Heroes Reborn: Down to The Wire

Heroes Reborn Logo

NBC premiered its tiny fifteen second teaser during the Super Bowl for its revival series Heroes Reborn, a variation on its once-lauded, but mostly lamented series Heroes. The original series flew like a rocket, but sadly crashed at the end like a badly damaged rocket.

Wendy and Jamie, who discussed this about one year ago when the announcement was made, are back to revisit the series as it draws close to its spring 2015 premiere date and discuss whether their enthusiasm levels have changed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6zVQXpUe_0&w=560&h=315

Wendy: I can’t believe it’s already been a year since we first learned about Heroes Reborn. Back then, I said I was cautiously optimistic about the prospect, but now, I’m in a state of firm fence-sitting apathy. I’m going to blame my jaded attitude on every disappointing remake and reboot that Hollywood has spewed out over the past few years with particular emphasis on Michael Bay pooping on my 80s nostalgia.

But I will try to be at least a little bit objective in reviewing this 15-second teaser that features a person who seems to have the ability to control the aurora borealis itself. That person is watched closely by Noah Bennett whom Heroes fans will recognize as the father of “The Cheerleader.” So, with the inclusion of Noah, it seems that we are heading toward a new generation of genetic anomalies rather than a reboot of what was (thank goodness).

I have no clue where things left off with Noah and his employment with the Company or any of the other characters for that matter mainly because I stopped watching the show halfway through season three and have since decided to block all but season one from my mind, which doesn’t help my opinion of Reborn. So many things went wrong after that first season, not all of which can be blamed on the writers’ strike that occurred during season two. The show lost the key elements of suspense, intrigue, and characters that made me want to root for or hate them or take them by the shoulders and shake some sense into them.

Speaking of those characters…Noah’s back, but apparently Zachary Quinto has declined the offer to join the cast. I am of two minds about this. As much as I loved Sylar, like many other fans, Heroes grew into the Sylar story as the seasons progressed. I don’t want to see the same happen with Reborn. It would be too easy to rely on him to fuel the plot.

Jamie: Well, that was a very pretty, very blue 15 seconds. Don’t think I missed the Legend-of-Korra-esque “let’s show them a heroine all in furs only from the back” trick you pulled, NBC. Oh, and look, there’s our old friend the Eclipse Of Power Conferment! And hello to you too, HRG, or is it just Mr. Bennett now? That wasn’t enough to whet the whistle, nor enough to build excitement.

I didn’t watch the Super Bowl, and it was probably a day before I got around to viewing the tiny teaser and pinging Wendy for an update post. So I guess you could say my excitement has gone from a flame to a guttering ember. All it needs is a little bit of air to fan it back up.

I must say, I’m really glad to hear that Quinto isn’t bringing back Sylar. I’m even a little bit relieved. Quinto’s a great actor, and honestly wasted as Sylar, in my opinion.  Plus, there’s his Spock role to think of; it wouldn’t be a wise move image-wise to tie a serial killer to the logical Vulcan with a heart. Looks like Heroes‘ hero Peter Petrelli won’t be returning either: news just broke that he’s joining the cast of Fox’s Gotham as a supervillain.

Besides, as Wendy said above, by the end, they’d hung the whole show on Sylar and used the cheapest, weakest bargain basement redemption arc I have ever had the misfortune of sitting through.

I am admittedly curious, though, and IMDB is no help whatsoever! This new Eclipse Gifted person seems to be Inuit. A prominent person who is non-white? Dare I hope they learned after Micah? I’m piqued. After repeated viewings, it also looks like our first new Hero is a woman. The show was no great shakes in how it treated women either. The cynic in me wants to ask how soon she’ll be dead, since Binoculars Guy appears to be, at first glance, opposition to HRG. Glasses vs. Binoculars for the Inuit Aurora Woman! Who will get to her first?

If HRG is involved, the question must be asked: is it a reboot? An alternate universe?  A continuation? If the latter, where’s the indestructible daughter? Why isn’t daddy dear protecting her?

I’m also curious about what Zachary Levi will be doing. He of course won geeky hearts as Chuck and again with his voice acting in Tangled. Curiosity will get me in front of the TV, but it will take some compelling writing to make me forgive the floundering and misstepseven if I did hear the trademark piano tinkle there. The most interesting thing I can say about the series now is that NBC is apparently launching a digital pre-series on the web.

How’s it looking to you, fandom? Are you excited, hopeful, meh, cynical, or have you already written this off as a stunt to try and recapture what was great about Heroes season 1? Let’s hear how you’re feeling in the comments.

Save the Inuit woman, save the world!

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Jamie Kingston

Jamie Kingston

Jamie Kingston is a Native New Yorker, enduring a transplant to Atlanta. She’s a lifelong comic fan, having started at age 13 and never looked back, developing a decades-spanning collection and the need to call out the creators when she expects better of them. Her devotion extends to television, films, and books as well as the rare cosplay. She sates her need to create in a number of ways including being an active editor on the TV Tropes website, creating art and fan art, and working on her randomly updating autobiographical web comic, Orchid Coloured Glasses. As a woman of color, she considers it important to focus on diversity issues in the media. She received the Harpy Agenda micro-grant in November of 2015 for exceptional comics journalism by a writer of color.

One thought on “Heroes Reborn: Down to The Wire

  1. I loved heroes, but did the same as you Wendy and bowed out before it went full fledged challenger. I am intrigued…I mean Heroes really fanned my fangurl flame at first, but it’s like the ex you dumped who comes back swearing they’ve changed, you just know you are in for heartache. I will watch if the hero there is an Inuit girl though.

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