Mikey Likes TV

Few would argue that the first season of Heroes didn’t suffer from a certain lack of consistency, but even with all of the loose ends, vague explanations and annoying filler, we sure did love it. Hopes were high for the follow-up. Expectations were realistically low.

Not low enough.

Last night’s conclusion to “Generations” was so anti-climactic, so frustratingly pointless, it just doesn’t make sense that it was the culmination of 11 episodes and probably the end of the season. All of the new characters, the lack of focus on established ones, the ambiguous efforts of the company, the “virus”… they could have come together in the end for some grand purpose, but they didn’t. And they won’t. The plan on Heroes is just not fleshed out very well, and based on this season, it may not even exist.

So what sucked the most? I would have to say that the apparent deaths of Niki and Nathan top the list. Plugging the episode with the promise of two fallen heroes, I was hoping that at least one of my four least favorite characters would have gotten it (Matt, really? Are we still trying to make Matt happen?). Instead, I lost my favorite. Poor Nathan Petrelli. He spent the last three months either hiding in the shadows or looking at his messed up reflection in the mirror and moping. One of four heroes who tried to out themselves in this episode (might that be the new arc?), he assembled a giant press conference on short notice and was shot as he tried to tell everyone he could fly. He might as well have died at the end of last season. At least then it would have been, you know, heroic.

Far less sad, but equally as frustrating, is the death of Niki Sanders. She spent this season just as unused. Her confusing abilities got even more confusing. And as of now, I’m still not exactly sure if her power was super-strength, the ability to be a functioning schizophrenic or a bizarre combination of the two. Either way, she got the virus and blew up before it could kill her. Her awesome, orphan son is now free to be raised by the crazy lady from Star Trek.

“Generations” was supposed to be an interesting take on the old “sins of our fathers” bit, but it almost immediately dissolved into the ”stupidity of their children.” That’s out of the picture now though, because Sylar, the most effeminate, unconvincing villain since Jim Carrey’s Riddler, has apparently returned to once again cut people open and steal their powers. I want to ponder where they could take that, but I’m too tired and bored. Really, the one thing left for me to do, Heroes, is to forgive and forget. I want to forgive you, and I want to forget you.

Sophomore seasons are almost never what we expect them to be. For some slow-burners, they can bring a watershed of explosive creativity (à la Buffy), but for most buzzworthy shows, the second season almost always marks the sophomore slump (think Desperate Housewives), a source of criticism and disappointment among viewers. I’ve been hesitant to express my boredom and frustration with Heroes, but after five decidedly mediocre episodes, the situation can no longer be ignored. This season kind of sucks.

Most of the fun in the first season of Heroes was the slow crescendo towards our scattered characters discovering the extent of their abilities and each other. By the finale, almost all of their paths had crossed and many had formed relationships. We picked them up, four months later, scattered once again, and now we feel like we’re just retracing our steps to an ultimately similar conclusion – like a Möbius strip of bad plot. It’s almost impossible to dissect all the ways in which I’m annoyed with Heroes, so here’s a list of the top ten things that shouldn’t be happening but are…

10 – The re-ambiguation of HRG
9 – Matt & Mohinder: gay foster parents
8 – Scabby mirror-Nathan
7 – The immediate threat of losing Mama Petrelli
6 – The “Hero Virus”
5 – Sylar & Matt: still alive
4 – Bad British actors with worse Irish accents
3 – Explosion-induced amnesia
2 – Molly Walker
1 – Splitting up Hiro & Ando

In the interest of not dwelling on negativity, it should be mentioned that we’re witnessing a few stellar moves this season. Two storylines in particular have me wiping the drool off of my chin. Oddly enough, they focus on new people. The first is Monica (Dana Davis), Micah’s cousin who can absorb the skills she witnesses. Not only does her power open the door for some non-Ali Larter ass-kicking, her struggle for independence and redemption in post-Katrina New Orleans is the only compelling portrayal of it’s kind since so many started popping up on scripted dramas after 2005. Her charming sibling-like interaction with Micah is also welcome, as the writers tend to underuse him. As child actors go, he is the Gregory Peck to Molly’s Tara Reid.

The second glimmer of hope is most definitely the addition of Elle (Kristen Bell). Her first appearance last week may not have been the most inspired introduction, but my love for the actress means that even when the writing leans a little too heavily towards high-voltage Veronica Mars, I’ll still be captivated. I have faith that they’ll explore the snotty daddy’s girl side to her when she returns in a couple of weeks… and that she’ll fry more people with her electric lazer hands. My vote is for Matt, Molly and Sylar.