October 8th, 2008
Heroes News Round-Up: Declining Ratings, Fugitives, Angels and Monsters
Depending on how close you keep track of Heroes beyond the hour or so you tune in each week to watch it, you may or may not know that the third season of Heroes is not exactly burning up the ratings charts. In fact, the numbers are pretty brutal, and let’s just say that the dark clouds may not part anytime soon. What does this mean for the show? I haven’t a clue, although I do believe that the show’s less-than-spectacular viewership can be traced back to the shortened Season 2, the result of the blasted writer’s strike (which is still the bane in everyone’s existence even after it’s long been settled), which, I believe, is one of the reasons why Season 2 felt so disjointed and, well, unfinished. That’s because it was unfinished. Of course, it didn’t help that it seemingly took forever for new Heroes to finally air again.
Media Life breaks down the raw numbers:
NBC finished third for the night, averaging a 2.8 adults 18-49 rating and 7 share, according to Nielsen overnights, more than a point behind nightly leader CBS. That comes on a night where the network once challenged for No. 1 during the first season of “Heroes.”
As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks.
It’s possible the network could see a solid bump then. “Heroes” is one of the most-DVRed shows on broadcast, and “Chuck” has a young-skewing audience. Twenty-eight percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
Still, the early numbers for NBC weren’t promising. “Chuck” slid to fourth place in its 8 p.m. timeslot, behind even Fox’s struggling “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” with a series-low 2.2 rating. That was off 15 percent from a 2.6 for its premiere last week.
“Heroes” also hit a series low, averaging a 3.9, down 11 percent from last week’s 4.4 and off 22 percent from a 5.0 the same night last year.
To sum it up: the ratings for Heroes Season 3 stinks, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be getting any better any time soon. But speaking of DVRs…
Michael Ausiello of Entertainment Weekly responds to a question about the declining ratings:
Question: What the hell is up with Heroes’ ratings?! Where’d all the viewers go! — Joel
Ausiello: NBC is praying hoping a few million of them turn up on Oct. 13 when the live-plus-three-day DVR data starts to trickle in.
There are two things to blame for the declining ratings: the looooooong hiatus between Season 2 and Season 3 cause by that damn writer’s strike, and the nearly universal pummeling the show’s second season took at the hands of critics and fans alike. It might take a while before the show brings back the viewers who tuned in during Season 1, but either left during Season 2, or decided not to come back after sitting through the disaster that was Season 2.
Ausiello also mentions that a new character, a dangerous teen, is being cast for Season 3’s second half, “Fugitives”:
The show has a problem… The problem concerns a kid named David. He’s teenage angst incarnate and he’ll be featured in at least three episodes of the “Fugitives” arc. Casting is under way.
“Teenage angst incarnate”? Gah. I thought we had gotten rid of all the teenage angst when Claire stopped wearing the cheerleader outfit. Oh well.
Update: 10/24/08 We now know who will be playing David. From EW:
Dan Byrd, best known for his roles as sensitive, wholesome teens on Aliens in America and Clubhouse, is about to tap into his inner Henry Evans. Sources confirm to me exclusively that Byrd has been cast on Heroes in the recurring role of David, a dark and twisted kid who tells lies easily and has a cruel streak. Word is he’ll be a possible apprentice to Sylar (Zachary Quinto).
Byrd is committed to appearing in at least three episodes during Heroes’ forthcoming “Volume 4: Fugitives” arc.
Meanwhile, Kristin over at E! Online has another “what to expect” list featuring next week’s episode, “Angels and Monster”. (See our preview of that episode here.)
* Next week is a huge episode for Nathan Petrelli. We’ll learn more about his ability, and he’ll be taking Tracy home to meet mom. (You can only imagine how well that goes…) He also sets off a mission that leads him to discover the shocking secret of another Hero.
* Claire learns what her father is capable of when it comes to serving the Company, and she ain’t the least bit happy about it. But on the flip side, during the same mission where Claire sees her father at his worst, Claire and her uncle Sylar bond. Crazy, I know, since Sylar was cutting off the top of Claire’s skull just a few weeks ago, but oddly, the two of them do find a little common ground next week, while fighting a guy I’ll call the Vortex Villain.
* As the previews promised, Arthur Petrelli finally appears next week, and he’s been conspiring with another Hero’s father…
Claire is still surprised by daddy’s ability to be evil? That’s surprising. But what’s more surprising? Claire and Sylar bond. Say WHAT???
AWW claire and sylar are bonding that so sweet. i couldnt watch heroes last monday i had to work. Sorry NBC wont happen again
this rating its base and dvr recoring dont make any sense not everybody use dvr a lot people just watched and that’s it people without cable or satelite watch heroes and of course don’t had dvr if i am wrong please guys tell me ? heroes rules and its nothing better than heroes on tv
You think Heroes is better than Lost? You sad little person…
Heroes is awesome! But so is Lost! Lost is just as confusing as Heroes and I’ve been into Lost since it first premiered. Both shows rock!!!
i used to love lost then it went to far and lost the plot lol
I used to love lost too until Season 3 aired. I started losing interest halfway through Season two. Don’t go around calling people a “sad little person” just because you have different points of view. THAT’S sad. And ridiculously childish. What I think was just slightly off for Lost was that we never got any answers. Having a constant overwhelming feeling was good in the beginning but turned out to be too much. I wanted answers and then gave up. So now I support Heroes as my favorite show.
Heroes is great and all but I have to admit season was the best and the show has not gotten back to that amazing system they had.
But it sure looks like they’re trying and it looks like this season will get better the longer it goes on but at the moment Lost,Chuck and the office are more consistent with how good the show is.
Why?Because they keep a balance with those shows.
Heroes keeps breaking that balance with season 2 it was too slow and with season 3 it is moving too fast and they keep leaving plot holes and not giving us closure or at least an Idea of what happened to West,Monica or Caitlin which feels a bit odd of you watched season 2.
I am sure they will fix it eventually and when they do Heroes could go back to being the best show on Television again lets just hope its before NBC cancels the show.
I like the idea of Sylar becoming a hero. Even bonding with Claire is a step forward. He’s just completely misunderstood. After “I Am Become Death”, I actually feel sorry for him, he’s got an eternal addiction that he has to struggle to fight with every day, it’s not really his fault why he did what he did in the past.
The new Sylar direction is fun, but, like so many other events this season, totally out of character. Sylar was at his most evil in S2, when he had no powers, and no hunger. Anyone else remember him making out with Maya while Alejandro’s corpse cooled behind the door? So, now that he has a mommy, he’s the waffle-man? Totally unbelievable.
I’m hoping that this whole disconnect (religious Nathan, vengeful Claire) is actually a plot element. Some puppet-master influencing these people would be nice. Linderman may be an indication of this.
his mom’s got powers.
it’s not your ordinary persuasion like eden
remember… she said i’ve got abilities far more than those you’ve seen…
and ps:
charles devaux.
he can walk in dreams. like the man parkman met.
but that guy has this certain painting “addiction”
You can’t really say it’s out of character. It’s in character after all, since the writers wrote season 3, and it’s their right. But I agree that it’s too abruptedly different.
Ratings are down across the board after the stupid strike messed everything up. Hopefully the next few weeks will see an upswing for the show, especially since it’s so awesome this season. I’m really loving it, so much is happening.
Speaking of awesome, Sylar and Claire bonding a bit? Oh god, that’s going to rock. I wonder how long it’ll be until everyone else finds out that Sylar’s a Petrelli? Seeing Claire’s reaction to that would be brilliant. I can’t wait for the next episode!
Sam your clearly disallusioned! yes the writers strike didnt help matters but at the end of the day the reason the show is getting below par ratings is simply that season 2 was awful! and the first few episodes of season 3 are clearly not up to scratch either!
im a heroes fan as much as the next guy – but considering the amount of time the writers had to think of an exciting story they really have stuffed things up.
i wouldnt be surprised if they axed heroes after this season – it really needs something special to come out of this freefall.
and to be honest i wouldnt miss it now if they did.
Lol, you’re right, the reason the ratings are low is because Season 2 was a bomb… and at the end of the day, that was because of the writers strike. Now don’t get me wrong, it didn’t start off great but it could’ve ended a lot better than it did.
And why is there so much negativity on Season 3. Is it honestly that bad?
martin h,
If you don’t think the beginning of Season 3 is “up to scratch”, then you’re clearly not much of a Heroes fan. Season 3 is already shaping up to be an excellent season. Add in your comment that if the show was canceled now, that you wouldn’t miss it, clearly marks you as a fly-by-nighter, and not a real fan by any stretch of the imagination. As such, I don’t know why you bother posting on a Heroes site. See ya, go watch “Dancing with the Stars”.
lol nice one sam I agree totally
yay iam going to be in fugitives
lol i like it when characters in my faves series have the same name as me
other than that, im excited i think aurthur may be conspiring with mats DAD ooh
BUT ONW HUGE PLOT HOLE THAT I CAN SEE IS
you saw the Flame thrower guy in level five just pointlessly showing off his flame ability in his cell? so how comes none of the other heroes can use there powers? and at end of episode 3 hiro and ando were in level 5 but in series 4 they were in level 2? this dont make sense could have been moved but still why cant they use there powers? i the haitian is in the building but evidentally he not always there
I get what everyone is saying, but i honestly don’t think season two was that bad. Another thing half of my friends that watch heroes didn’t even know it was coming back on. I would die if they ended Heroes after this season, I mean come on at least 6 or 7 seasons.
u r right Jim. a lot of ppl ar clueless about it being on. take me for example, i don’t really watch the network channels or what ever u want to call it, like NBC,ABC,CBS,Fox. So usually I start to watch a show once it already started. For Heroes, i started watching at the end of season1. So i had to catch up with old episodes. that’s what happens for me with most shows. so, like u said, they probably don’t even know it is on. i mean really who sits around watching NBC to see when Heroes starts airing again. I found out b/c of this website and just b/c i love this show. If they axe this show, I will be flippin mad, u have no idea. It should last at least 2 more seasons for me to be happy.
I know some fans can’t watch because they are working when it’s on. Fortunately I am not one of them.
When I was on the 3-11 shift I missed a lot of shows, even those I tried to tape. The VCR kept messing up. Now I’m on 11-7 and I made a point of taking the premiere night off so I could watch it all live.
Blame the damned ratings to the Torrents. Though I can’t blame that as I live outside the US and are watching it from the torrent too.
i’m from India, and i watch download and watch the show every week! The show is great and if this heroes craze has come so far to India, i think the rest of the season will be awesome to watch, i am looking forward to the next airing.
(”watch” doesn’t come twice, sorry)
I started watching Heroes Season 1 last week.Finished it in 2 days so I dont have much sleep.I loved every minute of it.It’s a brilliant change from the normal comedy shows which is so ordinary.To the producers and writers … keep on doing what you do best.
People need to accept the fact that Heroes is a poorly written show. The first season was excellent for five or six episodes, but that’s it. As soon as they were praised as the new breakout hit, the show went off in too many directions and the story was all over the place. They did a poor job trying to bring it all together for the finale and they ended on a low note. Season 2 tanked and season 3 is off to a lousy start because they are overcompensating to make up for it. The ratings are down because the show isn’t worth sitting through commercials just to watch it on Monday Night. People want to see a good story, If the just wanted stupid mindless entertainment they would watch reality TV. 8.2 million viewers last week, that’s not a hit show. That’s a show that won’t be renewed next season if it keeps dropping each week.
Hmm, personally I really enjoy Season 3 just as much as seasons 1 and 2. I also was happy with season 2 (maybe I’m just easy to please :] ). I pray that it gets more viewers, and quick. I don’t think it’s even near this point, but if it were to get canceled, I would throw heavy kitchen appliances at the TV whenever NBC was on… I half-think I’m not kidding.
I like the fact that Sylar is taking on a new sort of role- a hero (or at least trying to). I think Zach plays it well. I especially loved the scenes four years into the future at the former Bennet house. (squeeeeeal!
) I can’t wait for more villains- though I do slightly miss Sylar being the big bad wolf of the Heroes world. Oh well!
To all these people who think Season 3 is terrible, you’d just prefer if the story rewound and was just the heroes saving random normal people again. THAT IS BORING!
The show has evolved. It evolved in Season 1. Season 2 wasn’t great, but a lot of that was Maya’s fault and a boring Mohinder/Company plot. We’re now investigating Peter a lot more, we’re seeing more of Sylar and I’m sure that the ratings will come up, I still don’t miss an episode and I know a lot of people who DVR the thing anyways.
I know this, Season 3 is light years beyond the boring Lost.
EXACTLY.
100% agreed.
But, it’s good to save some random life once in a while
I’m the biggest Heroes fan ever!!!
Season 1 – Was great – best hing on the TV in years I thought.
Season 2 – Hmmm wasn’t so good, too short & silly ending plus a very slow start.
Season 3 – Seems okay at the moment but not sure where they going with it, they seem to be trying to hard??
So in summary Season 1 was the best, Season 2 was the worst and Season 3 is somewhere in the middle. I will keep watching although I’m in England & have to torrent it. As I said above they seem to be trying 2 hard so far in Season 3, with lots of big things happening! But don’t get me wrong I won’t stop watching as I’m a loyal fan.
Cheers
Mr Withaz
I think that the strike ending season 2 was a blessing in disguise. That season was awful and where they were going with it seemed bad too. The virus was supposed to get out and the boring stories they had going would have just dragged out. Hero in Old japan and the New Orleans stories were just boring and seemed inconsequential to the overall story. Plus the time spent on Maya with a powerless Sylar wasn’t entertaining either. Its a good thing they had the strike because I’m loving Season 3 and it might have been different if season 2 wasn’t changed. I think they are giving us everything they can this year and I’m happy with iy. We finally get to see Arthur next week too.
I just hope we get many more seasons and these ratings don’t cause the show to end!!! There better at least be 5 seasons!
i don’t know what most of you are whining about, this season is awesome, can’t wait to see what arthur patrelli can do and what he and maury parkman have been plotting. Bet his (and angela’s, i’m sure she has more than 1) power is very similar to peter’s.
This season is awesome, there is gonna be a huge showdown on the horizon, whoever is on the losing side i’m sure will be the main focus in “fugitives”.
Season 3 is heroes saving grace, i can’t wait to see what is coming next.
Hey guys, Im just wondering, why doesn’t Sylar just kill all the good heroes take their powers and become invincible? instead of doing what Angelas is telling him to.
Also Hiro needs to travel back in time and kill Sylar when he doesn’t have his powers.
Wow I think season 3 is great we can’t stay in season 1 forever now.These people had to grow with thier power.I love the Sylar and Peter stories now Angela and arthur this is getting good.I agrre season 2 was too slow nobody used thier powers but they are making up for it now.