One of the problems with Heroes

I'm still watching Heroes, even though most people seem to have given up on it.  I still watch it because I like the concepts, even though I'm often not a fan of the execution. And I don't imagine it will be back next season. Plus, CSI: Miami is a much worse show and I'm still watching thatn.

My latest (perhaps fever-inspired) theory about what's wrong with the show is that the writers are not fans of geek culture.  The Geek/Nerd core of fans could drive the show to success, yet those (often fervent fans in other endeavors) have lost patience.  The writers may be normal people -- trying to appeal to a normal base of fans.  But they are alienating those he make the whole super hero genre possible, and who sustained it for years.

My theory is based on the main geek character -- Hiro Nakamura.  Hiro, with his ability to bend time and space, travel when and where he wants, pause time, and basically alter the history of the world, is potentially the most powerful of the Heroes.  Perhaps it was a mistake to give him that much power to begin with, and since then they have a made a half-hearted attempt to nerf him.

With all this power, though, his primary role in the story is comic relief.  The play him as a naive, bumbling character who gets into all sorts of wacky scenarios with his sidekick, Ando. 

Hiro could be a powerful representation of geek-power.  He could still be naive.  He could still try to fight the good fight.  He can still quote comic books.  But if they take him seriously, he could become a much richer character which would definitely improve the story.

If they are trying to appeal to a geek/nerd fan base, then does it make sense that the character that fan base could relate to most closely is the one they treat as a joke?

Are their core fans going to relate most to the challenges of a patrician-born EMT, or an angst-ridden cheerleader struggling with her sexuality?

The other character that could have had some geek cred is the one with the engineers eye for, and obsession with, how things work.  And that's the guy they chose as the super villain. 

Perhaps if the writers had more respect for geek culture they would see the potential in a character like Hiro.  He doesn't need to be a joke. And then, maybe, the show would have a few more fans.

Or maybe I'll have a different view once the aspirin kicks in.

Seth Green saves Heroes

I was starting to worry about Heroes. Last season, cut short by the writers strike, picked up a lot of grief from Season 1 fans and the media in general. They complained it was too slow and plodding. While I may be the only person in the world who liked the Hiro in Japan story, I can see their point.

The ratings were pretty bad early in this season, and the story was only okay. The characterizations were off, the plot lacked direction, and things got a bit silly.

The show did turn around, though. In the episode where the heroes lost their powers, Hiro and Ando wander into a comic book store run by everyone's favorite werewolf, Seth Green (not that he was a werewolf here -- just a normal comic book store guy).

Sure there are some major astronomical and metaphysical problems with the plot in that story. But that's where it started to turn around. I'm left to wonder if that episode is where Bryan Fuller started to have an impact after coming back to Heroes from the soon to end Pushing Daisies.

The show began to get back on its feet the moment Seth Green's character gave his speech to Hiro. It's like he was speaking to the entire show.

The rest of the season was awesome. There was still some stupidity, of course (the rescue of Hiro from the past (really? your going to run really fast and turn back time? Superman already did that in the 70s (and it was a stupid idea then, too))). The show, however, is back.

In the preview for the next half of the season, they start to paint Nathan Petrelli as the bad guy -- turning in the Heroes so they can be confined.

What makes this interesting is that the bad guy in the season will not actually be a Bad Guy. He's doing what he thinks is right in order to help the world. He may be misguided, but he is certainly not evil. He's doing it not for personal gain, greed, or power, but to help all human kind.

Arthur Petrelli, Adam Monroe, and Sylar have all been evil characters. They are looking out for themselves. Hating them is easy.

This new direction also draws interesting contrasts between Nathan and his brother Peter. Two people are both trying to do the right thing and will come into powerful conflict because of it.

And it's all because Seth Green showed up.