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Kill characters, save the show Cutting cast could rescue ‘Heroes’
By Mark A. Perigard Monday, October 29, 2007
There’s nothing wrong with “Heroes” that a massacre couldn’t fix.
It’s time for TV’s scariest serial killer, Sylar (Zachary Quinto), to get his mojo back and start slicing some heads.
Some mercy killings might get the NBC series (tonight at 9 on WHDH, Ch. 7) back on track.
No matter how you cut it, the highest-rated freshman drama of last season is in trouble.
Just a month ago, the “Heroes” premiere finished at No. 10 in the overall ratings, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Since then, millions of viewers have deserted the show. In the most recent Nielsen report, “Heroes” landed at No. 30.
Coming off an Emmy nomination for Best Drama, the show was supposed to attract more viewers in its sophomore year. Instead, it is driving away fans with convoluted, disjointed stories.
Kristen Bell’s much-hyped, much-anticipated entrance last week as a killer with a high-voltage touch would have been much more electric if creator Tim Kring and crew bothered to show her doing something.
Instead, her display of power was strictly offscreen. Boring. If the show doesn’t have the budget for special effects (as last season’s dismal finale demonstrated), then here’s a place to start cutting costs: the cast.
“Heroes” this season has added a dizzying array of new characters, ranging from “muscle mimic” Monica (Dana Davis) to the Blunder Twins, Maya (Dania Ramirez) and Alejandro (Shalim Ortiz).
These new players are crowding out the established cast. The show has so many stories going on and so little time to devote to them that it doesn’t have time to feature its regulars. Last week, it was cheerleader Claire’s (Hayden Panettiere) turn to be offscreen.
A month into the season, Hiro (Masi Oka) is still trapped in the past, Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) is working for both HRG (Jack Coleman) and the Company and my hand gets itchy for the remote any time Niki (Ali Larter) is onscreen.
To keep “Heroes” fighting the good fight, here are some suggestions for the network: Cut the cast down to a manageable eight or nine. Focus on a core group. Send the cutesy kids, Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey) and Maya (Adair Tischler), to a boarding school on a continent to be named later. Run some stand-alone episodes. Stop splaying the main characters over a dozen stories and give them a reason to interact with each other.
Given the right push, “Heroes” can still fly.
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