I think Sylar has nearly ruined watching scifi for me

[Hermiod]

Has anybody in the history of Scifi been as overpowered at Sylar? And been such a cool character as Sylar? I can't think of any superheroes or any being in all of scifi, short of Q, that is a powerful as him.

Right now I'm the middle of watching terminator S2 (no spoilers please), and everytime I see them fight another T80, I can't help of thinking "meh, Sylar could kick their ass". Then I was watching a episode of voyager yesterday and thought to my self "if Sylar was there he would be running this ship within a hour"

I'm almost scared to see the new X-men movie because I'll be thinking how much more powerful Sylar is than any of them the whole movie.

This is a show about people with superpowers. The chief villain has to be powerful in order for the superheroes heroism to mean something.

 

[McCoy]

So who's this amazing villain who would be so much better than Sylar? Think of the villains that this show has tried, and how badly most of them have sucked. What makes us think these writers could come up with anyone better than Sylar, with this track record?...

Samson Grey - great actor, stupid writing - why do we care that Sylar's dad is a broken down old nutcase?

Why are the same writers who do so well with Peter suddenly stupid with Grey?

Actually, this guy could really go somewhere. He could be so much more than just "Sylar's dad". Cure his cancer and have him as just a psycho with TK (no other powers) and Samson would rock as a villain on this show. He'd leave Sylar in the dust. Glover would bring a lot of that complexity you say you're fond of.

You know, these are experienced writers, and I think saying they couldn't make a good show without a particular character is disingenuous. What's really happening here (and forgive me Temis but I think you're demonstrating this quite clearly) is that, most likely due to fan (and therefore studio) pressure, they are currently stuck having to work with Sylar's cult of personality. The problem is, that can doom an ensemble show (as Heroes was supposed to be initially).

There's a reason that the formulaic 24 (which I love) is still so popular. No one tries to pretend that it's anything other than what it is: The Jack Bauer Power Hour.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

This is a show about people with superpowers. The chief villain has to be powerful in order for the superheroes heroism to mean something.

Bingo. It was great to see the Petrelli boys going up against Sylar with only lame-ass flying powers at their disposal - and a clever game plan that ended up working, despite the overwhelming odds against them. They beat Sylar with their smarts, not with CGI. That is what I want from this show.

Why are the same writers who do so well with Peter suddenly stupid with Grey?

They don't do that well with Peter - it's been hit or miss. The premise for the character is good. The actor, while not magnificently talented, is very well suited to the role and also cute. That goes a long ways with me. So sue me. They've written him as a dolt and then turned around and given him unexpectedly clever things to do. Peter has been dragged all over the place just like all these other poor characters, but he hasn't been abused as badly as Nathan, Mohinder and Sylar, to cite the most egregious cases.

Samson is just boring - what's the point of the character? We expect Sylar's dad to be a psycho so the cleverer thing to do is to make him a saint. That would throw Sylar for a loop - now what's his excuse for being nuts?

Cure his cancer and have him as just a psycho with TK (no other powers) and Samson would rock as a villain on this show.

Eh, he's just Sylar except old and wrinky rather than young and hawt. Not an improvement! Poor John Glover deserves a more interesting role than just to be Old Geezer Sylar.

What's really happening here (and forgive me Temis but I think you're demonstrating this quite clearly) is that, most likely due to fan (and therefore studio) pressure, they are currently stuck having to work with Sylar's cult of personality.

If I had some amazing mind control powers over the writers, things would be very different on this show (and very disturbing ). And I wouldn't necessarily even keep Sylar around. The problem with this show is that the single most interesting element they've come up with is Sylar - and they've tried a million other things, plot twists and new characters, and for the most part, it hasn't worked. Which leads me to believe that Sylar was a fluke, which means if they kill him and try to replace him, odds are the results will be inferior.

There's a reason that the formulaic 24 (which I love) is still so popular. No one tries to pretend that it's anything other than what it is: The Jack Bauer Power Hour.

Wait - are you arguing that Heroes should be The Sylar Power Hour, then? After all, 24 keeps chugging along, long after they've run out of new things to do, and the viewers keep watching, so is originality really all that much in demand anyway?

 

[McCoy]

Ha, no I'm suggesting that Heroes is becoming The Sylar Power Hour while trying to pretend it's still an ensemble show. As for what "disturbing" elements you'd introduce, do tell.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Just visit the Hoyay section of TWOP, they cover all the bases and then some. The new developments with Nathan bring to mind all new possibilities, and hey it's technically not incest anymore...

The way the Nielsens are going, might as well just drive em into the ground.