Heroes (2006-2010): What Happened to this Show?

When it premiered in 2006, Tim Kring’s Heroes was raved about and considered the next great piece of episodic genre TV. Many thought it would be the next Lost, and Hayden Panettiere became a star overnight. But, as soon as season 2 started, the show seemingly jumped the shark, and what began as a promising superhero epic became just another TV soap opera. What happened? Part of it had to do with the fact that Bryan Fuller, who consulted on Season One, left before the second season, while the second season also coincided with the WGA Writer’s Strike, which spelled the doom for many shows. While Heroes would continue for another few seasons, viewership died off, and many felt that the show never lived up to the considerable promise of the first season.
In this episode of Gone But Not Forgotten, which is written, produced and edited by David Arroyo and narrated by Jesse Shade, we dig into how this epic fantasy about ordinary people imbued with superhero abilities initially captured the public’s imagination. While the series would eventually end with a whimper rather than a bang, it also made Zachary Quinto, who played the show’s scene-stealing villain Sylar, a star paving the way for him to play Spock in the new J.J. Abrams series of Star Trek movies. Hayden Panettiere would become a major star, while Milo Ventimiglia would eventually land a long run on NBC’s This is Us. Masi Oka would also become a cult icon. Still, there was a bad side to the show too, with news coming out years later about how star Leonard Roberts was written out due to conflicts with co-star Ali Larter. At the same time, behind-the-scenes changes made the quality of the show decline season-to-season, ruining what should have been an excellent TV franchise.
Do you have fond memories of Heroes? Let us know in the comments!
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#Heroes #gonebutnotforgotten
00:00 Introduction
00:56 How Heroes was created
05:08 Heroes: The Cast
11:25 Save the Cheerleader, save the world
12:45 Sylar
14:51 Ali Larter controversy
17:17 The writer's strike and season 2
18:46 Rating's decline
20:38 Bryan Fuller and season 4
21:46 What is the cast doing now?

[@JoBloOriginals]

Hey guys! This episode of GBNF was made from suggestions from fans who emailed us demanding this show be covered on this series. If you want to make suggestions for future episodes of GBNF then e-mail [e-mail] and maybe we’ll cover your show!

[@RobleViejo]

Heroes was undoubtedly one of the Series of the latest decades A guilty pleasure, a frustrating lovable mess. The best worst series Ive ever watched.

[@knoahbody69]

You should do a video oin Profit. Way ahead of it's time.

[@lolmao500]

Dude, I have a big hope that with AI we'll be able to ``fix`` those old shows or at least make new seasons with the same actors and with the script written by AI with our ideas mixed in. The future is gonna be epic.

[@s-wo8781]

Season 3 was great! I don't understand the complaints. I just didn't like Sylar's story, but other than that it was very suspenseful with everybody being on the run and hunted down. You didn't even mention that at all.

[@joshwarden9508]

You forgot the storyline of the government hunting powered people. That was a good storyline in the beginning

[@mrfoofoo69]

I still think sylar is one of the most unstoppable, intimidating TV villains of all time for the first season or two.

[@pa.encema2821]

Then he became a "good guy"

[@HoustonSoto]

They should have held off on his return till the end of season 2 or the beginning of Season 3 to add to his power and mystique. As it stands they “kept” him around due to Zachary’s insane popularity at the time and his ever increasing schedule.

[@gateauxq4604]

He was! Until he wasn’t 😕

[@GeekOwtLowd]

He was great in Season 1. He was milked in Season 2.

[@MrMightyZ]

It was a great, great show with many great characters until it caught cash cow disease and the producers strapped it in to a milking harness and left it there until it faded away. Started out cutting edge, riveting and SO much fun. Then faded away like the memory of a rich and lavish meal faded away in your morning-after fart.

[@ragabashmoon1551]

Their marketing for this show was so amazing. Even if you didn't watch the show, you knew "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World"

[@tarancehill651]

I see stars titled a banger of an emo song after it too lol.

[@jmckey]

It was also bold of them to have a central superhero character be Japanese-American, given how anti-diversity the industry was at the time for main roles like that, AND market it as such. It’s too bad I actually became annoyed with his character because I hate when time travel just becomes a cheat or plot fix for everything.

[@MerlinTheCommenter]

Yeah, nowadays "save the cheerleader, save the world" would be protested against by fringe online activists who are miserable and hate other people enjoying a fun show. It has to fit that little box of appropriate messaging or it's getting a harassment campaign against it.

[@RogueBoyScout]

​@@MerlinTheCommenterAs opposed to fringe online contrarians who have to turn every comment thread into some critique of the current North American socio- political state, and earning a collective groan from the rest of the world.😉

[@zapkvr]

It was a stupid line

[@nahuel2h]

One of the best shows ever. Peter Petrelli literally inspired me to become a nurse and i will never forget that character.

[@regdexter4014]

Definitely not one of the best shows even if you opinion is subjective I still can’t let you get away with saying this.

[@VUDINHFilm]

One of the best first season. After that it went downhill quickly.

[@BlitzinMackGaming]

​@@regdexter4014even still it's one of my favorite shows.

[@nahuel2h]

@@regdexter4014 Well then arrest me hahaha. I think you are missing the point of my comment. Of course it's not at the level of Breaking Bad, Lost or GoT, and of course it's subjective. Still, after watching over 200 TV shows, Heroes is in my top 5 when it comes to TV shows that changed my perspective on life. I was only 13 years old when I watched it and like I said, it defined my career and my concept of humanity and kindness

[@nahuel2h]

I don't know if you remember, but there is a scene, I think it was in the S02, where Peter Petrelli goes home after saving a girl's life. The guy could have it all with his powers, but his house has only a chair, a table and a mattress, while he uses his powers to complement his work saving lives. THAT made me a nurse. He was so F-king awesome

[@user-xl7eb6fc5b]

The next repeat of this was West World. The first season of West World was a work of art. Just perfect.

[@Steven141]

Absolutely agree, but then just became an overly convoluted mess and I stopped watching after the second season.

[@delunk5906]

I didn’t even attempt to watch season 2 of either. They felt like they ended just fine and I didn’t have an interest in new storylines for either.

[@dougsmith6357]

You should really watch all of west world the entire thing is brilliant

[@user-xl7eb6fc5b]

@@dougsmith6357 Everything after the first season was garbage.

[@AxelordSMIJES]

First season and 'some' of the second was some of the best TV ever created. Sylas was terrifying. Peter was compelling. Claire was relatable. Hiro was noble and heroic and the rest of the characters were great in their own right. Noah was one of my favorites. The Man with the Horn Rimmed Glasses was just amazing.

[@Icenfyre]

Sylar*

[@opiateutopia]

​@@JJLYKES I imagine that he was getting too OP and with giving him Sylar's power the writers kind of wrote themselves into a corner. A nerf is all they came up with

[@MattRoadhouse]

Yup, I didn't have the context of what created the slide ... but seems obvious now. RIP

[@harrye.512]

The cop guy was so annoying.

[@darrekworkman5595]

I found it sad that Sylar never realized that all he needed to do was take Peter's power. With Claire right there he wouldn't even have needed to kill Peter. He could even have helped Peter control his powers by letting Peter take Sylar's powers. Analysis and Empathy could have worked so well together as powers.

[@moleman1976]

That first season was so magical, back in the pre-MCU days! All of us comics geeks were so thrilled to see someone adapting the types of stories we loved into TV! It was sad to watch the decline, but it definitely did decline - the quality of the show dropped pretty hard after the first season. In my memory, I held on through 3 seasons, and then I tapped out. But "save the cheerleader, save the world" will always ring an emotional bell for me!

[@psychoapplesauceeater8562]

Definitely happened to The Flash

[@frostsmaker8966]

@@psychoapplesauceeater8562 The Flash is just too long, what makes The Flash so bad is that we are going around the same character again and again, nothing new.

[@RareFXChrisC]

Blade was a Marvel movie back in 1998... Not really "MCU" yet though.

[@enviritas9498]

@@RareFXChrisC also the Sam Raimi Spiderman films

[@enviritas9498]

If I remember correctly, there was a major writer's strike in the industry sometime after the first or second season. A bunch of programs had a drop in quality during that time.

[@hellomark1]

For me, the real kick in the nuts was season 1 was about all of the characters slowly but finally coming together, I thought they would ultimately be able to help each other and work together, almost like a team. Nope, season 2 starts and they're all once again separated. Like, we've done this already! Alphas season 1 is what I expected of Heroes season 2.

[@memnayban]

Another great show we lost. I really enjoyed Alphas as well. Especially how they could make every power have a scientific explanation that sounded feasible.

[@stevecarter8810]

Yes, I was not ok with them pressing the magic reset button on everyone's relationships in season 2. Then it became obvious it was turning into lost - instead of consistent characters facing complex situations it was just twist of the week and nothing had to add up any more.

[@roguemike6255]

Great video! Got a few of jarring editing mistakes with lines getting cut off. I loved this show!

[@fearsomezq]

This show was so insanely good at its peak. It was probably my favorite show ever at one point. Its really sad to see the decline of such good shows.

[@Matt_Mosley1983]

Name the decline.

[@jenningscunningham642]

Writer’s strike

[@Matt_Mosley1983]

@@jenningscunningham642 the writer's strike only affected the second half of season 2, after that it was back to action.

[@brooksfire9580]

@@Matt_Mosley1983 First season: We watched individual people with super powers, and how they navigated their own small worlds with those powers. Second season: Oh, we have a super villain who is trying to destroy Earth. Not the same show at all. I left at the end of season 2. Things like 'Save the Cheerleader, save the world' had no meaning. You can't tease people with a plot point for an entire year, then disregard it completely.

[@Matt_Mosley1983]

@@brooksfire9580 Erm...ALL wrong. Season 2 did NOT have a viliam trying to destroy Earth, it was about preventing a virus from breaking out. Season 3 teased an alternate future where everyone had poets and season 4 featured a villain that had the power to destroy the world if he surrounded himself with enough people with powers. As for 'Savebthe Cheerleader, save the world' it DID have meaning because the Hiro that came back to give that warning came from a timeline where SYLAR took Claire's power and became immortal, forever ruining the world. That's where it all started to go wrong, with Sylar getting Claire's powers. Are you sure you watched the show? 🤨

[@mozzie2729]

I couldn't tell you how many times I heard "save the cheerleader, save the world" while this show was airing. It was a good show and Syler had a good redeeming arc.

[@Vorylenus]

They had to give Sylar a redeeming arc. He was too powerful to keep as a villain so they needed to make him into a hero.

[@luiegiii]

Hard disagree. The beginning of the redeeming arc was when the show began to fall off.

[@deadshot1995]

@@Vorylenus It's more that he was too popular to kill off, and after 3 seasons of him being a villain it started to get boring.

[@deadshot1995]

@@luiegiii The whole idea of hypnotizing him to think he was Nathan was so fucking dumb. The characters had to become straight up morons to think that would last.

[@Vorylenus]

@@deadshot1995 Tell that to DC and Marvel or any other big franchise.

[@jameshowlettii761]

I *_never_* did see this show. I've been a comicbook superhero fan all my life but, before the mcu, I knew no one whom was interested in that stuff. Then _this_ show blew up so *_HUGE_* that even non-superhero fans were telling me to watch it. I was so excited to get around to seeing it but didn't and then all of a sudden, whenever I brought the show up to people, they suddenly didn't like it anymore. None of them. I couldn't understand why but it put me off from ever watching it. After all these years this video explained to me it's rise and fall. Such a shame it fell so hard after just one season. It sounded really good. Great video, thank you! Subbed!

[@whyhasgooglemessedwithmych1423]

Just watch season's one and two then leave it alone and you will be good.

[@jameshowlettii761]

@@whyhasgooglemessedwithmych1423 awesome! Thank you 🙏

[@TheTexican05]

Heroes will forever be the first show that raised my spirits for an entire season… only to destroy them shortly thereafter during the writers strike. It was pretty soul crushing, given how masterfully the first season’s episodes suck you into the plot, suspense and characters. ❤️ 🙌 🎥

[@donquique1]

Heroes went down the drain after the writer strike. It was never the same.

[@cbgg1585]

Writers strike is such a copout excuse for the show’s demise. The series was originally planned as an anthology with different casts and characters for each iteration. The series became so popular that the Heroes executives decided to maintain the same cast and all plans for an anthology went out the window and they essentially scrambled to re-write the scripts for the following seasons. The irony is, the overall popularity played a significant role in the demise of the series.

[@RichardBarclay]

For many years I considered the first season of heroes to be the best single season of a TV show ever. Such a shame they couldn't keep that quality.

[@silcoxjakob]

It was way ahead of its time

[@akhsdenlew1861]

@@silcoxjakob lol , as far as i remember Lost and prison break were a thing back then.. so no, it wasn't ahead of it's time. Prison break season 1 is just... art, a masterpiece.

[@Direwolf9818]

@@akhsdenlew1861 eh I didn’t like prison break it was boring

[@akhsdenlew1861]

@@Direwolf9818 you didn't like prison break.. and u liked heroes? How and why? it's really rare to find something as good and satisfying as Prison break season 1-2. 3 and 4 is not as good ofc.

[@sindri1447]

@@akhsdenlew1861 I think Prison Break should have ended after the first titular Prison Break. They should have just wrapped it up. Now we have a lot of people who don't remember it for anything other than a show that overstayed it's welcome.

[@david.stachon]

The first season was just brilliant. Wow, did they ever blow it. 😞

[@makatron]

Save the cheerleader

[@justinhammer3196]

​@@makatron They did. Then they ran out of plot.

[@makatron]

@@justinhammer3196 never really thought beyond 2 seasons

[@beezzarro]

I think the idea of the first season was good. But the writing throughout the entire show run was awful. Season 1 had 23 episodes that all could have been condensed, without losing any important plot threads mind you, into 8-10 episodes. I was so frustrated watching that show because of the insane amount of padding they put into it. So many good ideas that they just turned into a slog to watch. I remember when it was first on TV and a friend and I were watching it, we missed three episodes right in the middle. We weren't missing anything. I mean, Hiro alone could have done so much more than he did because he has basically the best powers in the show. He's essentially god but the writers just put him in situations where everyone watching was scratching their heads as to why he never did anything. He should've owned that final battle by stopping time but actually had to be saved by the super strong woman. I'm sorry, i hate to have a juxtaposing opinion to yours, but I cannot endorse this show

[@madvinyl75]

It was but I think they gave away / explained too much in that first season. Everything in It could have filled two seasons and that would have been better.

[@pxkqd]

Nice summary. First season was peak television. And the fall was so epic it would only ever be surpassed by GoT.

[@TheBrotherHolmes]

I'm a hardcore Heroes fan and I really enjoyed all of it, including Heroes Reborn! I admit they should have had some more of the old cast and I hate that it ended with a cliffhanger.

[@HoustonSoto]

One thing an old coworker said to me once “you can teach a course on what to do and what not to do when writing a series by using just “Heroes” as an example”. That hit profoundly lol.

[@beezzarro]

I stand wholly by that statement. This show had great ideas and terrible writing.

[@theboy1625]

@@beezzarro blame the writers strike cause that’s what killed it

[@SharkWithADrill]

@@theboy1625 or blame the greedy studio executives who should have been paying the writers a proper wage

[@MsYunaFires]

​@@theboy1625 It actually gets better after S2... Well, Sylar does, anyway. At one point his soul exists in Matt Parkman while his body was forced to become Nathan Petrelli (whom Sylar had just killed)... Yea, final seasons got Really Weird

[@rikhavok]

I loved the first season of this show so much that I even kept watching through the crappy season 2. But I was done after season 2. Didn’t even bother with season 3. I did give reborn a chance. 1 episode and I was done. Such a great show, such a great crash. Just too bad.

[@mdwesquire]

I’ve always believed that Heroes was intended to be a limited series and should have stayed that way.

[@stevew8513]

I've always thought the same thing. They were only contracted for a half season (13 episodes) and all of those were good. But after the first few episodes it was obvious it was a ratings juggernaut, and the network had them make a full season. The second set of 13 episodes were slow and seemed like filler, with a season finale that felt pretty underwhelming. I personally think they expected the show to fail and get cancelled after the first 13, and didn't have anything fleshed out for anything beyond those episodes.

[@BourbonondaBayou]

Fron what i understand, each season was supposed to be a different set of powered individuals, but the studio wanted the original cast

[@feenix219]

@@BourbonondaBayou yup, it was supposed to have different characters every year, and then eventually weave other characters back into it later on. they weren't supposed to be regulars; thats why they didn't cap the powers limit at first, once they were overpowered, they weren't supposed to be regulars anymore.

[@Lungshot420]

I agree. Got out of hand, I still watched it but wasn’t the same when it ended

[@49ernava]

If you only watch the first season. The show is actually dope af

[@thedoncrazephaze5375]

In my 53yrs I've never seen a show go from my absolute, can't wait to watch favorites - to - complete crap. W/no in-between. Thx for the video, now I understand what happened a bit better at least.

[@cftn8885]

It still hurts

[@lionelhuts875]

As someone else said: Westworld

[@RiggedandReady]

​@@lionelhuts875Is westworld still worth watching?

[@lionelhuts875]

@@RiggedandReady IMO first season is worth it, even if you stop after that.

[@RiggedandReady]

@@lionelhuts875 Thanks. I'll give it a shot then. I'm always weary of shows with only one or two good seasons that go downhill after.

[@tamirch1]

What a great throwback. Great recap, analysis and insights. Well done!

[@AvoidTheCadaver]

I loved this show so much. Sylar embodied that ultimate predator vibe and all he ever wanted was to find out how it worked. That made him even more terrifying as a villain

[@stevenwilliams1805]

Right, he did bad things not for there own sake but, rather as a way of fulfilling his own motives. A motivation that no one else understood or would have been able to placate.

[@centripetal6157]

He was an extremely intelligent, ruthless and dangerous villain. Great character. Its too bad he became the only selling point of the show - pretty much all the other characters became jokes or pointless as the series continued.

[@nightmareTomek]

I disliked though how they wanted to explain his evilness with the hunger, or make him into Petrelli family. The former came from company greed maybe as well, when studios decide that fan-favorite characters must be redeemed.

[@stevenwilliams1805]

@@nightmareTomek that's why the first season was the best, little was known about Sylar.

[@nightmareTomek]

@@stevenwilliams1805 It wasn't because of that. It was because they started treating a murderer like a family member.

[@christaylor7079]

This show had the most brutal overnight crash and burn I’ve ever seen in a tv series

[@jasongreen6826]

Worse than twd?

[@mildlydazed9608]

Game of Thrones erased nearly all good will and passion for not only the tv show but everything to do with Westeros

[@christaylor7079]

@@jasongreen6826 my unpopular opinion: TWD was never very good. Every season had the exact same storyline

[@christaylor7079]

@@mildlydazed9608 oof. Yeah GoT definitely gives it a run for its money

[@ScottWaa]

​@@jasongreen6826 they tried to revive Heroes and they still managed to screw it up.

[@ThatOneCanadianKid]

Glad this show still gets some love, season 1 was a banger

[@lenbright9]

Great video. Thanks for the shout-out to Profit. I loved that show! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a reboot.

[@Kittysuit]

i never knew they had different writers for the different characters. that explains why the show felt so unique i feel. i miss it a lot, and hate that it went downhill after season 1. also, i will forever see Zachary Quinto as a bad guy LOL.

[@SamirJzVFX]

Zachary Quinto is my perfect cast for Doctor Doom in a MCU Fastastic 4 movie.

[@aaronforsythe8556]

He has a new show out nos4a2

[@HeckmanBrad77]

Sylar was turning good by the end of the show

[@worsethanhitlerpt.2539]

In this video I learned the Commando and Teen Wolf 2 had a WRITER. It never occured to me that was possible

[@EmoChipmonkVOD]

I dont blame you. It also screwed seeing him in star trek. Whenever i see him as syler i cant help but think of him saying "GIVE ME THAT LIST SO i can sink my teeth in" Like some one hopelessly lost in his addiction and he knows it.

[@Squaredot01]

Season 1 of this show was so damned good. I had no idea the original idea for the show was to have new cast members for season 2. I would have totally been on board with that if they could write and cast characters as interesting as the ones in the first season and have such a great story line.

[@worsethanhitlerpt.2539]

I recon that people just liked looking at Hayden Peytere and not much else

[@takumi2023]

i can see after 3-4 seasons they would grab the survivors to do an epic finale.

[@takumi2023]

@@worsethanhitlerpt.2539 eye candy goes so far. can't keep audience if that's the only thing going for it.

[@squidbillyradio]

Well, to most people. Never underestimate the degeneracy of some weebs

[@roberto2568]

True detective* ... Doubt it would work

[@thearianmandalorian]

it was one of the best shows to come on tv. and all died cause of the damn writers block, still super bummed out about we never got to see the end to the real show. IT Was an epic show

[@ssesf]

Thanks for the introduction. It's been a while since I watched season 2 and I just bought season 3 and 4 on DVDs. I needed a re-introduction. I'd noticed that the 2nd season of Heroes and the 3rd season of Bones were a lot shorter than the other seasons and now I know why - writer strike.

[@The_Texorcist]

Heroes is a heartbreaker for me. I was really into this show. I felt it was running so strong… then the writers strike happened. It felt like when that happened the show tripped, fell on its face and while it tried to get up, dust itself off and keep running it just never really regained its footing or momentum.

[@NobleEagle]

And then when the whole world was recovering and found renew hope in Game of Thrones, woke culture turned the last season finale into utter garbage

[@GameTimeWhy]

​@@NobleEagle what does woke mean? Is it leaving a Starbucks cup in got? It sucked because the two dudes wanted to work on starwars.

[@NobleEagle]

That and all the Gender politics, Feminism, diversity & Deconstructing Masculinity bs that totally derailed the story from what could be a beautiful final climatic epic battles between the Whitewalkers and Jon Snow, as well as proper justice served to Cersei Lannister

[@hekate5561]

​​@@NobleEagle Feminism? No, they just had a giant ***** for the Starks and wanted to muddy it all. They gave Jon's story line to Arya, they gave Cersei's to Daenerys and Daenerys' to Sansa. That hadnothing to do with woke culture or any culture but two men writing the script with the sole goal of turning most decent fan theories on their head because they thought it would be exciting. Every one of Daenerys' advisors that were some of the best players turned dumb or holier than thou. The only decent thing they did was leaving Drogon alive so I can mentally finish the story with him burning down most Keeps in the North starting with Princess hypocrite's.

[@albstare]

@@marga.9793 they wanted to do other things AND didn’t want to hand the show over to anyone else.*

[@sparkfadingspark]

I was a huuuuge Heroes fan back in the day, the first season still definitely holds up as one of the best seasons of television ever IMO. Even the weaker storylines of the season are still watchable. But it absolutely plummeted in quality from season 2 onwards. There are some genuinely good moments in season 2-4, but so much of that is more due to the talent in the cast than it is the writing. And don't even get me started on Heroes Reborn - I was so hopeful when they announced the show, but not only did they not even attempt to ask back so many important cast members from the original series, they completely disrespected so many of the original characters, I also couldn't get past the first few episodes. Heroes will always be a bit of a tragedy for me - so much potential, so much talent, just sort of wasted.

[@feenix219]

Season 2 is great, it just never got to finish its story properly. It ended just as the stakes were about to go up. The deleted scenes paint an amazing picture of where that season was heading.

[@sparkfadingspark]

@@feenix219 I'll agree that the second season had alot of potential that was squandered by the strike, but there was definitely a bit of "sophomore slump" regardless. I don't think they could've truly lived up to season one anyway, it was so solid. But I agree that the deleted scenes showed some serious potential for the second half of season two. Honestly, other than the writers strike, I blame the network because alot of the issues that cropped up over the years tend to come from network interference.

[@darrenbee4955]

Kinda impressed by your video. I wasnt expecting it to be so accurate. I never watched season 3 beyond the first episode as what they did with season 2 told me it was done. Network exec's should never be allowed to get involved with shows. They have no idea what they are doing and prove it time n time again. I did, probably, much of the same research but i dont do KZbin content. Thank you.

[@iambecomejeff]

This show was such a blast to watch when I was younger; it gave me the same feeling as when I was read "I Am Number Four" and that whole series

[@NabilAbdulrashidComedy]

So much potential this show had.. and it helped inspire a lot of the shows we have today. If it was on now it would’ve been amazing

[@Ryotbh]

All I remember about the downfall of Heroes was that it was massively effected by the writing strike. Glad my memory didn’t let me down! It was a shame, as it ran out of steam really quickly. Not only did the storylines start becoming really dull but the characters stopped acting like they previously did; I can remember it becoming frustratingly obvious that the drop in writing quality was due to the strikes.

[@KristianRobertsen]

For sure. I remember us talking about heroes as teenagers when season 2 came out and how the writers strike messed it up big time. We hated the second season, the magic was completely gone.

[@openyoureyes909jones6]

I kinda lost interest when they started doing the heavy time travel plots. Time travel is wicked hard to do right, so many shows mess it up.

[@jjhh320]

I couldn't forgive them when Peter and Nathan went out that door to fight and then it just cut away. I realized that this show had no ability to do a good fight scene, and yet they kept trying to build up to them.

[@sup2069]

I made it to the part where Sylar catches up to Clair, analyzes her brain then tells her shes special. Then throws her skull cap back on then dips out. Season 2 was painful, but Season 3, good lord...never finished it.

[@steviek6484]

Thanks for this I cant think of an example of a series I loved the first season so much and was out on the 2nd season so fast

[@nanashinanashi1174]

I just got the entire series on dvd at Walmart for like 30 and I was frickin happy for that lol I love watching classics periodically

[@rlee7597]

That first season was absolutely phenomenal. Then it just flew way off the rails and was painful to watch. I really hoped it would've evolved into something great, but I still appreciate season 1 really jolting my comic book side.

[@erroneous6947]

I still have season one. And I watch it every so often. Just the first season. I pretend like the rest doesn’t exist.

[@Ben-Ken]

Zachary was so terrifying in this series that I was worried that it wouldn't work when he was cast as Spock but he played both roles masterfully.

[@nightmareTomek]

He did, yeah. But I think the Star Trek storylines were too generic and mediocre. He didn't have much to work with.

[@whylogicalthinking]

When you’re quoting literally every single piece of non stop coverage on the subject at the time and claiming it as your own lolz my god you’re basic….

[@Ben-Ken]

@@whylogicalthinking actually I've been saying the same thing long before watching "nonstop coverage". I decided to add a like and my comment to support the algorithm as I often do with videos I agree with. While that may be basic, so is going around in random comments, making yourself feel real smart and self important by calling people basic instead of just carrying on with your very important, non-basic life.

[@Deimonos85]

He forgot to mention sylas finally finds his father who also has multiple powers but is dying of cancer

[@ExaltedDuck]

Picking him for Spock was one of the few things that made me hopeful for the Star Trek reboot. His role in Heroes proved him to be an amazing actor, probably one of the few who could handle a role like that. Too bad the writers in new trek couldn't supply him better material, though.

[@NemoWhite]

After having only watched the first season years ago, I rewatched it and watched the entire series and even though I agree with a lot of the later problems it was quite possibly one of my favourite series

[@justinsmooth9197]

Thank you for creating this❤

[@bensneb360]

Man, I was obsessed with this show when it was out, I watch season one so many times… if only it could’ve figured itself out after the writers strike, what could of been

[@kenneyfreeman4990]

People always blame things on the infamous writer's strike. In reality they didn't know where to take the show to it's conclusion. I am convinced that most of these shows are created by people with great concepts and ideas that will start off very intriguing but they are terrible at actually having an overall purpose. I can understand how difficult it is to finish a story, but it is more than that. You can have a purpose and general final direction for a story without necessarily concluding it which most shows are missing as a baseline.

[@beezzarro]

​@@kenneyfreeman4990 hard agree on this.

[@scottgilliam8185]

Definitely water cooler conversation at work even non comic book love this show

[@indyg1138]

@@kenneyfreeman4990 it’s that, plus they were literally writing each and every episode on the fly, changing up plots and ideas based on the word of mouth that was booming around them. It’s why season 1 was mostly great, but then ruins the twist of the exploding man being Peter, then back to Sylar, then finally Peter.

[@the_ejj]

it was the same with prison break, a stunning unforgettable season 1 followed by not good

[@axelfoley1406]

That first season was incredible! What a show. Many have a rocky start but this series came out of the gate at full force. Interesting story, engaging and great characters.

[@TheOriginalFish]

This took me back more than 10 years ago when I first watch the show, it was the first ever show I sat waiting for every single week to watch. It started my love for comic books and the superhero genre... even now this show still have some of my personal favorite characters and storylines ever on tv. too bad it ended the way it did... even the sequel that came out like years ago, it was really shitty not gonna lie. great video!

[@chadbrownlee3677]

Thank you for mentioning Journey Man! I mourn the loss of that show to this day.

[@script_na]

It's good knowing Sylar eventually made it as a spaceship crew and Peter became a dad with three kids and a lovely wife.

[@Shinobi33]

When you said Peter became a loving husband and dad I thought you were talking about Chosen on Crackle. Another great show

[@WinchesterxNL]

I wouldn't have the singlest clue on which show it would be with Peter.

[@Shinobi33]

@@WinchesterxNL well that show is some luby duby family drama BS

[@Coldend]

I don't know what you're talking about. Zachary Quinto was NEVER on a spaceship crew. It never happened.

[@debiedebsielein3264]

​@@Coldend Yes, it happened. STAR TREK! He played Spock in Star Trek 🤣

[@thedungeon1578]

Another problem they faced, was that they just didn't know what to do with Sylar and Peter once they started getting too powerful. They kept trying to reset them (Sylar loses his powers in s02, Peter's powers get kind of screwed up in s03), or change their abilities, and stuff like that, but the shame is that they just didn't seem to know how to challenge them.

[@Robbedem]

I seem to remember Peter power was limited to the one he last touched. They should have kept it that way. Sylar was more difficult to limit, but since they planned to make him a good guy, they should have stopped him from taking new powers. That could even have become interesting later when to combat some other/new evil he would be required to take a new power from an innocent. Meaning he would (by side effect) kill again.

[@TF2CrunchyFrog]

​@@Robbedem No, the problem was, Peter's ability to copy other people's superpowers just by standing near them was _not_ limited! He would absorb more and more and more new powers and keep them, powers which he _couldn't_ properly control... that was the whole reason he became the World Ending Apocalyptic Threat at the end of Season 1 (instead of Sylar, who everyone had mistakenly thought would be the one from the prophetic vision to blow up the world). Peter was like Rogue from X-Men but without limits and without the copied powers ever fading away. Worse, he didn't even need to touch people to copy their powers, so he couldnt even control how many he got! His inability to properly control each power was meant to be the "limiter", but that only made him more of an involuntary dangerous and risk. Sylar, on the other hand, could control his stolen/copied powers (technically, as we saw in later seasons, he didnt even need to kill someone as he learned to analyse their power and add it to his own without the whole dissecting-the-brain thing, just by watching it used) because his own original power was Super-Analysis: the skill to instinctively know how things worked, or what was broken. Hence why he could see at a glance that a watch was broken and _what parts were broken_ and fix them. Which is why Sylar could often control a stolen power better than the original owner and do things with it the original owner hadnt been able to do, as we saw in S1 with Sylar getting telekinesis and the matter melting power and both Sylar and Peter copying the Nuclear Guy's unstable power. In later seasons the writers tried to limit Peter to only one power at a time (the last one he had absorbed), if I remember correctly. But that meant Peter (like Rogue from X-Men) basically had to have other "mutants" around to copy off them. It did rein in his OP status... but also made him utterly boring, since Peter's personality alone could not carry the character IMO.

[@hasan_1888]

sylar should have never been brought back. and with peter i think it would have been better if peter instead of copying others powers, just kept them for limited time until they wore off.

[@abaddonlannister6573]

Also Peter lost his memories for at least part of season 2 so he just forgot about his abilities making him, once again, for a while, weaker... solving the issue for some extra time hoping to find a more permanent solution in the future... they were both supposed to die in season 1 epic climax after all ! 😅

[@darrekworkman5595]

@@TF2CrunchyFrog Sylar could have fixed Peter's power by giving him better control over the powers he copied, and Peter could have fixed Sylar's power by making it so he didn't have to kill people. As for what to do with the characters after season 1, make them side characters and allow newer Heroes to take centerstage in the story. They could still be around doing something else while the story focused on characters who would have to face the possibility of dying.

[@RaderGH]

That first season was so good. Loved it.

[@cmonster67]

This show is one that I can honestly say I loved; at least the first season...

[@gardedog3902]

Season 1 and the concept of this show and all the lore around it ticked every imaginable box for me...... crazy that still to this day I crave for this show to make a resurgence

[@amandahitchcock106]

Same

[@jemmerx]

One aspect of season one that isn't noted is that there was always a feeling of running out of time. Each episode had a fevered pitch as we barreled headlong to that final moment foreshadowed in the painting of the explosion in NYC. You felt it with the start of every episode and that wonderful intro music. Season two started without any such feeling and they never created it, so the story felt like it was going on without purpose, as if they were looking for the purpose. This was another example of being to tell a sequel had failed right out of the gate.

[@SportskeParodije]

I'm so glad you mentioned Journeyman, I loved that show, so disappointed it was cancelled so soon.

[@BladeRunner90]

Season 1 of Heroes was / is brilliant 🎉

[@TT-pr9bx]

I got a chance to meet Zachary Quinto at Comic-Con before it blew up and was a crazy fan event. He was just trying to get over to Starbucks and get coffee and was pretty incognito. He was very generous in taking a pic w/ me and my friend...and some other dude just ran up with a ton of things for him to sign. I thought that was pretty cool that he was so chill despite being really huge after Season 1 of Heroes.

[@stingrey1571]

the main issue with heroes is they created FOUR omnipotent characters. then spent the next few seasons taking their powers away, then giving them back, and repeat.

[@Kreontas]

Who's the fourth one? (I'm guessing Hiro,Sylar,Peter are the first three)

[@stingrey1571]

@@Kreontas claire, she's practically immortal

[@jaymaledic5730]

@@Kreontas It's only Peter really. Dude only needs to get close to someone with power.

[@LethalMartialArtist]

No they never gave Peter his true power back. They dumbed it down so he could only replicate one ability only at a time.

[@creed8712]

@@stingrey1571I assumed you meant the kid from the rebrand season

[@mohammadsalihassan6297]

Beautiful Story. Peter vs Sylar. Save the Cheer Leader, Save the World was the cheekiest line.

[@marior.5796]

5 month ago. I woke up in the middle of the night with memories of a tv show which I saw over 10 years ago. Lingering with good memories of this show, I ordered all seasons. Although I can't remember the plot of the seasons, but I know one thing "Save the cheerleader, save the world!". Until now I had no time to rewatch the show. It's crazy that after such a long time someone recalls this series beside me.

[@jenip8803]

Season one was immaculate. It had me hooked from episode one. "Save the cheerleader, save the world" was genius. Your take on this is EXACTLY how i feel about it.

[@Sairo414]

The first half of the first season may have been the best start of a television show ever. The second half was not as good, but good enough to continue watching for season 2…but once every character died and came back to life several times…all stakes were lost and the show became essentially pointless…

[@acuralee]

Man you bring back so many great movies/shows.

[@boxcarbro3043]

This was the first show my wife and I binged together. Loved it.

[@Ben-Ken]

This series started off as one of the most compelling TV shows I ever saw. I think it fell apart once they started introducing the ability to time travel or bring dead people back to life. After a while, there was no real suspense or fear for the loss of a character or a major failure because it could easily be undone in the next episode.

[@lolmanyeah1]

They introduced time travel in the first 5 episodes

[@mreconcepts2117]

Supernatural went on for 15 seasons. With characters coming back from the dead.

[@wstine79]

It's a shame that many shows were ruined by the writers strike of 2007.

[@brianstiles1701]

*It's a shame the studios didn't want to share digital royalties with creators* ftfy

[@russellharrell2747]

Corporate greed shooting itself in the foot again? Of course. Collective bargaining becoming a scapegoat? Always.

[@DraftPickieo]

Facts

[@ntokozomtshali9439]

The 4400😢

[@jonplaud]

Like my favorite, Pushing Daisies

[@ArsenalCOYG-tr6do]

This show should still be running!!! Totally 💯 epic one of the best shows out there!

[@andrewsheffield4226]

I loved the show and first season so much. I agree that after that it suffered progressively. Never watched reborn. Great breakdown

[@jeremybr2020]

All I know is that I worshiped Hayden Panettiere back when that show was out. She was breathtaking.

[@Scatscar1985]

Was? she still is.

[@joshdk97]

12 year old me had a massive crush on her lol

[@catcherinthesky4106]

And then Ivan Drago dragged her up to the top of the Empire State building!

[@jeremybr2020]

@@Scatscar1985 Won't argue with that. She still is.

[@Scatscar1985]

@@jeremybr2020 You just KNOW that a lot of dads had/have crushes on her as well.

[@johnsonflamethrower9271]

Just finished rewatching the entire series not even two months ago. Fantastic, artistic show. Very nostalgic seeing it all again and it holds up very well. Doesn't feel dated at all.

[@okagron]

For season 1 at least, Everything after was boring and really repetitive.

[@nightmareTomek]

Amazing stories always age well. I'm rewatching the first season every couple of years. Only the first though, and I'm also skipping all the Nikki scenes.

[@Hawk7886]

The first two seasons, maybe. It's aged extremely poorly, really.

[@astartofsomethingnew5870]

@@okagron season 3 was fire

[@chrisdee1583]

​@@astartofsomethingnew5870You missed dumpster out.

[@5punkybob]

I remember when season 1 ended I went into a legitimate depression… it was like a part of my life had ended.. then when season 2 came out I got bored and could not remember why I loved the show so much and stopped watching.

[@BooboosANDBloodshed_95]

I've never seen this show but I really want to know. Thanks for always introducing me to new shows.

[@ThePrimith]

I remember thinking that the first season kept on getting better and better, crescendoing on the episode where they went to the future and saw what would happen if Sylar won. I was on the edge of my seat for the finale. For something that was built up for so beautifully, the showdown with Sylar was profoundly anticlimactic for me. I would have loved to have seen the original vision of most of the main cast dying off. Most writers don't have the balls to do something like that. If I think you're willing to kill off anyone, I will be more inclined to be in suspense when beloved characters are in danger. As soon as you do a rug-pull on character death, the weight of a conflict loses all meaning for me. The fight with Sylar could have been huge, but in the end, literally no one died.

[@fatalshore5068]

It could of been game of thrones 15 years earlier. Kill off the main character to set to stakes and keep the tension sky high when our favs are in danger going into season 2

[@daneg]

I too remember thinking season 1 was phenomenal until the last ep, which pretty much ruined it for me. I still watched s2 and maybe s3, but with little interest. my friend stopped after s1, and he probably had the better of it.

[@matthewjacobs2991]

@@daneg Ditto. I watched one, maybe two episodes of season 2 and then stopped worrying about catching it and relied mostly on people bemoaning it to keep up with the going-ons of it. And the more I heard, the less I regretted not catching an episode. And eventually just stuck to my head-canon that it was just a single-season series. Like a mini-series. It didn't need any follow-up. Other than maybe the Sylar fight, I thought it was damn-near perfect. And I don't honestly recall being bothered by the Sylar fight. Though I get why other people were. Phenomenal first season and I'll just leave it at that. I pity people who couldn't stay away and ended up having the whole mess ruined for them..

[@farceFacade]

I just watched this show, and exactly how I felt. Coulda did without an episode or two just to cover the cost of a final fight. Bro been around Ted and controlled it, but now he can't? Sylar just stands there as he gets stabbed? They're the swiss army knives of powers, and that's it? Hate to see it.

[@Seven_Leaf]

@@fatalshore5068 To be fair, most of the Game of Thrones (ASoIaF) cast was and is safe in the books. Ned was never the main character; it was always Jon, Bran, Tyrion, Jaime, Sansa and Arya. In the first chapter it's literally Jon setup as the main character and the other five are the respective ones when not at The Wall and the main conflict between humanity and The Others (White Walkers in the show.) Then again, I don't see how they could've killed of the Main Characters in Heroes since Claire and Peter are invincible, and I doubt they would've killed Hiro. Sylar would've been the only one and the supporting characters like Nathan, Ando etc. Also GoT came out in '96 and the show in '11, so even if we're going off the show it would've been five years not 15.

[@bradley163]

I remember the viral marketing campaign for 2007's Cloverfield, which involved some really interesting images and short clips of Heroes cast members. I miss that kind of stuff, honestly.

[@sharpeye5858]

Season 1 is one of best shows ever. So many other shows have tried to go through the door opened by Heroes. Such a shame this show was never made to its full potential

[@mstr-menstandingfortheirrights]

One of my favorite shows back in the day.

[@kapilsharmaWorld_uncensored]

Probably one of the finest TV show of all time. At least the first season. The casting was so good.

[@forsakenquery]

It was brilliant. Game of thrones seasons 1-4 is the best TV of all time however. We forget just how good that show was because of the decline and the awfulness of where it ended up.

[@Seven_Leaf]

@@forsakenquery I think at some point it becomes apples and oranges; Sopranos, The Wire, GoT, Breaking Bad, (B.o.B. and Chernobyl if including mini-series) etc. mostly depends upon someone's opinion at that point. Plus if we're doing partial shows by season (GoT Season 1-4), ones like Dexter and Heroes S1 could easily be up there as well. Since I've been reading ASoIaF since like '02-'03, I would say GoT S1-4 as well though for my personal preference but I'd rather do a top 10 or so with the ones I've listed in no particular order.

[@cboehm24]

It was so wild watching that show and seeing all the knowing nods to comic book storylines. Younger folks will never understand how revolutionary it was...like seeing one of your old friends on a popular TV show or winning an Oscar.

[@danzai]

I was addicted to this show, it jumped the shark at the episode entitled "five years gone", which although was well shot, shows that the physics of the show were not consistent with itself, it was evidence that the show runners were not putting enough effort into the writing. This could have been one of the best shows of all time, but similar to Game of Thrones, it squandered the opportunity and now people prefer to forget it. As jenny nicholson says "the worst thing a show can do is make you feel stupid for being so excited about the show in the first place".

[@dalegaliniak607]

Yeah, learning that they intended a whole new cast for season 2 makes SO much sense. By the end of the first season, you have too many characters with story-breaking powers. Once they got a handle on their powers, Peter and Hiro both could just hand-wave any problem away, so the plot seemed to revolve around either moving them out of the way, or nerfing them so they were ineffective, which is absolutely unsatisfying. Also, two bits of the powers still strike me as incredibly bad writing to this day: making it so that it's Sylar's power that made him evil (instead of his own internal motivations) and making it so that Ando could shoot offensive force lightning, instead of being solely a support character. Both of those choices, while maybe made sense in the moment, undermined the character development.

[@BloodVersus]

This was probably the first show that I was completely hooked on. Such a shame how it ended up but I'll never forget how great it was in the beginning!

[@bombay_8368]

Before even watching this video, I can say the first season of Heroes was one of the move exhilarating and captivating seasons of TV I've ever watched. And then the writers strike happened and this show never bounced back from it. Another great TV Series, Friday Night Lights- also with an amazing first season, had a bad season 2 because of the writers strike. Thankfully that show was able to rebound in the next seasons.

[@Jonteponte71]

Friday Night Lights is still one of my favorite shows. The tone of it and also how it was shot and directed is still unique today. The great actors. That moody music and the feeling of small town, middle America angst was done so well. And I am a Swede that knows basically nothing about Football!

[@Dominickq]

Incredible research and great stories!

[@gengar90]

Thank you for your service

[@jakobus6581]

Syler and the father of the cheerleader were my favorite characters. This show had me immersed in the first season. But as it went on, I did feel myself caring less and less. I simply completed the show as I'm a completionist, I guess.

[@bryan81584]

Glasses man! AKA Noah Bennet. ya he was great. Such complex characters. damn i miss that show

[@mnightshade107]

Or some of us would call him H.R.G ( horned, rear, glass)

[@reeceselby2979]

@@mnightshade107 I thought it was "Horn rimmed glasses"

[@kallistoindrani5689]

What a blast from the past! Sylar still gives me chills when I see him on screen!

[@IlyaNLeo]

THANK U FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH SAD THEY DID THE SHOW LIKE THEY DID. B A S T A R D O S😢

[@shannonmcatee9610]

Got it on dvd. Loved this show

[@NeoDragonKnight]

My friends and I were doing watch parties for Heroes. The last episode of S1 was a bit of a let down in the room but it was still satisfying. When we started doing our watch parties for S2, man that ended quickly, everyone stopped caring. Those awful awful contrived love arcs on every front just killed it for us.

[@A_YouTube_Commenter]

Then season 3 was worse and 4 was even worse than 3.

[@benjohnson9224]

Same here. Watched every episode of season 1 with a group of friends. It quickly ended in season 2.

[@mattperotti6433]

Perfect analysis! Season 1 was some of the best TV ever made. Season 2 was a steady slide towards a cliff. Season 3, the show went completely off the rails and into the abyss. I suffered through 3 episodes of Reborn before I gave up and moved on. The problem was that Reborn brought back to life season 3 more than season 1. The quality writing and effects that made season 1 so good just weren't there for the reboot. It's a shame, because the series had so much untapped potential! Part of the problem is that it became so wrapped up in the interpersonal drama of a small cast of characters that it just turned into an outright soap opera rather than a superhero action adventure. it went from Comic Book to Daytime TV, which is a very different audience.

[@TheFLAMEXD]

Heroes Reborn isn't a reboot, it'a a sequel.

[@brysimm404]

Totally agree! The story lines became incredibly frustrating and tangled up - and by Season 3, so many scenes had overly dramatic “soap opera moments” between characters that it felt like an SNL parody. Can’t think of any show that went so quickly from winning awards to totally blowing it - ugh.

[@thedevereauxbunch]

There was a season three!?

[@mattperotti6433]

@@thedevereauxbunch There were actually four seasons, but the first episode of season 4 was sooo, so bad that I never watched the show again after that one. I'm not sure that season actually made it the whole season. Season 3 was the evil circus story arc, if I am remembering correctly.

[@alz397]

Literally one of my fav shows ever, I actually just got all the seasons on blue ray for $30!

[@maxdon2001]

Great video!

[@interstellaroverdrive3658]

The first two season of Heroes was some of the best television of that era, possibly ever. Sylar was one of the greatest villains ever. Hiro was just as lovable as you described. I loved it so much. Such a shame how downhill it went after that.

[@UrbanNoizeMusic]

Really glad to see this one go viral. Because it was one of my favorite shows that had immense promise. Until that writers strike

[@daevydjae]

Zachery Quinto was just phenomenal. We also got to see a young Milo Ventimiglia before Rocky Balboa and This is Us

[@ampz8913]

I loved this show so much, the first season and the score is amazing.

[@marcbochner7733]

I love your point near the end about how Heroes helped Bryan Fuller get to the next level. He had some really good projects like “Wonderfalls” and “Dead Like Me” but they largely flew under the radar. From that point on we all got to see Bryans greatness And his projects never again flew under the radar. One thing a lot of people didn’t realize about Bryan is that he left Heroes after season one to launch “Pushing Daisies” but then was brought back to try to save it in either season three or four

[@xwing2417]

Dead like me was a wonderful little show.

[@amunra4256]

Agreed, Dead Like Me was a great show

[@BrandanLee]

Dead Like Me was secretly a Stargate SG-1 spinoff, and I won't be convinced otherwise. Even has the Ascended Cafe.

[@jayvbspdx]

I love the writing of this. He goes from Zach Quinton in Star Trek to "jumpstarting" the career of George Takei without even missing a beat! ❤

[@cliviss2477]

Not to mention helping Jeph Loeb launch his comic book career...Welp!

[@A.H.M.K]

I loved that show so much 😢 I wanna rewatch it now

[@Ungermax84]

I think the worst thing about the failure of Heroes is that it had just come full circle at the end of its last episode, with Claires power being caught on camera by live media, as well as the show having established a full spectrum of "upper layer" powers (Peter, Arthur, Sylar, the Hatian, Ando and Sammuel) that would have led to an epic next phase

[@ricosuave6898]

The first season of Heroes was some of the best serialized television I have ever seen.

[@ctakitimu]

I remember alway wanting to see where Future Hiro came from once he first appeared to save the day. Also I remember Sylar removing the top of Claire's skull to access her brain, and her saying to him something like "Are you going to eat my brain now?" And Sylar responding with "Eww! No! That's gross!" Funny at the time

[@gladiusgamer9324]

I was JUST thinking about this show. I loved it still do...