Why Smallville is Better than Heroes

[RakuMon]

Found this over at BuddyTV. This is precisely the article I was begging the doods at EW to write. I'm not the only one who's noticed the creative resurgence of Smallville has coincided with the creative (and ratings) plummet of Heroes. I'm not saying they're related, but it is a compelling story: The once much buzzed about, big budget blockbuster on a major network with huge marketing muscle has taken a creative hit and is in the midst of a ratings free fall in only its third season. Meanwhile, the other comic-inspired show is in its eight season on a network that's being held together with silly putty, has no advertising whatsoever, a shoestring budget, lost half its original cast AND its original showrunners/creators but has not only seen a ratings resurgence, but has undergone a creative renaissance unheard of for a genre show so late in its life.

http://www.buddytv.com/articles/smallville/five-reasons-why-smallville-is-24244.aspx

http://www.buddytv.com/articles/Image/smallville/welling(1).jpg While Heroes has suffered both creatively and ratings-wise during its latest season, another show about super-powered individuals has thrived. Even with new cast members and four new showrunners behind the scenes, Smallville is generating great ratings and tons of buzz. The show has pleased many fans by moving the action to Metropolis, which has allowed the writers to focus more on Clark's evolution into Superman. The action-packed series has become a perfect example of how to bring complicated comic book storytelling to television.

With NBC recently firing two Heroes producers in a desperate attempt to get the show back on track, it's obvious the series needs help. In an effort to help the network revitalize their struggling series, I've come up with a list of five things Smallville delivers that Heroes fails at.

1. It Actually Makes Sense

Smallville has had some preposterous plot lines over the years, but no matter how bizarre things get, everything always makes sense in the end. I've never felt completely lost or confused while watching the series, even on the rare occasion when I've missed an episode or two. Smallville also does a good job at answering questions and solving its ongoing mysteries in a timely manner. Most shows can't pull off a Lost-like extended mystery format, but that hasn't stopped Heroes from trying and failing to do just that.

The problem with season 3 of Heroes is that nothing makes any sense. Former villains are now good guys, former good guys are now villains, Sylar is randomly a Petrelli, people are time traveling all over the place, and dead characters are being resurrected left and right. The writers could learn a thing or two from the Smallville team, who seem to know exactly where their characters will end up.


2. It Delivers the Action

Anyone who watched the first season of Heroes remembers the crushing disappointment felt around the world after the finale aired. Viewers expected the season to end with the characters teaming up against Sylar in an action-packed extravaganza, but instead we got what amounted to a half-assed street fight. Heroes is on a major network and reportedly has a budget of about $4 million per episode, but the action on Smallville is far more satisfying. Instead of having Peter Petrelli lose his powers every few episodes, why not have him save some lives and throw a few punches?


3. It Offers Plenty of Romantic Drama

By combining action, mythology and complicated romantic relationships, Smallville is the rare show that appeals to both men and women. Some fans don't care about whether Clark ends up with Lois or if Chloe eventually marries Jimmy, but others are addicted to the romantic drama. Aside from an oft-shirtless Milo Ventimiglia, Heroes doesn't offer much in the way of sex appeal. It also fails miserably anytime it dares to include a romantic subplot, as evidenced by the relationships between Claire and West, Mohinder and Maya, and Hiro and that 17th century Japanese woman. Saving the world may be important, but fans need something more emotional to invest in. Heroes offers nothing of the sort.


4. It's Not Overflowing with Characters

The producers of Smallville have the entire DC Universe to pluck characters from, yet the show only has seven regular cast members. Many of these actors don't even appear in every episode, which allows the writers to tell smaller, more character-based stories amidst all the action and chaos. On the other hand, Heroes is overflowing with characters that have outlived their usefulness. The series also makes the mistake of trying to touch on every character in every episode, which leads to too many underdeveloped subplots. If the Heroes writers don't want to look to Smallville for inspiration, they should look to Bryan Fuller, who wrote the season 1 episode "Company Man." That installment, which focused solely on Noah Bennett's back story, is the best hour the series has ever had. It's also the only episode that took the time to explore the life of one main character.


5. It Evolves

Smallville started out as a monster-of-the-week high school show similar to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but has since evolved into a mythology-based drama that doesn't even take place in the small town where it began. The show isn't afraid to get rid of some characters, move others forward, and shake up the status quo when need be. The biggest problem with Heroes is that it's been running around in circles since its first season. How many times can the gang travel to a horrifying alternate future? How many different people can Ali Larter possibly play? How many times can a character die and come back to life? Heroes needs to take a cue from Smallville and learn how to change and evolve, otherwise it doesn't stand a chance of reaching its eighth season.

- Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of the CW)

 

[bootspark]

QFT!

I was a fan of the first season of Heroes, but I feel it has taken a turn for the worst. Smallville, on the other hand, is having its BEST season since season 5. Its very rare for a show to still be strong creatively and critically in its 8th season.

I hope WB is taking notice.

Tom Welling IS Superman.

 

[04nbod]

nice but remember Heroes is still pulling in 7 million at its lowest when smallville pulls in 5 million at its highest these days.

I was at livejournal the other day, on a community based on pop culture and celebrity with a massive member count. The pictures of Kristen Kreuk in Bride were put up and the general consensus was 'This show is still on?'. As a sampler its really sad but goes to show how many more people would be receptive to the show if it was publicised. (I'm of the belief advertising smallville can only help supernatural too so its Win Win)

 

[KBX]

I agree.

Now I can only compare the quality of the 2 shows. I can't really compare ratings. Lets be honest, NBC is 10 times the network the CW is. If Smallville is successful, its because its better than the shows on CW. If Heroes is successful, its because its better than the shows on NBC. People will watch NBC, CBS, ABC regardless what is on. NBC can show the screen black for an hour, and it probably still put up better ratings than any of the CW shows.

 

[Mikelus]

nice but remember Heroes is still pulling in 7 million at its lowest when smallville pulls in 5 million at its highest these days.

I was at livejournal the other day, on a community based on pop culture and celebrity with a massive member count. The pictures of Kristen Kreuk in Bride were put up and the general consensus was 'This show is still on?'. As a sampler its really sad but goes to show how many more people would be receptive to the show if it was publicised. (I'm of the belief advertising smallville can only help supernatural too so its Win Win)

Battlestar Galactica is a better show than Heroes and it has lower ratings too because is on a cable channel, Sci Fi. Ratings mean nothing really, the highest rated ones are garbage reality shows, is that quality TV? Of course not.
Smallville is better than Heroes because it has heart, fans care more about the characters, fewer and better developed, with humor, cooler villains, the opposite crap of Heroes with their 4 million per episode. SV has better SFX with a smaller budget, quality and creativity over quantity. Episodes like "Bride" have fans more excited than Heroes' next plot holes nightmare.

 

[Milkman95]

This is the most hilarious thread I've seen since Smallville was actually regarded as good TV.

Yes, I've been gone for a while, but never left you sheep.

 

[Prison Mike]

I agree with the article. Heroes is confusing and has too many characters. I've lost interest in this current season.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

I had high hopes for Heroes going in. The concept sounded intriguing. About 3 episodes in to the show I realized they had basically combined the plot of The Watchmen with various aspects of the X-Men. (watch how many idiots this spring accuse the Watchmen of being too much like Heroes ) I stuck with it the first season having some interest in some of the things they had done with Sylar, etc. Then the big build up of the finale came and I was hoping for something huge and was left extremely disappointed and turned off. Then when the 2nd season opened they didnt really buiild off any of the momentum they had previously, focused too much on lesser characters, and I just totally lost interest. In the span of 2 and a half seasons the show went from must see TV, to DVR and watch later, to could care less what happens.

1. I agree with pretty much all of the writers criticisms of that show but will say this. While Smallville has a defined end point (we think) that in many ways is a blessing but its also a curse. When your trying to retell part of a 70 year old mythology there are certain expectation levels, and you have a lot less wiggle room with the characters or else you have certain people screaming bloody blue murder. We all know full well what that's like. Heroes has a lot more creative freedom and pretty much carte blanche with their characters as long as they're consistent within the show's own mythology (which they havent been) then they should be OK. Not only has Heroes contradicted their own continuity at times but they also tend to lose sight of where they're trying to get the characters to. Dont get me wrong, Smallville has committed those fouls as well at times, but never in it's first 3 seasons and has always seemed to right the ship. For a show that started out like gangbusters, Heroes seemed to lose its way pretty quickly all things considered. I think Tim Kring got unnerved by all of the negative feedback after the first season finale, and then tried to overcompensate and be everything to everyone, which is usually always a recipe for disaster.

2. In terms of action, Heroes tends to suffer from what I call the "Superman Returns Syndrome." Despite their huge per episode budget (which is almost 3 times that of SV) you dont tend to get all too much action. The fights are always a let down, flight on Heroes looks downright horrible, and most of their other powers arent exactly budget drainers (telekinesis, time travel, shape-shifting, etc.) so where the heck is the money going? One thing that Smallville has always been great about is that you can probably count on one hand the number of times you've seen SFX on the show and could legitimately say that it looked "cheesy." Keep in mind Clark's powers and those of some of his enemies have pretty much run the gamut of every super ability imaginable, so the fact that there are so many heroes on Heroes compared to Smallville isnt really an excuse.
And as intriguing as Peter Petrelli was in the beginning, he's really been sort of a weak lead since season 1. I think the producers realized that they really painted themselves into a corner and made him and Sylar much too powerful and rendered all the other characters moot, so now they spend so much time weakening those two, they've become bland and uninteresting. Imagine the first three seasons of Smallville without any Kryptonite to act as a foil to Clark (yes I know they overdid it). There'd be no drama and constant episodes like Leech to make him vulnerable.

3. In terms of the romance angle, Heroes didnt really have an easy time, being that one of the female leads (Claire) was in high school when virtually all of the main male cast were adults and the other, Nikki, was depicted as a single mother and stripper. Not exactly made for romance. They tried for more of that in Season 2 with Hiro and the Japanese girl from the past, bu that went on painfully long. Smallville had the advantage there being that the majority of its cast was close in age, and they've been able to play up the destiny angle as well. Dont get me wrong, as much as I loathe the "shipping," the producers of the show knew what they were doing trying to attract a female demo, and all of the various ship groups are evidence of that. Although I've always felt at times it distracted from the show's bigger purpose and weakened more than a few episodes.

 

[The Chris]

I still really like Heroes, but right now smallville is smokin' it.

 

[Zing79]

This is the most hilarious thread I've seen since Smallville was actually regarded as good TV.

Yes, I've been gone for a while, but never left you sheep.

Goats don't make good pets.

While you read what I just said and stare at the screen with that confused puppy dog look, remember that's exactly what I was doing while reading your post.

Elaborate please.

 

[HoodedAvenger12]

I had high hopes for Heroes going in. The concept sounded intriguing. About 3 episodes in to the show I realized they had basically combined the plot of The Watchmen with various aspects of the X-Men. (watch how many idiots this spring accuse the Watchmen of being too much like Heroes ) I stuck with it the first season having some interest in some of the things they had done with Sylar, etc. Then the big build up of the finale came and I was hoping for something huge and was left extremely disappointed and turned off. Then when the 2nd season opened they didnt really buiild off any of the momentum they had previously, focused too much on lesser characters, and I just totally lost interest. In the span of 2 and a half seasons the show went from must see TV, to DVR and watch later, to could care less what happens.

1. I agree with pretty much all of the writers criticisms of that show but will say this. While Smallville has a defined end point (we think) that in many ways is a blessing but its also a curse. When your trying to retell part of a 70 year old mythology there are certain expectation levels, and you have a lot less wiggle room with the characters or else you have certain people screaming bloody blue murder. We all know full well what that's like. Heroes has a lot more creative freedom and pretty much carte blanche with their characters as long as they're consistent within the show's own mythology (which they havent been) then they should be OK. Not only has Heroes contradicted their own continuity at times but they also tend to lose sight of where they're trying to get the characters to. Dont get me wrong, Smallville has committed those fouls as well at times, but never in it's first 3 seasons and has always seemed to right the ship. For a show that started out like gangbusters, Heroes seemed to lose its way pretty quickly all things considered. I think Tim Kring got unnerved by all of the negative feedback after the first season finale, and then tried to overcompensate and be everything to everyone, which is usually always a recipe for disaster.

2. In terms of action, Heroes tends to suffer from what I call the "Superman Returns Syndrome." Despite their huge per episode budget (which is almost 3 times that of SV) you dont tend to get all too much action. The fights are always a let down, flight on Heroes looks downright horrible, and most of their other powers arent exactly budget drainers (telekinesis, time travel, shape-shifting, etc.) so where the heck is the money going? One thing that Smallville has always been great about is that you can probably count on one hand the number of times you've seen SFX on the show and could legitimately say that it looked "cheesy." Keep in mind Clark's powers and those of some of his enemies have pretty much run the gamut of every super ability imaginable, so the fact that there are so many heroes on Heroes compared to Smallville isnt really an excuse.
And as intriguing as Peter Petrelli was in the beginning, he's really been sort of a weak lead since season 1. I think the producers realized that they really painted themselves into a corner and made him and Sylar much too powerful and rendered all the other characters moot, so now they spend so much time weakening those two, they've become bland and uninteresting. Imagine the first three seasons of Smallville without any Kryptonite to act as a foil to Clark (yes I know they overdid it). There'd be no drama and constant episodes like Leech to make him vulnerable.

3. In terms of the romance angle, Heroes didnt really have an easy time, being that one of the female leads (Claire) was in high school when virtually all of the main male cast were adults and the other, Nikki, was depicted as a single mother and stripper. Not exactly made for romance. They tried for more of that in Season 2 with Hiro and the Japanese girl from the past, bu that went on painfully long. Smallville had the advantage there being that the majority of its cast was close in age, and they've been able to play up the destiny angle as well. Dont get me wrong, as much as I loathe the "shipping," the producers of the show knew what they were doing trying to attract a female demo, and all of the various ship groups are evidence of that. Although I've always felt at times it distracted from the show's bigger purpose and weakened more than a few episodes.

QFT, I couldnt have said it better.

 

[b24]

problem with HEROS is that show tries to be too "intellect" or thinking man's superhero show

however probelm is most of the actors on show are not same level as SV's actor cmmon john glover, MR , TW they have ascting skills

heroes have motsly pretty boys acting serious and oh yes hayden petnrate whatever her name is she is annoying

save the cheerleader save the world give me a break

 

[b24]

and worst thing can hapenn to show was thoat comic book writer getting fired !!!!!!!!!
WOW

 

[Gilpesh]

Reason that Smallville is better than Heroes right now?

Smallville sucked long enough that now being slightly good, means the show is 'awesome'.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

Tom Welling? Act skills? In the same sentence. Please! Don't make me laugh.

No one on this show short of Daddy Kent, Chloe, Lex, and Lois could act. I'm talking regular appearing characters here.

Everyone else who has appeared is a crapfest of craptitude. Much like the show itself. It's tries too hard to be Superman meets Buffy, and that concept just does not work in the slightest.

 

[b24]

^^^ hahahah let's see if will see heroes survive that long

save the wordl save cheerleader what

 

[b24]

Reason that Smallville is better than Heroes right now?

Smallville sucked long enough that now being slightly good, means the show is 'awesome'.

oh yea that's why it's on seseaon 8 going for seseaon 9

 

[BH/HHH]

I've watched Smallville since day 1 and even though its had its ups and downs its still my favourite show of all time. Right now its amazing, its just what I've always wanted, live-action superheroes and supervillains on TV, but with Heroes I just never took to it, was bored from episode 1 and havent bothered to tune in since whereas with smallville I was hooked from the start (ok it had the advantage of been a superman show) but I just dont find heroes that interesting at all. I think the characters are dull. I dont know about heroes but it still looks the same as it did when it started whereas smallville continues to grow and change.

Smallville is in its 8th season getting high ratings, will heroes still even be around for an 8th season? guess only time will tell.

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

Hard to compare such different worlds but:


Would SV on a major network even make it to a season 3????

I have my doubts and I watch SV every week. It can get away with a lack of continuity and sometimes go 3-4 crappy eps before we get a good one since the requirement for viewership is much lower.

I mean 3-5 million viewers is not asking a whole lot... Especially compared to what a network like "NBC" requires for primetime viewing.

Of course the SV we've seen on the WB would be very different than an SV on NBC due to a much larger budget. Higher qualified writers, actors, directors, etc...

 

[mellyM]

Hard to compare such different worlds but:


Would SV on a major network even make it to a season 3????

I have my doubts and I watch SV every week. It can get away with a lack of continuity and sometimes go 3-4 crappy eps before we get a good one since the requirement for viewership is much lower.

I mean 3-5 million viewers is not asking a whole lot... Especially compared to what a network like "NBC" requires for primetime viewing.

Of course the SV we've seen on the WB would be very different than an SV on NBC due to a much larger budget. Higher qualified writers, actors, directors, etc...

SV may have been even better on a major network, who knows, but Heroes has all that at its disposal, and yet it still sucks.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Interesting article.

I'm with Hulk. I watched the first season, very much intrigued by the ideas the show put out there. But the finale came, and then the horrible season two, I just gave up on the show. I have checked in during season three to see if it has improved...but unfortunately it's more conveluted than ever.

Smallville is one of my favorite shows on tv. I even find the bad seasons entertaining in some ways. Plus, if anyone has watched this season, they know that the change in management has done nothing but wonders for the shows direction.

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

SV may have been even better on a major network, who knows, but Heroes has all that at its disposal, and yet it still sucks.

While season 2 was not as good as the first, it has gotten closer to form again and still significantly better than SV. Actually I'd still put season 2 as a whole up against any season of SV.

 

[Gilpesh]

oh yea that's why it's on seseaon 8 going for seseaon 9

Wait. What network is it on?

Oh yeah.

 

[jiros]

as for the "where does heroes budget go?" question, it is simple:

heroes films in los angeles and sv films in canada. so the production cost is a lot less for sv. as we are seeing with the american car companies, the cost of making ANYTHING in america is waaaay expensive now. i drive a toyota and all i can say is that everything in it is made better than the crap that is in a ford or pontiac!

i personally blame the unions. the simple fact is that they have shot the workers they represent in the foot by demanding too much. that is why A LOT of work is being outsourced to other countries. whether it be the info-line people for dell in india, or the soundtracks for films being recorded by orchestras in new zealand and prague. it is all downhill for us here in the states.

 

[Superfreak]

I agree, this year, Smallville so far is better than Heroes so far. Last year I would have said they were equal, and the year before, Heroes was better.

but saying that Smallville has evolved to this 'better than' position over Heroes is hardly accurate. Smallville has always been pretty meh. They finally decided to deliver this year is all. It's actually quite a sudden change in on going quality between season 7 and 8, rather than a slow development over the course of the series to where we are now.