Thursday, March 26, 2009

Heroes – Best Ideas to Fix the Show

Season 3 Review

Is Daphne really dead?? Now that would suck big time! I agree that she and Hiro have chemistry and work well as a brother and sister type competition (love/hate relationship). The pairing of Parkman and Daphne was much more realistic and their promise or development of a relationship was/is fun to watch. My hope is that Daphne is not truly dead. Her character adds humor and sarcasm to many of the doldrums and dead airtime. I honestly prefer watching Daphne over Claire's boring mellow dramatic storyline any day. Kudos for the great ideas! I agree with all the following to bring this show back on track. I don't believe the writer's strike is to blame for this mess the show is currently in at this time. The producers and creator have an equal responsibility to air a top quality show and present it to the public. Season 2 was a complete wash. It felt like the shows executives completely deviated from the successful formula of the first season. I agree, go back to the basics and slow this show down. It feels like they are trying to do so much and too soon. So what if it takes couple of episodes to build a character's back story and development? Real and true fans of the show will be here if the shows creators/writers remain true to the story and continue to produce and air quality shows.

Now for the ideas:
- yes, bring back Molly, she was great!
- yes, bring back Nikki/Jessica - I would like to see her past, how she came to be and the mystery behind her sisters. she had a wild and crazy/complex side, which left you wondering what will she do next?
- yes, please give Peter back his powers to counter balance that of Sylar's
- yes, take away Mohinder's powers - let him focus on his research, finding a cure and continue his father's work of tracking down others on the list
- yes, stop giving powers to normal humans - take away Ando's powers
- yes, keep Sylar as a bad guy - yes, stop with the switching of sides with characters, except for Bennett, he is best served as a loose cannon
- yes, slow down the stories/plot a bit. take a deep breath and look at the body of work produced so far. if it doesn't make sense to you it won't make sense to us

Kudos for Season 3 thus far:
- Great job bringing Micah back!
- Good idea bringing Parkman's baby back, but hope this storyline doesn't last long. I prefer the Daphne storyline better
- It's great that Sylar and Danko will be working together as main bad guys
- Yay, no more Arthur, Adam, Flint, Meredith, Murray, Kaito and Usutsu
- Finally, no more Maya. After her brother was killed off, she served no purpose and added no real value to the show. Her character was lame and acting was terrible. She was just filler until Season 2 ended and the writer's strike took over, imo.

Other ideas to help save Heroes:
- Kill off the Claire Bennett character, she is boring, dull and whiny. Season 1 she was great, but it is now Season 3 and her character hasn't gone anywhere. Is she still in high school? Is she getting ready for college? What's the story? She adds no value to the show anymore and her scenes are painful to watch.
- Along those lines, send the Bennett's into hiding or witness protection program just to remove the family from the show entirely. This storyline is boring and constantly rehashed every episode. Claire always wishes she wasn't so different and just wants to be normal, boo-hoo! Arrrrggghhh, nails grinding on chalkboard! Send this family off to Kansas with Dorothy and Toto.
- Take away Hiro's power to time travel. The time travel power confuses things and Hiro always seems to mess things up, like the bumbling fool that he is. It is best that he just has the power to stop time and teleport. The time travel piece complicates things. Plus, who needs it when you now have Parkman to paint visions of the future and Angela to see the future.
- Focus on 1-3 character story lines each week. Bring back Nikki and have her and Micah work together to track down her third sister. Resolve the mystery behind the scientific experiments. Return Mohinder back to following his father's footsteps, finding a cure, tracking down others on his list and take away his powers. I believe he is a core character in Heroes who can shed some light on the evolution of these powers. His narration of the show is excellent and it was his storyline that got this show started in the beginning. I liked the idea of giving him a title of top Research Expert within a secret government agency to continue his tests. Have Peter, Parkman, Daphne and Hiro work together to help others with similar gifts. Or have them each return to living their normal lives. Remember they all had professional lives/careers before they knew they each had special gifts. Why not attempt to return to normalcy under new identities?
- Give Peter more air time. Develop his character further and focus on his potential as a hero. He was an RN before discovering his powers, he can continue to do good now but behind the scenes. Introduce a new love interest. His original pairing with Simone was great in Season 1.
- Slowly introduce new characters. Introduce them toward the end of the season so it will leave viewers wanting to know and learn more about this new character, their powers, intention and history. If the characters have generated interest/buzz and curiosity then the writers will have time over the summer to develop these new characters further. - Bring Elle back and don't kill off Daphne!!!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Heroes 2009 - New episodes

The anticipation of Heroes 2009 episodes in my opinion will be a make it or break it run. I have been a follower of the series from the very beginning. Season 1 was a fascinating break out year with great story telling, character and plot development. Each episode possessed a sense of suspense, excitement and mystery. One would feel compelled to be there each week and never to miss an episode. It was thrilling and addicting. There was a vested interest and ownership of each character presented as a gift to the audience from the show's creators, directors and producers. It was the audience's responsibility to take hold of these characters and believe, hope and trust the fundamental values and meaning of the show. The underlying themes of global diversity, social acceptance and basic human need to be something better, a hero.

Then Heroes Season 2 happened. The season started with a time travel story back to the feudal days of Japan. Frankly, the entire season the story and plot had gone in so many different directions. Favorites such as Nikki were killed off. New characters that added no value to the plot or story(i.e. Maya) materialized. The roller coaster ride of good to bad episodes continued throughout the entire year. The writer's strike was a mixed blessing, due to the terrible storyline presented in this season.

Now jump to present day and the anticipation of the 2009 episodes. What we know now?:

Summary:

Arthur P. - killed off by Sylar
Sylar returns to being a serial killer
Elle - is killed by Sylar
Nathan P. - has ulterior motives and decides to round up all humans with special abilities

Negatives about the show thus far:
Killing off Elle and Nikki. The addition of Adam and Arthur into the storyline, which basically added no real value for the show. Perhaps somewhere down the road, if and when the Heroes Origins is released. Hiro and Endo's constant misadventures and misfortunes. It almost seems like these two are responsible for all the screw ups that occur within the space time shift. What value do they bring to the show aside for levity and comic relief? They are still among the favorites of the show though. Finally, what is up with Mohinder? His father and sister must be looking down on him with much disgust and disappointment right now. He has become the villain, the mad scientist and I'd say just as bad or a worst villain than Sylar.

Positives about the show thus far:
The addition of Daphne and the chemistry between her and Parkman is excellent. Sylar's return to being the bad guy is a smart return to focus from the first season. It is unfortunate that it had to be at the expense of Elle. Kristen Bell's character was one of the highlights of the show. It is great to see Adam, Arthur, Maya and Monica gone from the series. If none of these characters add value, then why bother writing them into the storyline? Bring back characters like Nikki and Micah and continue to build on their relationship and search for her sisters.

The new episodes of 2009 will be a make it or break it scenario for this series. The creators can no longer rely on the name, the hype and the loyal following of Heroes. Just as they have entrusted the audience to embrace the characters, the storyline and the plot, the audience have entrusted the creators, directors and executive producers to deliver high quality content and gripping episodes weekly. I for one will not settle for anything less than the best creative writing, plot and character development. I would hate to see this show go the way of the shark...

Time will tell...