The guys, (Kareem, Ken & Pat) are joined by guest Andy Thompson to review ‘Heroes’ the TV series. Tangents include bait and switch pilots, Ice-T’s continues his guest appearances, lack of communicating villains to heroes, and more.
Show Notes
Topic 1: Looking back on the show Heroes 14 years later
Years ago, Heroes was one of the biggest television shows in America. After a critically acclaimed first season, eight Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe win for best television drama, 17 million viewers tuned in for the start of season two. Fast forward four years and the show that was supposed to become the new Lost found itself cancelled in the most ignominious way possible – the announcement made almost in passing at an NBC presentation, three months after what would turn out to be the final episode had aired.
By that time the once lucrative franchise (at its height NBC sold all manner of Heroes-related merchandise, from magazines and graphic novels to action figures and clothing) was watched by only 4.4 million and it was no surprise to hear NBC cite rising production costs and falling ratings as the reasons for the show’s cancellation. Cash-strapped networks are less likely to continue with such high-cost dramas.
Yet even by US network television standards Heroes’ demise was swift. It’s arguable that nothing was the same after that first, tightly plotted first season in which everything came together around one simple phrase, “Save the cheerleader, save the world”.
Sadly, as the show progressed, it turned out that the near-perfect first season was something of an anomaly. From the disastrous amount of time Hiro spent trapped in ancient Japan to the increasingly ridiculous number of powers both Peter Petrelli and his nemesis, Sylar, managed to acquire, it became obvious that Heroes was a show buckling under the weight of its own mythology. Meanwhile, the tantalizing hints of a dystopian future world where no one could be trusted turned out to be less than enticing once we realized that the writers had no idea how to get their Heroes there.
The show’s creator, Tim Kring, remained bullish after the cancellation, thanking both fans and network and saying that he was “finalizing discussions [with NBC] about a number of ways to keep the Heroes universe alive for its fans”.
Those discussions are expected to center on a two-hour, made-for-television film, although – as fans of shows as diverse as Deadwood and Veronica Mars could tell you – just because they talk a good game about a movie, doesn’t mean it’s actually going to happen
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