Less Ali Larter for Season 2?
By Sam | August 2, 2007 (4:19 pm) | More: Cast: Ali Larter (as Niki Sanders), Heroes Season 2 Spoilers/News
TV Guide’s Michael Ausiello has some interesting news regarding Ali Larter’s Niki/Jessica Sanders character, and it comes from Larter herself. According to Ausiello: “We’ll be seeing less of Ali Larter this fall as Niki takes off early in the season to, as Larter herself teases, “fix something. And once it’s fixed, it will be very shocking and exciting.””
Hmm, what could this mean? There are two trains of thought:
1) Tim Kring wants less Niki to concentrate on the new and existing characters; or,
2) Ali Larter’s fame has shot up since Heroes, and she has other projects, like movies, in waiting. Less time on Heroes (re: less storylines) means more time to pursue feature film work.
I tend to believe that it’s the latter. Ali Larter is a major draw for the show, so I don’t believe Kring is cutting down her storylines for any other reason except Ali has projects she wants to pursue outside of Heroes, like her upcoming Resident Evil: Extinction movie.
We’ll have to wait and see…
I think it was Peter who shot Nathan. Future Peter, I mean. Remember season 1 where they were talking about ...
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I have a feeling Peter will become a villain, i don't know why but he will be forced to go ...
I love this serial ..it is the best I ever saw ...lost,prison break.... are nothing against Heroes!! It is like ...
Anderson on 3 August 2007:
OH MAN!
This is a bad News!
Heroes without Niki/Jéssica?
NO!!!NO!!! NO!!!
Heroes without Niki/Jéssica do not exist!
If Niki to leave, I will leave to attend Heroes!
ania on 3 August 2007:
I may be the only person who didn’t like Niki. Too much drama, whining about her son and enough “I don’t know who I am” for a whole legion of amesiac people.
Nick on 3 August 2007:
Jessica/Niki was the worst character on the show. All she did was whine about protecting Micah and basically act like a baby about everything. Then Niki comes along and kills people to make up for it. Her storyline was horrible and I say that the less we see of her, the better.
Hell, the only thing worse was Claire’s constant “I just want to be normal!” whining. Suicide would be preferable to hearing another “I wish I had a normal life” drama/teenage whining speech that we had to hear nearly every episode.
Heroes - Niki/Jessica and her whole storyline = a much more entertaining show.
ManBearPig on 3 August 2007:
Best News thats ever been on this site to date
Kat on 4 August 2007:
Niki is the best character in the whole show, though season 2 will have a new storyline for Niki, because there is no more Jessica and as far as it looks, no more DL as well. Ali Larter is the only good actress on the show, thought Hayden is ok, and I guess that all of the people that are moaning about her, hasn’t came close of being a single mother or almost losing a child. All I have to say is that this is the worst news yet.
alexandra on 4 August 2007:
If she leaves, I will stop watching Heroes too.
I love her character and the actress.
VALMA on 5 August 2007:
i think she is good in the show so it’s very bad news of course!!
Tsukiko on 5 August 2007:
That’s too bad; she’s such a great actor! You could definitely see the distinction between Jessica and Niki. She was great on the show.
Double You on 7 August 2007:
I agree, Nick
(L) HERoES FANATIC :) on 7 August 2007:
No I dont agree with you Nick , Double You and ania. I can’t believe it I have to agree with all those who love Niki/ Jessica. I can’t believe you Tim Kring!! BUt anywayz she has movies to star in. Josh is so gonna cry. She is cool especially in Episode 20: 5 years gone . her and Peter make a gret COUPLE!!!
BRING BACK NIKI AND JESSICA .
EVERYONE ELSE WHO LIKED NIKI / JESSICA is cool. U guys totally rock. lets start a petition
(L) HERoES FANATIC :) on 7 August 2007:
OMG!! WHO IS BUYING THE BOX SET?! I AM !! PPLZ IN USA ARE SO LUCKY !! I HAVE TO WAIT TILL SEPT 5.
bring back ali
Josh on 7 August 2007:
NO WAY!!! Heroes without Nikki ( Ali Larter)??? WAT THE HELL! she is the best character there!!! kicking ali larter off the show is a death sentence to Heroes! im gonna cry!!
KEEP ALI LARTER ON THE SHOW!!
Erin Taylor on 21 August 2007:
So the schizo mom goes bye-bye ?? I get the strange feeling that Season 2 (and all the other Seasons to follow, if such is the case) may be the beginning of the end of this fabulous show.
Let’s hope the writers have some tricks up their sleeves, alotta online and TV viewers (including myself) are waiting with baited breath.
Please don’t disappoint.
Dave K on 23 August 2007:
That’s too bad she is a very good actress. I loved her in Final Destination too. I also think she is a lovely lady.
Val on 14 September 2007:
Niki Haters can SHOVE it. How is Niki truly whining and complaining? *Whining, which I take it in the context implies that her problems are without some kind of merit.*
I love Niki and personally I couldn’t imagine a better person than Ali Larter to portray the troubled mother. Niki, hands down, is one of the strongest characters on the show.
I love the concept that TPTB chose to take one of the most primal human traits (to protect one’s own) and illustrate it by giving this unsuspecting mother supernatural strength.
Furthermore, anyone could pick apart the characters. For example, let’s consider Claire. Someone could say she was just a goodie-goodie cheerleader who probably never gave a crap about anyone else in her life until she realized she was “a freak”. Look at how she treated Zach? “I’ll say hi to you at school” ? Oh God forbid, she say hi to someone beneath her clique. What’s even better? When Claire wasn’t taggin’ along with Peter in NYC making pouty faces, lamenting about her desires to be “normal”, she spent the last 3 freakin’ episodes of the season crying about shooting him (Peter).
That could be considered whining. And for the record, I don’t love or hate Claire. She’s a good character and I think she works well in the series.
In contrast? Niki has had her whole life manipulated by Linderman, witnessed the death of her sister, raised in an abusive household…and to make matters worse had to deal with being locked up in prison.
She is a strong woman inside and out doing everything and anything to keep her son from harm.
Speaking of which, since WHEN has caring about the welfare of your own child whining? It is one thing to have issues or merely dislike a character because of personality traits. However to use an example as trying to protect one’s own family? That’s callous, ridiculous, and asinine. Clearly, those who directed that comment about Niki isn’t a parent…which gets to the point at hand.
Did Niki get cheated out of a more integrated storyline? Yes! But Kring admitted that was a lesson he learned and resolve in Season 2. Kring is developing Niki out of her comfort zone, out of the domestic scene and into the storylines of the other core characters.
Niki is a character that has so much potential to be a great asset to whomever she chooses to side with on the show.
We can’t forget the important role she played in the season finale in helping Peter defeat Sylar.
These are not the standard brand of characters for a series. And I fear there will be backlash from so-called fans looking for some quick-fix action series.
*Note. Niki isn’t leaving the series, she’s going on hiatus to “fix” something and whatever happens, when she returns it will be a surprise. So Niki and Ali Larter fans have nothing to worry about so far.