This is a great little article, and I have to give Tim Kring props for being a man and admitting the failures of the show. He pretty much hit all of them on the head – except he forgets to mention that the future evacuation/vaccination story is not super interesting because we saw something VERY similar last year – that said – if that was the only thing wrong with this season I’d be a pretty happy girl.
In case Tim Kring’s people are scouring the globe for brilliant thoughts on how to get us back on track, here’s a little list from me, the 1979 Semi-Finalist…
1. KILL A LOT OF CHARACTERS. The Wonder Twins should be the first to go, preferably painfully; West – really painfully; and either kill Micah’s cousin or replace her with a new actress or a new writing staff and lose the accent while you’re at it, she is just painful to watch, though her power is interesting. Kill Nikki/Jessica (LONG overdue). You have a beautiful canvas of characters. Why overpopulate it with poorly developed new characters? As fans we are so over the whole “learning about new characters” thing. Maybe we could meet a new character or two over the course of the new Season, but five new “heroes” and another half dozen plus supporting characters in the first couple episodes? Huge mistake. Go back to the characters we love and let them grow and change. Trust what you’ve already created.
2. Lose the accents. They’re great when done well, but they’re not being done well, and when every third character has one they lose their “specialness”. Let Adam Monroe keep his, it’s the only convincing one anyway, and toss the rest.
3. Bring back the old Claire. She was occasionally whiney and bratty in Season 1, which is to be expected, she’s a whiney/bratty teen, but she’s out of control and unlikable this year.
4. Pull back on the sappy drama and exposition. Show what is happening to these people instead of letting them run off at the mouth with poorly written and poorly performed solioqy’s…it didn’t work for you the first season, and now it’s happening at a frightening clip this season and is working even less.
5. Utilize your best actors. I know there are plans for Kristen Bell, make them better and bigger. While her role weeks ago was small and was a little cheesy, she’s a talented actor and did a better job of saving the bad writing than some of your less talented new actors (Wonder Twins, Copycat, etc.).
6. Never send Hiro off on his own like that again. He’s a great character, but he’s best in a lighter and somewhat comical role. His bravery and idealism was refreshing last year…bring that element back to the character. Let him grow in a more natural way.
7. Stay away from romance unless you hire some people who really can handle it, both onscreen and in the writer’s room. The romance has been the stuff of ridiculous after school specials and harlequinn romance. Truly, it’s been painful to watch.
8. Last but not least, stop being afraid of your powerful characters. I know you have limits on budget and graphics etc., but there are plenty of clever ways to still allow your powerful characters (Sylar, Peter, etc.) to spread their wings on the show, without giving them annoying cliched amnesia or de-powering them. Don’t be afraid, instead get creative. Fortune favors the brave my friends.
I’m hanging in there, especially after reading Kring’s article…but please…implement change…save this show!
