[Sam]

Over at their site The Futon Critic, there is a review of the first hour of “Heroes” from a screener copy. The author makes special mention that portions of his review can’t be reproduced anywhere because of studio demands, so I won’t reprint any part of his review here. You can read it all for yourself by clicking on this link. Suffice it to say, it’s a pretty positive review, and bodes well for “Heroes”.

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx?id=20060613

[PlayaHata]

great review. i never had a single doubt.

[enygma]

It's always nice to see a positive review...

I don't think his fears of NBC viewers not being "ready" to handle a sci-fi show. Honestly, Heroes is less about the sci-fi angle and more about the human aspect of things. Sure, these people have these amazing gifts, but they're still people too. It's not like they're going to go off and become these lofty heroes who self-alienate themselves because of what they've been given.

In fact, from what I've read and can tell, it's quite the opposite - they thrive on contact, both with the "normal" people in their lives and with each other (drawn to one another).

[theultimatehero]

NBC seems really psyched about the show. They got it slotted between two hit shows on Mondays, so that's saying tons as Sam said in his post.

[HollysMom]

Slotting it between two hit shows would definitely make it seem that NBC is behind the show. Of course, it could mean that they're afraid it will be a dog and that it needs all the propping up that they can give it.

I love that the show is getting positive reviews. It is so rare for a SF-related show to get that kind of a response when premiering on a major network. I really can't wait for it to air now! *plans to get TiVO, to avoid missing any episodes*

[FromHero2Zero]

Originally Posted by HollysMom

Slotting it between two hit shows would definitely make it seem that NBC is behind the show. Of course, it could mean that they're afraid it will be a dog and that it needs all the propping up that they can give it.

I love that the show is getting positive reviews. It is so rare for a SF-related show to get that kind of a response when premiering on a major network. I really can't wait for it to air now! *plans to get TiVO, to avoid missing any episodes*

Nah that doesn't seem right. You only put the shows you are solidly behind in the great time slots. That way you ensure their success.

[rayjb6]

Scheduling more of an art than a science. Yeah, you can put the promising shows in the "good" time slots to help ensure success, or you could put your strong shows in a weaker time slot, knowing they will still do well, and save your good time slots for shows that need the help. On the other hand, there are always unforseen things that can blow your careful scheduling out of the water. For instance, the recent move of Studio 60 from Thursdays to Mondays (after Heroes) when NBC found out that ABC and CBS had scheduled Grey's Anatomy and CSI in the same time slot.

The true test of a network's confidence in a show is how much and what kind of advertising they do for it, and how long they give it to succeed before pulling the plug. ABC flooded the media with well-targeted well-formulated ads for Lost in 2004. That was a big risk for ABC (limited ad budgets and limited amount of advertising time to allocate to all their new shows), but that risk combined with the fact that it was actually extremely well-crafted television is what made it an instant hit.

[theultimatehero]

It might be just that I'm noticing only Heroes-related things, but I thinK NBC is really pushing Heroes via ads. Not a lot yet, but I think it's the only show they're pushing hard right now, a full 3 months before the premiere. Then again, I might just be bias, and just don't notice all the other previews.

[cabri]

Originally Posted by rayjb6

...ABC flooded the media with well-targeted well-formulated ads for Lost in 2004. That was a big risk for ABC (limited ad budgets and limited amount of advertising time to allocate to all their new shows), but that risk combined with the fact that it was actually extremely well-crafted television is what made it an instant hit.

'Course, at the time ABC had nothing on the air, just pure unadulterated bottom-of-the-network-ratings crap, so they could save all their money for the new shows. There really wasn't anything else on the network to advertise a lot. They were so lucky that both Desperate Housewives and Lost were such good shows.

[rayjb6]

Sounds a lot like NBC's current situation to me.