Tim Kring Apologizes to ‘Heroes’ Fans | Promises to Get the Show Back on Track
It looks like the rumors that Tim Kring had left Heroes were, as rumors tend to be, grossly exaggerated. While Tim is supporting the writers strike and walking the picket lines, he hasn’t quit the show. In fact, on Monday he called in to Entertainment Weekly from the front lines of the strike to give them an interview.
He wasn’t calling to squash the rumors of his demise though, or even to talk about the strike and what it means to Heroes. He was calling to talk about Heroes ratings decline and the fan frustration with this season’s storylines. He was calling to apologize to fans!
Here’s what he had to say about the major fan complaints:
THE PACE IS TOO SLOW ”We assumed the audience wanted season 1 — a buildup of intrigue about these characters and the discovery of their powers. We taught [them] to expect a certain kind of storytelling. They wanted adrenaline. We made a mistake.”
THE WORLD-SAVING STAKES SHOULD HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED SOONER The premonition of nuclear apocalypse created a larger context that unified every story line last season. Kring now sees that Volume 2 (the first 11 episodes of season 2) would have been better served if Peter’s vision of viral Armageddon had appeared in the season premiere rather than episode 7. ”We took too long to get to the big-picture story,” he says.
THE ROOKIES DIDN’T GREET THEMSELVES PROPERLY New Heroes Monica (Dana Davis), Maya (Dania Ramirez), and Alejandro (Shalim Ortiz) ‘’shouldn’t have been introduced in separate story lines that felt unattached to the show. The way we introduced Elle (Kristen Bell) — by weaving her in via Peter’s story line — is a more logical way to bring new characters into the show.” (That said, Kring says a few newbies won’t make it beyond this second volume, which wraps Dec. 3.)
HIRO WAS IN JAPAN WAY TOO LONG Hiro’s (Masi Oka) time-bending adventure in 17th-century Japan — where he mentored samurai hero Takezo Kensei (David Anders) — finally came to an end on Nov. 5. But Kring says it ‘’should have [lasted] three episodes. We didn’t give the audience enough story to justify the time we allotted it.”
YOUNG LOVE STINKS Kring regrets sticking Claire (Hayden Panettiere) with a super-dud boyfriend and forcing Hiro to moon over a cutesy princess. ”I’ve seen more convincing romances on TV,” he admits. ”In retrospect, I don’t think romance is a natural fit for us.”
As they say, it takes a big man to admit when he’s wrong. I’m glad to see that Kring has sense enough to listen to fans rather than insisting that his creative vision is right and viewers are wrong. It’s the viewers that make or break the show after all.
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November 8th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
I’m happy to hear that he’s listening to the fans - yay! I LOVED Monday’s episode - however, and hope that there are many more like it!
November 10th, 2007 at 12:28 am
It’s sad how the voice of a few complainers is often louder than the voice of the vast majority. The introductions of Maya and Monica were far better than that of Elle. Linking Elle to Peter is far fetched and deviates from the theme of the heroes being introduced when they first discover their power(s). Had Hero’s stay in feudal Japan lasted only 3 episodes, Adam Monroe’s character would not have been developed properly and Hero’s love for the princess would not have worked. It lasted the perfect amount of episodes. Viral Armageddon is a good storyline but it would have really interfered with the other story lines had it been introduced any earlier. If it was introduced in the first episode, people would have had the feeling, “here we go again…”, but instead it came when the audience was least expecting it. Heroes’s unpredictability is one of the things that make it such a great show. The pace of the show is deliberately slow. There are so many characters and storylines, and each one needs time to develop. The pace is no slower than the first (very successful) season of Heroes. If the formula works, why change it?
I agree the romance between Claire and West is a little sappy, but obviously this is going to play a big part in Bennett’s fate. My only criticism is that I don’t agree with turning Bennett into a bad guy. I thought the storyline of him protecting Claire from the company while trying to bring it down never fully came to fruition. What ever happened to the company order to have Parkman, Sprague, and Bennett killed. Clearly Parkman and Bennett were exonerated? And how about when the Haitian sided with Claire over Bennett? That was awesome, except now Bennett and the Haitian are cold-blooded murderers. What did the Ukrainian guy ever do to Bennett, except mentor him? I’m waiting for his young son to come home and reverse time (literallly rewind the last hour in front of our eyes), so that the bullet passes back through his father. That would be cool!