Is that title too catty? I tried to thing of something along the lines of “Sylar Eats Heroes Brains And Heroes Dies,” but it seemed too long and not all that funny. I also considered “Heroes Gets Killed, Will Not Be Resurrected Next Episode.”
Either way, jut as rumors ran high yesterday, Heroes is now officially cancelled by NBC. From what I’ve come to understand in the report from The Hollywood Reporter, NBC decided that the show was not worth bringing back given that it was a costly show to make and had quickly declined in the ratings game. On top of that, they have a lot of new shows premiering this fall, including “superhero drama called The Cape, a 24-style conspiracy thriller called The Event and a J.J. Abrams’ light-hearted spy drama called Undercovers.” On top of that, last night it was reported that Chuck was renewed for 13 episodes and a fourth season with the option of more episodes given good ratings.
I’d like to say at this point that I am sad to see Heroes go, but ultimately I am not. In fact, if anything I’m glad I don’t have to review it anymore. The first season of Heroes was very fresh and original for what NBC was showing at the time, and it quickly proved to be a daring program where anything could happen and danger lurked around the corner for every character. However, due to what I have read is network interference, the show quickly lost it’s ability to maintain this and was bogged down by contracts and a general lack of creativity among the writers (I mean, Jeph Loeb was a head writer, so that should tell you something). Heroes could have been great and should have been great, but alas. It never was.
So goodbye to Heroes. I will remember your first two seasons fondly enough, and the episodes Kristen Bell appeared in during season 3 will also occasionally be viewed more than once. Thank you for putting Zachary Quinto on the map, and thank you for ultimately being the first attempt at an original serious “super hero” TV show for adults (I don’t count Smallville). Hopefully this The Cape show, as well as the upcoming Powers adaptation on FX, will learn from your mistakes.
