Entertainment Weekly - 5 Ways to Save Heroes

[spideyboy_1111]

i definately don't agree with the last one. Heroes should be similar to ER, the universe remains but the cast comes and goes... and in some cases returns.

 

[spideyboy_1111]

I do think one other big problem about the show (other then similar plot "cityies/world blowing up" is they get rid of good characters that actually have potential...

-Adam (who did nothing in this season but die)
-Monica (who has a hell of alot of potential)
-Nikki (who was finally becoming a hero)
-Micah (who pretty much has a rought time returning without Nikki)
-DL (who's death helped nikki and micah grow, but with nikki's death his death feels pointless
-West (ok i loved west... i thought he brought out a much needed side in Claire, where the hell is he?)
-elle who's finally coming back, but is a much much missed presents.

yet they keep lame ass characters around like Maya?

 

[spideyboy_1111]

I was under the impression that Jessica was the one with super-strength. Seeing as though for most of Season One, Nikki couldn't use it unless she was in Jessica-mode.

And up until the whole triplet revelation, I had a theory that Nikki suffers from multiple personalities - each personality with a different ability. And that when she was trapped in the fire at the end of season 2, the Tracy personality came out and allowed her to escape the fire due to power to freeze things. However, that theory has been laid to waste now.

i thought this too, and would have very much preferred it.

 

[marukisu]

...

 

[ord0g]

The one thing they need to stop doing is all the time travel crap. It's screwing their continuity and creating too many plot holes. That and there's too much stuff going on that doesn't even come close to being logically comprehensible. The characters haven't grown since season 1. They've just been given stupid storylines to keep them prodding along until the writers can finally think of some good material to use, at least that's the feeling I'm getting.

 

[GL1]

i definately don't agree with the last one. Heroes should be similar to ER, the universe remains but the cast comes and goes... and in some cases returns.

So awesome. That was kinda my dream, with spinoffs and everything.

I think it was Tim Kring's dream too:

Tim Kring, creator of NBC's hit series Heroes, told SCI FI Wire that the upcoming second season will constitute a new volume in the multi-volume series, with new characters and an entirely new storyline. "If you remember, the opening of the pilot pronounced the episode as the beginning of Volume One," Kring said in an interview. "Volume One comes to a conclusion at the end of episode 23, and Volume Two starts with the opening of season two. And Volume Two is a different story."

Kring added: "We could have new people and new storylines and new ideas and new threats and new bad guys and new heroes. So I would prepare the audience for that idea, that it's not just a continuing serialized storyline about only these people. It's a little more the 24 model than the Lost model."

The first season of Heroes is exploring what happens when a disparate group of ordinary people discover they have extraordinary abilities and attempt to save New York from disaster.

"Heroes needs to evolve, and if we are positing an idea that this is happening all over the world to many, many people, then we get to see some of those people and see how their story fits in."

Kring also confirmed that some of the current heroes just might not survive this season, but added: "Many of your favorites will live to fight again."

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=40354

 

[The Sage]

I forgot that Kring said the characters would be refreshed and different each season.

 

[pjspider1C]

^ Yeah... pretty much explains Nathan's turnaround in Season 3, as well as Nikki's/Tracy's... and Mohinder's... and others...

 

[The Sage]

^No, I mean as in a mostly new batch of characters each season with some of the core remaining.

 

[chaseter]

i thought this too, and would have very much preferred it.

As well did I and that story line is much better than teh clones

 

[pjspider1C]

^No, I mean as in a mostly new batch of characters each season with some of the core remaining.

Who says that core characters can't be refreshed?

 

[SuperT]

Kring's original plan was to start season two off with a completely new cast of characters but fan backlash towards that idea made them regroup and continue with the characters from season one.

 

[Maximus One]

Kring's original plan was to start season two off with a completely new cast of characters but fan backlash towards that idea made them regroup and continue with the characters from season one.

It woulda been great if they had continued with that idea

 

[SuperT]

Maybe, but it would be a very hard sell to the general public. People grew attached to the characters from season one, then here comes season two and none of them are there?

Would be very off putting from the jump. I told my boss about the original idea for season two and she responded "It wouldn't be Heroes then."

 

[spideyboy_1111]

yeah i gotta agree... you just cant bring all new heroes everytime... gotta have some stay.. and some leave, just not all at once

 

[ord0g]

People grew attached to the characters from season one, then here comes season two and none of them are there?

Well if they had followed through they could have introduced a number of new primary characters then let the previous characters have cameo appearances throughout.

 

[Visceral]

what I hate is the lack of mystery that made the first season so special. I mean the discovery of their powers was what made it so fresh.

 

[SuperT]

Right, but at some point we have to get over the discovery phase.

We've gotten to the point where they've all come to terms with their powers, now it's time to use them. If we keep getting discovery stuff, it'll just be a continuous rehash of season one.

 

[RonStoppablefan]

Kring's original plan was to start season two off with a completely new cast of characters but fan backlash towards that idea made them regroup and continue with the characters from season one.

Awe yes that plan, key characters would have probaly been;

-Mya and her brother whoever he is.

-Monica, would Nicki have died leaving Mitch with her still?

-Adam, maybe he would have still been the big bad villain

-Elle

Hmm it could have worked out well. Now I'm kind of curious as to how things would have worked out with them. But awes well they've narrowed it down to key characters as said in the article now Peter,Hiro,Claire,Syler yah.

 

[Abaddon]

I disagree with the last way... if anything, they should end dates for CHARACTERS. That way they can get their own endings and the show can continue.

That I agree with wholeheartedly. They seem to have a knack for writing themselves into corners with certain characters.

 

[Abaddon]

^ Yes, she had control of Jessica... but Jessica wasn't gone. She also had a few Jessica outbursts in Season 2.

Jessica was gone by the end of season 1. She realized that while she thought she was doing what was in Niki and Micah's best interests, her actions probably caused more damage than Niki's uselessness. So she decided to let Niki be the strong one.

The little outburst we saw in season 2 went unexplained. It could've been Jessica again, or another personality altogether. But who cares Niki was lame, and they should've just merged her with Jessica at the end of season 1. Now we've got some rehashed version of her in Tracy.

 

[GL1]

Maybe, but it would be a very hard sell to the general public. People grew attached to the characters from season one, then here comes season two and none of them are there?

Would be very off putting from the jump. I told my boss about the original idea for season two and she responded "It wouldn't be Heroes then."

There are a some great ways they could have included the S1 characters in season 2 without centering on them. Hiro could have still played the role in creating the Villain that he did. Peter could have been trucking around following the Generations storyline that got dropped. Claire could have been Company or made a 'glorious' return mid-season.

The way they did House, season 4. Yeah, that had all these newbies, but they kept teasing the old favorites, until they returned in different forms. An adaptation of that would have worked rather than completely removing the S1 cast from the show... after all, even though the story should be about them, the connected nature of Heroes suggests that some of them would be aware if not extraneously involved in S2 events.

Adapting the radical idea of starting fresh into something palatable would have been a far better idea than just riding the backlash to the formulaic repetition we have now.

 

[Nitehawk013]

You can't just completely start over with new characters every year. You can't even dump off the very key characters. The vast majority of viewers want a couple constant characters in the shows they watch. Those characters become the show to them. So if you go the route of removing them in order to focus on all new characters or to please a few angry fanboyish geeks in their mom's basements you risk destroying the interest the far larger amount of casual fans have. You can't do that and still have a show on the air.

This same thing was considered on 24. The idea was that it would focus on counter terrorism, CTU, as a group. Kiefer said on a few occasions that he wanted the show to be about more than his character and they even had plans to kill Jack Bauer off to focus oon other lead characters. The hardcore fanboys were like some of the Heroes fans saying start over every season with new characters/kill guys like Peter and Sylar/various other crazy ideas. In the end though...Jack Bauer is 24. No one watches it to see some other guy leading the charge.

The same goes with Heroes. You take away Sylar/Peter/HRG and a couple others and you will lose the vast number of casual fans. Sure it might please the handful of people who think that is a good idea, but the result is a cancelled show.

 

[spideyboy_1111]

I think you should sub out HRG for Claire... HRG could have a very nice death on the show, and the show could still go on...

 

[GL1]

The same goes with Heroes. You take away Sylar/Peter/HRG and a couple others and you will lose the vast number of casual fans. Sure it might please the handful of people who think that is a good idea, but the result is a canceled show.

But you can take the focus off of these characters, and remove all the others who are "not the show" and still have something that's pleasing to everyone, even casuals.

It's called "passing the torch." And when done right, it creates some of the most compelling fiction because it invites the user to embrace and experience sacrifice, as the characters do week in and week out.

House did it. Highlander did it. Star Trek did it. Heck, Power Rangers did it (even before the yearly full cast changes). It's been done... it's doable. Do it.

And if it was "a couple constant characters" then that wouldn't hurt the show. Right now they have 5-10 CONSTANT characters, who just plain don't need to be, and the show is hurting for it.