Showing posts with label Heroes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Heroes. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
A Glimmer of Hope
Heroes: Cold SnapSeason 3, Episode 20
It's not that surprising that it's been a long time since I've had anything to look forward to on this series. As I've mentioned many times over, the second season was wildly disappointing and the third has been more a pain to get through than anything else. But this week marks the return of Bryan Fuller, who wrote a pair of episodes in the first season, including "Company Man," the highlight of series from a storytelling perspective. Almost as large a reason to rejoice, the Jeph Loeb Era is in our rear view mirror. The once great comic book scribe managed to suck most of the joy from the series the last couple of years, much like he has in every comic he's touched in the last five years.All of that being said, we're still a long way from calling this show "mediocre." But at least some of my long held complaints are addressed this week. Continue below the jump and maybe we can find some way to frame Tim Kring for some type of felony.
Well, cutting back on characters is a big part of what this show needed to do. So we get a week with no Sylar, no Claire (Thank the Lord!) and almost no Peter. It all makes up for a steady helping of Hiro and Ando. And in that constructive spirit, they allow Tracy Stauss to sacrifice herself and Daphne to "go to the moon" a.k.a. die, only six episodes later than she should have. I cannot restate often enough how much I favor trimming this staff. Especially since we know Tracy probably has more twins out there, so we've got a few to work our way through.
It's a cute little slap to the earlier portions of season three when Daphne calls Matt to task for their underdeveloped and rather simple "love story." It's horribly funny that Greg Grunberg, excellent in other series, is completely unable to convey affection towards Daphne. Better luck next time, Heroes writers!
Giving their relatively powerless individuals something simple to fill their time with, the Japanese dynamic duo get to babysit . It's almost enjoyable to watch Hiro reflecting on watching his mother die late in season two. That's right... reflecting. He actually stopped bouncing around like a toddler in need of Ritalin, and thought about how his life was effected by something.
Of course, any amount of good will this storyline earns is wasted in the re-powering of Hiro. Apparently, the Baby Genesis Device, a.k.a. Matt Parkman Jr., gives him back the ability to freeze time, but not teleport. I understand the desire to have the franchise character have a power, I just don't trust the other writers to maintain this limitation. And, alright, thanks Mr. Fuller for the Wrath of Khan reference.
Ever since the idea of Rebel was revealed, I've anxiously been awaiting the moment young Micah would return to show us the joys of young actors going through puberty. And when he turns around and rips off a humorously deep and raspy, "Taxi" I got my chuckle. There's only so much joy one can take from so obvious a mystery dragged out about four episodes too long. But the payoff scene lets one of this show's characters actually act heroic for the first time in too long and gives Danko the first scene in seven episodes where he looks like a badass. Of course, both will be ruined by the terrible special effects and further reduced of meaning if Tracy comes back.
In the final main storyline, Angela Petrelli tries to avoid Danko's men now that he's running the government operation. More than anything else, this storyline comes off as weak filler, just getting Angela into her story's place - on the run with Peter. This is just more of the same plot driving the characters as opposed to the other way around.
Am I looking forward to next week's episode? No, not really. The show needs to be more consistent and go a couple weeks without bringing Tracy or Daphne back to life. And maybe at least straddle the line between the Hand of God plot devices running things and the characterization developing things more fluidly. Ideally, someday crossing that line, but let's not expect the second coming of Jesus Christ just yet. Of course, this was the best the show's been in a long time, so let's revel in the average-ness of it all.
Final score: C-
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Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Dad... You Have No Idea What I'm Capable Of.
Heroes: Shades of GraySeason 3, Episode 19
It's like they aren't even listening to me! I mean no sooner do I give one episode a relative pass with a gift D+ grade by ignoring virtually every sensory input for an hour last week, then they drop another turd in my lap this week. It seems the biggest gift I can hope for is the season ending during the next episode in a couple weeks. I'm not entirely sure if there are more episodes after that one. And you know what, when I consider your show taking a week off or possibly being done for the year a gift... not good times.We'll get into it more beneath the cut, but its really all a reiteration of my same old complaints. This show has devolved from characters having adventures to adventures with characters in them.
The main story this week is the return to the Good Guy Side (G.G.S.) of Nathan. After using some of those mad political skills we've heard of but never seen, Nathan gets Danko kicked off of the team. Which is probably a good move on President Worf's part. I mean maybe setting an utter homicidal psychopath on American citizens probably wasn't the most efficient way to deal with the problem. Danko's response to this is utterly understandable. I mean if I lost my job and noticed that the boss could get across town quickly... who wouldn't shoot at said boss and chuck him out a window. Just another example of the writers on the show knowing something, so of course any character can figure it out with nothing but the most circumstantial evidence. I mean, its a good thing Nathan's power wasn't to run fast... because if he was a splatter on the pavement... well congressional oversight might have a problem with that.
And of course, in a never-ending attempt to keep all the heroes good guys, Nathan flops back into Camp Hero and runs off to save Claire. I would describe this as painfully redundant if the words painfully predictable didn't better apply. Even in this volume's first episode when I mentioned that Nathan should stand by this program for consistency if nothing else, I was counting the moments until he rebelled for the greater good. Yes, that's the same greater good he started this all for in the first place.
Maybe it isn't utterly unbelievable - Danko being willing to chuck a United States senator out a window on camera with nothing more than a suspicion that he's got some power. I mean we've never seen Nathan at his office or a session of congress in two seasons now, so perhaps nobody in the government would even notice if he's dead.
Over in Claire-land, our least favorite former cheerleader (who maybe it's me but has also gotten like 13.5% less attractive every year) gets a nice lesson from comic book geeks about what kind of hero she wants to be. And if I may beg now, can we stop with the pointless scenes in comic book shops with the geeks responsible for significant plot and character development? It was painful enough the first time. Why not just have Tim Kring starring as Tim Kring walk up to Claire in a park and tell her what to do/say/think next?
And her rescue of Doyle (Puppet Guy that nearly killed her, her birth mother and her adopted mother less than a year ago) is completely impossible... even discounting the idea that she'd consider helping the murdering psycho that eyeballed her and Meredith like he would have raped them if this show was on HBO. First of all apparently Danko's teams have gone from a dozen guys in full body armor tranquilizing their targets before moving in to one chick coming up behind you and yelling freeze. Of course, this person you are chasing can control your every movement, so maybe that wasn't the best approach. The only reason their procedures devolved seems to be to allow Claire to sneak up behind the other agent and chuck him over a railing. Wow, it's a good this he didn't just shoot her after that big two-foot fall. And when did Claire take krav maga classes to learn how to take out government agents? And why is Rebel sending these people to Claire for a day or two until Rebel provides new documentation for them? Why can't he/she/the writer's cheating device not just tell the poor people on the run, "Hey, I checked you into the local Holiday Inn. Go chill there until you get my package in about six hours. Fight the power!"
Oh, because Claire would have to sit around looking as useless as she is. And as long as I'm bashing her, can we call out Bennet's very bad lie from a previous episode about her really liking Brown. The girl's lucky she has a GED... hell, she's lucky that she's able to feed herself without assistance... and she really liked the Ivy League university??? Who would have a chance at Brown and end up at Costa Verde Community College? Oh, I forgot, they were never going to actually send her to any college because that might give a character a vague semblance of a real life. Just like they had her get a job this week, never work there and have to go on the run all in 20 minutes.
We can't have that. People with lives and jobs??? How will we free them up to go fight evil in unplanned ways? Bennet just talked about Claire going to college because the writers wanted their precious HRG to be a hard ass. Because god forbid a character on this show express a legitimate concern intelligently and have any other character listen to them!
In the wonderful world of Sylar, he discovers that he's actually Gabriel Luthor... damn that would have been just as plausible and way more interesting than most of the stuff on this show... when he meets his dad. His dad's name is... um... uh... John Glover from Smallville. Maybe they should learn to do basic things on this show like... Name Your Characters! And Daddy Sylar doesn't count as a name! Am I the only one not buying power stealing through murder as a biological trait? That's like saying... well, the dad I never met really liked Hugo Boss, so I do too. And as for Sylar's decision to let dear old dad (who just tried to mutilate him!) live continues to hint that he'll someday be one of the good guys... who am I kidding, he'll continue to flirt between good and bad forever. Just like every character on the show will never evolve or act consistently ever.
It's pure and utter nonsense every week. Here's hoping half the characters die permanently next week. Crappy show, you truly deserve my first ---
Final score: F
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Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Let Me Show You How to E.T.S.
Heroes: ExposedSeason 3, Episode 18
So when did Sylar gain the power to remember the distant past via the power of the Mac Attack? Do I really need to once again mention the plethora of ways this show manages to annoy me? Perhaps I should just Embrace The Suck (E.T.S.) and be thankful that Hiro and Ando are utter no-shows for a second consecutive week. Even if it gives more time to the painfully ill-constructed Adventures of Claire and Aquaboy, I mean... one crappy regular character is a fair trade for two.And just to prove that I did, once upon a time, like this show, I'll mention that this week's writers Adam Armus and Kay Foster once did the script for the pivotal "Homecoming" episode back in the glory days of season one. It was actually one of my very favorite episodes ever (and that used to be saying something). Below the cut we spoil the heck out of their latest effort.
This week's episode effectively involves just three plots, so things at least aren't as jumbled together as they normally are. Peter and Parkman are led by the hand (REBEL) from Isaac Mendez' loft/Mohinder's laboratory/a set I assume was constructed using a load-bearing wall so they decided to keep forever to the infamous Building 26 in Washington, D.C. Once there it turns out Daphne was moved to a medical facility. Why wasn't she in the medical facility earlier in the day when REBEL contacted them since, ya know, she was shot at least several days ago, we may never know. Instead Peter steals a video of men in black suits and masks leading people in orange jumpsuits and masks onto a plane. Somehow this is concrete proof that the American government is kidnapping American citizens. Apparently I missed the scene in the premiere where the word "American" was written on the back of everyone's clothing.
This sequence at least had the very first moment since this arc began that the bald technician isn't looking at the exact perfect video feed at any given time. I got no small amount of jokes out of this. I mean this guy was right on catching Claire's car near Aquaboy's comic show, Sylar driving on a nondescript road and Peter at Bennet's storage unit and later at apartment of the Hunter (Emile Danko, why he got a nickname we may never know). But they don't see the guys walking into their control room in the middle of the day.
Peter escapes, but Matt is captured because apparently a fire alarm is the secret to diffusing his mental powers. Which is a far better reason than... I don't know... someone surprises him! I have to credit Peter with at least coming up with a plausible plan to trade back for Daphne and Matt by threatening to expose the tape. I fully expected something monumentally incompetent, but at least he didn't bring the tape with him to the meet, though it would have been nice to know exactly how the tape would be released if they blew Peter's head off. And let's just ignore the idea of the government making a video diary of their own criminal activities in the first place.
In the night's other story, Claire's glorious idea of hiding Aquaboy in her closet turns out poorly. I know... who knew? He's quickly discovered by her mom and that leads to some painfully unfunny sex jokes before Saundra decides to help them. The solution involves making a fake i.d. and hiding him in another closet when the federal agents violate their stakeout for no reason whatsoever to toss the place.
I thought it was cute that Saundra and Lyle got involved as decoys in a move straight out of "Coneheads." Though it would have been more enjoyable if they were distracting more than just two people sitting in a van in front of the house. Do you really need decoys to slip out the back if there isn't anybody watching the back? Is the government's plan to watch a house involve monitoring only one-third of the doors?
Let's avoid looking too closely at the not-so-brilliant getaway plan of hiding in a pool. Because if I was a federal agent chasing a kid who could breath underwater and mysteriously lost him in a backyard where half the space is taken up by a swimming pool, I'd probably check in the pool. It would have been a simple fix, have them dive into an aqueduct or river. C'mon people, break open an issue of Aquaman now and then! And the underwater kiss is just... ugh. You know there would still be air bubbles if you open mouth kiss, especially if you are supposedly breathing out oxygen. And of course that's one of my sci-fi pet peeves, a fish or anything else that swims underwater doesn't exhale oxygen. Please do not encourage children to try and breath underwater by making out with a great white shark. That's just irresponsible. The lesson as always is don't break up your exhilarating escape with multiple incidents of sexual tension.
In the final storyline, Sylar continues to be the king of the musical cues this volume, first "Psycho Killer" and now flashbacks at a roadside burger joint courtesy of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain." But hopefully, this character is going to maintain a steady path unlike some others (coughNathancoughBennetcoughMohindercough). Now, assuming they are actually trying to build Sylar as an anti-hero (or at least not an utterly evil villain), I can admire what they are trying to do here. And honestly, if he's driven this far with Luke a.k.a. Microwave Boy a.k.a. the Most Annoying Person in the World to Take a Road Trip With Ever, without cutting his skull open, Sylar can't be all that bad anymore. I mean it's a good sign when he spares people that I would kill, isn't it? And having been abandoned by a father that killed mommy (and apparently ingrained the idea of the little forehead slice in Sylar Junior's subconscious) is supposed to build sympathy and would leave Sylar relatively justified in killing dear old dad when they meet (hopefully next week).
I mean let's not pretend this story isn't still utterly awful in most methods of execution, but I've found I can get through an episode and even recount it for a review the next morning by shutting down my higher brain functions and a little E.T.S. It's a fun plan and I'm sticking with it.
One last note, starting here, I'll be using letter grades for my score. Both because they are infinitely cooler and hopefully will help with a more consistent approach to my scoring.
Final score: D+
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Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Going Through the Motions
Heroes: Cold WarsSeason 3, Episode 17
Why stay with this show? Every week I ask myself that question. Is it a guilty pleasure? Shouldn't you like a guilty pleasure? I don't like this show anymore. It just frustrates me. A LOT. Because it's right there in between the idiotic character decisions, the constantly shifting plans and allegiances and the lazy writers mistaking a revolving door of deus ex machina for plot development and mediocre or undedicated performances. "It" being the potential to be a truly great show; not only great but a comic book come to life. But still, how will it get better? I mean besides firing every writer and starting from scratch. Episodes like this week's "Cold Wars" really highlight how it is the mistakes of the writers and the producers overseeing them that kill that potential for everyone else.Beware spoilers below the cut while the show continues to spin in place.
Four episodes into this volume of the story and so little had been done or established as far as a status quo. And that's one of the two definitive problems with this show right there. We need some consistent status for the characters as far as where they live, what they do everyday when we aren't watching them and how they plan to exorcise the achievement of their goals. Now the show doesn't need to become formulaic in the mold of a "CSI" or a "Law and Order," where the beats of every episode echo the same to the point you know what's about to happen because we're 20 minutes into the episode. But look at any good mythology oriented television show and we know basically what the characters do every day: where they live, what they do with their lives. Mulder works at the FBI. Buffy goes to school. These characters' entire lives cannot subsist of - execute the plot. This isn't 24 showing every second. Without any consistent off-screen life or action there's a sense that everything is just adrift at sea rolling with the tide (or in this case the latest vision of the future). Having lives is crucial... even if their lives are something fantastic like an organized movement in opposition to the government (as opposed to three guys fighting each other in a hotel room for no reason). The audience needs to think they exist for some purpose besides for us to watch. Then it's real. Then we can care.
The idea to significantly devote time to Noah Bennet's memories of the last few weeks is just more wasted opportunities. We don't care seeing Noah meet the Hunter because nothing interesting happens. We learn nothing about either character that isn't already known, so this is just pointless. Ten to fifteen minutes of a 40 minute episode should not be summarized as: two tough guys meet. We learn nothing about the Hunter except his is a very driven, "My Way or the Highway" type of guy. The entire idea of seeing how it all began for Noah is pointless. We know it began with Nathan going to the president, but for some reason the writers are absolutely obsessed to returning before the inciting incident of every volume to boringly point out how each person became involved.
Too much here is explained as serving the convenience of the plot. There's one man watching one computer monitor that just happens to always be turned to the right channel. Need to start a confrontation with Peter? You just happen to see the one camera looking at him. Need to have Nathan go talk to Peter? You just happen to see Peter and the Hunter in the latter's apartment. Why were you watching that specific feed at that time? Maybe nothing good was on ESPN tonight. Need to capture Mohinder? Your troops arrive without explanation at the hotel they happen to be at? Nothing is adequately explained. Everything just seems to move into place because the writers think it would be cool or exciting for things to happen. Maybe in their heads there's adequate justification for everything, but the fact that none of it makes it's way onto the screen just makes everything look lazy.
And their lack of seeming concern has certainly spread. Greg Grunberg, Milo Ventimiglia, Adrian Pasdar and so many others look so uninvolved with their own character arcs, unable to adequate express their own fear/anger/hope they've become painful to watch performances.
I can't really blame the actors given the motivations they are provided. Mohinder apparently learned this all might be happening a week earlier. Why didn't he mention this to everyone given that it's understandable he didn't jump in bed with Bennet? Well, so they could get in a fight and Bennet could escape... for a minute. The fact that they have to have the "Why didn't You Tell Us? Because You Wouldn't Understand Me!" conversation TWICE just again comes off as unnecessarily repetitive.
Every character's actions are apparently supposed to be personally justified by the morally incorrect actions of others. Just about the only enjoyable conversation in the episode has Mohinder calling Nathan on the exact fallacy. The scene is also enjoyable because Mohinder doesn't automatically hop on the other side of the confrontation as previous characters have done frequently enough to cause a migraine.
And let me add the other one of the two overreaching problems infecting this program is the lack of consequences. Daphne's death is undone just two episodes after it happened... which I guess is better than the first time they killed her THIS YEAR when it only lasted a couple minutes. Why watch any week if everybody will be back next week? Deaths would be so much more meaningful if 9 out of 10 of them weren't reversed almost immediately.
And I can't even go into the writers once again being unable to manage the plot they have by redirecting people through another painting on the floor of a loft. Could someone come up with 30 bucks for a new set? Anybody? And things aren't going to get better by going back to the big explosion well isn't going to improve things.
Final score: .25 stars out of 5
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Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Circling the Drain
Heroes: Building 26Season 3, Episode 16
I suppose something has to be said for being consistent with your approach. No matter how many people complain, no matter how far the ratings plummet and no matter how many times they ignore the trappings of common sense, this show keeps bashing its head against the metal wall. And that's the most positive thing I've been able to say about Heroes in more than 20 months. They are consistent in their suck. As always, there's spoilers below the cut. Not that it matters. Think of the most repetitive and stupid thing the characters could do. That's what they did.This morning I was considering having a few things to say in praise of this week's episode. Then I talked to Billy for 15 seconds and remembered that just because something seems only sorta sucky when you aren't really paying attention doesn't mean it isn't mostly sucky if you think about it for a minute. Thanks, Billy, ya helped me dodge a bullet there.
Hiro was the same petulant child with a delusion of grandeur that he is every week. I must admit that I try not to pay attention to Hiro and Ando's scenes anymore. The rantings of destiny and managing to feeling petty that Ando might get to do something good, but mostly pointless before he could. Every so often I hear him yell "Ya Ti" and cringe... as expected, Hiro's moronic plot of showing up and saying, "No, you must not do this. You are evil. I am supercool and only express myself using the most extreme terms possible." And it works mostly because of the bad guy, in this case a man pressuring a woman to marry him, giving up. That this plot involves a man knocking Ando out with a frying pan and carrying him off cavewoman style is at least left off screen... if only it was left out of the script.
The wonderful Moira Kelly shows us all how far she's fallen from her glory days (see The Cutting Edge) by guest starring as a woman who threatens to shut down Nathan's program. She yells this at him and a chained Tracy. Rather than being glad someone is going to save her, Tracy gets really bitchy, escapes, realizes they are letting her escape and STILL kills a man right in front of the woman who was just talking about getting her released because... um... she's really bitchy.
Oh! Hey, did you realize that four people sitting in an office somewhere can simultaneously monitor every traffic and security camera in the continental United States, running facial recognition software on hundreds of millions of people every second just to find Sylar driving in a car and Claire in a parking lot. Gotta love that Patriot Act and the suspension of reality... I mean suspension of disbelief... I guess.
I could blame the characters for being so stupid, but can I really hold it against them that they are written by morons? This episode involves Claire meeting Aquaboy, formulating a plan to escape the two aisle comic shop from her father (who luckily doesn't hear her talking when standing 17 inches away from her) that basically amounts to, "Hey, look over there! Run!" Then she takes Aquaboy home to live in her closet. Hmm, I guess you could make this stuff up.
The mysterious Rebel, that is sending out messages in a rather Oracle-like role, is a nice mystery. But the fact that their clues and leads are being executed by people like Claire make them seem stupider than they are. By the way, is their any chance that Rebel's last name isn't Petrelli? Nope, didn't think so.
This show is in serious danger of bursting past the level where I therapeutically bash it to becoming just a pain to rant against the same illogical decision and patched-together plots week after week. And I didn't even mention Sylar turning on a radio in the middle of "Psycho Killer." Yeah, that happened.
Final score: .5 stars out of 5, just because I liked the like "Okay, technically I am a serial killer."
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Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Think, McFly! Think!
Heroes: Trust and BloodSeason 3, Episode 15
While tonight's second episode of Volume 4 actually starts the fugitive lifestyle for many characters on Heroes, it's all still moving too haphazardly to carry any dramatic weight. The main problem in the show (and this episode, "Trust and Blood," is wonderfully indicative of it) is the lack of maturity in every single character and a determination not to think about their actions or reasoning. If this show was animated and on Saturday mornings it would still be borderline impractical in the execution of its plot and development of characters. In prime time, it has become a disappointing joke. Read below the cut if you enjoy carnage.A show that continually impressed me throughout season one, the wheels seemed to come undone so utterly and completely for everything since that I now look forward to the day they just pull the plug. It's like watching a disease eat away at a beloved relative and you know all the quality of life is gone, so the best you can hope for is an ending.
And it's not that the third season has been a progressive decline. After they finished the one big plot they had decided on before the shoe even debuted, the writers' flaws couldn't be covered anymore and ever since then, the only change in opinion has been the every increasing acceptance that it will never get any better again. This show exemplifies one of my favorite movie quotes... in the words of editor extraordinaire Kurt Longjohn, "It is what it is."
Of course this show has always been rife with coincidences and writing problems. Even in season one, Hiro just happened to take his sword for repair at the one place Kaito was waiting for him. Mohinder knew Sylar was tricking him because he just happened to see an obituary from a man who died thousands of miles away. Peter just happens to run into Bennet's old invisible partner, who tutors him.
But at least the creators knew where they were going and that they had to draw things out for the entire season under that premise. In the first episode, they show what could happen in the finale, New York being destroyed. Having that one goal drawn out first saved the season, they could take time to introduce and develop characters and their powers and come up with other objectives to be resolved to fill the time(save Claire, get). It saved them from their biggest mistake since... using the characters powers as a shortcut to writing the plot.
As I mentioned last week the show has committed no greater crime than continuing to paint the future. And that same cheap deus ex machina of an excuse is utilized again this week. Because why have the characters struggle with what they have to do, or be confused about the right course of action or take any proactive step towards determining their fate, if you can completely determine where they go and what they do by having Matt draw it? Let's go to India! Why? Matt drew it! I mentioned this last week and will continue to do so as long as they abuse this power as the primary decision-making and plot-moving force... This Is Cheating!
In the most hyperbolic dialogue possible Peter talks about how their lives have changed forever and life as they know it is different. But Peter always talks in a toned down version of the Narrator, explaining the most simple truths with almost no depth or personal insight, summarizing the plot or themes of a particular episode. Just like Hiro continues to promote the "destiny" angle of being a hero. Masi Oka is 34 years old and the childish approach to their powers and responsibilities rings more and more false every time he says it (only made worse by it compromising 60% of the total dialogue he has). These characters never speak except to summarize plot, restate the most juvenile tenants of the show and explain the next step in the plot... they don't sound like real people. Examples include "Cheerleader!" I mean come on Hiro, you've met her before. Her name is Claire, people will call her Claire, especially people who don't even know her as a cheerleader, which she hasn't been in nearly a year of the show's timeline.
As for the Sylar storyline, I have to at least commend them from keeping him out of the first storyline on his own tangent for the time being. But here's another problem this show bashes into on a regular basis, toying with the audience's awareness. Sylar just coincidentally (yeah, seriously again with the coincidence) takes the government agent to the home of a child with powers, who coincidentally knows not only who Sylar is, but where his father is located, why Sylar is looking for him and he also just happens to be antisocial enough to abandon his mother and kill a man. Good thing Sylar doesn't bother to question him and decides to just start the road trip.
Another problem shown in this scene is The Wasted Moment, the example to prove this show's direction continues to live down to its writing. The boy's mother does love him, Sylar is the one lying. We know this because Sylar's jingle bell doesn't go off when she says this. Where is the pause and smirk, so the audience can catch up to that revelation in real time instead of a minute later when it is repeated. If they made it clear the first time (wait a few seconds and have Sylar's lie detector go off when HE lies) that way the second time it happens isn't the confirmation that yes, if you were paying very close attention you did indeed catch it. Instead it could have the emotional weight of, "wow, this woman loves her son, but he just won't listen to her."
And of course the stupidity of the characters. Daphne just decides to stand up while everyone else is hiding and talk for 15 seconds before running away. Not that I am at all sad to see her go, but why didn't Matt mention that he came back because he loved her and saw that she would be shot? That's kind of an important bit of information. And what was Peter's plan exactly when cornering Nathan in the woods, "Hey Traci, you go talk to him for awhile. I'll hang out behind that tree with my gun and wonder what you two are talking about. Then without looking around or confirming he did come alone, I'll jump out and ask what the hell you two are talking about? Ready, break!"
At least with the air strike and the murder of Daphne, a bit of the threat of the government agent "the Hunter" is established. But really, why isn't he just called Agent Henry Jones or something? Does he need a nickname? The idea of hiding a character's name was done best a decade ago and has been played out uselessly and repetitively ever since. For humor's sake alone I can only hope Peter corners him some day and calls him a "huntering son of a bitch," kind of like when Mulder sneaked into CSM's hotel room, only less well written, directed and acted.
But every week, it seems the audience needs to have a few masochistic tendencies like myself or turn a blind eye to how poorly every episode is done on virtually every measure of performance (acting, writing, directing, effects). What hope that could be taken from the first season has long since faded for all but the most devoted cult memb... er, fans. The rather pathetic excuses I have clung to (they have superpowers, Sylar could be a cool bad guy, remember how bad ass HRG used to be?)are wearing thin, especially in weeks like these when they march out so many of the things that annoy me: the painting, Hiro acting like a child, Nathan being conflicted (AGAIN), Sylar continuing to float indecisively between bad and good.
Final score: .25 stars out of 5
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Oscar Special Or: The Curious Case Of The Dark Knight Snub!(1:00:00)
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Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Much like Marshall Sam Gerard, "I Don't Care"
Heroes: A Clear and Present DangerSeason 3, Episode 14
After a few weeks on hiatus, Heroes returned last night to start Volume 4: Fugitives. Besides the volume title giving me recollections of a great movie and television show (I'm not talking about the Tim Daly version), this is the continuation of their wildly... well the word disappointing somewhat infers having positive anticipation to start with, so let's just stick with "third season." This episode at least attempts to address the situation - that being how the show's ratings and critical response have reached a point best described as: calamity. Since season one, the ratings have dropped by approximately half. Let me repeat that, half the people that once followed no longer give a damn.For my take on the problems of this once interesting show and their obvious attempts to right the ship, read below the cut.
I have to admit it's hilarious how the people in charge of this show act. They know ratings are down, seldom does a week go by without a few critics ripping into them and still they let each and every chance slip through their fingers. The common complaint of the characters needing real lives and jobs is quickly ripped apart so they can be on the run... during which time they better explain how these fugitives afford food and shelter. Here's a hint, go rent a season of the Fugitive with David Janssen, like right now. Remember the idea that people latched onto, "ordinary people with extraordinary abilities?" These people don't live ordinary lives with jobs, or really any type of life outside of the one their abilities and the show's not so epic plots.
So what are the problems? Did anything get better this week? The answer is kinda, sorta, not really.
FEAR
We need to be worried about the characters if there's ever going to be any attachment to them. The most certain way to do this is killing a few (for longer than 15 seconds). All of the shows deaths shouldn't just be new or recurring characters in their first half-dozen episodes, killing any member of the core cast might quickly reinvigorate a sense of urgency and consequence into the show. But it's unlikely any combination of Claire, Peter, Hiro, Noah Bennett or Sylar will ever be killed or even out of the audience's attention for even a single episode. Perhaps they just like the actors too much. I mean Ali Larter's character died and she was back within three or four scenes. But if the entire original cast continues to float along cheating death at every turn, dying multiple times only to be brought back within minutes each and every time, the writers encourage the idea of, "Why watch? Nothing happens."
It's the same reason they need to fire Tim Sale as the Hand of God, a.k.a. the artist of the future. It's long past time to axe him as they did his oft-times comic book partner, the former co-exec Jeph "Where'd my talent go?" Loeb. Consequences need to be real and long-lasting. First, Isaac painted the future, when he died they found a mysterious additional set of his paintings from some time ago (of course Isaac never recognized meeting the various people he painted), this is on top of Peter and Sylar occasionally taking up the ability.
Then in just the first 13 episodes this year, previously unheard of issues of Isaac's comic are found, Sylar paints, Arthur Petrelli paints, even the African bushman Usutu paints for a few episodes before his death. After all this, now they decide to have Matt Parkman spontaneously gain the power to paint without any explanation besides the ghost of Usutu appearing and saying the equivalent of It Is Needed. No It Isn't. The ability to paint the future belonged to one hero and he died, another borrowed the ability and has lost it, a third had it and died. As long as Sale is around to solve the writer's problem of having to move the plot forward through any other storytelling device, death has no meaning. And if we don't care if the characters die, why should we care if they live?
CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY, CON... um...
So far in the first HALF of this season, Sylar went from being a maniacal villain to a anti-hero to a hero to a villain to an uncommitted villain to pretty much where he started to a possibly not-as-bad villain. Bennett's allegiance seems to float to wherever he the writers think he could be the biggest badass. Nathan has made the bad-good-bad triple jump in single episodes... multiple times! The only seemingly certain things are that Peter is a moron, and regardless of whether he is being mind-wiped or not, Hiro is a child and Hayden Panettiere is a terrible actress. I suppose we can only blame the writers for the first two points and the few people continuing to enjoy the show can live with the third.
The writing staff needs to commit with these characters. Either Sylar is a psychopathic killer of innocents, an ultra-violent anti-hero in the Clint Eastwood mold or a reformed hero. He cannot be all three! He should not be any two! In this episode he resists killing the watchmaker adopted father that abandoned him, but took out one of Nathan's goon squads in short order. Welcome to being an anti-hero... please do not adjust... at all... for any reason whatsoever.
Likewise, Nathan can be conflicted about what he is doing, but can NOT go against the government operation that he is currently running. If this is reversed in short order like so much else in the history of the show has been, it continues to destroy any credibility that these are normal people. There needs to be a rock to each character's personalities and their actions should always be true to that.
THINK IT THROUGH FOR A SECOND
More than anything else, the plot, even the smaller details, needs to be run past an Executive of Common Sense. I volunteer to take this job for Heroes starting immediately if they want. I would point out things like, why is the American government abducting Hiro from Japan (ever heard of the term: international incident, Senator Petrelli?) then transport him all the way to New York just to transport him to their prison. Perhaps we could solve that by having Hiro and Ando living in New York to begin with. I mean they were there at the end of the last episode. And why isn't every person with abilities immediately sent tho the prison from wherever they are abducted and instead brought together on one single plane? And your excuse can NOT be, "So they can escape."
And having Noah capture Mohinder hurts the story in a couple different ways only to see him do something quote-unquote cool. That he is needed for the capture at all completely cuts the legs out from under them in trying to establish their new malicious government agent (played by Zeljko Ivanek, who is continually promoted as an actor from Damages, but will always be Andre Drazen to me) as capable. Why are we supposed to be afraid of him catching all the heroes if he and five of his soldiers can't even get one of them? And it took away a significant possible emotional impact from a reveal towards the end. Nobody would be more hurt by Bennett being involved in this as Claire, so why not have her arrival in the cockpit be the first time he is seen so the audience can possibly experience it from her point of view.
SO CLOSE... YET SO FAR
Some of the shows problems are addressed, I will give them that. And hey as long as they have superpowers, I'll be back most weeks... even if I've written off collecting anymore of the DVDs. What can I say, I'm easy. But it's frustrating that so many of the potential improvements are diluted in one way or another. The most concerning is the powering down of some heroes. Limiting the god-like powers of Hiro and Peter were necessary and logically consistent with the events of last season. But each attempt is goofed like a Charlie Brown field goal attempt with the writers yanking the ball out of place.
If Hiro has no powers and is still going to be prominently involved, he needs to carry his own weight and to do that he needs to start acting like an adult, not a kid with lots of toys. He is the richest member of the cast and years of reading stories about heroes should give him ideas to what the others might need to operate. But he needs to effectively apply those in a mature manner, not just buying a spandex outfit for the defenseless Ando and telling him to go fight crime. Think about it for a second!
Peter losing his powers and having them returned artificially is an excuse to limit him, so he can be still be involved in the story, but be placed in danger. Perhaps then the audience can actually relate to and be concerned for him. But the show should let the audience know this upfront. They shouldn't have to piece it together during the climatic fight. It can be pieced together by wondering why he doesn't have super-strength until he touches Mohinder and that changes to freezing abilities when he touches Tracy (who he probably thinks is Nikki) and then he's worried about falling out of the plane. In the climatic battle of the episode, half the audience shouldn't be piecing the mystery together while the other half yells, "You can fly, just let go!" One line of dialogue is all it would take, he can't get free Claire ask him if anyone there has super-strength he can copy. He just says, "It's not like that anymore. I can only have one power." And then the audience worries and cares about the lead character again. Think about it for a second!
The problem with is in virtually every instance, they don't. But I suppose they deserve something for the effort.
Final score: 1 star out of 5
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