NBC might not be saving Heroes

[startrekwatcher]

http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2010/05/report-heroes-canceled-us-well-yeah.html

There's still an outside chance for some sort of loose-ends-tying movie or miniseries, but it's looking like "Heroes" is done as a series, according to Vulture. The news comes after its lowest-rated season yet -- it averaged a little over 6.5 million viewers for its 19-episode run, less than half of what it drew (14.4 million) in its first year on the air in 2006-07. The season finale on Feb. 8 drew only 4.4 million viewers for its first-run airing.

That's good news. The show needed to be put out to pasture last year and I thought NBC might actually save it and bring it back for a fifth season. I really lost interest in all the characters so I won't be upset without any closure if the two hour movie thing falls through.

More good news: Human Target is reportedly renewed for a second season.http://www.seattlepi.com/tvguide/419922_tvgif12.html

 

[Skywalker]

Now that they know what's going to happen to them, the heroes can return to their time and somehow find a way to change the future!

In the most agonizingly boring way possible.

 

[RoJoHen]

In the most agonizingly boring way possible.

Ooh, sounds like they're mixing it up for the final stretch!

 

[tharpdevenport]

If ever a series needed to be re-thought, properly plotted, and then remade in a quality way, it would be "Heroes". Hugely wasted oppritunity.

 

[Davros]

I liked Heroes and would be sorry to see it go.

 

[scnj]

I hope it ends with Hiro traveling back in time and stabbing Tim Kring.

 

[diankra]

I would not like to see Heroes remade.
The first season was near perfect (last episode a bit dodgy, but...). The problem was that they didn't know how to follow up on the 'Ordinary people find they have superpowers, and a destiny' idea after that. I don't see how any remake could do season one better without running into the same problem - unless it had the courage to effectively start from scratch with a majority of new characters each year...

 

[Temis the Vorta]

The problem was that they didn't know how to follow up on the 'Ordinary people find they have superpowers, and a destiny' idea after that. I don't see how any remake could do season one better without running into the same problem

I can certainly envision how that premise could be the basis of a kick-ass series*. The problems are obvious and can be avoided by competent writers. But the sad thing about Heroes is that it had so many actors who really clicked with their roles. A remake wouldn't necessarily have that element.

* The premise shouldn't be "they have a destiny" though. That leads into stupid contrivances that quickly become tiresome. Here's the premise that would work: "ordinary people gain the powers of gods, and think they can control them, but they're wrong." Very durable premise, been around since the days of the ancient Greeks.

 

[Dream]

I can't believe how badly the writers mishandled the series.

Maybe it would have been best if Heroes got bad ratings and only lasted a season. We would have been pissed at NBC for canceling the show....

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Nah, it's better this way. We don't have to pine for any lost potential.

 

[Trekker4747]

Has Heroes even been worth watching since after the first season? I've tried but never could get back into it.

 

[RoJoHen]

Has Heroes even been worth watching since after the first season? I've tried but never could get back into it.

Watchable? Yes, sometimes.

Worth watching? Not even a little bit.

 

[Davros]

Has Heroes even been worth watching since after the first season? I've tried but never could get back into it.

I've enjoyed the whole run.

 

[startrekwatcher]

I can't believe how badly the writers mishandled the series.

Maybe it would have been best if Heroes got bad ratings and only lasted a season. We would have been pissed at NBC for canceling the show....

I think shows these days might be better suited to just a limited run of a season or two. I mean everything gets canned so quickly and really good series seem to burn bright but burn out quickly like Heroes. I mean how many shows in this day and age are allowed to run for many seasons anyway.

 

[Anwar]

They should only agree to air shows where the writers have thought up two seasons in advance before production. That gives them enough time to think up further stuff with plenty of time.

Problem is, most writers only bother thinking up one season's worth of a show with no idea how to continue past that which screws things up to begin with.

 

[wamdue]

I would not be too surprise or too sad to see Heroes end this series, in some way Clare outing them, is a nice end to a rather muddled arc, but an end none the less.

I fear a series sat afterwards would ruin that moment, let the viewers decide how that works out.

 

[AviTrek]

They should only agree to air shows where the writers have thought up two seasons in advance before production. That gives them enough time to think up further stuff with plenty of time.

Problem is, most writers only bother thinking up one season's worth of a show with no idea how to continue past that which screws things up to begin with.

Wrong. They should be willing to produce a single season as a standalone series. Then the writers can pitch a second season as another standalone. If a story can be complete in one season then it shouldn't automatically be forced to produce a second season just because the first season was good. It should only produce a second season if it needs one/can show what it would do with it.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I can't believe how badly the writers mishandled the series.

Maybe it would have been best if Heroes got bad ratings and only lasted a season. We would have been pissed at NBC for canceling the show....

I think shows these days might be better suited to just a limited run of a season or two. I mean everything gets canned so quickly and really good series seem to burn bright but burn out quickly like Heroes. I mean how many shows in this day and age are allowed to run for many seasons anyway.

Quite a few are allowed to run for many years - the ones that grab an audience that sticks with it year in and year out. Those tend to be the doctor shows, police procedurals and also some of the sitcoms. SF/F genre shows don't seem to lock in loyal audiences very well anymore. Lost is an exception and even that has bled viewers over time.

I don't know what kind of show will lock in a loyal sf/f audience. Maybe none of them will because sf/f fans are much pickier than the doctor, cop show and sitcom fans. In that case, the right strategy is to forget about a big audience. Go to cable where you don't need big numbers, and do something highly specific but unique so that whatever audience you get, you can hang onto because where else are they going to go to get the same thing?

That seems to be Caprica's approach - not an easy show to get into, but there isn't anything else like it anywhere, so it's modest audience can be expected to be loyal. By contrast, the FlashForward approach is wrong - on a major network, expected to get strong ratings to compete with doctor shows, cop shows, sitcoms and reality TV which have broader appeal, and taking a very usual-TV approach by integrating elements from doctor shows and cop shows, as well as standard action/thriller elements.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I can't say I'll be too upset if Heroes doesn't return. One less thing to waste an hour per week on, I guess.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

They should only agree to air shows where the writers have thought up two seasons in advance before production.

Nobody's going to bother to do that, when most new shows get cancelled the first year. Why do all that extra work that you'll never get paid for?

The better approach is to introduce a flexible premise that you can evolve according to the number of years the ratings will give you. For example: Chuck. The premise wasn't very flexible but the writers have shown admirable adaptability in changing the premise to keep things fresh. Heroes' premise should have allowed much more flexibility than Chuck's and made the expansion process a cinch. There is no excuse for the mess they made of things.

If a story can be complete in one season then it shouldn't automatically be forced to produce a second season just because the first season was good. It should only produce a second season if it needs one/can show what it would do with it.

A second season gets made for only one reason: the ratings merit it. If the original writers/producers say "no, this was a one-season show," they get fired and replaced by people who are willing to produce that second season. So what you describe would never actually happen in the real world.