Heroes… The New ER

Sometimes there’s a show that is just so amazing in its first season that the only direction it can go is down. Currently the best example for his is Heroes. I like to call this the, “ER Syndrome,” or a show that overstays its welcome in prime time. ER was amazing in the early to mid 90′s. The cast was great with Clooney and Julianna Margulies, a young Noah Wyle and the resurrection of Goose‘s career. It had an amazing amount of drama, took great chances in terms of story telling and the characters were so well established that as audiences we all became experts very quickly. ER was influential for a lot of reasons, but for me I always liked how they set up the ensemble cast and were able to keep things interesting. Then it went on… and on… And On… and it never stopped. Characters died / left newbies came in and destroyed the dynamic and all of a sudden ER became that guest in your house that just wouldn’t leave. It was always there with something new, but it was no longer exciting, it was just annoying.

Fast forward about a decade and you’ve got Heroes. After an amazing and ground breaking first season I feel as though this show is really just over-staying its welcome in prime time. I’ve griped about my feelings towards Heroes for quite some time now, but it wasn’t until I finally watched the 2-hour season premier of the 4th season that it really dawned on me. I don’t care anymore. I don’t care what happens to the Bennets, the Patrelli‘s or the Japanese guys let alone a new cast of villains. Sylar was a great initial concept, but I don’t even care about him anymore. There are a number of reasons as to why this happened (personally I believe it to be the leaving of Bryan Fuller), but for whatever reason it could be, the result is the same. I’m bored and I don’t care.

Now my dilemma is this. Every time I “write off a show,” something dramatic happens and I’m forced to get back into it. Thus, I never actually “stop,” watching. It happened with 24, it happened with Smallville and it I suspect it will happen with Heroes. I’ve invested so much time into this show and all of its characters that I think one day I’ll come back to it just for the sake of completion. But until then, I think I’m going to lay this show to rest. Sorry Ando, even you can’t keep me around for an hour each week.