Heroes Season [Volume] 2 (#34)---12/03/07-'POWERLESS' Mid-Season Finale (or the End)

[Felon]

I wasn't sad to see Nikki go, but I miss Nathan already! He and Peter worked very well together on screen, and the way Nathan's character was evolving was damn interesting to watch. Adrian Pasdar is a great actor, and the hole from his absence is going to be hard to fill.

Well, he didn't get hit with a head shot (by Bennet, no doubt). Peter just pumps some healing juice into him and he's good to go.

And Sylar...I'm giddy to see him back to his old self. He's one of the coolest villains we've seen in a while, and now, as he said, he's back! The superhero serial killer returns!

Sylar's played out. As a villain, he has no real personality or motivation other than "me want more powers".

 

[Felon]

Yes, Heroes is very comic book. I guess you either like that or you don't.

I enjoyed it over all. Although I was very disappointed to see Nikki go. I know she wasn't the most popular character, but I liked her.

Did we get to see a body?

No body, not dead. That's comic book to a tee.

 

[Goobermunch]

Okie dokie then, I'm done.

Perhaps I'll read some reviews of next "season" to see if it doesn't suck.

I was hoping for a good episode, or at least a good resolution/ending to cap the show, but resolution is not a strong suit I suppose.

I won't even bother with nit-picking the episode.

Well, given that this is, quite possibly, the last episode of Heroes we'll ever see, I don't know that there's much hope.

Writers' strikes are usually a death knell for shows in a current (at the time of the strike) line up. I think the reason we had two volumes scheduled this year was that they suspected they wouldn't be able to run an entire season. As it turns out, they were right.

Too bad. This volume would have made a pretty good season if they'd done the whole thing.

--G

 

[Felon]

Well, given that this is, quite possibly, the last episode of Heroes we'll ever see, I don't know that there's much hope.

You're gonna have to help me out a little bit here. Networks are going to flat-out cancel popular shows because of the strike? The writers get back to work, but NBC decides to scrap Heroes all the same?

 

[Felon]

For me, I stopped reading comic books long ago for such reasons, and expected better from a TV show.

Right, because TV shows have always had the indelible mark of quality and consistency that comic books lacked.

I mean, there never was a show called Star Trek where the ship's captain and second-in-command both joined the away team on hostile, uncharted planets. The A-Team, the Dukes of Hazard, Gilligan's Island, Three's Company, Melrose Place...yeah, I can see why you snubbed comics in favor of TV.

 

[fba827]

I think the reason we had two volumes scheduled this year was that they suspected they wouldn't be able to run an entire season. As it turns out, they were right.

I'm pretty sure they had two volumes for this year because they were going to use the break in between to do the anthology series Heroes: Origins (individual stories per episode about other Heroes with guest writers/directors/etc). But that anthology was canceled entirely for this year (they say it was a mix of reasons, the two biggest being the impeding writers strike and also the dip in ratings for Heroes this season compared to last).

 

[Vocenoctum]

Right, because TV shows have always had the indelible mark of quality and consistency that comic books lacked.

I mean, there never was a show called Star Trek where the ship's captain and second-in-command both joined the away team on hostile, uncharted planets. The A-Team, the Dukes of Hazard, Gilligan's Island, Three's Company, Melrose Place...yeah, I can see why you snubbed comics in favor of TV.

So, I shouldn't be so hard on Heroes, because some other shows have sucked too, er, okay.

I'm fine with being a "fair-weather fan" really. I don't mind leaving a show when it goes a way I don't want, and if others feel like that also, the show will change or die. Making excuses for poor plotting, pacing, dumb characters, and so on... well, that just seems a waste of time for me. I'll just play video games in that timeslot from now on. I'm disappointed I can't watch an engaging show and be entertained, nothing more.

 

[Goobermunch]

I'm pretty sure they had two volumes for this year because they were going to use the break in between to do the anthology series Heroes: Origins (individual stories per episode about other Heroes with guest writers/directors/etc). But that anthology was canceled entirely for this year (they say it was a mix of reasons, the two biggest being the impeding writers strike and also the dip in ratings for Heroes this season compared to last).

Actually, the reason this last episode felt so choppy is that it is an alternate ending they hastily filmed pre-strike. That's why Peter never gets closure with Caitlin. This was the last episode to go in the can.

There are no new scripts beyond what we saw tonight.

Historically, when the writers and the studios fight, it isn't over in a few weeks, much less months. Their strikes tend to go for 5-6 months. Given that the Director's Guild and the Screen Actor's Guild contracts both end in July, the studios have every reason to delay, in the hopes that they can force one of those groups to take a worse deal than the writers want. Once one group cracks, it's all over.

As a result, people (writers) are forced to scramble to find ways to make ends meet. Sometimes, they come back to their shows. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes, they work as scabs. Usually, if they do that, they are unemployed (or blacklisted) when the strike ends. It's really quite cutthroat.

If you want more Heroes, pray that the studios see reason quickly. Otherwise, it's likely that the show will not resume. It's not just Heroes either. Very few shows survived the last big strike.

--G

 

[Dire Bare]

Yes, Heroes is very comic book. I guess you either like that or you don't.

I enjoyed it over all. Although I was very disappointed to see Nikki go. I know she wasn't the most popular character, but I liked her.

There has been a lot of vocal Nikki-hate on these boards (and maybe others, but I'm only on ENWorld), but I'm not so sure she was an unpopular character. I enjoyed the character concept, I feel the actress does a great job (and is very easy on the eyes), but I do think her subplots in Season 1 suffered a bit and she was written terribly in Season 2.

I'm sad to see the end of the character, mostly because she was written so poorly this season her death has less emotional resonance.

Heh, but until I see direct forensic evidence of Nikki's demise whenever the show picks up, there's a chance she'll be back!

 

[Alzrius]

Sylar's played out. As a villain, he has no real personality or motivation other than "me want more powers".

Sylar's nowhere close to being "played out" as a character - as it is now, he's one of the best characters on the show.

If you say that his wanting more powers is his only motivation, then you apparently missed the "String Theory" episode in season one - five years in the future, Sylar has decided that (save for one that he missed before) he doesn't want any more powers.

Sylar's goal hasn't been the mere acquisition of power; he wants to feel special. More than that, he wants to be the most special person in the world. For now, that just means collecting powers, but eventually he has a point where he just wants other special people dead.

That said, I think you're looking at him from the wrong angle. As the series' main antagonist, Sylar's contribution to the show is to drive the action and introduce conflict. If you want a character meant to evoke empathy and showcase a multi-layered personality that makes you question his motives, you've got that in Noah Bennett.

Sylar has enough personality to make him a believable villain, and having satisfied that, his dynamic for the show is to be evil.