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'Heroes' drops two of its producers
Heroes has terminated two of its own, and unlike the on-screen deaths in the NBC show, the firing of co-executive producers Jeph Loeb and Jesse Alexander will likely be permanent.
The Hollywood trade papers are reporting that the catch-all "creative differences" is behind the departure of the two producers, who have been with the show since its first season two years ago and were heavily involved in day-to-day production. Whatever geek cred the show still has, however, could take a hit with their departure.
Loeb is well-respected in comic-book circles, having written several award-winning Batman and Superman titles and the five-issue miniseries Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America last year. He's also worked on Smallville as a writer and producer and was a supervising producer of Lost. Alexander has also worked on Lost and was a writer and producer on Alias.
Whatever the stated reason, though -- and this is just me speaking as an observer of television and regular Heroes viewer -- this kind of feels like NBC and the show trying to course-correct in the wake of the show's steep ratings drop this fall. Heroes is averaging 10.4 million viewers a week this season, down about 3 million people from this time last year. Its adults 18-49 ratings have tumbled too.
I certainly don't know what the dynamic inside the Heroes writers' room is like either, but it strikes me that losing experienced hands like Loeb and Alexander from a large-ensemble, technically complicated show won't make things a whole lot easier. The buck has always stopped with creator Tim Kring, and now presumably he and fellow exec producers Greg Beeman, Allan Arkush and Dennis Hammer will take on some of the duties Loeb and Alexander performed.
Whatever changes result from the backstage shakeup probably won't affect the "Villains" story arc that makes up the first half of this season. Heroes started shooting early in the summer and has already wrapped up shooting the first 13 episodes. The changes could, however, have an impact on the season's second arc, currently titled "Fugitives."
Does the loss of Loeb and Alexander affect your opinion of Heroes, either pro or con?
the show still sucks!!! they need to do more than fire teh producers!!! they need to find better writers!!!
larry scott | Nov 3, 2008 12:20:00 PM | #Well if Loeb and Alexander are responsible for the Heroes saving the world AGAIN (and again and again and again) then the right decision was made because what we're seeing is recycled content and the viewers deserve more.
Honestly though, I think there's a novice writer on the project that's hiding in a corner right now, hoping nobody will notice them.
Patty | Nov 3, 2008 12:43:56 PM | #Who's going to save the cheerleader now?!!
Kring should have been the one f-i-r-e-d!
| Nov 3, 2008 1:18:05 PM | #Now Loeb can devote more time to writing shitty comics.
Henry | Nov 3, 2008 1:23:22 PM | #What they need to do is hope that Pushing Daisies gets axed by ABC and throw a lot of money at Bryan Fuller to bring him back
steve | Nov 3, 2008 1:44:43 PM | #It's about time they did some shaking up behind the scenes because Heroes has been on a downhill trajectory since the first season finale.
Amy Lynne | Nov 3, 2008 1:47:19 PM | #The original premise started with the work of Suresh's father and that whole arc got dropped in favor of two competing "companies" who know it all--a serious mistake that did not allow a slow and effective realization to grow on what began as an effective X-Men clone.
Instead we have one end of the world scenario after the other that even the writers can't keep straight or make us care about. It all too numbing now.
Bill Meisheid | Nov 3, 2008 3:49:13 PM | #(reply to Steven) OUCH! about axing Pushing Daisies. but youre right. Heroes was really awesome when BRYAN FULLER was there. Steven, dont you dare ax my Daisies! :D Can Heroes still recover though? my complaint for this season of Heroes is they need better dialogues for their characters (fun stuff), i have no problem with how this season's storyline is evolving. What separates TV and Film is TV has better character development/ interactions. Viewers invest themselves into the characters. Dialogues are boring so far this season. sorry
Mark | Nov 3, 2008 4:18:35 PM | #I don't know the dynamic in the writers room either, but Jeph Loeb has written some incredible stories in the comics. We'll have to see if he and Alexander are merely the scapegoats for the setbacks with the show or if the shortcomings continue.
Ken | Nov 3, 2008 6:13:10 PM | #Just as SMALLVILLE diminished Superboy/Superman when (seemingly) every other resident of Smallville turned out to have super-powers (and usually more interesting ones than the few that low-budget operation allowed him to have), HEROES suffers because there are seemingly no characters in the entire story who don't have them. Thus, I fail to understand how any of the characters could even be defined as "heroes," inasmuch all they ever do is fight with each other. Because of that, labeling any of them "villains" seems ludicrous, since all of their criminal activity is directed toward the other directionless, supposedly sympathetic mutants who never press legal charges. And, like SMALLVILLE, the bizarre avoidance of any traditional super-hero traditions--costumes, secret identities and code names, presumably because they'd make all these looney people with super-powers less realistic (!)--only serves to make them all seem even more mundane and ordinary. Is it any wonder so many viwers have opted out?
Of course, this is a series whose most popular character has the (gulp!) power to be killed over and over, ad infinitum. I suppose the ability to lull your opponent into a false sense of security might be useful. (If these characters were interesting enough to wear costumes and have code names, I guess she would be the Opossum.)
Since most of these problems seem to be shared by both of the abovenamed series, and Jeph Loeb is common to both, it's no leap at all to use him as the scapegoat. But I doubt that they'll be changing any of it when he leaves. Now THAT would be unrealistic.
The fact that NBC has pulled the show this week may mean that they have lost confindence in it.
johnd | Nov 3, 2008 8:34:01 PM | #Jeph Loeb's respected in comic circles? Maybe 5 years ago when he'd stopped writing. Whatever was the stupidest, most absurd and laughable story aspect in "Heroes"? Was his idea, I guarantee you.
Frank Rook | Nov 4, 2008 2:54:02 AM | #The show is terrible right now. It was good in the 1st season, weak in the 2nd and awful now. They need to shut it down. There´s no other way. They created a mess. Too many characters, too many time lines and a Villain that is simply too powerfull and have no weakness. SHUT IT DOWN ALREADY WILL YA !!!
Eduardo Teixeira | Nov 4, 2008 5:28:07 AM | #I will be extremely interested in how this will affect the quality of the "Fugitives" volume. If anyone has stopped watching, this may be the time to give Heroes another shot.
robyn | Nov 4, 2008 5:33:55 AM | #"Now Loeb can devote more time to writing shitty comics."
Judging from the stupidity of this comment, I assume you don't read at all.
Judge Schmells | Nov 4, 2008 7:10:05 AM | #I admit it, this show seems to have lost it's mo-jo. When looking back at the last two seasons, we had our villians and are good-guys. Character development was there, we would root for our favorites. Now what do we have, all a bunch of bad-guys. Who is bad, who is good, that is the real question? Where is this show going? Adding more characters is ok to a point, but making them have more screen time than the originals from season one, whose idea is that? Like last week, one scene with HRG (horned-rim glasses) appearing out of no-where.
The point I think this season is trying to make is whoever you thought was good, is bad, and vis-versa. Story lines, with greater character development, need to be improved upon to bring viewers back. I remeber reading or hearing somewhere that each character has its own writing staff, is this still the case? Cause if it is, do you guys no talk to each other (maybe this is the real problem, creative control)!!!!
Foreshadowing is not there like season one (remember all of those paintings, they were all linked). Yes I know we have the Africian painter dude, but seriously, what does this all mean?
the show is just a mess. enormous plot holes, horrible acting, bad dialogue...they super powers given to the characters such as time traveling create paradoxes in the time lines that make little sense.... theres no direction to the show...
i guess Tim Kring needs to take some lessons on plot continiuty and character development from the guys who do LOST.
CHRIS | Nov 4, 2008 11:58:35 PM | #i used to really love heroes but ever since the second season its been getting kindof dumb
the preview for villains was so cool with sylar doing that thing but its been a very big disapointment
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