Spice up your failing TV show with carnies

By Tony Black | Friday, October 2, 2009, 01:54 PM

This blog entry could also be titled “My take on season 4 of ‘Heroes’”

The newest season of “Heroes” starts by introducing us to this season’s new ‘carnival’ of characters, literally. The premiere opens with a funeral scene where this season’s villain named Samuel is delivering the eulogy for his brother who we all know will turn out to still be alive and show up later in the season. After the funeral ends, the mourners gather up and start walking toward a carnival on the horizon.

This is how I imagine the brainstorming session “Heroes” creator Tim Kring had with the producers of the show about season 4:

PRODUCERS: Well, Tim, ratings are slipping. The premiere of season 2 had almost 17 million viewers while the premiere of season 3 only had a little over 10 million. What are you planning to do in season 4 to breath new life into this franchise?

TIM KRING: Carnies.

PRODUCERS: Huh?

TIM KRING: Carnies.

PRODUCERS: Carnies? Do you mean people that work at carnivals?

TIM KRING: Yep.

PRODUCERS: Tim, (I assume they are on a first-name basis with him) what will these ‘carnies’ be doing?

TIM KRING: Villains.

PRODUCERS: Okay, so they will be the villains in season 4?

TIM KRING: Sure.

PRODUCERS: Sure? Are you saying they might not be the villains? What will the overall story arc of the season be?

TIM KRING: Dunno.

PRODUCERS: Well, okay then. Here is your money.

I mean who thought this would be a good idea? The season 4 premiere had only a little over 6.2 million viewers. Almost a third the viewership of the season 2 premiere.

Why is this show still on? A show about people with super powers is such a good idea but they just don’t make good choices. These characters barely use their abilities anymore:

• A little part of Hiro seems to die every time he uses his powers so he doesn’t really use them anymore.
• Parkman tries to quit using his mind control powers as if they were a drug.

This all stems from not knowing how to write about people with super powers. Giving Sylar and Peter the ability to “absorb” other abilities makes them too powerful for the writers to handle so they keep developng story-lines that prevent them from actually using their powers (season 1 is the exception):

• Season 2: Peter has amnesia and doesn’t know that he powers. Sylar is recuperating after the events of season 1 and finds that his powers are gone.
• Season 3: Peter discovers his dad is alive and his dad steals Peter’s powers. Peter is now only able to absorb 1 power at a time. Sylar is tricked by Angela Petrelli into believing that he is her son. She teaches him to control his hunger for killing people / absorbing their abilities and he tries to become a better person. Once he realizes she is lying he goes on a quest to find his real parents which means no interaction with the other characters of the show.
• Season 4 (so far): Peter’s ability to absorb powers returns but he distances himself from other ‘heroes’ and focuses on being a paramedic. Sylar’s mind is trapped inside Parkman while his body has been shape-shifted to look like and have the memories of Nathan Petrelli who died in the previous season.

See how they write ways for them to not use their abilities?

This show needs a new direction fast or I can’t see it surviving another season. But I’ll keep watching it because bad TV can be just as entertaining as good TV.

Tell me what you think about this season of “Heroes”.

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