How To Fix Heroes
Despite its ranking as the lowest-rated show on network television, and despite the fact that many of the most passionate Heroes defenders have turned on the show after an anti-climactic, boring season finale, NBC has not officially axed this once-great drama.
The same knuckleheads that forced out Conan O'Brien after seven months as host of The Tonight Show are actually considering another season of Heroes because... well, they have few alternatives.
Samuel's accent was just one of several inconsistencies that plagued season four of Heroes.
If the series does return, we might as well offer a few suggestions for how it can stop sucking. We're no longer fooling ourselves into thinking it can ever go back to season one quality, but if Tim Kring and company follow these ideas, perhaps it won't be the laughing stock of TV critics around the country...
- Get rid of Tracy, Mohinder and Ando. Yes, the first two are somehow still characters on the show. It's utterly asinine to ask viewers to care about people that pop up randomly every 10 episodes. No need to kill them off. Just utter two lines about their whereabouts next year and be done with it. Ando, meanwhile, serves no purpose other than to banter with Hiro in Japanese.
- Don't ever mention a premonition dream ever again. Nothing gets to the heart of this show's lazy writing more than this plot device. Take the time to actually build suspense, as opposed to creating a supposedly exciting storyline simply because Angela announces she saw something happen.
- No more time travel. If this means actually killing off Hiro, so be it.
- Remember the name of the show. When was the last time anyone did anything heroic? Claire whines about her lot in life, Sylar is full of internal angst, Parkman literally hasn't left home in weeks. Have characters interact with actual, non-special human beings and not seem like self-absorbed, confused narcissists at all times.
- Have a plan. This is the key factor for any solid series. Kring has admitted he and the staff don't draw out the full season ahead of time - and, man, does it show! Samuel spent 15 episodes just talking this year, not actually taking action until an event outside of anything seen or built up before (his ex rejecting him) took place.
Was there any "a-ha!" moment in season four? Did it ever feel like events fell naturally into place and followed a thought-out path when you retraced them back a few episodes?
In other words, Heroes staff, this is all we're asking if you still have a job this fall: just write a season that makes sense. Yes, things have fallen so far that we'll settle for mere logic.
You tell us: HOW WOULD YOU FIX HEROES?
Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.
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Sylar: I can't bring Nathan back Peter, but I can sure as Hell swing a sledgehammer.
May 12th, 2010 10:59 PM
I love. love, love Heroes, I think Tim Kring is a genius! The best way to fix Heroes is #1 give peter his powers back, #2 stop cutting the seasons short and trying to cram everything in nearly a half of season. 1st it was season 2 because writer went on strike, then season 4 because of the olympics. #3 Stop changing the time, viewers like consistancy, when you change times it starts to clash with other shows and general schedule, it's no wonder so many views have been lost, the show has changed times twice. It seems to me the show would stand a better chance on a channel like CW or something. The problem is not the writer or story line it's the freaking network.
May 5th, 2010 3:28 PM
Grovey,
I don't think that would be to far fetched. Why not have a huge butterfly effect that changes everything and brings back characters that we once loved or you can have a future Peter or Hiro come back in time to warn them of the mistakes they have made and that they need to change them. This is Heroes, their doesn't have to be any rules! Let their abilities take over the show.
May 2nd, 2010 5:18 PM
Hi i'm from England and i ABSOLUTELY LOVE HEROES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! However, as with everyone, there are some problems i have with it; Firstly, as people have pointed out before, too many characters have been killed off that didn't really need to be (maybe i'm saying that because i really liked them) characters such as Daphne, Elle and Knox spring to mind - Knox would have made a great villain as i found him so much scarier than Sylar and Arthur put together. i also liked the rivalry between Elle and Claire, and i could see these two have a really fragile relationship. Daphne should have stayed to have a life with Matt and Molly, like in the future Matt saw. These three characters i really miss. Secondly, i think Heroes actually needs to film some of what has happened in the graphic novels as some sort of flashbacks to the past, for example the Rebel group would have been a PERFECT thing to film and have as a sub story for next season. i also think Claude just HAS to return to maybe teach
April 23rd, 2010 8:24 AM
Go back to how it was in season 1 thats the only way to save the show.
Give peter back his powers to how they were in season 1 and give everyone a goal to acheive. Ie first season was save the cheerleader save the world.
That was what made it good.
April 20th, 2010 1:56 PM
Be consistent is right! The only way to fix this show is to dedicate a season of time travel to fix the wrongs they created. Try bring back Adam, Arthur, Elle and Nathan. I feel bad for Peter losing his brother. They had a great connection when they worked together. have a butter fly effect that brings back these characters through time travel. I got a great idea! I'm going to the forum to write how it would work.
April 5th, 2010 6:17 PM
How to fix Heroes?Well...Go back in time...
Well...I have no problems with time travelling things and the evolution of heroes...Peter-for example-could use all the powers of the people he touched before...or like his father,absorb them.Thats possible, isn't it?I only miss the actions in this series...half an hour without action, and then...to be continued...we wait 20 episodes for the great finale,and...nothing!maybe a few computer animators would solve this problem...I suggest they should make a film for extra income, or something.
April 3rd, 2010 11:39 AM
The only ah-ah moment I saw, was Claire doing that stupid jump. Even the dumbest person would know that by doing that they were dooming they're kind. They either are going to be persecuted because people will want their powers, or because people will want them dead, and this is the ah-ah moment, or if you prefer, the possible story line for season 5. Evolved humans will be hunted down and it will be survival of the fittest.
Anyways, I said in another topic that I think that the show is full of machismo, because the female lead characters are all damsel in distress and have powers that are purely defensive, or in some cases they barely have any use at all. Claire is the perfect example. Her power is mainly defensive and since she is a rather angsty girl who always ended up to be saved by others, this makes her a rather weak female lead. At least she could worry about being useful, using, like in the future, weapons and stuff. But no...she is always running away with fear, "like all g
March 30th, 2010 1:32 AM
I love this show, and I don't think the last season was all bad but I do agree that they should get rid of Mohinder and have a lot less time traveling, flashbacks and melodrama
March 26th, 2010 3:53 PM
I have an idea it might be a little far fetched, but I think it could work. But this is a way to undue some of the mistakes they made in the previous seasons. We all saw that Syler has a son in the future. Syler finds out from a dream that Angela has that his unborn son is the key to saving the world in the future. But there's only one problem the mother is dead and they have to figure out a way to go back into the past and save Elle bishop from being killed by Syler. Elle make's sense to be the mother Syler had sex with her. Peter and Syler go back in time to figure out away to save Elle. But they're consequence's to there actions. When they go back in time they find that Pinehurst is still up and running and lead by Arthur and Nathan. Now this will take bringing characters back that got killed off. But I think Arthur would be the ruthless villain that this show needs and Syler could be a good guy in a bad ass sought of way. And you would have a family that's divided against each othe
March 25th, 2010 11:57 AM
P.S. This isn't just me being a negative critic. Tim Kring ADMITS they do not plan ahead, they take ideas on a weekly basis from random people and they cater to various fan opinions on what characters are popular at what time. What's even to debate here?
I've been catching up on all the seasons on netflix. And I love the show despite them killing off of characters so easily. But It's hard for me to believe that Tim Kring and his staff go through various ideas on a weekly basis. For instants the developing story between Elle and Sylar. Even if your not a fan of Elle, You had to be blind to not see the chemistry these two had. Obviously they weren't going by what was popular. Because I see more people upset about them killing off Elle then any other cast member on the show. The only thing missing from this show was a hot romance and they had it for 2 Episodes and blew it! Also Sylar doesn't always have to be the villian, they could of had him and Elle playing both sides of the fence