Heroes: Serial Killer?
The Heroes panel at a recent Screenwriting Expo was a strange event, reports IGN: creator Tim Kring was scheduled to be on the panel with two of his producer-writers, but they were fired before the panel took place. Naturally, discussion turned to what Kring might change about the show to save it. He made a puzzling suggestion: revising the show so that it's no longer a serial (i.e., a show telling a long, ongoing story).
According to Kring, much of Heroes' ratings troubles can be blamed on DVRs and other shifts in the way people watch television, which he says makes it hard to get people to invest in a weekly basis in an ongoing story. Serialization, he said, is
a very flawed way of telling stories on network television right now, because of the advent of the DVR and online streaming. The engine that drove [serialized TV] was you had to be in front of the TV [when it aired]. Now you can watch it when you want, where you want, how you want to watch it, and almost all of those ways are superior to watching it on air. So [watching it] on air is related to the saps and the dips**s who can't figure out how to watch it in a superior way.
Uh-huh. Let me offer a few responses, in descending order of smart-assedness:
1. Yes, you can blame technology for siphoning all the smart viewers away from your series. You could try revamping your show so that it becomes the complete opposite of what it was conceived as. Or you could try, you know, not sucking. A story arc or two that doesn't inspire ridicule could go a long way with the saps and dips***s, is all I'm saying.
2. OK, more seriously: maybe I shouldn't be criticizing Kring's efforts to salvage his show, seeing as how I've already given up on it. But if you're going to go that road with Heroes—with its gigundous scope and cast—then you should probably do some major paring down of characters. Which may be an unanticipated benefit—or an unspoken goal—of the move, since a nonserial Heroes might well be a cheaper show to produce.
3. All that said—and I recognize I say this as a critic biased toward serial dramas—the idea that DVRs and streaming make it harder to follow serial shows is so transparently ridiculous I seriously wonder if Kring even believes it. I mean, OK, maybe in the sense that alternative platforms have driven down live viewing across the board and made it more challenging to make the same kind of money off advertising. But that's hardly limited to serial shows. And time-shifting, streaming and watching on DVD are precisely what has made it more attractive for viewers to watch serial shows.
First, the requirement of watching live was, in fact, the greatest impediment to serials in the past. If you missed an episode and couldn't catch a rerun, you were off the train, and it was that much harder to get back on. If you can watch on Hulu, or a second run on cable, or a replay on your DVR, it's easier to catch up. Anecdotally, I know a lot of people who will only watch serial shows on DVR or DVD, so they can watch several episodes at a stretch. Take Lost: it may never draw CSI numbers, but it does well enough to be well worth ABC's investment, precisely because of an intense fan base, many of whom DVR it to rewind and catch details—and its huge sales on DVD are not exactly a liability to anyone concerned.
Look, I'll grant Kring that pulling off a hit serial is hard: when they hit big, it's a jackpot, but they often fail big too. (It was also hard when Heroes was a hit, all of two years ago.) And who knows: I have a hard time imagining Heroes succeeding as anything other than what it is, but if he can revive it as some kind of Justice League anthology, more power to him. But it does no one any favors to rationalize its problems as the fault of technologies that have mostly benefitted media consumers, or a storytelling format that has produced the best television of the past decade.
Whatever problems Heroes has, the fault lies not in its DVRs but in itself.
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1
To try and make Heroes anything but a serialized show is ridiculous to me. To have one season be a complete story and then start an entirely different story the next season, after the audience built strong attachments to the characters, is ridiculous. I also read some more from that same interview, and Kring mentioned the reason for taking away Peter's powers was because he was getting too powerful. So why did they turn Sylar into a good-hearted house mom? Was he getting too evil. One word sums up the entire show: ridiculous.
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And I can relate to the days before DVR and online viewing. If I missed an episode of X-Files, it completely threw me through a loop. What? The Cigarette Smoking Man killed whom? Mulder found his sister but then it was all a conspiracy? What? -
2
James. You hit the nail on the head with your first smart a$$ed comment. DVR has nothing to do with the plunging Heroes ratings and lack of interest. The utter crappiness of the plotlines may have something do with it.
Ironically, The 4400, a similar show, was cancelled because the ratings didn't warrant its budget, which I have to believe is far less than Heroes. The producers of The 4400 did more with their budget and their short summer seasons to advance the plotlines, flesh out the characters and above all, make viewers CARE about the show, then Heroes has done with its massive budget, high powered marketing, primetime slot and traditional 20 episode seasons. It's an unsurprising travesty that has repeated itself so often in the history of TV. Good shows (Sports Night, The 4400, Firefly, Cupid, Le Femme Nikita) get axed for their more generic, widely appealling, flashy shows.
In the case of Le Femme Nikita - which I can't complain too much about. It did have 4.5 seasons after all. - Alias would probably be its direct primetime counterpart. And while Alias was fine, I thought LFN was far superior to it in every way. As with Firefly and Sports Night, what can I say that hasn't been said before?
Networks will continue churning out mass appeal crap that tries to have something for everyone because their job is to get as many eyeballs in front of their programs as they can in order for them to command the best pricing for their media buys. Understandable, but does nothing for TV viewers. It's a weird battle actually. Networks are art agnostic in a way. Just as long as it sells ads, they will continue putting it out. Viewers don't really care about ads (see DVRs), we care about the stories and characters and being entertained. So its a weird kind of battle, where all parties are at the table (or in this case the couch), but everybody is looking for something different.
Now other side of the argument is that programs have to be good, so that people will watch them and thereby move more of the ad inventory. Yeah, so its not a perfect argument.
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3
So Kring insults those 7 million fans who choose to watch it live.
I don't really see how watching a show online is "superior" viewing. I would rather watch a show on TV than on my computer. And I agree with James, why is he singling out serialized shows. Procedurals and sitcoms have the same problems.
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4
If the problem is people need to watch these episodes back to back, why don't they try the way other countries present shows, by showing a new episode every night for like 2 weeks straight? This would obliviously require a major shift in the network's line-up as well as the audience viewing habits. But then again, it seems like every time a stupid reality game show (ie Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Deal or No Deal) becomes a hit the networks will put it on every night.
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I remember Showtime kind of did this with their show Sleepercell, although I also remember they called that a miniseries. But after the week of showing it from start to finish, they then rebroadcasted it on a regular scheduled hour once a week. So at least it's not unprecedented.
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I haven't ever watched Heroes to pretend to know what's wrong with it, but if its gotten as bad as people say, and you want to save the show, I'd say its worth a try. They could even put it on over the Summer so they wouldn't screw up their Fall and Spring lineups. Cable shows have at least proven that people will tune in during the Summer if their a good show on. -
5
The frightening thing about this is that it means Kring isn't going to fix the show's actual problems (i.e. its profound and unrelenting sucktitude). Not really surprising. I honestly don't think Kring was ever up to the task of producing this show, he should have stuck with blander and less creatively demanding shows like Crossing Jordan. Truth is... the first season of Heroes (the only good one) was really just a rip-off of several classic comic book storylines (Watchmen, X-Men, and a few others)... once Kring was done ripping off the best of the best, everything went flat and died.... only logical conclusion... if NBC wants to save Heroes, FIRE TIM KRING.
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6
Personally I don't think Heroes sucks at all. Granted it's not as exciting as the first season as far as the speculation, but that element is still there. You watch an episode and try to piece to together everything. Questions arise and the best part is the exchange between people trying to figure out where the show is going and how everything fits. I think this season has been really good.
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7
@joethefinancier:
I disagree. You're making an argument based on the same logic as Kring - you're blaming problems on logistics, when it's mostly about talent. Kring didn't have a good idea to begin with, and he didn't have the chops to carry such a show out. There have been other network talent that have been able to handle big shows that are also good, and a few easily rival cable programs in terms of quality.
Personally, I enjoy watching television "live." It feels like you're watching it with an audience, because you know there are a lot of people watching the same moments occurs at the same time as you.
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8
"Whatever problems Heroes has, the fault lies not in its DVRs but in itself."
Echo that, captain. I think dude definitely put his foot in his mouth. Online and DVR viewing totally facilitate the serialized story, which - when done properly - can obviously find a devoted following of viewers who can watch episodes over and over, and can easily catch episodes that they might have otherwise missed so they could keep up with the story. It sounds like a seriously transparent cop-out push-the-blame excuse, and, to paraphrase a recent TWOP T:TSCC recap, this ain't Tim Kring: The Whiny Baby Chronicles. I say that as one who is still enjoying the show - enough with the excuses, just do better.
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So his grand plan is to try to recreate the show by dumbing it down for folks who cannot follow an ongoing plotline? Isn't that the big problem Heroes has had for two years now, that they are trying so hard to do what they think the fans want, that they aren't worried about what will actually work? -
9
@charliediedaprisoner: I'm right there with you. I don't like this excusy-ness, I don't think the show is perfect, but I'm definitely still enjoying the show and keeping the faith for the time being.
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10
Maybe I'm just being charitable as someone a) who has never watched Heroes so has no pony in this race and b) whose brain shuts off when talking in front of a large group of people, but I like to think he was talking off the cuff and he's in a bad place because of the behind the scenes turmoil and stuff just came out of his mouth. And soon we'll get a quote that he didn't quite mean what he said. Because it makes no sense to say that DVR/streaming hurts instead of helps serialized shows, for James' reason #3, and whatever anyone thinks of his show, Kring can't be that much of an idiot. So I'm going with the "talking and thinking at the same time is hard" argument in his defence. I guess he might not be all that flattered with that assessment, but it's better than the "yes, he's that much of an idiot" defence, which seems the only alternative.
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11
@Diane - I'm the same way, I speak mostly nonsense if you put me in front of a crowd or a microphone, so I can see some charity being extended. However, I don't think that the only other alternative is that "he's that much of an idiot". My take on the matter, for what its worth, is that there is currently a major spin initiative to scapegoat, pass the buck and spread the blame to convince folks that this show is still worth salvaging (blame the writers we fired, blame the technology, blame the strike, blame the whole presumption of serialized storytelling), and that this is a symptom of that problematic approach (so its not that he's an idiot, just that he thinks we are. . . which holds true with his "saps and dip$hits" statement as well). While I do agree that the show is worth saving (which lots of others probably disagree with), I think that the approach they're taking is gonna backfire and alienate fans.
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12
There's definitely something missing in Kring's analysis of DVR's are bad for serialized shows. Maybe it's that DVR viewers watch fewer ads, and so DVRs are bad for networks, and so standalones are a better business proposition for networks. Or maybe he misspoke. Or maybe he's just an idiot. And after watching parts of 3 seasons of Heroes, for which Kring has ultimate responsibility, the most likely explanation is that he's an idiot-- at least as far as understanding how to write a serial for television. His background is in episodic series and has shown to be wholly out of his depth in developing a serial.
A superior long-form serial television show (like The Wire, The Sopranos, BSG or Lost) requires an attentive audience. That attentive audience is going to be easily turned off by lazy writing. If there's one thing consistent in Heroes is that outside of a few episodes, it's that the show is consistenly as poorly written as this comment.
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13
@McMagnus: Not sure if we do disagree. I think it is a lack of talent that is holding back the show. I bought up The 4400 because its a similar show (i.e. superhuman character driven) and they did a much better job with less resources. I'm really just a bitter ex-4400 watcher that is convinced that given more slack, more network backing and smarter marketing, it could have been the blockbuster TV show that NBC wants Heroes to be. In my bitterness, I'm clinging to Telekinesis and Jordan Collier (the Messiah Character in the show). Sorry, all, still have the election very much in my brain.
And apologies, in my commentary, I went off topic and made a blanket statement about network shows as a whole, which is not really fair. I am bitter that (what I percieve as) the good shows are being cancelled for yet more formulaic and duller programs.
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14
You know, the show could have worked as a non serial if it had made the HRG guys company less evil. Did some story telling with respect to the human-mutant partnerships. And had focused on a "mutant of the week" being investigated by the HRG company. There could have been an over riding theme. Like the black goo, invasion stuff from X-files or the pattern in Fringe. I still think they should rename it Hiros and make him the star of the show.
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15
@shara says - I guess this is where I get uncharitable, because if he said any of that believing it would help his cause and not alienate his audience, that makes him just as much of an idiot as actually believing literally what he said.
@ joethefinancier - off topic, but 4400 creator Scott Peters told the story of pitching the show to Fox. They were interested but said they couldn't see how the premise could be sustained as a series. His puzzled reply was that it's right there in the title - there's 4400 stories to be told. It didn't end up at Fox of course.
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16
I think Kring is exactly right that it is the DVR. Because while watching whenever I get bored by bad narration or dialogue, think a character is acting stupidly, see a plot twist that makes no sense, catch a continuity error, realize that a dead character will be back in the next episode or see Hiro acting like an idiot, I start fast forwarding.
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Of course, this means that I generally fast forward through the entire episode. Or most of season 2. And 3. Still, if it wasn't for the DVR, I might actually watch a few of these live instead of recording it to speed through on the off chance there's a cool scene or two. Or maybe I would have forgotten all about this show after it went off the rails last year. Either way, I'm sure it's the DVR's fault and not the producers or writers at all. -
17
Thanks for taking Tim Kring to task. The guy does have talent as a writer but the simple fact is that he lost track of his stories and he clearly didn't craft a detailed story bible for the last two seasons. Running a show is a very hard job but that doesn't mean he can start making up excuses, especially when technology is his friend, as you smartly pointed out.
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18
[...] creator, Tim Kring, considers you a "sap" and worse. IGN had the first report and Time offers a spot-on retort. Hearing that Kring considers me a sap isn't likely to inspire me to [...]
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19
@ Diane - Nothing Fox (the Channel or the News) would surprise me anymore. However, to be fair, they've had some great shows on the network. See Simpsons, Arrested Dev., Family Guy, Futurama, etc., so they are capable of making some smart decisions at least.
The 4400 and Firefly...*sigh. what could have been...
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20
Just wanted to throw in my two cents. I agree the show needs work. It may not be able to save it at this point. Focus the direction of the plot, get rid of some characters, and cut out all the hijinks (read: Hiro).
Also wanted to comment on 4400. I watched it up until a little ways into the second season and then gave up on it. Ironically I lost interest because of something that I watch a lot of other shows for: the mythology. I loved X-Files; watch Lost religiously; and followed numerous other shows with a great conspiracy storyline (oddly, most fo these got cancelled; ie. Surface, Invasion, Daybreak, etc.)
What Diane said above about there being 4400 stories to tell about these people rang true. Each person should have an interesting story about either what happened to them and/or how they're having trouble fitting back into their old life. For me, the show got too mired in the guy who ran the commune or whatever and what he wanted from these people. Ordinarlily that kind of thing would hold my interest but it only served to turn me off to the show. I can't really explain why. Alias did the same thing with the endless obsession with the Rambaldi gadget. Way too much reliance on one aspect of the story. The X-Files - atleast in the first half of it's run - balanced the mythology episodes very well with the non. It wasn't an overload of the same details every week. Lost succeeds at this sporadically, and with a definite end to the series thay can pace the story out more evenly.
So anyways, I hope Heroes gets turned around. I think it was an interesting story, and could be again. Either way I'll watch it up until the bitter end.
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21
I chortled at this idea, originally, but then I realized that this change might be sort of a return to season 1. I remember meeting each hero and enjoying watching them struggle with figuring out how this new-found power fits into their lives. That's all gone now. Now we have overarching conspiracies by shadowy figures who make progressively less sense - and none of that is what makes a decent show. You have to care about the characters who get caught up in the complex stuff, or you just have lameness. Thus, Heroes.
As others have said, it might not be amiss to go to an X-Files/Justice League kind of hybrid. Of course, I'm not sure that could be done now. It's been screwed up to the point where I'm not sure anyone is around to care if it gets unscrewed. I think Tim Kring is just inept with genre work. It isn't as easy as maybe it seemed to him when he first scoped it out.
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22
Having just watched Season Two (all on DVD) in one day, I'm hesitant to even bother watching Season Three. Season One managed to build to a very satisfying and watchable climax, though, naturally, they left threads open to lead into season two.
But season two didn't seem to have that tension. I had a very hard time figuring out who were the bad guys and who were the good guys (save for Hiro's nemesis, who provided no surprises at all through out the season, despite the transparent attempt to do so). The season ender was, frankly, disappointing (though I thought Hiro handled his nemesis inventively if not permanently - and my prediction is it won't be). But aside from Hiro's adventures, I found the rest relatively confusing and muddled, with a lack-luster ending to the season. Who shot J.R.'s been done. I would have thought the alternative ending on the DVD would have provided a MUCH better foundation for season three.
In any event, I'm not nearly as interested in watching season 3 as I was 2. I may do a Netflix stream when I have a free day, but until I see it, i won't buy the DVD. The magic of Season one is lost and it SOUNDS like season three is actually worse than two. I don't think serialization is the problem. I think the writing is.
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23
[...] Heroes sucks right now because Kring and his writers don’t have a clue. It has nothing to do with how people are (or aren’t) watching it. What kind of insane explanation is that anyway? I could go one, but James Poniewozik, of Time, summed things up so well just read his article. [...]
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24
[...] Heroes: Serial Killer?Tim Kring, creator of Heroes, posits the theory that DVRs are killing serial storytelling. James Poniewozik points out that theory is as flawed as the last two seasons of Heroes. [...]
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25
[...] James Poniewozik at Time has some fun in response here. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter. Thanks [...]
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