad-ass Claire and the poor Irish girl Peter stranded there has supposedly been avoided (or was that two possible futures ago?)

I'll agree there are a LOT of open issues out there.


Thought the episode was OK (too many people carrying the stupid ball). I have to say Ma Patrelli has become one of my favorites.

 

[F5]

First season, "Five Years Gone." Matt forced the location of Claire out of HRG and seemed to physically hurt him. Second season, Matt forced the location of the bio chick out of Angela, gave her a nosebleed when she resisted. It's not without precedent.

Also, I had no problem with Matt being a jerk, because the woman he was in love with was seemingly killed. That tends to bring out some emotion.

Good point...I hadn't remembered those scenes. Matt's power has been shown to put strain on its' target, and I suppose we haven't really seen an extended mind-reading session before. Usually it's a second or two of Matt focusing, and then we're done. Maybe when the mind-reading is drawn out the effects are harsher. I'll buy that.

As for Matt being a jerk...I'm not disagreeing that it's believable. It's entirely believable. It doesn't make his behavior appealing. I really wanted to root for someone in this episode, but I just couldn't.

In hindsight, though, I like the resolution of the Hostage Scene better than I did on first viewing. Matt turns on Mohinder, but in the end, they're friends again, and Mo does what he can to make it right. Peter flies off and does something hot-headed and impulsive, because that's who Peter is, but in the end he comes back to save his friend, rather than kill his enemy.

I do wish that Matt had pulled off some crazy Mind Mojo in the final scene, but I can live with the fact that he didn't.

 

[DonTadow]

Good point...I hadn't remembered those scenes. Matt's power has been shown to put strain on its' target, and I suppose we haven't really seen an extended mind-reading session before. Usually it's a second or two of Matt focusing, and then we're done. Maybe when the mind-reading is drawn out the effects are harsher. I'll buy that.

As for Matt being a jerk...I'm not disagreeing that it's believable. It's entirely believable. It doesn't make his behavior appealing. I really wanted to root for someone in this episode, but I just couldn't.

In hindsight, though, I like the resolution of the Hostage Scene better than I did on first viewing. Matt turns on Mohinder, but in the end, they're friends again, and Mo does what he can to make it right. Peter flies off and does something hot-headed and impulsive, because that's who Peter is, but in the end he comes back to save his friend, rather than kill his enemy.

I do wish that Matt had pulled off some crazy Mind Mojo in the final scene, but I can live with the fact that he didn't.

More importantly heroes can be downright confusing because the show has relied on so many "visions" and "time travel". It is very difficult to figure out what is suppose to happen, what does not happen, what is happening.

The show screwed up by instituting too many instances of the future. What would have saved heroes is if they had a drop down tearup fight from season 1.

BTW, can a show have a reboot like a comic. Because thats what needs to be done, scrap everything and go back to the end of that season, with an awesome fight where some heroes die some don't. Then in season 2 have everyone return to their normal lives, working secretly with one another while attempting to maintain normal lives.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

BTW, can a show have a reboot like a comic. Because thats what needs to be done, scrap everything and go back to the end of that season, with an awesome fight where some heroes die some don't. Then in season 2 have everyone return to their normal lives, working secretly with one another while attempting to maintain normal lives.

Well I did think of how they can reboot this year. Ando has the power-magnification power so you either jack up the Haitian or Matt and get them to do a mind-wipe on the world.

 

[Darth Shoju]

Except that Medium has far far superior writers and caters to the general audience far better than a supers show. Medium succeeds in part because it is a show about real people (unlike Heroes post 1st season) with real problems. Mom is not an emaciated stick figure, the daughters are not all super pretty (OK Ariel is but that way lies jail), and the marriage has real marriage problems. I have been watching both series since their beginnings and if I had to choose I would choose Medium every time.

Like I said, Medium is good. It's just that Heroes was huge at one point, while Medium (as far as I know) has been moderately popular all along. I was just using it as a bit of perspective for how things have changed for the series.

Medium is definately a quality show, I've just never been able to really get into it for whatever reason. I watched pretty much the whole first season, too.

*shrug*