Heroes season two round-up
December 6th 2007 04:09
Heroes season two roundup
Well, here we are, at the end of Season Two (here where I am, in Australia), and good lord, didn’t the end come fast? Only 9 episodes into the new season, and that dastardly Channel Seven pulls the show off air at the end of ratings period. It irks me to no end. Over in the US, it seems as though season two really will end after the first 11 episodes (thanks to the Writers Guild Strikes). That kinda sucks. In fact, that news sucks for just about all of our favourite US shows.
So far, Season Two of Heroes has sadly not been as stellar as its previous year. That said, the show is definitely still good, and still well worth watching. It seems that a load of today’s new programmes experience a second year slump. It’s like the writers think that ‘our show was critically acclaimed last year, so we already have a built in audience, no matter what’. That philosophy doesn’t quite work these days. Audiences now have a lot of options available to them (other shows, DVD movies, videogames, etc). And they possess very limited attention spans. Heroes, whilst still enjoyable, needs to start really delivering the goods. The story arc is moving along perhaps too slowly. There is a trick in television screenwriting called ‘the art of the stall’. How long can you keep the mysteries interesting before the audience starts getting bored, and demanding answers? LOST is notorious for this. It answers a few questions, then introduces about ten new ones. The same applied to the X Files, which was great in its first couple of seasons, but it meandered along for years and years, overstaying its welcome (even to the point where original star David Duchovny lost interest and moved on to other things) and never answering any mysteries. Eventually, it ended with a limp clip show which didn’t answer anything at all. (I fear the same fate may befall LOST)
Let’s talk about the good points of season two. Unlike many others (I’ve read some scathing opinions on various internet chat forums) I really enjoyed Hiro’s arc in ancient Japan. I am a sucker for time travel stories, always have been. I also liked the reveal of Kensei, still alive in the present day (how old is he now? 400 years old? Cool! I wonder if Claire is also similarly immortal, and will still be alive in 2407?)
I thought the pairing up of Matt ‘Telepathic Cop’ Parkman and Nathan ‘Superman’ Petrelli was a good idea (they make a good team), and I of course always enjoy the moral ambiguity of Horn Rimmed Glasses aka Mr Bennett (is he a good guy, is he a bad guy?). He’s by far one of the best characters. Bob is a cool character too, because his relationship with his daughter Elle is a mirror image of that between Noah and Claire Bennett. Bob represents the father who was more emotionally detached from his charge, and put the project first in his list of priorities. The episode ‘Four Months Ago’ was a highlight of the season, but I have one question: ‘Why wasn’t it the season premiere?’ We had to wait eight weeks before finding out why Peter and Nathan survived the bomb blast, and why he is suddenly in a cargo container in Cork, Ireland, with no memories.
The bad? Well, for starters, there’s the whole Peter in Ireland debacle. Amnesia is the biggest US soap opera cliché ever, and it’s disappointing to see it here. The first few episodes with Peter in Ireland really were just padding. They didn’t really move the story forward in any compelling way at all. The Claire in her new high school storyline was rather ‘meh’ too. The creepy stalker boyfriend doesn’t help, either. Maya and Alejandro (can we say tokenism?) are so irritating. KILL THEM NOW, SYLAR! They are referred to by online fans of Heroes as Nikki and Paulo (two characters infamously introduced in LOST’s third season, proving instantly unpopular with the audience, and were killed off as fast as they arrived!). As for Sylar himself, I’m a little disappointed he’s even in Season Two. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great character, but he should have died there in that plaza at the end of Season One. Another show needs to adopt the Buffy ‘big bad’ approach, which worked so brilliantly in that show. New season, new enemies. Why bother bringing Sylar back at all if he’s just going to be neutered of his powers, and go on a roadtrip with those two terrible twins?
DL’s death scene in ep 2x08 bothered me. At the beginning of season two, he was already dead, and I accepted that. I assumed he died offscreen from Linderman’s gunshot wound. Why did they bring him back in ‘Four Months Later’ only to suffer a pointless ignoble death at the hands of some gun wielding thug in a nightclub? Stupid.
Despite the flaws, season two is still very entertaining. Hopefully, they’ll work out this writers strike sooner rather than later, and we’ll get a proper length season two instead of eleven episodes. I still have faith Heroes will deliver the goods. My suggestions:
Adam/Kensei- Awesome! More of him, please! Even though I like Sylar, they should have ditched him this year, and made Adam the big bad of season two from the beginning.
Noah: Fantastic. One of my favourite characters. I was so distressed when I thought Suresh killed him in episode 2x09 (despite that event being foretold by the painting by Isaac Mendez). More, please!
Hiro- Still cool, but he really needs to get back into the action. He has been too passive this season. For that matter, poor Ando! Hiro and Ando work better as a team. Stop separating them, writers!
Claire- Honey, please will you ditch that irritating fool, West. He ain’t worth it. He’s turning your character into a simpering, lovesick moron.
Maya and Alejandro- I can’t take it anymore. Sylar, will you please kill them? For me?
Elle- She needs some more depth, stat! This show already has two dizzy blondes (Claire and Nikki). I liked Kristen Bell in Veronica Mars, but Elle needs something beyond the ‘blonde’ stereotype to make her a more interesting character. I suspect she’s there to bring over some of the Veronica Mars fanboys and girls.
Dr Suresh- I like you, dude, but you need to stop acting like a moron. Why did you actually TELL Bob you’re a spy and that you are trying to destroy the Company from the inside? Are you trying to get yourself killed?
Well, here we are, at the end of Season Two (here where I am, in Australia), and good lord, didn’t the end come fast? Only 9 episodes into the new season, and that dastardly Channel Seven pulls the show off air at the end of ratings period. It irks me to no end. Over in the US, it seems as though season two really will end after the first 11 episodes (thanks to the Writers Guild Strikes). That kinda sucks. In fact, that news sucks for just about all of our favourite US shows.
So far, Season Two of Heroes has sadly not been as stellar as its previous year. That said, the show is definitely still good, and still well worth watching. It seems that a load of today’s new programmes experience a second year slump. It’s like the writers think that ‘our show was critically acclaimed last year, so we already have a built in audience, no matter what’. That philosophy doesn’t quite work these days. Audiences now have a lot of options available to them (other shows, DVD movies, videogames, etc). And they possess very limited attention spans. Heroes, whilst still enjoyable, needs to start really delivering the goods. The story arc is moving along perhaps too slowly. There is a trick in television screenwriting called ‘the art of the stall’. How long can you keep the mysteries interesting before the audience starts getting bored, and demanding answers? LOST is notorious for this. It answers a few questions, then introduces about ten new ones. The same applied to the X Files, which was great in its first couple of seasons, but it meandered along for years and years, overstaying its welcome (even to the point where original star David Duchovny lost interest and moved on to other things) and never answering any mysteries. Eventually, it ended with a limp clip show which didn’t answer anything at all. (I fear the same fate may befall LOST)
Let’s talk about the good points of season two. Unlike many others (I’ve read some scathing opinions on various internet chat forums) I really enjoyed Hiro’s arc in ancient Japan. I am a sucker for time travel stories, always have been. I also liked the reveal of Kensei, still alive in the present day (how old is he now? 400 years old? Cool! I wonder if Claire is also similarly immortal, and will still be alive in 2407?)
I thought the pairing up of Matt ‘Telepathic Cop’ Parkman and Nathan ‘Superman’ Petrelli was a good idea (they make a good team), and I of course always enjoy the moral ambiguity of Horn Rimmed Glasses aka Mr Bennett (is he a good guy, is he a bad guy?). He’s by far one of the best characters. Bob is a cool character too, because his relationship with his daughter Elle is a mirror image of that between Noah and Claire Bennett. Bob represents the father who was more emotionally detached from his charge, and put the project first in his list of priorities. The episode ‘Four Months Ago’ was a highlight of the season, but I have one question: ‘Why wasn’t it the season premiere?’ We had to wait eight weeks before finding out why Peter and Nathan survived the bomb blast, and why he is suddenly in a cargo container in Cork, Ireland, with no memories.
The bad? Well, for starters, there’s the whole Peter in Ireland debacle. Amnesia is the biggest US soap opera cliché ever, and it’s disappointing to see it here. The first few episodes with Peter in Ireland really were just padding. They didn’t really move the story forward in any compelling way at all. The Claire in her new high school storyline was rather ‘meh’ too. The creepy stalker boyfriend doesn’t help, either. Maya and Alejandro (can we say tokenism?) are so irritating. KILL THEM NOW, SYLAR! They are referred to by online fans of Heroes as Nikki and Paulo (two characters infamously introduced in LOST’s third season, proving instantly unpopular with the audience, and were killed off as fast as they arrived!). As for Sylar himself, I’m a little disappointed he’s even in Season Two. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great character, but he should have died there in that plaza at the end of Season One. Another show needs to adopt the Buffy ‘big bad’ approach, which worked so brilliantly in that show. New season, new enemies. Why bother bringing Sylar back at all if he’s just going to be neutered of his powers, and go on a roadtrip with those two terrible twins?
DL’s death scene in ep 2x08 bothered me. At the beginning of season two, he was already dead, and I accepted that. I assumed he died offscreen from Linderman’s gunshot wound. Why did they bring him back in ‘Four Months Later’ only to suffer a pointless ignoble death at the hands of some gun wielding thug in a nightclub? Stupid.
Despite the flaws, season two is still very entertaining. Hopefully, they’ll work out this writers strike sooner rather than later, and we’ll get a proper length season two instead of eleven episodes. I still have faith Heroes will deliver the goods. My suggestions:
Adam/Kensei- Awesome! More of him, please! Even though I like Sylar, they should have ditched him this year, and made Adam the big bad of season two from the beginning.
Noah: Fantastic. One of my favourite characters. I was so distressed when I thought Suresh killed him in episode 2x09 (despite that event being foretold by the painting by Isaac Mendez). More, please!
Hiro- Still cool, but he really needs to get back into the action. He has been too passive this season. For that matter, poor Ando! Hiro and Ando work better as a team. Stop separating them, writers!
Claire- Honey, please will you ditch that irritating fool, West. He ain’t worth it. He’s turning your character into a simpering, lovesick moron.
Maya and Alejandro- I can’t take it anymore. Sylar, will you please kill them? For me?
Elle- She needs some more depth, stat! This show already has two dizzy blondes (Claire and Nikki). I liked Kristen Bell in Veronica Mars, but Elle needs something beyond the ‘blonde’ stereotype to make her a more interesting character. I suspect she’s there to bring over some of the Veronica Mars fanboys and girls.
Dr Suresh- I like you, dude, but you need to stop acting like a moron. Why did you actually TELL Bob you’re a spy and that you are trying to destroy the Company from the inside? Are you trying to get yourself killed?
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