Column by Craig Byrne
Full disclosure here: I was there for the beginning of Heroes fandom, having helped NBC and the show’s producers to launch 9thWonders.com in July 2006. Since stepping down from there later that year, I launched HeroSite.net at the middle of the first season when the show was really doing well. I’ve seen every episode of the show, through good times and bad. However, what I have to say might not be popular with the entire Heroes fan base, so please, go easy on me.
With that in mind… despite international popularity and still being one of the best-selling series as far as TV show DVD’s go, it’s no secret that Heroes is in trouble. The show has lost a large percentage of its audience, apathy is growing among viewers, and for some, it’s no longer that show that everyone fell in love with during the first season. It’s easy to place the blame – people can point to creator Tim Kring, the loss of key creators, the writers’ strike, slashed budgets, repetitive story fake-outs and alliance shifts, Maya & Alejandro, the network, losing Adrian Pasdar, you name it, it’s been said before – but at the end of the day the important thing to look at is that the show could use some heroes of its own. If NBC wasn’t in such bad shape that they are in right now, a fifth season of Heroes would not even be a possibility, despite the benefits that are there.
The fourth season finale was viewed live by less than 5 million people. Now, downloads, DVR, and such will probably push the show over the edge – but it’s those live viewers that matter the most to advertisers. So, what’s a network to do?
One idea that has been proposed by critics and columnists is that Heroes should return for a protracted Season 5 to “wrap things up.” While again, there are benefits to that, there’s another factor: Whether it was intended to be one or not, the final episode of Season 4 worked very effectively as a series finale if it has to be one. Hiro’s journey is complete. Sylar is finding redemption. Claire’s final moments echo our first introduction to her. And Tracy… is a puddle. (Can’t win ‘em all) As a viewer of the show for four seasons, I could leave there and be satisfied. BUT…
….despite the falling ratings, there are still a lot of people who want more. They love the universe of Heroes and want to see it continue. So what do I propose? Keeping in mind that I am not a television executive and if I were one, I’d probably be laughed at for this idea…
…Heroes should return, during November sweeps or thereabouts, as a 2-hour TV-movie or even two 2-hour TV-movies.
Let some time pass into this “Brave New World,” and treat it like a “reunion movie” of a long lost series. What’s happened since then? Did the world react well to Claire’s coming out? How is that good guy thing working for Sylar? And please, oh please, is the carnival gone for good?
This could also serve as a good “jumping-back-on point” for those who gave up on the show years ago. It’d be a fresh start for all, about a re-gathering of Heroes, moving forward with the concept rather than going backward and, even worse, retconning past moments.
Time past would also mean if certain actors are (or aren’t) available, it can be written around depending on availability.
A TV-movie (or two) would surely sell well on DVD, bringing parent company NBC Universal a nice revenue stream. Sure, they’d get a revenue stream by picking up another season, but I’m sure the profit margin on a single DVD would be much higher than the profit margin on a full season of something that’s not a sure thing.
Then say a rejuvenated Heroes TV-movie is popular. That’s when a full-scale relaunch of the show, as a weekly series, would be a keen idea. And if it didn’t do well… then, hey, the loyal fans of the show get an extra movie or two, and NBC gets profits from that. Consider a TV-movie to be like a “new pilot.”
Comic books relaunch all the time after sales start to fall. A relaunch for Heroes might be just what the Company ordered, because if the show continues on the trajectory it was falling, and NBC picks the show up for Season 5, they could be seeing CW-level numbers by the end of December.
Now, NBC’s in such dire shape they could end up picking up Heroes regardless. I admit, though, that I’m a little skeptical that there’s much that can be done to get people to tune in for a Season 5 premiere without making some drastic changes, and so far it seems almost everything they’ve tried since Season 3 or so hasn’t brought anyone back. Some might write Heroes off as a dead franchise already; I don’t think so. With the right redirection, and an accessible enough reason to return, it’d still have plenty of life yet. (Just please, enough with the death fake-outs, gimmicky kisses, repetitive storylines – Hiro I’m looking at you, and changing sides. It’s getting old.)
What do you think? Sound off in the comments, and again, go easy on me. I’d definitely be curious what others would propose for NBC in continuing the franchise.
something interesting keep sylar as a good guy but let him be tougher i dont understand why as powerful as he is why when he becomes good he restains himself and parkmans becomeing darker parkman as a bad guy and peter needs to have more than one power at a time but not as strong as he was before if sylars good and peter stays good and gains back the infinet power set up the bad guys wouldnt stand a chance so i say peter able to hold on to 3 at a time and bring in a villan of insane power maybe someone like s1 peter but evil and sylars oldman and parkman all three could really raise some hell and give the heros a run for there money a real epic battle
The whole thing started going south when Peter lost his ability. In every hero based comic/movie you have the hero(Peter) and the villain(Sylar) with one not having the upper hand as far as abilities and or powers over the other. Hence Batman and the Joker. Superman and Lex Luther. As powerful as Superman is, Luther has the intelligence to actually defeat him. If Sylar goes back to his evil ways, i wouldn’t cry, but to balance him off, Peter needs to get his original abilities back. Hiro was able to get all of his abilities returned back to him. And he lost them the same way Peter did.(Mr. Petrelli)Peter needs to meet Parkman’s son.
Heroes has/had almost everything, a large budget, great writing, exciting actors, exotic locations, but what it lacks is so simple. It lacked a true interwoven love story that could last from one season to the next. We see fatherly love with Claire, we see brotherly love with the Petrellies, but to have a tragic character like Elle and not see the potential!!!!!!! A sociopath who can change for love. A woman confused by conflict with her father, a girl reaching out for acceptance. I could have written half a dozen scenes that would bring fans to their knees sobbing in grief, joy , and empathy every week by making this character do penance for forgiveness and daring to love and be loved. Instead she is thrown away and forgotten like trash. Consider if she had met a little girl with gray eyes and learned it was her daughter from an alternative future. I think she would have fought harder to stay alive for that alternative vision.
Hi, Craig. Thanks for inviting speculation as to what
improvements or story ideas could be used in a hypothetical
5th Season of HEROES; here are some thoughts as to story
ideas that could be exploited by screenwriters exploring
implications of Claire’s revelation:
Pros: The covert persecution of an invisible minority, dec-
ades-long under The Company (and particularly horrific in
the 3rd Season) goes public, exposing harsh violations of
human rights, if persecuted parties from Danko’s crackdown
follow Claire’s lead, and go public as Specials, to air their
grievances, resulting in a government investigation of every-
thing from The Company, to Pinehearst, to Building 26, and
the Kennedy-era debacle at Coyote Sands. Could it even come
back to bite the Michael Dorn President (impeachment, maybe?)
who originally gave his blessing to Nathan’s plans? Perhaps
there might be diplomatic consequences as well; is it just
me, or did anyone notice that Danko’s efforts (which we were
led to believe were limited to U.S. soil) resulted in Hiro
Nakamura being captured on Japanese soil, in violation of
Japanese sovereignty? (This, of course, raises doubts about
Nathan’s claim that he and Claire were safe from Danko,
while hiding out in Mexico.)
Heads will roll, even heads of people who weren’t the complete
monsters that Danko was; if H.R.G. hasn’t covered his tracks,
he’d be best advised to do so–his good intentions (and under-
standable personal motives resulting from the tragic, pre-
Company loss of his 1st wife to a Special), notwithstanding,
too many violations of due process–and too much blood on his
hands–could easily translate into prison time. (The jury is
out on Lauren; besides opposing the torture of Edgar, what do
we know of her previous Company actions?)
Let’s not get started on skeletons in the Petrelli family’s
closet. Are other guilty parties deleting incriminating
computer records, or shredding documents, in the aftermath of
the public Ferris Wheel stunt I like to call “Odessa Redux?”
Cons: Peaceful political activism by persecuted Specials is
possible (as I suggested earlier), but let’s not dismiss the
possibility of militant Special activists stirring up trouble;
who needs a “Sylar” to panic the public, when media footage of
ugly, super-powered blow-ups with riot cops (by demonstrators
unwilling to turn the other cheek) catches the attention of
the media? (Hey, if it bleeds, it leads, as the saying goes.)
How about demands to politically disenfranchise Specials, if
Micah’s vote-tampering to elect a Special to Congress (the
late Nathan Petrelli) goes public?
I, too, like the halfway house idea practiced by Tracy
Strauss, in response to hate crimes. Also, political
activism, calling public attention to otherwise off-the-
radar crimes is possible, with candlelight vigils, or calls
for hate crime legislation (and Tracy just might have the
political connections and clout to organize such activities.
Also, do families disown Special offspring? Not everyone may
be as tolerant as the Bennets. In which case, Tracy (or those
like her) may have their hands full.
Will people demand DNA tests to screen fetuses for any trace
of genetically evolved traits, to eliminate them before birth?
Employment discrimination? (Eric Doyle’s search for stable
employment in the “Nowhere Man” webisodes comes to mind.)
Or academic; can Claire still attend her university, minus
harassment? Those are some ideas–any others?
My thoughts on other points brought up by previous posters:
1.) Yes, Elle Bishop certainly could–handled properly–have
been given a 2nd chance; the lost story possibility recently
posted here, for instance, tells us that fans are often more
imaginative than screenwriters. On the other hand, Elle
appears to have been dramatically (and inevitably), painted
into a corner, a “There but for the grace of God go I” tale,
paralleling Claire’s life, yet without the stable, loving
family life, so she was likely doomed from the start. That
said, however, one can only hope that similar characters–if
such are created, later–aren’t similarly mishandled.
2.) Sylar’s “flip-flopping”: Yes, it can be a bit much, but I
disagree with claims that it makes him wimpy; it’s hardly a
recent development, given that his apartment in the 1st
Season, defaced with the words “Forgive me” (later shown
to be words spoken after his failed suicide) and “I have
sinned” (and his tragic reunion with Virginia Gray) clearly
made him a conflicted character from the start, horrified by
his actions (on some level), yet losing his struggle with
ability-fueled addiction; are real-life addictions so easy
to shrug off? “On-again, off-again” flips can get old (but
are hardly unprecedented, as comic super-villain, Magneto,
reminds us–HEROES is an homage to comics such as X-MEN, so
why the surprise?); with proper screenwriters, however, a
truly tragic supervillain could exist.
While nobody wants villains to be too angst-ridden, I’m
not a fan of someone who’s evil just for the sake of it,
as that stretches credibility too much for my comfort.
3.) Claire/Gretchen:Could it have benefitted from better
writers? Of course, although I disagree with those who say
that the subplot shouldn’t have existed, period, or that it
was a ratings ploy; were the latter true, Gretch would be
gone within a few episodes, turned into a stalker, killed
off, quitting school and never returning, etc., once she
was no longer useful. It’s not as though such cliched possi-
bilities didn’t exist, and it wouldn’t surprise viewers
accustomed to seeing gay/lesbian TV characters treated this
way. The screenwriters actually deserve credit for *not*
taking the easy way out.
Also, the subplot wasn’t frivolous, but was part of the big
picture; her “Pass/ Fail” “outing” foreshadows her “outing”
to the world as a Special in “Brave New World.” This isn’t
subtext; those recalling the 1st Season controversy about
Zach’s sexual orientation may recall remarks by producer,
Bryan Fuller, that a vaguely-gay Zach actually encouraged
her to “come out” (as a Special), telling her to embrace
who she was without fear, an intentional metaphor. (So I
doubt that Claire and Gretchen’s words: “People are going
to start to talk.”/”Let them talk” are accidental, given
what happens in the last minutes of the finale.) And making
Gretch a confidant (not unlike Zach, but openly-gay, this
time), trusting her with the secret of her powers, should
come as no surprise.
Should the relationship endure in the future? Sure; it could
(if properly handled) qualify as character growth–although,
as someone pointed out earlier, it should be written by those
with more knowledge on such relationships.
Last. but not least, barring a return of the TV series, any
suggestions as to what other forms the franchise might take?
1. A canonical “Season 5″ comic, continuing beyond the TV
series, not unlike such Joss Whedon properties as Buffy Season
8, or Angel: After the Fall? As HEROES is an homage to comics
(even existing as a series of online comics), I can’t see why
not, and I don’t know why I haven’t heard this suggestion.
2. Or novels? I still can’t believe that “Saving Charlie” is
the only HEROES novel in bookstores. Why an expanded universe
of such books is lacking is beyond me.
Again, Craig, thanks for the chance to offer suggestions.
I don’t know if anyone is still reading these comments,
but it was worth a shot.
OK so i may completely off here but i would like to make a small observation here. Nathan Petrelli outs everyone way back when in the beggining of the show. As a result, Specials are hunted. So they fixed it and Specials are no longer hunted. However, what if season five shows that the future, for the most part, cant be changed? What if Season 5 deals with Specials being hunted and Tracy and HRG open up a half-way house/asylum for specials? What if Hiro still has to become “Future Hiro” and things take a turn from this point and This season has more to do with saving other specials and trying to fix this problem.
It looks like (to me) what they are doing is saying “Everything that the Heroes have tried to prevent is still coming to pass…In a new world How can Heroes Save the Day? and Is it even possible? Are they just delaying the Inevitable?”
Micah is definitely one of my favorite chars and there is so much that could be explored. its Time that they pump the extra dollars back into a show that could really bring NBC to the forefront. Heroes can be compared to many things but it took the best aspects of all these shows and made a super show. If they dont get the spark back soon i do fear for the life of this show.
The current story line with Heroes has been poorly conceived in my mind. When we first started watching heroes, what made it fun was seeing new types of heroes and villains emerging. Constantly watching the petrelli’s and sylar have made this show repetitive. Introduce us to some new Heroes. Give us powers far beyond what you have. Make these new Heroes less powerful than the villains they face, who are waging war on the normal people. Make forge the new Heroes into a group that as a collective are stronger than the villains. Let Claire and HRD live their lives for a bit and create some new story lines. Make a Hero, who stands for the Good of Man at all costs, and explore what the reprecussions of what that means in a disgusting world, where the seven deadly sins run rampant.
They need to fire the writing team and replace them with some of the writers from LOST. Maybe the producers too. They should stop randomly dropping characters. (Monica for example) They need to lay off the Noah Bennet stuff. And when someone has a cool power, they should actually use it sometimes. (Ando) They should plan a whole season at a time, and not just make it up week by week as they seemed to do.
I had the fortunate circumstance to watch all four seasons of HEROES, commercial free and in a matter of just a couple of months on ROKU/NETFLIX. I am actually blown away at overall just how well the show is written.
My frustration is two-fold: First there has never been a contiguous romantic thread where we can really get involved with two or three characters on a whole new level. This has got to be hurting their demographics by letting such a large audience just slip away without any effort to keep them interested! Any romance that kindles a flame in Heroes is dead in 2 episodes or less! I am a hardcore Sci-Fi guy, and I am begging the writers for more romance!!!
Second: When writing is truly exceptional, viewers will be involved enough that they will literally weep when presented with something truly tangible and heart wrenching. I believe TV audiences want to be moved to tears, and not just for sadness, but for joy, for selfless acts, for terrible loss, for self-sacrifice and of course for LOVE won and lossed. But the writers have to create the situations and follow through. How different it would have been if Noah Bennett in the last episode of season 4 , just had a total cathartic breakdown while he was hypoxic and just held his Claire in his arms and wept, tears falling into her hair, gasping for words and finding none.
No dialogue needed, just uncontrolled emotion untethered, and unparalleled by any previous character. The most stoic man in the series on his death bed confesses himself through emotion. It is all there in that moment. Instead Noah lectures Claire 40 feet underground until the audience is almost unconscious. But Heroes routinely avoids these potential circumstances for the audience to become personally involved.
Finally if season 5 does happen, (please be true) aside from having a romantic thread, I would love to see at the very end credits of the series; Claire would be standing still, and her friends and family in mere seconds would age and succumb to their mortality, but Claire would stand silent and emotionless as buildings would rise and then crumble and fall, cities come and go, humanity would wither, nature would change the world. And for artistic sense Claire should be tastefully naked in a non-sexual way. Then as the camera moves in, we see the reflection in her eyes of what she is seeing in the last moment of existence. I will leave that final image up to you. Tom