NBC’s Heroes is, according to many fans as well as television rating systems, one of the best shows to come out of the Fall 2006 season. It was a fun, interesting, well-written, show with a good mix of comedy and drama that boasted one of the most diverse casts on network TV. Season one has its faults, yes, but the awesome usually far outweighed the bad. Most fans eagerly looked forward to season two.

But when it finally arrived, many fans found themselves bitterly disappointed. Gone was much of what we loved about Heroes, replaced by boring/tiresome/offensive plots and characters. The faults of the first season increased tenfold and, just for good measure, a few more were thrown in. Many of us wondered if it was worth watching anymore or if Heroes would turn into one of those shows that fans referred to as having a second (perhaps final) season that “doesn’t exist”.

The show’s creator, Tim Kring, acknowledged some of the problems and said he intended to fix them. We approve. But there is a lot that Mr. Kring didn’t mention. And if we, the fans, are going to hang in there for the long haul, continue watching Volume 2, and go on to watch Volume 3, then we need to know that Heroes‘ problems are going to be addressed. Because it’s not about just getting rid of troubling characters and ditching inconvenient plots, it’s about understanding why those characters were troubling and why those plots made the audience twitch. And beyond that, Mr. Kring needs to understand how issues of race and gender play into both aspects.

All of these issues have been explored, sometimes at length, in blogs and on message boards in fandom. But is Tim Kring seeing all of that? Probably not. Does he care what the fans think? Of course. Is he capable of change and growth? Obviously. Therefore we, as fans, have to find a way to make our voices heard.

We need to write a detailed critique of the plot, character, race and gender elements of Heroes. We need to have one place where the producers and writers of Heroes can come and find what fandom has to say on these issues.

That’s the purpose of this website. We don’t need to Save Heroes from cancellation or network misuse, we need to Save Heroes from itself. Because it’s not a lost cause. It’s still capable of being the amazing show it was in season one. No, it’s capable of being even better.

How can you help Save Heroes? Easy. Just give your opinion on the Plot and Characters or Race and Gender issues in the show. We’re inviting all fans to contribute to a collaborative document in which we provide constructive, respectful criticism of the current season. Whether you offer your original thoughts or point to existing posts on the Internet, all ideas are welcome. Once we have enough contributions to create a coherent document, we’ll put it together in total and digitally sign it.

Because of the writer’s strike, Kring and the other writers can’t create any new Heroes scripts. That makes this the perfect time to present them with our thoughts, so they can keep them in mind moving forward.

Timeline

Pursuant to this post, we’re going to stretch the timeline out so that we have time to generate a deeper conversation about the issues that concern us re: Race and Gender. So:

November – early January

Collecting links, essays and commentary.

Weekly roundtables discussing specific characters.

January

Putting together drafts drawn from the discussions and links provided.

Working with that draft toward a final.

End of January

Final draft revealed, signing, getting the letter to the producers and writers.

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