Just watched the first two episodes of Heroes series 3.
I must say that I'm a little bit disappointed. It's beginning to be a bit like 24 in the same way that at first it was very exciting because there was nothing else like it on TV before, but after the first series the show is enslaved by its own formula, turning what once was an exciting innovation into a cliche.
Once again we get a glimpse of an apocalyptic future that must be prevented, a character disappears to find himself in a faraway place all alone, Sylar is hunting heroes to get their powers and get caught again (until his next escape), twist family relations between characters are revealed, characters die (but not really) and characters pop back and forth in time.
Don't get me wrong, it's not all bad. There are several exciting new plots, but they are all tied together by the same cliches. The name of the season, and one of the future visions, imply that it's going to feature a villains team up. The show hasn't been going on long enough to pull off something like that properly. It's something that would've worked better in series 5 or 6, which I'm pretty confident Heroes is going to reach. Still, it could be interesting.
My biggest problem is with the time traveling elements. They have played a major part in each storyline so far. It's very hard to write time traveling intelligently. If you go from future A to the past and change it into future B you will also change yourself. The you that exists in future B won't need to go back and change future A since it doesn't exist anymore, so if you end up not going back in time to change the future, then it'll still be future A after all. Confused? You should be. What's worse, the time traveling isn't even used in new ways. Once again we get glimpses of a future where the characters are darker due to some cataclysmic event or alternatively we see the world explode. Again.
The only plot that really holds my attention right now is Mohinder's transformation which could lead to some interesting subplots as long as it's not going to be a Fly ripoff (the actor is not entirely unlike Jeff Goldblum).
Another problem I have with the show is with the action scenes. Smallville doesn't feature the best storylines in primetime action dramas, but they very often have spectacular fight sequences that are almost good enough for the big screen. With Heroes even the season finales feel very cheep and underwhelming.
Obviously I do like this show, otherwise I wouldn't be writing so much about it.. It's always entertaining and addictive, but it can be so much more...
--Mickey
I must say that I'm a little bit disappointed. It's beginning to be a bit like 24 in the same way that at first it was very exciting because there was nothing else like it on TV before, but after the first series the show is enslaved by its own formula, turning what once was an exciting innovation into a cliche.
Once again we get a glimpse of an apocalyptic future that must be prevented, a character disappears to find himself in a faraway place all alone, Sylar is hunting heroes to get their powers and get caught again (until his next escape), twist family relations between characters are revealed, characters die (but not really) and characters pop back and forth in time.
Don't get me wrong, it's not all bad. There are several exciting new plots, but they are all tied together by the same cliches. The name of the season, and one of the future visions, imply that it's going to feature a villains team up. The show hasn't been going on long enough to pull off something like that properly. It's something that would've worked better in series 5 or 6, which I'm pretty confident Heroes is going to reach. Still, it could be interesting.
My biggest problem is with the time traveling elements. They have played a major part in each storyline so far. It's very hard to write time traveling intelligently. If you go from future A to the past and change it into future B you will also change yourself. The you that exists in future B won't need to go back and change future A since it doesn't exist anymore, so if you end up not going back in time to change the future, then it'll still be future A after all. Confused? You should be. What's worse, the time traveling isn't even used in new ways. Once again we get glimpses of a future where the characters are darker due to some cataclysmic event or alternatively we see the world explode. Again.
The only plot that really holds my attention right now is Mohinder's transformation which could lead to some interesting subplots as long as it's not going to be a Fly ripoff (the actor is not entirely unlike Jeff Goldblum).
Another problem I have with the show is with the action scenes. Smallville doesn't feature the best storylines in primetime action dramas, but they very often have spectacular fight sequences that are almost good enough for the big screen. With Heroes even the season finales feel very cheep and underwhelming.
Obviously I do like this show, otherwise I wouldn't be writing so much about it.. It's always entertaining and addictive, but it can be so much more...
--Mickey