November 04, 2007

Save The Show, Save The Network

The second season of Heroes has been one that I'm sure most will agree hasn't been stellar. I think the general complaint is that the pacing has become far too slow, and we're ready to really see things pick up. But I have faith - remember how things dragged after they saved the cheerleader last season? So I'll offer the powers that be my suggestions on 5 Ways to Fix the Show:

1. Get Hiro the frak out of feudal Japan! Lamest storyline ever. It was tolerable for about two episodes, but that should have been it. Back in time he loses his wit and charm, and doesn't have his comic foil of Ando. Enough already!

2. Put the focus back on the murder mystery. The one thing that has been truly intriguing this season is the murder of Hiro's father and its connection to the attack on Mama Petrelli. I'm guessing that this is a tentpole for the season, but if it is then we need to be spending some time on it each and every week.

3. Enough with the My Two Gay Dads subplot. Sure, Matt is adorable and Suresh is pretty. But having them whine about raising Molly is like a really boring sitcom.

4. Bring the heroes back together and get them interacting more. Hiro in Japan, Peter in Cork and Montreal, Claire in California, HRG in the Ukraine. Boo! Too many disparate storylines - this isn't a soap opera. It's like we spent all last season bringing them together, and now we're starting over. What's interesting on this show is how these characters relate and support each other against a common enemy. Then maybe we can get some more Nathan and Niki/ikiN, as well as really integrating these new characters into the stew (and get a little insight into what the heck it is that Maya does).

5. We need a tagline! "Save the cheerleader, save the world. " "Are you on the list?" These kept us curious and kept the show in the public's mind. Considering it won't even be available on iTunes much longer, NBC needs all the help it can get.

So what about you, folks? Any advice to the creators?

On a side note - no Top Model recap this week. They had a clip show. After just five weeks. Lame!

3 comments:

Stef said...

I was one of those people hugely disappointed by last season's finale... but I liked the show enough during season 1 that I'm still watching, albeit with decidedly lower expectations. That being said, I think all of your advice is dead-on. The worst part of season 2, I think, is that whole feeling of "been there, done that." Last year, we watched all of our heroes in separate storylines eventually move towards each other to fight a common foe. And now? They're all separated again? Huh???

I do really like the "who's killing the parents?" storyline, and agree it should be more front and center. The whole virus thing seems boring, mostly because Mohinder is the most boring pretty boy ever to grace the small screen. So I'm not all that excited about the "save NY from a virus!" plot, cuz that just seems like a redo of last year. But a serial killer targeting their parents, and the parents revealing their own powers? That's cool. Go with it.

Both of the Petrellis have been completely wasted so far. There better be some payoff in their storylines, including a reasonable explanation of how dramatically Nathan's life has changed in the last 4 months.

I read a theory somewhere that when Hiro comes back to the present, he'll bring Kensei with him (which gives a great reason to keep David Anders, the beloved Sark, on as a series regular) and that it may actually be Kensei who is the killer. I like that theory, let's see how it goes.

I like Monica, too, and I hope they start giving her a good storyline. And while the wonder twins are boring, it is a little intriguing to see if Sylar might turn them into bad guys. I'd like having some of our heroes go bad, just to even the stakes a bit.

So... even though Season 2 is frustrating so far, clearly some of us still care enough to want to try to fix it. Even a bad "Heroes" is still better than a lot of what's on tv these days!

DC Food Blog said...

WORD on the recommendations. I am getting an X-Files vibe from this season of Heroes where the show is getting too in love with its own mythology. I would also say lose the Wonder twins. They are morose and boring. And more Monica the copycat. I think where this show hits its stride is when the characters don't get all angsty about their powers. That's why Hiro was the breakout character. Finally, get actors who can convincingly do an Irish accent.

Stef said...

SPOILER ALERT FOR THIS WEEK's EPISODE

Okay, even though I thought most of tonight's episode ranged somewhere between boring and crap, (and Mohinder is still so dumb) there were 3 things I liked:

1. Mama Petrelli. She's one of the best actors on the show, and she makes any scene she's in a little better.

2a and b. Peter gets his memory back, finally! And Hiro comes back from lame-o feudal Japan, finally!

3. Aha! This mysterious Adam they started talking about from nowhere? Thank goodness, they've brought David Anders into the modern storyline... he makes SUCH a good bad guy!