Heroes

Heroes has officially been canceled by NBC.

But talk of a movie - meant to wrap the series up to the satisfaction of fans - continues to persist. Might this actually come to fruition? Entertainment Weekly posed this question to creator Tim Kring. He replied:

No decision has been made. But the Heroes brand is an extremely broad premise. It was a premise about ordinary people, an undisclosed number of people all over the world, who were waking up to these extraordinary abilities. Any number of stories could happen around that. We never posited a single ending or a single premise.  It wasn’t about getting off of an island or stopping something from happening.

We told stories in volumes that had a beginning, a middle, and an end. Those volumes could go on and on and on with many different characters. As a result, that Heroes universe is something that can be tapped into again in many ways. Certainly, a movie is a way to do that and clearly, there is an entire world and a number of platforms that this property could live in. Movies sometimes need a little distance from the television show.

Do you wanna see Claire and company in a Heroes TV movie?

Heroes has been axed by NBC. It was rumored earlier in the week, now it's official.

The demise of the series, which was still in the running for a fifth season until very recently, feels both shocking and inevitable. It was so good ... then became anything but.

The beleaguered drama only averaged 6.5 million viewers this year, and its last episode ever, February 8, didn't even bring in nearly that many, garnering a mere 4.4 million.

If that doesn't seem low, consider that Season One was not only beloved by critics, but by legions of fans, averaging 14.5 million a week. It just couldn't sustain the magic.

Maybe Peter and Sylar can work construction instead now.

There has been talk that NBC may air a TV movie that allows the producers to wrap up the story, but nothing has been set in stone. NBC will announce its fall lineup Monday.

Are you sad that Heroes has been canceled?

On second thought, Heroes might actually NOT get renewed.

Despite NBC Primetime President Angela Bromstad saying a renewal for Heroes "makes sense" in many ways, a new report in New York Magazine states the opposite:

Because the network is satisfied with new pilots it has ordered (such as J.J. Abrams' Undercovers), sources say there's more of an upside to seeing if these shows can take off, as opposed to "begging viewers to give Heroes one more shot."

It's hard to argue with that logic. Especially given that Heroes hasn't produced a solid episode in years.

According to agency sources and chatter around Hollywood, the magazine article states, "Heroes has started looking less like a backup plan and more like a waste of money."

But all hope is not lost for long-time viewers.

Insiders say "there's a good chance" the network will at least find room on its schedule for a movie that could bring some finality to the franchise. Hey, it's better than nothing, right?

As a rather harsh critic of Heroes, I'll try to deliver this news with the stoicism of Tom Brokaw:

NBC is seriously considering renewing the show for a fifth season.

Primetime President Angela Bromstad made that announcement this week, as she spoke to reporters about the network's recent pick-up of Parenthood.

Asked about other shows on the bubble, specifically Chuck and Heroes, Bromstad indicated that each would receive a 13-episode order for the 2010-2011 season.

Seen here, HRG, Claire and Peter are sadly NOT attending the funeral for Heroes.

"It is all yet to be debated," she said. "Both of those shows make sense with the new shows we'll be bringing on."

They do? What new shows will NBC be bringing on? True Hollywood Stories: Terribly Constructed Dramas That Make Everything Up As They Go Along and the Networks That Won't Cancel Them?!?

It had been a rumor for weeks, but Sendhil Ramamurthy made it official a couple days ago: he won't be returning to Heroes.

Then again, the show itself might never air a new episode, as NBC is yet to commit to a fifth season, following a fourth season that averaged a dismal 5.22 million viewers/hour.

It's impossible to blame Ramamurthy for his decision. The character of Mohinder Suresh has been a complete, misused mess ever since he killed a dude in Central Park and embraced his dark side for a couple episodes years ago.

If Heroes does return, will you miss Mohinder on it? Or should the show continue to axe characters until only a core group remains?

Perhaps more than any member of the Heroes cast, Greg Grunberg likes to talk publicly about the prospects of his show and the hopeful path it's on.

There are just two problems with his outlook: the series is absolutely atrocious; and of course Grunberg hopes it will be renewed. NBC signs his paychecks!

In a new interview with TV Guide Magazine, the man that plays Matt Parkman talked about the possibility that Heroes will actually return for a fifth season.

“I'm hearing rumors, I'm hearing good rumors,” he said. “We clearly did not wrap up the overall lure and story of Heroes [in the season finale]. I love the last episode. I thought it was awesome.

"It was really exciting that [Claire] jumps in front of all the press. We'll see, I just felt like we do need to wrap this up. I think it would be great if they announced two more seasons or something like that."

TWO more seasons?!? And you thought the finale was awesome, Greg? Even the most loyal Heroes readers on our site absolutely tore that boring episode to shreds.

As for criticisms the show has faced, Grunberg says it "tried some different things" over the past season or two.

"I think it's just getting back to the roots of the show, which is, it’s a character show, a family show [with] the family relationships within the show. Think that's what we need to do,” he said.

We've asked before and we'll ask again: Do you wanna see Heroes return for a fifth season?

Despite its ranking as the lowest-rated show on network television, and despite the fact that many of the most passionate Heroes defenders have turned on the show after an anti-climactic, boring season finale, NBC has not officially axed this once-great drama.

The same knuckleheads that forced out Conan O'Brien after seven months as host of The Tonight Show are actually considering another season of Heroes because... well, they have few alternatives.

Samuel's accent was just one of several inconsistencies that plagued season four of Heroes.

If the series does return, we might as well offer a few suggestions for how it can stop sucking. We're no longer fooling ourselves into thinking it can ever go back to season one quality, but if Tim Kring and company follow these ideas, perhaps it won't be the laughing stock of TV critics around the country...

• Get rid of Tracy, Mohinder and Ando. Yes, the first two are somehow still characters on the show. It's utterly asinine to ask viewers to care about people that pop up randomly every 10 episodes. No need to kill them off. Just utter two lines about their whereabouts next year and be done with it. Ando, meanwhile, serves no purpose other than to banter with Hiro in Japanese.
• Don't ever mention a premonition dream ever again. Nothing gets to the heart of this show's lazy writing more than this plot device. Take the time to actually build suspense, as opposed to creating a supposedly exciting storyline simply because Angela announces she saw something happen.
• No more time travel. If this means actually killing off Hiro, so be it.
• Remember the name of the show. When was the last time anyone did anything heroic? Claire whines about her lot in life, Sylar is full of internal angst, Parkman literally hasn't left home in weeks. Have characters interact with actual, non-special human beings and not seem like self-absorbed, confused narcissists at all times.
• Have a plan. This is the key factor for any solid series. Kring has admitted he and the staff don't draw out the full season ahead of time - and, man, does it show! Samuel spent 15 episodes just talking this year, not actually taking action until an event outside of anything seen or built up before (his ex rejecting him) took place.

Was there any "a-ha!" moment in season four? Did it ever feel like events fell naturally into place and followed a thought-out path when you retraced them back a few episodes?

In other words, Heroes staff, this is all we're asking if you still have a job this fall: just write a season that makes sense. Yes, things have fallen so far that we'll settle for mere logic.

You tell us: HOW WOULD YOU FIX HEROES?

Tim Kring may be a very nice man. He's responsible for one of the best set of episodes in TV history (Heroes, season one) and we don't wish unemployment on anyone.

But the Heroes creator gave an interview last week in which he sounded like someone from the mail room that had never penned a single second of a television show.

The good news? Many of his quotes go a long way toward explaining the problems Heroes has faced over the last couple seasons. The bad news? We didn't know how far Kring had fallen sooner. Otherwise,, we could have legitimately tried to get him replaced.

Read the full interview here and check out a few telling excerpts below, many of which are followed by TV Fanatic (TVF) notes/responses...

On who ratings plummeted: "We took a seven-week break [during season one], and the audience never came back after that."

TVF Note: Lost took a six-week break on season three; The Sopranos once took a break for over a year. Try another excuse, Mr. Kring.

On characters evolving:" The characters have to change. If they don’t, the audience says, “Why aren’t they changing?”... [but then] you’re either held to some standard where the audience wants them back, or you have to just say, 'This is who they’ve become.'"

On never killing anyone significant off: "We obviously know that certain characters are popular, so we’re not going to kill those off. But even that is hard to know... For everyone who hates this one character, there’s a fan club that loves him."

TVF Note: The Wire killed off Stringer Bell on season three, one of its most fascinating and popular characters. Creator David Simon had a great quote at the time, referencing how characters must serve the purpose of the show, NOT the audience. Something to think about for any writer.

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For months on end, season four of Heroes has caused us nothing but anger and anguish. It's been an abysmal, illogical, slow-developing series of episodes.

But we were finally able to laugh out loud at the conclusion of this week's episode, which revolved around Claire and HRG fighting. Yes, again. If that doesn't get your heart-racing for another season of this show, nothing will!

Before I get to my review, allow me to ask, in all caps no less: WHY WAS THIS VOLUME TITLED "REDEMPTION?!?" WHO WAS REDEEMED? Or, as is most likely the case, did the writers simply forget this was the title as early as the second half hour of the season?

Overall, "Brave New World" was simply weak and uneventful.

As always, it was filled with utterly random actions - hi, Tracy, thanks for stopping by out of nowhere, slithering through mud and disappearing again! - and storylines with no exciting pay-off. But more than anything, it was simply... there.

There was no suspense and no emotional attachment to anything going on. There was nothing especially awful about the hour, but nothing remotely season finale worthy, either.

Seriously, did anyone think HRG was gonna die? Did anyone feel as though the carnival storyline had a worthy conclusion, when Samuel's people simply walked away because a of couple people said so... and then Samuel squared off with Peter for six seconds, a character that was involved in an entirely separate storyline for the duration of the season?

Nothing could compare with the utter nonsense of Hiro, of course. Let's review his arc from season four:

• He came down with a brain tumor as a result of time traveling.
• It was magically cured because he had a dream.
• His true love was sent away by Samuel, ignored for numerous weeks, and then showed up again on the same hospital floor as Hiro, following his nonsensical cure.
• She's now an old woman with a family because Samuel sent her back to the 1940s, so Hiro said goodbye and... that was it.

We know the economy is poor and we don't wish harm on anyone - but every person associated with Hiro's storyline should be fired immediately.

The show created two supposedly pressing issues for the character (a brain tumor and an abducted girlfriend) and solved each by simply, literally making crap up. We'll have his dead mother kiss him in a fantasy! We'll have Charlie appear in the same hospital as an older woman!

It's legitimately incomprehensible that the show's producers have jobs.

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It was brutal for some, and entertaining for others.

But no matter what you thought of the fourth season of Heroes, this much is true: it's over.

As always, we'll recap and review the episode after it airs, hopefully to a great deal of lively debate among fans.

For now, we encourage you to visit our Heroes forum and discuss "Brave New World." Also, sound off below: What did you think of the hour?