Heroes cancelled!

[Robert Maxwell]

I've reported on heroes4evr since it looks like that account hasn't been banned yet. Sigh. Give it up, will you??

So, this thread has been pretty interesting. I have to say I take issue with the notion that people don't want serialized storytelling. I absolutely want that! Heroes' failure was, as articulated by so many others, its horrible writing after the first season. Season two got off to a decent start as far as I'm concerned, but it wasn't long before we started to see the cracks forming in the show's facade: Peter's Irish girlfriend got lost in time, never to be heard from again (real classy, man!); everyone figured out that Kensei was Adam Munroe and the guy who killed Hiro's father, what, five or six episodes before it was revealed?; plotlines meandered and went nowhere. The show just became a trainwreck. It also relied way too much on a handful of conventions:

* Visions of the future, so our heroes know what sort of awful peril they must thwart.
* At least one flashback and one flash-forward episode per volume.
* Lies and retcons all over the place, so the plot never ends up making any sense when taken as a whole.

For me, character stagnation is what killed this show. BSG was never a well-plotted series, but its characters grew and changed, their relationships evolved, and they absolutely were not the same people by the end of the series. It was compelling viewing to watch them transform over four seasons. Heroes, on the other hand... did any of these characters change substantially over four seasons? Let's see:

* Peter was still a lost puppy looking for family approval, despite flirtations with making a difference on his own.
* Mohinder, though he gained super strength at one point, always remained a wide-eyed idiot who never grasped the consequences of anything he did, and got constantly manipulated by bad guys (and everyone else, for that matter.)
* Sylar... well, his motivations changed a few times a season, but he still remained a psycho killer at heart, wanting to be the most special of all the specials.
* Claire never stopped rebelling against her father, even though he was always right in the end. Grow up, kid.
* Nathan started off strong, but became a perpetual fuckup and eventually died for it. Too bad the writers couldn't leave well enough alone, having to give him this ridiculous Nathan == Sylar "arc."
* Matt had some semblance of character evolution when he lost his wife and son, at least until they whitewashed all that, got him back with his wife, and made the son his after all.
* Noah was probably as close as we got to a truly dynamic character. Even so, he was defined almost entirely by two traits: love for his daughter, and paranoia over the dangers of the specials. Those traits never changed over the course of the series.
* By this point I'm too bored to even think about Nikki/Jessica/whatever thankless role Ali Larter has been shoehorned into this year.

This was a show with immense potential, a well-done first season, and they threw it all away. One of the greatest disappointments in all my TV viewing experiences.

 

[AviTrek]

I do think there is a bit of a backlash towards serialization on TV right now among genre fandom. But it isn't because we hate or dislike serialization. I love it and prefer it far more than episodic television. But so much of serialization on TV is not planned out, not well written, and very often offers questions but no answers.

I think the end of BSG started the trend(although its dawn perhaps can be seen as far back as the end of the X-Files), with an end that not satisfying to many fans. If Lost's ending is not satisfying the trend will probably increase quite a bit.

Reading interviews from Ron Moore, and the Lost duo that basically come down to, "Forget the mythology and plot of the show, all that matters in the end is the characters." does not inspire confidence or respect.

Get JMS back on TV to show this generation of TV writers what well planned serialization looks like, because it appears that they have no clue.

No, you're completely misreading Heroes failure. Heroes failed because the writers no longer cared about the characters and continued to change how they were portrayed to fit the plot convenience of the week. The same can be said with 24 and its 24 and its triple/quadruple agents.

Lost and and BSG were notable because they kept the focus on the characters.

 

[Hermiod]

^Galactica was cancelled, remember, it didn't just run its course, its ratings tanked. In addition, its replacement, Caprica, was designed from the start to avoid the things that put the female audience off.

 

[RoJoHen]

To everyone who feels they've identified a dual, instead of taking it upon yourselves to mete out justice please simply notify the moderators and allow them to handle the matter as they have been. Much appreciated.

Honestly, in my head they are an army of 16-year olds who are trying to drive me insane by refusing to use punctuation.

 

[Tom]

^Galactica was cancelled, remember, it didn't just run its course, its ratings tanked. In addition, its replacement, Caprica, was designed from the start to avoid the things that put the female audience off.

err no, the orginal 1978 BSG was cancelled (as was the dreadfull Galactica 1980). The new one was not cancelled, Ron Moore and David Eick decided to make Season 4 the final season becuse they felt the story had run its course.

Ron Moore even went on to say how he believed TNG should have wrapped up after 6 seasons because they were running out of story ideas for the 7th season. SyFy did not want BSG to end, they gave greenlights to the TV/DVD movies, "Razor" and "The Plan" and wanted a dark show to replace BSG (Cough.. Stargate Universe..).

 

[A beaker full of death]

Good riddance. The show hadn't been decent since season 2.

Don't you mean season 1?

No, season one was brilliant. Season 2 was a step down but still decent.

I gave up early in season 2. It was bad. bad irish accents, Peter with no memory, dumb teenage romance. I gave up and never looked back. This show had one good season.

 

[Hermiod]

err no, the orginal 1978 BSG was cancelled (as was the dreadfull Galactica 1980). The new one was not cancelled, Ron Moore and David Eick decided to make Season 4 the final season becuse they felt the story had run its course.

Ron Moore even went on to say how he believed TNG should have wrapped up after 6 seasons because they were running out of story ideas for the 7th season. SyFy did not want BSG to end, they gave greenlights to the TV/DVD movies, "Razor" and "The Plan" and wanted a dark show to replace BSG (Cough.. Stargate Universe..).

A best Moore and Eick jumped before they were pushed.

Caprica was brought in as a replacement because Moore felt that Galactica's "war in space" theme put off female viewers.

 

[heroes4evr]

Zachary Quinto has reached out to fans following the cancellation of hit U.S. show Heroes, insisting the decision still seems "surreal" to him.
After four years on TV screens, bosses at America's NBC announced last week that the fourth season, which concluded in February, will be the last.
Producers are said to be in negotiations to end the show with a short mini-series or movie - but Quinto admits the decision to end Heroes has hit him hard.
In a touching post on his official website, the actor thanks his loyal fans and pays tribute to his "amazing cast mates" who he will miss "most of all".
He writes, "As much as we have been aware of this possibility for a few weeks, it remains surreal to consider that the decision has been made. The action has been taken. And this chapter (or volume) is really over for all of us who worked on the show - and for all of you who watched it.
"I want to extend myself in a huge swell of gratitude to all of the fans... for investing in the stories we told... for engaging in the characters we created and for standing by us through all the ups and downs of what was at times a rocky road. Your commitment enriched the experience for all of us - and I know that we will always be grateful for your enthusiasm.
"It has been a true honour to share this time in my life with my amazing cast mates and our indomitable crew. I will certainly miss them most of all. The gift of working alongside such talented and inspiring people is something I will carry with me everywhere I go from here. No matter where my work and my life take me, I will forever look back on Heroes as the game changer."

Sorry for posting this

 

[Tom]

err no, the orginal 1978 BSG was cancelled (as was the dreadfull Galactica 1980). The new one was not cancelled, Ron Moore and David Eick decided to make Season 4 the final season becuse they felt the story had run its course.

Ron Moore even went on to say how he believed TNG should have wrapped up after 6 seasons because they were running out of story ideas for the 7th season. SyFy did not want BSG to end, they gave greenlights to the TV/DVD movies, "Razor" and "The Plan" and wanted a dark show to replace BSG (Cough.. Stargate Universe..).

A best Moore and Eick jumped before they were pushed.

Caprica was brought in as a replacement because Moore felt that Galactica's "war in space" theme put off female viewers.

But it was not cancelled and I agree with Moore's motivation not to over-extend the show, something he felt was done in TNG. Even with Caprica brewing at the time, the execs at Syfy specifically mentioned they wanted a show like BSG in the there schedule so conveintly a year later Atlantis was cancelled and now we have SGU that tries to be like BSG in a Stargate wrapping.

Getting back to Heroes, at least Quinto is available to play Spock in the new Trek series. lol

 

[Avon]

this show always sucked

 

[ALF]

this show always sucked

Oh yes.


What surprises me is that after the end of every season (and sometimes mid season) a release of some sort would find it's way out and read like this:

"We have really been listening carefully to the fans and we are going to take the writing next season in new and exciting directions. We know some things haven't worked out for viewers and we're confident that we can fix them next season and make Heroes an exciting and engaging show!" .... or something to that effect.

The next season always came and the writing almost always seemed to degrade. Since they were "listening to the fans", does that = the fans killed the show?

The one saving grace IMHO was the eclipse 2 parter. I thought it was great (except the Petrellis wandering through the jungle)... wasn't it supposed to be the midpoint of the series and some sort of junction point for the entire show? I mean the eclipse was in the opening titles.

 

[Rarewolf]

Are there enough people who really care what became of these characters to want a wrap-up?

If any series can continue on in graphic novels, it will be this one.

 

[Hyperspace05]

The characters WERE interesting. Note the past tense. But after season 1 they never grew, never changed, and always repeated the same crap over and over.

I just got sick of them all, so I stopped watching after the season 4 opener.

With Nathan gone, the only interesting character, the show just had no interest for me. And I suspect I was not alone in that regard.

 

[DarthPipes]

I always got the impression (my own opinion mind you) that Moore and company decided to end their show at Season 4 to avoid cancellation. BSG's ratings were probably at their lowest point before Moore's decision. It was a prestige show for Sci-Fi so they likely didn't want to cancel it but at the same time the ratings were so low, they might have had to eventually. Deciding to end the show at Season 4 allowed both sides to save face.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Heroes failed because the writers no longer cared about the characters and continued to change how they were portrayed to fit the plot convenience of the week.

I guess this is possible, but now Kring and everyone on the writing staff have given themselves a black eye in the industry by being part of such a high-profile train wreck. If they were capable of doing better work, you'd think they would, if only for the sake of their own reputations and careers, not to mention consideration for the actors, production folks, etc, who have now been thrown out of work just because of pissy writers.

Who's going to hire them now, suspecting that if they dislike the direction a network wants to take a show, and let's face it, the suits are always in charge, they will throw a tantrum and sabotage their own show, sending the ratings in the gutter? I certainly wouldn't hire anyone so utterly unprofessional.

Zachary Quinto has reached out to fans following the cancellation of hit U.S. show Heroes, insisting the decision still seems "surreal" to him.

Well I can understand how he feels - Heroes made his career. He can certainly survive without it now, and for most of its run, it didn't deserve him, but it'll always mean a lot to him.

If any series can continue on in graphic novels, it will be this one.

The main attraction for me was the actors. Maybe the graphic novels are better written than the show, but it won't be nearly as compelling without the actors. I've never bothered to read any of the graphic novels and I doubt I ever will.

 

[Guy Gardener]

The only reason Zach would think that the cancellation was surreal was if he didn't watch Heroes.

is it vain to watch a TV show you're in?

I thought the convention was that the cast and crew watch the episode together during the end of week episode wrap party?

 

[Turtletrekker]

We might still get a wrap-up...


http://www.spinoffonline.com/2010/05/17/heroes-could-get-a-farewell-movie/

 

[Shikarnov]

I guess this means Hayden Panettiere is going to be doing more crappy teen movies.

Or maybe we'll get lucky, and she'll go the way Anne Hathaway went...

 

[AlanC9]

Get Smart?

 

[Shikarnov]

I was thinking about Havoc, a movie Anne did to break her innocent image.