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A “Heroes” Question answered. Yay.

December 1st, 2008
Author Troy Brownfield

If you regularly follow the main site, then you’ll know that I frequently write the Post-Game rundowns for Heroes. One thing that I’ve mentioned repeatedly about this season is my irritation at the fact that heroic Peter Petrelli has never mentioned that he left his Irish love interest, Caitlin, stuck in a dystopian future that may no longer exist. Apparently, I missed that creator Tim Kring addressed this very point at the 2008 Screenwriters Expo before the Holiday.

Aint’ It Cool News and IGN.com both reported on this little tidbit, quoted from IGN’s report: When the fan asked if Peter would ever acknowledge Caitlin or express any grief over what seems to be her dire fate, Kring replied, “No, we passed it. We leapfrogged it.” He added that when the idea of returning to Caitlin was brought up, they asked, “Really? Are we going to risk that? We have enough stuff to [deal with].”

Well, hey. That’s great! Honestly, how does a show expect its viewers to invest in their characters when the people running the place don’t invest in the characters? This is part and parcel of the Heroes overpopulation problem. Friendly suggestion: if you know that you have too much stuff to deal with, then quit trying to accomplish so much stuff. Slim it down, narrow your focus, and build your characters. Otherwise, you’ll probably be left standing in bewilderment when NBC decides to “leapfrog” your fourth season.

13 Responses to “A “Heroes” Question answered. Yay.”
  1. Ian L Says:

    Here’s a better question: WHO THE HELL IS WRITING AND DRAWING 9TH WONDER?!?!!?!? Isaac has been dead of two seasons and handed in his last script the day he died!!!!

  2. Troy Brownfield Says:

    Well, y’know. Books run late.
    :D

  3. johnny zito Says:

    Getting lost in a future that doesn’t exist is the probably the most clever thing this show has come up with.

  4. Rev. O.J. Flow Says:

    This show’s still on? Huh.

  5. Simon DelMonte Says:

    Tim Sale is doing 9th Wonders, clearly. He’s got the same exact powers as Isaac Mendez and will be added to the cast next season.

  6. Bob Boberson Says:

    I’m glad I’m not the only person who remembered that an innocent incredibly hot Irish woman is forever lost in a future that no longer exists. That accent is missed.

    Ian L, good call on the 9th Wonders note, too. I was wondering that, too, but thought that it might actually be revealed at some point. Y’know like Mr. Petrelli was drawing it to mess with Hiro or something.

    Who am I kidding though? The cover of the book might as well credit “D.E. Machina” as the artist, because we will never find out.

    I shan’t be returning for “volume 4″.

    “Heroes Volume 4: if you care about continuity, go watch Lost, ya Poozer”

  7. Gladiator X Says:

    Man. I gave up on this show after the first ep of the new season and I can’t say that I’ve missed it one bit. Sometimes I wonder why I even watched it in the first place.

  8. "The Guvnor" Paul C Says:

    “Bob Boberson: I’m glad I’m not the only person who remembered that an innocent incredibly hot Irish woman is forever lost in a future that no longer exists. That accent is missed.”

    Fun fact: The accent was fake. The chick was actually English.

    But yeah Heroes probably won’t ever get over the spectre of doom that was series 2. This run has been better but they do need to do some culling, I’d start with Mohinder, Claire, Peter & Tracy myself.

    Interestingly though, Wikipedia (yeah, so that it how you will) mentions that Tim Kring told someone at TV Guide that it was actually him who fired Loeb & Alexander, not the network, as they failed to toe the line with him in regards to the content of the next volume.

  9. Shaun Says:

    Troy says: “Well, hey. That’s great! Honestly, how does a show expect its viewers to invest in their characters when the people running the place don’t invest in the characters?”

    This honestly surprises you, Troy? This is Heroes you’re talking about. I can’t believe anyone still watches it.

    I think the simple answer to your question is that you’re investing far too much time in a show that’s just not worth it.

    Glad I gave up on Heroes over a year ago, but I still get a kick out of reading what a train wreck this show’s apparently become.

  10. pulse768 Says:

    I expect a Crisis-level event that will wipe the memory of “Heroes” third season from everyone’s mind, hopefully including the viewers’.

    Seriously, the show stinks on ice.

  11. Kelson Says:

    Friendly suggestion: if you know that you have too much stuff to deal with, then quit trying to accomplish so much stuff. Slim it down, narrow your focus, and build your characters.

    Isn’t that exactly what they’ve done here? Narrowed their focus to what’s on the plate now, instead of trying to go back and fill all the continuity gaps left by last season?

  12. Troy Brownfield Says:

    Hey Kelson, I see what you’re saying, but Caitlin wasn’t so much a continuity gap as part of Peter’s entire motivation. They totally abandoned her in order to (to borrow a phrase from wrestling) do some some “hot-shot booking” with yet another future continuity. Seriously, this is the THIRD possible future continuity for the show right now (the first season’s destruction of NYC, the second season’s Shanti virus desolation, and the third season’s hero hunting/Sylar explosion).

    I’m saying that Caitlin was a really odd plot point to leave out. And past that, they now have way too many characters with constantly shifting personalities for their own good. They could have addressed Caitlin with two lines from Peter (”I tried to find that future, but it was gone. SHE’S gone.”), but chose to pretend it wasn’t there. Like Richie Cunningham’s brother or the one kid from “Family Matters”. Audiences are smarter than that, and I think that by constantly “leapfrogging” things instead of slowing down, addressing stuff, and working on the core characters (that people actually like; sorry, Mohinder), they’re killing the show.

  13. Gabriel Says:

    I’m a little late here, but lets not forget the 4th possible future where Hiro sees Tokyo’s destruction and Ando kill him, time-travel needs to be used sparingly on this show.

    As for Caitlin, they could have and could still use the “Back to the Future” explanation and simply say that since she was an anomaly in the time period the future was reshaped around her when Peter caught the virus. If that happened she could just be waiting for Peter back in her apartment.

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