The one hundred ninth TV show: #750 Heroes
Watching the third season of Heroes for this write up - the one where I must have stopped watching originally - it's hard to see what made the show so good. I guess some of it might have been that superheroes were mostly forgotten in popular culture originally, when this brought it back, while superhero shows are more common now. At the same time, the original was a mature, grown up drama that explored the issues that would arise from this, figuring out how it all fits in. It feels like the frequency of resets was probably a big issue - it seems like time travel is an excuse to show big scenes that don't impact the plot - but at the same time, it went from being relatively small powers that need to be hidden to an escalation where everything got bigger and more action focused. Likeable characters got annoying and the reluctance to kill off people that ought to be doesn't help. I know Sylar makes for a great character, but the constant turns in the character got exhausting.
I struggle to put up with it now. The characters are gone. The spectacle and extra characters dominate too much. It's boring, and it wasn't that before. The first season is convincing and a good set piece. Just realise it won't carry on.