Heroes to get 'back on track' in Vol 3

[Brown Jenkin]

I am glad to see Tim Kring has acknowledged pretty much everything I thought was wrong so far this season. Not that Heroes isn't still one of the better shows on TV and still far better than Lost. I am glad to see things picking up, unfortunately there are only 4 more episodes to go. Well at least Volume 3 will be probably exactly what I want even if the writers strike forces it to Season 3.

As for them offing either the snooze twins or West I can only say the sooner the better.

 

[Mistwell]

And yet, that 15% drop only means that Nielsen families want the things he mentions.

I have liked how the show has been going (including the pace).

Not anymore. Neilsen now tracks DVR usage, including immediate watching, same day watching, and withing 3 days watching. They also have listings for top 10 shows, and top 25 shows, in the season pass hierarchy of TIVOS.

 

[Alzrius]

He's actually talking about volume three; volume 2 is the first half of this season, volume 3 will be the second half, if we get it.

I know, but my understanding is that unless the strike finishes very soon, we aren't going to get it, and the end of this volume will also be the end of the season, making volume three start with the third season.

It's ironic to consider that, if season two does end here, the time between this and season three could be perfect for Zachary Quinto to go and film Spock for the upcoming Star Trek movie, and then return for season three's filming - there'd be no in-character lag time where his character had to disappear for a while.

 

[Taelorn76]

I gotta say my first thought after reading the article was that it was satire. It sounded like what an unsatisfied internet nerd might have come up with!

Those were my thoughts exactly. It seems very unnatural for the writer/producer to be bashing some characters and story lines that.

 

[Silver Moon]

I have liked how the show has been going (including the pace).

I'm with you, I've enjoyed this season far more than last season. The Ancient Japan storyline has been excellent, I'm glad it wasn't just three episodes. Doing that would have done a great disservice to the Adam storyline.

 

[Relique du Madde]

I'm with you, I've enjoyed this season far more than last season. The Ancient Japan storyline has been excellent, I'm glad it wasn't just three episodes. Doing that would have done a great disservice to the Adam storyline.

I think it could have been EASILY made into three episodes but to properly do that each of those episodes would have to had focus entirely on hiro's story or focused on hiro's story and one other.

 

[drothgery]

THE PACE IS TOO SLOW ''We assumed the audience wanted season 1 — a buildup of intrigue about these characters and the discovery of their powers. We taught [them] to expect a certain kind of storytelling. They wanted adrenaline. We made a mistake.''

Eh. Some plotlines seemed to drag a little but were interesting anyway (Peter in Ireland, Hiro in Japan), some were paced pretty well (Micah and Monica in Nawlins; Parkman, HRG, Mohinder, and Molly plotting against the Company), and some were just bad plotlines that no amount of better pacing could save (the snooze twins).

THE WORLD-SAVING STAKES SHOULD HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED SOONER The premonition of nuclear apocalypse created a larger context that unified every story line last season. Kring now sees that Volume 2 (the first 11 episodes of season 2) would have been better served if Peter's vision of viral Armageddon had appeared in the season premiere rather than episode 7. ''We took too long to get to the big-picture story,'' he says.

Definitely true.

THE ROOKIES DIDN'T GREET THEMSELVES PROPERLY New Heroes Monica (Dana Davis), Maya (Dania Ramirez), and Alejandro (Shalim Ortiz) ''shouldn't have been introduced in separate story lines that felt unattached to the show. The way we introduced Elle (Kristen Bell) — by weaving her in via Peter's story line — is a more logical way to bring new characters into the show.'' (That said, Kring says a few newbies won't make it beyond this second volume, which wraps Dec. 3.)

Again, Monica was okay. The problem with Mayah and Alejandro is their story is dull and totally different in tone with the rest of the show; psuedo-horror has always been the worst part of Heroes.

HIRO WAS IN JAPAN WAY TOO LONG Hiro's (Masi Oka) time-bending adventure in 17th-century Japan — where he mentored samurai hero Takezo Kensei (David Anders) — finally came to an end on Nov. 5. But Kring says it ''should have [lasted] three episodes. We didn't give the audience enough story to justify the time we allotted it.''

Hiro in Japan was pretty good; the major problem with it was that it meant Hiro wasn't interacting with the other Heroes, and since he's the major force encouraging them to be heroic, that's a Bad Thing.

YOUNG LOVE STINKS Kring regrets sticking Claire (Hayden Panettiere) with a super-dud boyfriend and forcing Hiro to moon over a cutesy princess. ''I've seen more convincing romances on TV,'' he admits. ''In retrospect, I don't think romance is a natural fit for us.''

Again, Hiro and the princess worked. Peter and the mystery Irish girl wasn't too bad either. Claire and West didn't because West is creepy, and Claire seemed too smart last season to not catch that.

I still think the show would have been better off killing Sylar and Peter and never introducing another power absorber / power mimic type again (and never introducing Monica's mundane-mimic ability), simply because they introduce a 'why doesn't Superman just take care of it' problem.

 

[Fast Learner]

I still think the show would have been better off killing Sylar and Peter and never introducing another power absorber / power mimic type again (and never introducing Monica's mundane-mimic ability), simply because they introduce a 'why doesn't Superman just take care of it' problem.

I hear ya. I disagree about Monica's power, I don't think it's a Superman power at all, but the other two, definitely. Most especially Peter, who can do anything without even trying.

 

[LightPhoenix]

*snip*

You and I are on the same page.

I thought Kring's most astute comment was that they thought people would want a pseudo-reboot. That was exactly what I personally didn't want. Of course, a pseudo-reboot also gives the chance to take in new viewers... but in this instance it obviously didn't work.

All that said, all of my problem with this season really been a matter of pacing. The reason it worked last season is because the whole thing was new; no mythology, no favorite characters, no expectations. Now though, it feels like plodding, because we've seen how balls to the wall it can go. Someone in the latest episode thread mentioned how these last episodes were like chess moves. It was an insightful comment, but the problem is that didn't require so many episodes to move to where we are.

Also, I'm willing to give a little benefit of the doubt, in that some characters just didn't work as well as they thought they would. West and Maya especially just don't mesh with the rest of the cast. Oddly though, I like Alejandro.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

I still think the show would have been better off killing Sylar and Peter and never introducing another power absorber / power mimic type again (and never introducing Monica's mundane-mimic ability), simply because they introduce a 'why doesn't Superman just take care of it' problem.

I agree completely. Not killing Sylar was a complete cop-out anyway. But keeping Peter around just keeps escalating the power level and coming up with reasons why he doesn't just do everything less plausible. I mean, amnesia? Really?