TVSquad

(S03E15) The second chapter of the newest volume of Heroes wasn't quite as strong as the first one, but it kept things moving in a positive direction. I guess the writers were wanting to keep the fugitive heroes as weak in power base as possible, based on the casualty we experienced in this episode. In a way, I can say I knew it was coming, but was hopeful that it wouldn't. While I agree that the cast had gotten a little sprawling and out of control at times thorughout the series progression, I never thought this character was a problem.

(S03E08) Maybe they should have done this one a little earlier in the season. There was only one scene set in the present era, but it was a good one. The rest of the episode was "One Year Ago," weaving and interlacing with the events we did see during the show's first season, showing us what a lot of the characters we either didn't know or didn't follow then were up to, like Ma and Pa Petrelli, Linderman, Gabriel, Elle and even Claire's mother and uncle.

I remember that the second season was supposed to explore the elder generation, revealing more of their connections to one another and their motivations. We were going to learn more about The Company and what they were up to in regards to Peter and the rest of our main cast. It looks like those aborted promises are finally coming to fruition. It's unfortunate that the last season and so much of the start of this season was so lackluster, as things are really coming together nicely. And we're gaining sympathy for almost every member of the cast by learning more about them.

Please, Pushing Daisies fans, please note that I say IF. I even put it in capital letters!

There was talk that Bryan Fuller would be asked by Tim Kring to return to Heroes after NBC told Kring to let two other producers on the show, Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb, go. Now Fuller confirms that he will definitely go back to the show if Pushing Daisies isn't picked up after the 13th episode of the series, which will be completed in January.

The other day we told you about NBC telling Heroes creator/executive producer Tim Kring to fire two producers on the show (Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb), and now Kring says that he agrees with some of the criticisms of the show.

Kring has been very, very involved in the show this season as the showrunner, and many think that might be the problem. So now Kring wants to get back to a more simplified type of storytelling, with more character development and less outlandish scenes. This is welcome news to fans that think the show has gone off course but still want to watch it, as will this news, that not only will Kring possibly replace the two producers with first season producer Bryan Fuller, but also that some heroes are going to be killed off to clean up the story a bit. The "Villains" chapter ends next month; then we'll have the "Fugitives" chapter for the second half of the season.

This isn't the first time that Kring has agreed with criticisms of the show. He said it a few months ago about the second season too.

So the big Heroes backlash now has two victims.

NBC has fired two producers that have been with the show since day one, Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb. The show has been getting a lot of negative press lately (actually, ever since the strike-shortened second season), including this Entertainment Weekly cover story on what's wrong with the show and how to fix it. Sources say the two were let go because Universal is unhappy with the direction and cost of the show.

Look, is Heroes as good as it was the first season? No, it's not. But I think that's because of two reasons. One, it's not new anymore. Two, way too many characters, and when you have too many characters it affects the structure of the show. Now, the show has always had a lot of characters and storylines going at the same time, but now they have more "extra" characters on the show we have to follow (and often follow them in two different years, heh). So that criticism of the show is accurate.

There's good news and bad news coming out of the Heroes' universe. The good news: despite the ongoing WGA Strike, the current 'Generations' story arc running on the hit NBC show will conclude on December 3rd in an episode entitled 'Powerless'. The bad news: should the strike extend through the new year 'Powerless' may be the season finale for Heroes.

That's what Jeph Loeb, co-executive producer and writer of the series, is saying in press reports. Luckily, Loeb and executive producer/creator Tim Kring saw this strike coming ahead of time so they, and their crew, worked like crazy to get the first story arc done before the strike deadline. This made people like comic book artist Tim Sale, who creates art for the Isaac Mendez character, nearly have a nervous breakdown. Even with the hectic work schedule Loeb states that fans should be satisfied with the end of the first story arc as many hanging plot threads will be resolved.