Heroes Suffering from a Sophomore Slump? You Decide.

I completely see where they’re coming from…that’s pretty much what everyone is saying about the second season so far..

But what we really need to look at, is the fact that we’re only going into the 6th episode out of 24. So much can happen within just one episode, think of how much we have yet to find out..

At this point everything is left up to the writers and creators of the show..I think they know what they’re doing..if the first season is as amazing as it is, i’m pretty sure they’ll try their hardest to make the second season just as good, if not better than the first. We really just can’t judge the second season right now. It’s just too early in the game to tell..they’re still making their way through the tagline of season 2..”new season, new stories” - First they need to establish the new characters and more importantly re-establish the old ones, while bringing them into the stories that will make the foundation of season 2.

So my advice-just sit tight, and appreciate what we’ve been given so far..because if you look at the other shows TV is putting out there…Heroes still blows ‘em out of the water..

Personally, I think that the IS going through a serious floppy area. But the thing that fans need to remember is that the first season did the exact same thing. Episodes 3-8 were more devoted to the characters’ storylines rather than just “I have this power” or “I’m gonna change the world.” It was less action and more depth.

The thing about this show that never fails to bug (and enthrall) me is that the cast is so huge that the audience really can only see a little bit of a story at a time. That’s what makes us come back to the show next week. Nevertheless, the ratings aren’t the world’s greatest, and to be perfectly honest, some of the storylines ARE not up to par. But I gotta say this: I thought the EXACT SAME THING during the beginning of season one last year and sure enough, I got some serious satisfaction toward the end of the season.

We just need to be patient. They’ll give us what we wanna see.

You are nuts. Have you really watched the episodes? This season will end up better than last season, and last season was friggin awesome! You nay sayers need to have a little more patience. I love you Heroes, without you I have nothing. Ok, thats a little bit dramatic. But really… : ) Just relax, it will get better.

I have to agree. Right now I hate Hiro, Claire, and Micah’s stories. Hiro and Claire were fine last year, but now I want to throw my T.V. out the window when they come on.

Micah and the rest of that pathetic storyline should have never existed in the first place. I hate them. They STILL have nothing to do with anything, no matter how hard the writers try.

I am also getting extraordinarily bored with Peter, which is a shame because he was one of my favorite characters last year. In my opinion, he needs to go back to New York with his brother, who still has an intruging story, and kick some company… you know.

I also think they are cramming WAY too many chracters in WAY too fast. It’s getting annoying.

Aside from that, I love it. Sylar especially =D. Haha, and they are only on episode 5, so I guess there is hope for bouncing back. But they better hurry up with it…

I look at it this way: It needs just a dash of more “Powers” action (ie. Special Effects) and a dash of speed-it-up. But only a dash of each.

It’s still a fantastic show that keeps you wondering but not frustrated to know all the answers.

The only real complaint that comes to mind right now is that its seemed like forever for Peter to open his box. When he did open it he found a decent stash of info, but it didn’t truely give him his identity back. He just knows there’s something in Montreal, he knows his name but his memory is still technically lost.

In Micah’s story arc defense, his story is interesting because he’s interacting with another hero that is just trying to figure out why she has a super power and why she seems to be the only one that has this power… all the stuff we saw in season 1 where some of the heroes kinda freak out. Micah sees the power and just comes straight out with it and tells her she’s not crazy, etc. In short, he’s fast tracking the kind of stuff we already have been seeing in season 1.

But too get down to the point of this article, I think “Dancing With The Stars” is dragging down the ratings (i don’t personally watch it because it overlaps Heroes and the concept doesn’t appeal to me at all) as well as their “Samantha Who?” (don’t know much about it) taking the “Dancing…” 20+ Million viewers in right after it in the second half of the Heroes slot. That I think is the major reason for the drop. Thankfully they seem to be half way through their season and hopefully ratings will pick up again after that.

I’m quite sure ratings will pick up again.

I have posted my ideas in other threads but the bottom line is, less drama, more action. Make it more like the first season where we’d see a painting and be like “OH NO! PETER!” or whatever character was in it, and trick us. It’s too predictable right now and too dramatic. I don’t want every scene to be a big drama in some way.
Make the show build up to something big, the bomb for example was perfect. They threw us off too by making us guess at which person really was the bomb…

Heroes is a good series but not good enough. Okay it has depth and it shows the characters as humans(blah blah). It went too much on the depth that it already bugs you so much. Maybe thats the whole point right?so that ratings would go higher lets make a series that will make people bugged about the mysteries of a slow-paced story. Whenever I watch the series I just want to fast-forward the episode,can we have a lil bit more action and lessen the words a bit. The characters are all piled up,character development is lacking in some points.

Heroes is definitely slumping. Last season was a lot better. The new plotlines are boring. The use of powers is inconsistent at times. And the new characters are not that interesting.

Critics are just that critics.

The first season had to WOW everyone so it could produce more seasons, now that they have a contract with NBC, they want to go into more detail with the storyline. Explain characters. Add some more in. Etc.

Heroes isn’t in a slump at all. They are building to something huge. If you haven’t figured that one out yet, you are slower then the critics.

I agree with Keith. They are trying to plan farther ahead than just one season now that they have us all hooked. But I do believe they’re adding way too many new characters and they might start to get in over their heads. And I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…..the whole Claire/West thing…..ENOUGH ALREADY!!! Somebody needs to kill West and maybe Claire can get mad about it and go after him/her.

I’m loving this season so far it isn’t in a slump things are starting to pick up and I think it’s going to end up being better than season one in the end. I do think it could use a little more action but the story telling is spot on.

I think the declining ratings and waning interest has a lot to do with the fact that the tv-watching public, for the most part, is a bunch of A.D.D.-addled whiners. We’re so hooked on the quick fix, the instant gratification, the flashiness, that if we don’t get enough “pew-pew-pew”, stuff blowing up, or sex to distract us, we lose interest. Shows like Heroes can’t possibly appeal to people whose minds are going to wander if something major doesn’t happen right away.

It’s sad to see that these bellyachers have forgotten that there is such a thing as EXPOSITION. As the episodes continue, these storylines that seem to be shooting off in their own direction will start to converge. Things will pick up and start to come together, just like, oh I don’t know, LAST SEASON!!!

We’re coming up on the 6th episode of a 20+ episode season, and people are complaining about slowness? That’s like reading a mystery novel and complaining that they didn’t reveal the killer in the first two chapters!

And, what’s with all the hate over Hiro’s storyline? I’m loving it, though I can already tell what’s going to happen: Hiro’s going to lose any chance at Yaeko and somehow get screwed over by Kensei. I can just tell.

Scott> Love the “sound effects”!!! LOL “pew-pew-pew” LOL!!!!!!!

Even “2 & 1/2 Men” is beating heroes in the ratings. America is full of people with no taste!

It needs a better lead-in that Chuck also. Put Deal or No Deal in front of it again. NBC is amazingly stupid.

This is far too early to tell. Although Series 2 should move faster than 1, after establishing characters and powers, the writers have stated that each series we will meet new heroes who discover they have powers; this is part of smaller arcs each series. So we should expect new cast members and some slow stories. I think really, while there have been some crappy episodes, generally everything is really good, and if you do recall S1, Ep 5 was Hiros, and not much had really happened by then.

That said, some of the subplots are awful. Claires stinks of OC syndrome; Hiros is really drying the character and Peter’s subplot, while intriguing, is amid an array of irish characatures that is laughable. Once the story is pieced back together, we’ll be ok. I hope.

I don’t consider this the season - we were warned about what we’d see coming into the new episodes. An introduction of new characters and alot of filler for transitions.

I think that was supposed to last for 8 episodes before we got thrown back into the heart of the story. They even said the ’season’ would extend as a result of these little ‘prequel-esque’ type episodes.

Doesn’t anyone else remember reading this?

The people who are saying that Heroes is in a slump are obviously not fans of character depth. They want lightning bolts flying from arses, and eye beams, flight and death….How drull. In my opinion, the set up for this season is awesome and with last week’s Fight or Flight Episode things stepped up a notch. Tonight things will start to come to a head as we have not seen in this season. And though they have complained about the setup, tonight’s episode is going to be insane, BECAUSE of the setup.

And to those saying that there are too many characters, you are aware Kring said 3 MAIN characters would die off this season right? If not search around and see for yourself. 3 deaths. Tonight we get to see the other paintings and they said something about a tombstone and two deaths in the paintings.

The storylines have gained momentum and tonight things derail. What happens when Nikki/Jessica sees who they have in custody, with plans to take her power, realizing Micah is unattended I fear for the idiot who tries to harm “St Joan” (to avoid a spoiler unless you know who I am talking about. Peter and Caitlin suffered the death of her brother and now are moving, instead of being so static. Their base too is set. Matt and Nathan have a murder to stop. Mohinder a huge moral conflict compounded by handing Molly to them. What will they do if her refuses to play ball etc….And we have been promised something was planned for the Twins Maya and Alejandro that would make us feel invested in them. I trust in the writing team and in Kring’s direction of them to not let me down on this one.

If Hiro Nakamura is boring you maybe you should watch the Kensei legends on the Yamagato Fellowship site. These legends give you some idea of what Hiro and Kensei have been doing and astute watchers will notice that soon Hiro as The Dragon of Kensei’s legend will try and take his love, and Kensei will “rip out his own heart” to end it…A dissolving of a friendship? A fight? there is more intrigue to this story that others give it credit for. The cross-media information can be both helpful and fun. In case you did not know by now this series crosses medias. There is even a PrimaTechPaper website that you can get passwords logins for and “hack” Company files to find out more about people.

Far from a sophomore slump Heroes like a great novel has set the stage for something great this season, be patient. The only story that is lagging behind is Claire. And I know it has something to do with something we should have noticed. Either that or once again the Cheerleader is the key. (though I am partial to the Theories suggesting another girl is in that painting much like it was Jackie with her head cut off).

I love the series. And I love season 2.

Alexis Diana

Chuck is a great show….I don’t know why anyone would think otherwise.

Wow, Alexis, loved your comments! I never thought of Hiro as the dragon that tries to steal Yaeko away from Kensei. That’s an interesting take. I guess what’s been bothering me about Kensei is that he’s shown no interest in Yaeko romantically until he discovered he was, essentially, immortal. I still see Kensei as a self-preserving opportunist. Then again, our legends have always turned out to be ordinary people with character flaws once you de-mystify them.

And, yes, I’d have to agree that the only storyline that’s been lacking is Claire/West. I don’t like West, and I don’t trust him. He’s too into Claire, too focused on her and her power. I get the sense that he’s one of those types that doesn’t mind using his abilities for less than noble purposes.

I totally agree with Alexis on the whole Claire/West thing..I think the reason that everyone thinks their storyline is so dull at this point is because we don’t know something..something has gone unnoticed, that will eventually make a huge difference in the way we look at their story..

whether it has to do with the painting of HRG’s death or something else…something probably happenend that we never bothered to see..

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT! (Do not read if you want to remain surprised)

I wasn’t going to say anything but Kensei is in the first season.

He’s the sword repair guy. Watch the episode where Hiro brings him the sword.

He knew the name of the sword.
He expected to see him with it.
He knew what Hiro looked like, and when to summon his father.
He looks ancient.
He looks like Kensei.
He smokes, but show no signs of being sick (even though he’s old as dirt.)
I could go on, but you get the point.

That should give people something to research instead of putting down a season which is only 6 episodes in.

—————-

I agree Hiro is the Dragon. I also think that these characters who die, Hiro goes back and saves them. It’s time Hiro starts doing some good.

Also have you noticed that everyone seems to have one Main power, and then ether one or more branch powers.

Examples:
Hiro: Bends Time
- Teleport
- Reverse Time (When he made the bullet fly backwards, Season 1)

Matt: Reads Minds
- Project his thoughts
- Could possibly entrap people in nightmares.

Ted: Nukes
- EMP

Peter: Absorbs Powers
- Automatically Uses Powers when needed

Claire:
- Heals
- Regenerates (what ever happened to that other toe?)
- Immortality?

Nathan:
- Flys
- A Speculation: If he can jet himself in the air why not on land or in sea. So possibly super speed.

The list goes on…So where am I going with this?

I think people need to chill and not worry so much about the “pew pew pew”. It will happen. You know it will.

So if Hiro is the dragon, I assume Kensei can just regenerate his heart. So if his head gets chopped off does he regen a whole new body? That would be interesting to find out.

What are Hiro’s Father and Angela’s powers!?!? I want to know. Why was Angela shoplifting in the first episode? WHAT DOES SYLAR DO WITH THOSE BRAINS!?! Why are his powers not working? These are minor questions that I would like to know about. Instead of complaining that Peter hasn’t blown up Ireland, why not we speculate to those questions.

How about we complain about this:

Emerson Electric is suing NBC because of this scene in “Heroes.” The girl’s (Claire) hand gets bloodied after being stuck in an InSinkErator.

Now that’s ridiculous.

Apparently they don’t understand that last season, they didn’t have enough heroes to kill off!
No duh we need more people. Alejandro will most likely be killed. Save the mexican guy going to the border, Save the world. Sylar is still going on with his “Woa is me, woa is me!”
But, If I was to give in what they could change to make the show better…
I would suggest Claire gets out of cheerleading. I mean Claire and Debbie will have those oh so exciting little ‘Kitty fights’ but who wants to see that!?!
I would love to see Peter find out what is inside that door, open it, and then head back to New York!
Except…When he goes back Nathan returns to his normal self. How many of you like his moody side more? I definatly do! It makes it more interesting. Because now hes team up with little cute chubby Matt! Who I hope finally gets his chance in season 2 to totally take down the bad guy. Last year he just got shot…

After this episode, I’d say where we are in the story now (The Line) vs. where we were a year ago (Better Halves), this season has a clear edge. Of course, Season 2 has a higher bar, so it’s to be expected. Still, that episode was just fantastic, and I think it’s going great.

anyone who says slump after this episode i wanna spit in your face….. only episodes that could have been better were kindred and lizards

same thing happened to ugly betty after winning few awards. i used to like that show. the next heroes will be awesome. i can feel it.

yeah I really just have to laugh alot at this article now seeing as how tonight’s episode(the line) was pretty damn good….and the preview for next week..actually it kinda looks like they set up the entire rest of the season for us..but yeah it kinda gave me like heroes-gasm…anyone agree…the preview itself was like freakin better than the entire first season..

season 2 has definitely kicked it up like 10 notches now..way to go heroes..way-to-gooo

Benjamin, I hear you. I gasped audibly. I LOVE when heroes makes me do that! Man, I love this show.

agreed. Heroes is on the up; S2 can only get better.

I think you guys are right - we’re being set up and filled in for what’s about to come. We pretty much had our Season 2 version of “Save the cheerleader, save the world” with the whole New York Evacuation and “the world is in danger” thing.

But here’s a question. Peter lost his memory. Wakes up in Ireland in a metal container thingy wearing the Hatian’s necklace. is anyone else curious about that?

And what about Elle? (Spoiler coming…) Rumour has it that she’s Claire’s sister… and what does she know about Peter anyway?

Also, everyone is complaining about the Claire/West storyline - but I think what we all missed is that West has been “bagged-and-tagged” by the Company and he’s about to find out that HRG did that to him. Who knows what that’s going to do for their cover now? Or for Claire. Does she stick with her shady dad or make a run for it with West?

Not to mention the combination of threats that the heroes face this season: the Virus, that obviously is going to mutate and spread to non-heroes (or at least it will if Peter doesn’t stop it). Not to mention the Nightmare dude - Parkman’s dad. As well as that, we’ve got someone killing the original 12. And finally, the Company - whose motives we haven’t established yet.

So, I reckon, forgive Tim Kring and the show’s producers if they’re introducing these concepts to us slowly - I fear even the most keen of us wouldn’t be able to handle all of it if they didn’t ease us into it. They seriously must have thought this through over and over. I applaud them on coming up with the best show on TV at the moment.

Yes, it’s a little slow at the moment and frustrating, but Season 1 was exactly the same. I think after Chapter 8 - “Four Months Ago” when we find out how they got from the Bomb of Season 1 to where they are now, we will know a lot of what we need to know and the real action will start to happen.

Wait and see, people. This is going to be awesome.

PS: Is there any truth to the rumours that Heroes is going to be a 7 season show?

Dan, the whole “America has no taste” thing is getting old. You just sound like a total bigot. Please stick to the topic and keep your prejudice to yourself here. Thank you.

As a huge fan of the first season (even and probably especially the first few episodes), I believe Heroes is dropping the ball. Yes I understand that there is supposed to be character development, but there isn’t any right now! They are cramming too many characters in too short a time. So how can we have the characters develop if I have to piece a four minute scene from one episode with another.

But, more importantly, I believe each episode should be enjoyable in and of itself. Sure they’re all connected, but give me something to think about after the episode is done. It doesn’t have to be earth shattering, but just a clue or add another twist or mystery.

Get Hiro out of the past. I really hate him now and he used to be my favorite character. He uses his powers randomly and falls in love with every girl.

I’m so frustrated with that story arc. I can’t see it resolve satisfactorily.

i will blame the slump in ratings on the episode where lois and clark i mean clair and west go flying . what a cringe-worthy sickening craptastic scene. if i wasnt a fan that is where i would have switched off. So kudos to the wanker who thought ‘lets show the blossoming love between a boy who can fly and a girl who cannot die, and lets go all out with $2 special effects” a slap to the face of the fans of this otherwise brilliant dark masterpiece of tv

People expect so much from this show.
I still get really excited when Monday rolls around, and i still spend a lot of time speculating with my friends on where the writers will take it.
The show isn’t slumping, not yet at least. The way the show is set up they need to weave a lot of plot lines together, some of these may not be as interesting to everybody but they are still important and necessary parts.
One thing i would caution the writers of is the amount of plot repetition. If season three is about stopping a catastrophe by time traveling i think i will have to abandon my fan status.

k, I said it near the top of the comments that IMO “Dancing with the Stars” is the culprit.

Well, this next monday should be interesting to see if ratings go back up (are canadian ratings taken into account WITH the U.S. ratings or are they just seperate?). A possible thank you may be in order to Prison Break for having some 2 hour special pushing Heroes out of their regular 9 pm slot into a 7 pm slot (as shown in the Canadian episode preview). Hopefully everybody falls in line for 7 pm and not 9 pm.