[Kirsty_walker_2002]

Hi there, I'm a Media Production student at the University of Lincoln in the UK and I'm doing my final year dissertation on Heroes and what makes it so popular in mainstream television. If you wouldn't mind taking just a couple of minutes to copy and paste the questions below and answer them however you feel. It would be greatly appreciated.

Male or Female

Age:

Nationality:

When did you get involved in Heroes? And why?

What did you find appealing about it?

Do you think Heroes has lost its appeal since it first began and why?

How is Heroes marketed in your country?

How do you think the show has changed since it first began?

Why do you think this is?

What do you think is to blame for the decline in viewing figures for Heroes? and why?

How do you perceive the women characters in the show? Do you think they are shown in a positive light and equal to the male characters?

Do you participate in outside events for Heroes such as Heroes conventions, Comic Con etc?

Did you participate in the Heroes 360 Experience/ Heroes Evolutions online?

How do you think Heroes compares to other sci-fi shows or films?

Have you always been interested in sci-fi?

If so how long for?

What shows/comics etc influenced you?

What draws you to the Sci-fi genre?

Thank you so much for your time. You will be a great help to me and my dissertation.

[Kibarob]

Male or Female: Male

Age: 25

Nationality: American

When did you get involved in Heroes? And why?
First season, it's like watching a live comic book.

What did you find appealing about it?
It's people with powers, everyone wishs they had a super power

Do you think Heroes has lost its appeal since it first began and why?
I think it has lost a little of its luster since it's started, but they are beginning to gain it back. (to many over powered to underpowered as i see it)

How is Heroes marketed in your country?
IDK i don't have tv and watch it when it becomes avaliable on nbc.com

How do you think the show has changed since it first began?
Before they had overpowered good and bad people *syler, hero, claire, peter* but now there is Syler who is god powered and all the heros got nerfed. So i'm not to sure how they are going to fix it.

Why do you think this is?
It's obvious to me at least, Hero could bend space and time, now just time.
peter could have powers like syler to contend with him, now only one at a time
Claire heals really quickly, same as usual but unless she's stoping fire, shes kinda usless
Syler can regen, change his face, tell if someone is lieing, electricty, gold touch, cold, radiation, perfect memory. he dosn't need much else.

What do you think is to blame for the decline in viewing figures for Heroes? and why?
Killing off there favorite characters, introdusing horrable character *maya* junted storylines. I guess though every comic book goes through that trouble, although this is a big thing for a show (costs more)

How do you perceive the women characters in the show? Do you think they are shown in a positive light and equal to the male characters?
They are equal enough, but they are all the hot chicks, i'd like to see more normal characters and people.

Do you participate in outside events for Heroes such as Heroes conventions, Comic Con etc?
I'm sure i will see a few at the anime conventions, since people do everything at them

Did you participate in the Heroes 360 Experience/ Heroes Evolutions online?
I looked at it, but havent participated.

How do you think Heroes compares to other sci-fi shows or films?
Stands on it's own, each scifi is diffrent.

Have you always been interested in sci-fi?
yes, back in sliders, to firefly, to star trek.

If so how long for?

What shows/comics etc influenced you?

What draws you to the Sci-fi genre?

[Ikin]

Male or Female
Male

Age:
16

Nationality:
American

When did you get involved in Heroes? And why?
The very first episode. I wasn't big on comic books or superheroes back then, but the promos looked really interesting.

What did you find appealing about it?
I can't really say, it's not something I can say in words.

Do you think Heroes has lost its appeal since it first began and why?
Yes. Even though it's sci-fi, it takes place in the real world and viewers still want it to be realistic and it has lost quite a bit of its realism.

How is Heroes marketed in your country?
Barely.

How do you think the show has changed since it first began?
During the first season, it was more of a drama but it has gravitated toward more action.

Why do you think this is?
NBC got more confident in the show and gave the producers more money for big-budget effects.

What do you think is to blame for the decline in viewing figures for Heroes? and why?
Like I said above, the loss of realism. And the predictability of the storylines.

How do you perceive the women characters in the show? Do you think they are shown in a positive light and equal to the male characters?
Yes. If fact the women are often portrayed as the most powerful characters on the show. Angela is the all-knowing figure of the show, Elle had an extremely powerful ability, and the entire first season revolved around Claire.

Do you participate in outside events for Heroes such as Heroes conventions, Comic Con etc?
Nope.

Did you participate in the Heroes 360 Experience/ Heroes Evolutions online?
A little bit when it began, but I got bored.

How do you think Heroes compares to other sci-fi shows or films?
Heroes is unique because it is more grounded in the actual world than most sci-fi and deals with superpowers rather than technology.

Have you always been interested in sci-fi?
Yes.

If so how long for?
Since I was a little kid.

What shows/comics etc influenced you?


What draws you to the Sci-fi genre?
I enjoy science and escapism.

[Нєяоєѕ Lоѕт Ғдп]

Male

Age: 14

Nationality: Irish

When did you get involved in Heroes? And why?
When it was first shown on BBC. I think that was July 07. I thought it looked good.

What did you find appealing about it?
The idea of people with abilities. Not just one superhero, like Spiderman, or Superman etc.

Do you think Heroes has lost its appeal since it first began and why?
DEFINATELY. I can't put my finger on it. I think it's the way the last two seasons have been made. The first was definately the best.

How is Heroes marketed in your country?
It's not. In Ireland, it's shown on 3e (formerly channel 6), and coming up to Volume 4, which started on 3e a week before BBC 2, and there were no ads for it AT ALL! I missed it, and started watching it on BBC 2 instead.

How do you think the show has changed since it first began?
It's definately darker.

Why do you think this is?
Ummmmm.... I don't know.

What do you think is to blame for the decline in viewing figures for Heroes? and why?
It just simply not as good as it was when it started.

How do you perceive the women characters in the show? Do you think they are shown in a positive light and equal to the male characters?
I think they are shown as equal and in a positive light. (maybe with a slight exception of Niki, what with the stripping and that)

Do you participate in outside events for Heroes such as Heroes conventions, Comic Con etc?
No

Did you participate in the Heroes 360 Experience/ Heroes Evolutions online?
No

How do you think Heroes compares to other sci-fi shows or films?
It's good, but to be honest, there are better shows out there now, (sorry! please don't kill me!)

Have you always been interested in sci-fi?
Yes

If so how long for?
Ummmmmm. Can't remember!

What shows/comics etc influenced you?
Influenced in what way?

What draws you to the Sci-fi genre?
I suppose that it's not just a drama or a comedy etc. There's a bit of 'Out-of-the-Ordinary' in it.

[hcc2503]

Is this the right forum for these interview/questions?

[Нєяоєѕ Lоѕт Ғдп]

Also, another reason I think Heroes has gone downhill, the writer's unwillingness to kill off characters. Most characters that have died have come back to live. Okay, some, like Elle, Isaac, Simone have stayed dead, but if this were another show, Claire, Sylar, Peter and Nathan would all be dead.

[Eidetic]

Those characters make the show.

[karambit]

Male or Female:
Male

Age:
21 y/o

Nationality:
American

When did you get involved in Heroes? And why?
A couple episodes after the season one premiere.

What did you find appealing about it?
Everything. I'm fond of the way Heroes has grounded itself in real interesting science but takes an off-hand look at the grand "what-if?" question.

Do you think Heroes has lost its appeal since it first began and why?
There is no mistake that Heroes faltered in the second season, for reasons unknown. However, the third season has been a roller-coaster ride not unlike the first season.

How is Heroes marketed in your country?
A better question might be how it is not marketed. The show is promoted pretty aggressively but doesn't try to shove the pie in your face so to speak.

How do you think the show has changed since it first began?
There is the obvious difference between the plot-line and how it is more living in this evolved-human world and less a starry-eyed wonder at its introduction. I miss the episode introductions by Mohinder or some other character, simply because there are many alternate ways to show what happened previously without resorting to "previously on heroes" and cut to various flashbacks. It's tacky and I don't like it.

Why do you think this is?
I don't know, maybe to save money or make the show easier to make. Season one had a blockbuster movie budget and I'm fairly sure this has shrunk somewhat, leading me to assume those in charge are wary of Heroes having a repeat Generations volume.

What do you think is to blame for the decline in viewing figures for Heroes? and why?
I view season two as being the main problem. However, most people are just not aware the director of this show tries to stay in tune with his audience and makes adjustments as needed. Peter and Hiro's power loss and subsequent partial regaining are examples of this. People were grumbling about plot holes revolving around Hiro and how Peter seemed to dominate the show with his ability.

How do you perceive the women characters in the show? Do you think they are shown in a positive light and equal to the male characters?
Depends on the women you speak of. I see Heroes as displaying the true side of the world. There are a literal plethora of female characters, everything from a sociopathic sadist like Elle to the perfectly socially adjusted Simone. Although she died so we may want to question the writer's views on well-adjusted women.

Do you participate in outside events for Heroes such as Heroes conventions, Comic Con etc?
No. I watch Heroes on the internet and occasionally look through the Graphic Novels. I don't have time what with being a student, employee, and soldier.

Did you participate in the Heroes 360 Experience/ Heroes Evolutions online?
Negative. I know there are interesting pieces to the story available through this medium, but we have to make a cost/benefit analysis and make a hard choice.

How do you think Heroes compares to other sci-fi shows or films?
Most other sci-fi shows or films I know of are not quite as gritty or realistic as Heroes. Some may bring up its early similarity to Lost, but I enjoyed watching both of these shows.

Have you always been interested in sci-fi?
My father raised me on Star-Trek: Next Generation so sci-fi has been around in my life since an early age.

If so how long for?
See above.

What shows/comics etc influenced you?
Star-Trek: Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager and the early cartoons Spider-man and X-men.

What draws you to the Sci-fi genre?
I don't really know.

[wes011]

Male or Female
Male

Age:
30

Nationality:
American

When did you get involved in Heroes? And why?
From the start of the show I was there, I love integrating Sci-Fi with reality, and since this is a show based on present day earth it makes sense that I would like this. Not saying this is completely plausible, but much more realistic than something like Star Trek.

What did you find appealing about it?
I enjoy watching how people deal with their abnormalities. Growing up I have always said how awesome it would be to be able to fly, and now these people try to do anything to just fit into society.

Do you think Heroes has lost its appeal since it first began and why?
Maybe, maybe not. I think the writing has gone down a bit which caused the show to lose some viewers, and season 2 was painfully slow as they were trying to develop more of a plot. All they have to do is have some attractive characters with cool abilities and let them fight it out. They could make this a good vs. evil show and people would watch it.

How is Heroes marketed in your country?
Commercials on television.

How do you think the show has changed since it first began?
I think it use to be an action-thriller show and is now more of a drama. I think the action-thriller is what got people hooked and maybe slowly lost viewers because it is more drama. If I want to watch drama, I'll watch CSI...which I don't.

Why do you think this is?
I think the writers are trying to develop depth to the characters and depth to the show. If it were action all the time, people would probably get bored and the show would end abruptly because how do writers keep "one upping" it so to speak...they can't. They try to bring in more background and develop the emotional side of characters so people can relate.

What do you think is to blame for the decline in viewing figures for Heroes? and why?
Writers. I think they had a good thing going for them, and then by trying to incorporate too many characters they had to develop depth to the show....which was painfully slow. Now they are covering up those mistakes by killing off characters.

How do you perceive the women characters in the show? Do you think they are shown in a positive light and equal to the male characters?
I think the women have awesome powers and are shown in a positive light, but I don't think they have been equal to the two main male characters of the show, Peter and Sylar.

Do you participate in outside events for Heroes such as Heroes conventions, Comic Con etc?
No, I am not a nerd.

Did you participate in the Heroes 360 Experience/ Heroes Evolutions online?
No

How do you think Heroes compares to other sci-fi shows or films?
I think Heroes is comparable to X-men with the mutations and similar to Star Wars with the good vs. evil theme.

Have you always been interested in sci-fi?
For a very long time, growing up my father would watch Star Wars so I would as well. I saw Return of the Jedi in the theater at 6 years old.....and enjoyed it. But I guess when I was able to consiously make the decision to watch Sci Fi or not would be for about 15 years.

If so how long for?
15 years or so.

What shows/comics etc influenced you?
Superman, Smallville, Star Wars (Vader fan), Heroes.

What draws you to the Sci-fi genre?
The fascination with science. I have a degree in chemistry afterall.

[vixy]

Male or Female: Male

Age: 28

Nationality: Australian/italian

When did you get involved in Heroes? And why? From the beginning because i've always like these sorts of shows and it sounded interesting.

What did you find appealing about it? The premise of the story is that pretty much anyone could be a hero, with the right mix of genetic code, this and the fact that the story sounded similar to the X-men franchise; which I love for the action and the sci-fi elements of genetic manipulation/evolution.

Do you think Heroes has lost its appeal since it first began and why? No. It's still as good as ever.

How is Heroes marketed in your country? Television ads, but I hardly watch the channel it's on anymore so i couldn't tell you.

How do you think the show has changed since it first began? It has become more intriguing and has learnt to listen to it's audience and balance that with a plot that follows their own agenda as well. Aside from that it hasn't changed too much for me.

Why do you think this is?

What do you think is to blame for the decline in viewing figures for Heroes? and why? Probably the availability of downloadable episodes, put those figures with the viewing figures and it may get closer to what it used to be.

How do you perceive the women characters in the show? Do you think they are shown in a positive light and equal to the male characters? yes

Do you participate in outside events for Heroes such as Heroes conventions, Comic Con etc? no.

Did you participate in the Heroes 360 Experience/ Heroes Evolutions online? noi

How do you think Heroes compares to other sci-fi shows or films? it's very similar to a lot of superhero genre stories.

Have you always been interested in sci-fi? yes

If so how long for? since i saw Star Wars for the first time when i was about 8.

What shows/comics etc influenced you? too many to mention.

What draws you to the Sci-fi genre? The endless possibility of the unknown.