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NBC announced over the weekend that 2015 will see Heroes return to our screen for a limited run titled Heroes Reborn, likely following in the footsteps of Fox’s returnee 24.
Heroes was a show whose quality dwindled with each new season. The first was innovative and enrapturing; the third was stale and boring. The fourth did show some promise but it was still lacklustre in comparison to the first. I don’t think it will ever capture the magic of Genesis, but that said, if the producers do it right, Reborn could mark a fantastic end to the series and change a lot of misconceptions about the show as a whole. If only we could teleport into the future like Hiro…
Below are seven ways NBC could make the limited-run series a worthy end to an uneven show.
Old characters
Like every series on the planet, Heroes introduced new characters every season to refresh the cast and stories alike. Unlike most other series this largely didn’t work in Heroes’ favour. Maya Herrera anyone? No? How about Elle Bishop or Samuel Sullivan?
The old characters are truly the best and the only way this revival series will work is if they bring some of them back. The viewers have already invested in them and will find it hard to invest in a new group of characters in only 13 episodes. Bring back Claire, Noah, Hiro, Peter, Micah and Tracy and this show will be onto a winner already. A return of Sylar (whilst unlikely giving how much Zachary Quinto’s profile has skyrocketed recently) would be welcome, so long as it was badass Sylar.
A direct continuation of the story
I don’t want to see how Claire’s coming out as a superpowered individual affected the world in 2015. I want to see the immediate outcome of that. I want the first scene of Reborn to be Claire surrounded by paparazzi or I won’t be happy. A few episodes in the show can flashforward into the future if Tim Kring so desires, but the first few episodes must directly continue from the ending of Redemption. Otherwise why bring it back at all?
A true answer to the cause
One of my biggest bugbears with Heroes is that it constantly flirted with an answer as to how or why the characters had developed superpowers without giving us a true answer. Giving how Reborn could be the final time we ever see this show, an answer is now necessary. A TRUE answer.
A worthy villain
In season one we had Sylar. In season two we had Adam Monroe and Sylar. In season three we had Arthur Petrelli, Emile Danko and, you guessed it, Sylar! And in season four we had Samuel.
Sylar was amazing in season one and ruined in subsequent seasons. Adam Monroe was good, but due to the writers’ strikes the second season was cut short and we never saw his true potential. Arthur Petrelli was one of the biggest let-downs in the show and Samuel wasn’t used amazingly.
Sylar can return only if he returns as the villain. Otherwise we need a new, memorable threat for the heroes to fight. Someone with immense power that seems unstoppable. How about a female villain? We’ve not seen many of those before.
Superheroes
The show toyed with the idea of the characters being heroes but we finally need to see them as such. The world is aware of their existence so they no longer need to hide. It is time to don spandex and fight crime!
A threat to the world
We’ve never really had a threat to the world. Alright yes, Adam tried to wipe out humanity with the Shanti virus in season two but it was a rushed conclusion. In Reborn I want to see a superpowered villain with destructive powers that threatens the entire world. Like Sylar in season one, but on a global scale!
One of the best ideas season three had (but used extremely poorly) was that of a villainous group. We’ve seen it countless times in Marvel comics. Instead of one threat to the world how about five, ten, fifty? It would make the threat all the more terrifying, and the fight all the more glorious to behold.
A satisfying conclusion
Heroes was cancelled after the fourth season without wrapping up the remaining storylines. Don’t try and be smart here Kring in the hope of another revival series. End Heroes on a high, with a decent and satisfying conclusion that wraps everything up neatly and reminds the viewers why we loved the show in the first place. Don’t leave any threads hanging, or Reborn could go down as one of the worst ideas in television history. After all, a lot of online fans are already questioning why this show is returning.
Heroes: Reborn debuts on NBC in 2015.
#heroesreborn
