Saturday, May 15, 2010

RANT: The Death of Heroes

The show that made a phenomena of the phrase ''save the cheerleader, save the world'' is Dead. NBC has cancelled Heroes.

And now my TV world has come crashing down.

This news was somewhat expected, but still, it felt as if I'd been punched in the stomach. I've never cried over the cancellation of a TV show before: I did as soon as I learned NBC had cancelled it. Right now, writing this, I have tears still in my eyes.

I was on twitter immediately. Sharing my pain with so many of my peers and friends, people I've met through our mutual love of Heroes. I will forever be grateful for the wonderful friends I've made because of it. The anguish, the sadness, and the anger were palpable.

Twitter was buzzing with the words ''NBC cancels Heroes.'' It trended worldwide, in first place, for a long time all that evening.

Despite it's faults, I loved Heroes with a passion. I loved the idea of it, if not always its execution. I loved the characters and the actors who embodied them. It was a show that was different from those endless procedural, crime scene, medical, lawyer shows we are being fed ad-nausea by the main tv networks.

What was beautiful with Heroes was that everyone had his/her favourite character. Mine was Sylar. Bad boy Sylar. Who turned good towards the end of season 4. What stories could have been told! All gone now. I will miss Hiro and Ando, Peter, Nathan, Matt, Suresh, Noah (a.k.a HRG), Claire, Traci, Micah and so many others! Especially Mr. Muggles - seriously, who isn't going to miss that dog?


NBC said they would ''reward'' fans with a 2 hour or 4 hour special event for mid-season. Do I believe it? I don't know. Networks make these bold statements when they want the fans of a show they just cancelled to shut up. For example, HBO's Deadwood. Where's the promised conclusion that was supposed to follow the cancelled show after it's third season? Has it materialized yet? No. Nope. Nothing. Nyet.

I have lost faith in NBC anyways. I also mourn the end of original programming. I feel that now, the only way for genre shows to survive and thrive is on those speciality channels such as HBO, SyFy, Showtime or Starz. I'm hoping SyFy would look Heroes' way and say ''that's a show for us, let's pick it up.''

I feel so much for the actors and the many people that worked behind the scenes at Heroes. I'm thinking about prop master James Clarke (@JamesProps) and my friend, Heroes Key Makeup artist Wendi Lynn Allison (@wendilynnmakeup), amongst many others. These people opened themselves to us. They let us into the big Heroes family. Because that's what this show was all about: family. People that worked together and loved each other. It's very rare.

(Which reminds me right now of Jack Coleman's blog about filming Heroes. That man made me laugh like there was no tomorrow. You should go read his entries here.)

We love them and wish them the best.

Feel free to talk about Heroes, it's characters, and why you loved the show.

10 comments:

  1. I was hooked by some of the mid-season episodes of season one. Some of my friends met me right before the premiere of season 2, and their first memory of me is all my Heroes fan art. It seems weird that some people don't remember me before Heroes. And while I do, I don't want Heroes to be gone. My favorite character went through many changes - From Peter, to Hiro, back to Peter, Sylar, Angela, and finally settling on Nathan. I have loved every moment of this show, good and bad. I was never blind to the shows faults, but I supported it despite them. I faithfully purchased each season on DVD, bought the books, and bought collectibles online. I even cosplayed Angela Petrelli at A-Fest Dallas last year. I am going to miss the unique story that was Heroes. Honestly, I expected this, but I am still incredibly sad. Our world needs its HEROES!

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  2. Nathalie,you summed up my feelings in your blog. What a sad, sad day for all of us Heroes fans. I came into the show late after catching up on Season 1 and part of Season 2 on Netflix. But I was hooked. Then I joined Twitter. In looking for people to follow, one of my first was Grunny (Greg Grunberg)who introduced us to many of the cast and crew who also joined Twitter.

    Through them, they made the show much more personal for myself and many of the fans on Twitter. They became friends and a part of our lives. In turn, they allowed us to befriend so many people like yourself and so many others.

    As sad as I am about the shows demise, I will always cherish these memories. I'm looking forward to continuing all these relationships that have been formed through this experience. I can't wait to support the cast and crew on all of their future projects.

    I have to agree with the quote from Dr. Suess that Wendi Lynn posted on Twitter last night: “Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.”

    Thank you all for making me smile!!!!!

    Sharon (@cattysheba on Twitter)

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  3. We all feel the same. I knew it was coming but it still felt like a freight train when it happened.

    You know star trek only ha 3 seasons and was cancelled. Yet it stayed in the hearts of its forever loyal geek-fans (a very small fan base originally, like us Heroes fanatics).

    The fans kept it alive, and we can do the same here. I still believe that for its many fault's the uniqueness of the show made it rise above everything else.

    I'll keep it alive in my heart - Super-Heroes never die.

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  4. So Sad that they cancelled the show... I think this was one of the best show that i ever saw. I loved all of the characters; they all had something special that maid me like them, the actors were also awesome. I hope that the event that NBC promise will happen! Heroes can't end this way: it was not like the other shows! It's still hard to believe this is over, I was still waiting for the next season, it would have been so awesome.
    Goodbye HEROES!

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  5. I thank you Nathalie for all your Love & Continuous Support of Our Show. Thank you for writing this Blog! You words are kind and very true. x Wendi (Makeup Heroes)

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  6. I could have not said it better Nath, you said it all, in one amazing way. Heroes will live on forever, the fandom will keep it alive =)

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  7. I haven't had the strength to write a blog about the cancellation yet. I had a chance to speak with D.H. Lawrence XVII (Eric Doyle aka The Puppetmaster) about the show, he's made himself accessible to the fans, we talked very late Saturday morning and he made me understand the cost-prohibitions and why a little network like SyFy or some of the others couldn't afford to do "Heroes", so I don't think we will ever get anything like it again. I can remember finding the preview write-ups about the show even before it premiered (in TV Guide), and I rarely missed an episode during the entire run. I feel like a hole has been ripped in my life. I'll never watch another show the same way, most certainly not on NBC. They had no idea what they had or what they killed. Like you, I bought every season, and will purchase the final season when it comes out. "Heroes" was a family, those themes remained constant throughout. I don't want to blog-ment your blog, but I truly feel your pain. The Writer's Strike did just that, struck us, and we never had a chance to recover... "Heroes" is dead, Long Live "Heroes".

    -ere'bodee's favorite mega, blogninja

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  8. Hello folks,
    My 2 cents on Heroes.Yes i am sad too, but I think the show was becoming too inconsistent to be worth continuing.I blame this mostly on the writers “switching”. I always had the feeling that the storyline was line sub-contracted between episodes. Extremely chaotic. Some shows like Stargate Universe or even Battlestar Galactica are rock solid because the plot is rock solid and it wasn't always the case with Heroes.

    And to be totally fair, I haven't yet forgiven what happened with Nathan's death.Nathan wasn't my favourite character, but I did appreciate the genuine impression Nathan was giving at the end of season 3 when he really wanted to fix the mess he created and amend.For a long time, I believed Redemption Season 4 title was aiming at Nathan. I was disappointed it was regarding only Sylar's redemption that happened in the 2 last episodes. I was shocked to see Nathan's throat cut at the end of season 3, like a goat. A character is slaughtered like an animal. No way. And yet even seeing the character come back in season 4. “What were you thinking??? “ we heard Claire and Peter tell Sandra and Noah. I would ask that question to the writers.And it also physically affected me to see Nathan fade away in the episodes before Xmas. Have you ever seen a character tell to the audience “you have to let me go...” (this is what he told Peter)??? This was a masterpiece in writing and directing. It really reached out on me and terribly affected me. So I was then very upset to see Sylar completely forgiven 2 episodes later.
    I was like WHAAATT????? I loved to hate Sylar. Sorry Nathalie but I did :)
    He just can not become a good guy overnight. That's so cheap and so wrong.

    So yeah, its cancelled. I think it became justified in the January episodes. I would have liked to see more of the carnival, more of Parkman, more of Peter's wonders. I am grateful for how Heroes introduced me to Twitter and follow the cast directly and sometimes even get direct responses from them (David Lawrence, Dawn Oliveri,WendilynnMakeup... you guys rock!!). I loved to follow the 10th Wonder podcast show and Live show. I am still so thrilled to have seen Greg Grunberg pop up live in the Live Show. That was an amazing interaction between an actor and the fans about a show that aired the same night. This was so awesome. Heroes community really made you feel personally connected. I have never seen anything like this before. This was totally new for me, and i am going to miss it.

    Last but not least, you rock Nathalie :) :***
    cheers.
    iom666

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  9. Like others, I wouldn't be on Twitter without Heroes. I heard Grunny was on, one follow lead to another, and then I was hooked. This cast really did reach out to their fans as very few shows have done before outside of Trek, and even then, those were basically limited to convention appearances as the internet was still in it's infancy.

    We got to know and help support the actors in their other endeavours like the Sarmy/Zarmy and TalkAboutIt!, even blogs like Greg Beeman and Jack Coleman's HRG Files were fun, and I hope those continue. I also hope Kring allows the comics to continue with Wildstorm or DC, just not with the writer's of the last few chapters, who ignore established facts.

    Heck, this show had me so hooked, I finally published some of my fanfiction! LOL
    (any chance that'll get me a writing gig for those comics? LOL)

    I'm just dreading July 27, when the final, season 4 dvd hits, knowing we won't see the likes of this show or ensemble cast again.

    I do hope we get a finale movie, but I keep getting the feeling that it will be a Q&A/reminisce about the show. I hope I'm wrong about this.

    As for a "Save Our Show" campaign like SaveSouthLAnd did, I wouldn't get my hopes up for Syfylis, USA, G4 or any other NBC owned network. Maybe TNT can step in before the cast disperses to the winds and try another season (withOUT Kring!)? I could see a core group of HRG, Matt, Peter, and Hiro opening up the Company like Xavier's or as a secret task force to stop other evil Specials like Sylar. or maybe I'll just stick to my fanfics? ;)

    Brian aka Brainlock

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  10. Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts and memories about Heroes.

    It was comforting for me to read you. :)

    Let's just hope for the best now, and hope that maybe, just maybe, we'll get to have our finale. But at least Heroes will live on in our hearts and we'll cherish the friendships we've made because of it.

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