Right after the two-part Season 3 premiere, I lobbied on this very site to give Heroes the benefit of the doubt. Unofortunately, things have only gotten worse, and very quickly.

Ratings have plummeted. The show’s reputation has been harmed to such a degree that even the obvious scape-goat firings of writer-producers Jesse Alexander and comics scribe Jeph Loeb can’t save it. NBC wants to let you know that the’ve heard you, and that this time they plan to get it right.

When I saw last week’s episode, I knew it was too late. I promised I would tell you if the show “nuked the fridge”, and it has.

It’s time to stop watching Heroes.

[Read the rest of this entry…]

(But maybe we can go back in time and fix it.)

It’s one of the oldest tricks in the comic writing book: you’ve run out of fresh ideas, so you take all of the known elements and turn them on their head. Suddenly good guys are bad guys, up is down, black is the new orange, and formerly cool characters start acting like mopey dinks. Is it any wonder that viewership is down 25% from last year?

One of the things that previously set Heroes apart from other shows — and indeed the comic books that inspire it — is that it didn’t need to resort to these kinds of tricks. This show put superheroes in the “real” world, taking a different perspective on what it means to emerge with fantastic powers and how to apply them to the problems of today.

Unfortunately, instead of standing apart from its TV and comic book brethren to blaze a new trail filled with awesome, the Season 3 premiere quickly descended into a mishmash of unrelated superhero story derivatives that many long-time fans of the industry could spot a mile away.

If you’re sitting there wondering whether to tune in again tomorrow night, or expunge Heroes from your Tivo subscriptions forever, take heart: out of the aforementioned mishmash, a few plot threads emerged which have potential to redeem the premiere — and perhaps the entire premise of the season.

[Read the rest of this entry…]

Mezco has announced that there will be two Toys R Us exclusive figures from their upcoming Heroes line of action figures. Based on the hit tv series, the line already has three waves scheduled for 2008 starting in June. The two exclusives will be ‘Fire Rescue Claire’ and ‘Times Square Teleportation Hiro’.

Here’s a snippit from the release:

Fire-Rescue Claire features the Texas teenager in her iconic cheerleader outfit from the scene where she rescues a fireman and risks revealing her powers. The figure boasts over 9 points of articulation and comes complete with a miniature reproduction painting by award- winning artist Tim Sale depicting the dramatic rescue scene.

Times Square Teleportation Hiro features the Japanese office drone in the iconic scene where he teleports to New York’s legendary Times Square in front of the famous Toys “R” Us flagship store. Hiro comes complete with an alternate head, his ever present messenger bag, a Times Square backdrop, and his highly detailed sword of Takezo Kensei

It might just be me, but the expression on Hiro’s face seems more appropriate in a bathroom than in Times Square.