NBC corrected E! Online's report earlier this week that the network's superhero show would be a no-show at next month's pop culture orgy, saying that creator Tim Kring and "some of the cast, but not all" will be at a "small" panel on the show's biggest day. How small is small, and how many is "some of the cast" remains a mystery, but let's err on the side of positivity and hope that this new found modesty will also be reflected in the show's fourth season when it premieres... which is to say, no three-hour premiere "events" with an hour of self-congratulatory filler, please.

Check Out the Comic-Con TV-Show Panel Schedule [E! Online]

The strange possibility was brought to light by the San Francisco Chronicle's Tim Goodman, who watched show creator Tim Kring talk at the recent TV of Tomorrow show in the Bay Area:

Kring said that his young son has a fascination with the Guinness Book of World Records, so Kring bought him the latest edition and they were thumbing through it. In the section on television, he saw a picture from his series and learned "Heroes" was the most downloaded show ever. "Nobody had told me that," he said... Kring seemed to indicate that precisely at the time "Heroes" came along, NBC and its various properties were very, very eager to beef up online content and thus were more than willing to throw money at [non-television] "Heroes" related digital elements. It makes you wonder if "Heroes" is being celebrated (with a panel at TVOT and a re-up at NBC) not because people are actually watching it on a medium that prints money for hits, but because it does well in areas that might, some day (soon?), be as lucrative?

(It's worth noting that, while Heroes may be the most downloaded show ever, it is currently fifth in Neilsen's official online ratings - Lost is first - although Neilsen doesn't include Hulu.com views in their chart, meaning that Fox and NBC shows are heavily under-represented.)

In any case, if NBC kept Heroes from being cancelled due to its potential future money-making possibilities, then Knight Rider fans should start downloading that show as much as humanly possible right now, just in case.

"Heroes" creator Tim Kring talks up the interactive element. Which is probably why it got renewed for Season 4. [The Bastard Machine]

In an interview with IGN Kring struggled to describe why so many people may prefer watching a story-rich show like Heroes via TiVo or online, hurting the show's ratings:

[Serialized storytelling] is a very flawed way of telling stories on network television right now, because of the advent of the DVR and online streaming. The engine that drove [serialized TV] was you had to be in front of the TV [when it aired]. Now you can watch it when you want, where you want, how you want to watch it, and almost all of those ways are superior to watching it on air. So [watching it] on air is related to the saps and the dips**ts who can't figure out how to watch it in a superior way.

Time and The Onion AV Club were quick to point out the silliness of Kring's argument, even aside from the inflammatory way he worded it. DVR and Internet streaming are hurting viewership across the board, and Heroes' problems run a lot deeper than just a sudden rise in the number of people who've figured out the DVR remote. (Like, every character doing a sudden 180 degree change, and tons of confusing new characters. Just watch season two — on your computer, of course.)

The Onion AV Club also argues that DVRs and online streaming have been a boon to shows like Heroes, where you can't miss an episode without being totally lost. On the other hand, it's true that geek-friendly shows like Heroes have the highest DVR viewing figures and have therefore been hit the hardest.

Kring rushed to apologize, and in his defense he seems genuinely sorry. It's gotta be hard to be the Heroes guy these days.

I need to strongly apologize for the slightly mangled quote of mine that is making it’s way around the internet. It was made while trying to explain the rise in DVR and online audience for the show. I was making the point that these platforms now offer a superior way to watch the show (without commercials, with extra content, commentary, at the audience’s convenience, etc.) And went on to say how it’s getting to the point where “watching the show on the air is relegated to the poor saps and dip****s who can’t figure out how to program their DVR’s”. (Or something close to that) It was a boneheaded attempt at being “cute” and making a point. Instead, it turned out to be just plain insulting and stupid. I know now how it sounded, but I truly never meant to suggest anything negative about our audience. No one cares more about the fans than we do at Heroes, and no one appreciates them more than me. We are grateful for whatever way people are finding our show. Now more than ever.

I want to take this opportunity to say that I’m very sorry for this careless, lame remark. The best way to make it up to you is to live up to my promise that the upcoming episodes of the show are fantastic. I think you’ll agree we’re really on a roll and we couldn’t be more excited about the last four episodes of “Villains” and the upcoming volume, “Fugitives”, which we feel will be a huge hit with the audience.

Thank you for hearing me out.

Humbly

Tim Kring

[The ODI]

Kring was originally supposed to appear at the Expo with recently-removed writer/producers Jeph Loeb and Jason Alexander; following their dismissal by NBC, Kring originally pulled out of the appearance before returning at the last minute, replacing Loeb and Alexander. After talking about how he got started in the business, Kring went into some detail about the origin of Heroes - and the way that the show very quickly changed from its original conception as a series that would change its main cast every season:

The problem is you run into a whole series of issues, where show and business run into each other. The network falls in love with characters, the audience falls in love with characters, the press falls in love with characters. And it's contractually hard to get people onboard for a brief period... You find yourself writing for characters you thought would be gone.

But in the future, the changing ways in which audiences watch television will have an effect on the way that the show is structured; this season's move to two "volumes" will continue, as shorter storyarcs tell new viewers "every couple of months, 'come on in, the water's fine.' You can hop on the train and you won't have missed too much."
Well, except for continuity-heavy flashback episodes like last week's, of course. But never fear; the show will also be cutting back on time travel in its future, according to the report on Comic Book Resources:

Kring says the show will take a hiatus from time travel stories. Asked about time travel as a story device, Kring said “avoid it at all cost.”

Finally. Between that, depowering Peter and getting rid of some cast members recently, it's almost as if the show is beginning to fix itself after all. Maybe Kring reads us, after all.

Images from Greg Beeman's blog.

Could Heroes Move Away From Serialization? [IGN], Tim Kring Talks "Heroes" History [CBR]

We reported the departure of Loeb and Alexander yesterday morning, with the news breaking Sunday evening; with the exception of Alexander posting the news on his blog ("I write this with a heavy heart. As of today I am no longer a writer/producer on HEROES.") and a short, generic comment from Loeb to Comic Book Resources, neither have yet commented publicly on their removal, nor have NBC or show creator Tim Kring, leaving a lot of people wondering what's going on over there. Many people inside and outside of the TV industry are pointing to Entertainment Weekly's cover story about the show's third season troubles as the final straw that forced NBC into action, but the question still remains - was firing Loeb and Alexander the right action?

I think that it's definitely a step in the right direction; Loeb and Alexander were often credited with being in charge of the writers' room at the show, and many of the problems that EW (and us, as well, but at least we didn't get anyone fired) were story-based - but without Loeb and Alexander there, who is in charge of the writing of the show? EW's own report of the firings said that it "was unclear" if the two producers would be replaced (although subsequent reports are now suggesting otherwise), which leaves it equally unclear who'll step in to provide the show's direction, storywise, from now on.

The careers of both Loeb and Alexander can also be used to identify some of the show's problems in terms of writing - The sudden reveal of Sylar's Petrelli heritage, his nonsensical turn towards being a good guy, the return of the previously dead Arthur Petrelli and overall uneven juggling of a far too large cast seem reminiscent of Loeb's past as an Marvel Comics writer from the 1990s - although the show lacked the stupid fun of his more current work like Hulk or Superman/Batman - and the never-ending plots and unconvincing personal traumas of the characters harkened back to Alexander's beginnings on Alias.

The obvious suggestion would be creator Tim Kring himself; after all, he appeared to be aware enough to identify and own up to the problems of the show's second season last year - problems that, tellingly, Loeb denied existed in interviews - but that's doesn't necessarily mean that he has the time, availability or even the ability to turn around the show's current creative direction; look at the ways that the third season has gone overboard in the opposite direction (and, at the same time, returned to old and tired themes and plots) in trying to course-correct from last year. There are many other producers on the show, but none of them have the writing experience - or the geek chops - of the axed duo, which doesn't necessarily bode well.

Axing some more of those producers - including Kring - is, of course, still an option for NBC, who are said to be unhappy about the show running over budget currently. Were Loeb and Alexander really in charge of the purse strings? It seems unlikely. Kring is apparently already under pressure from NBC to simplify the show, showing that the network isn't relying on the removal of Loeb and Alexander to save the show alone.

Also a problem, at least in terms of perception, is the nature of the move; NBC axing executive producers of an underperforming, high-profile, show brings to mind memories of last year's perpetually-endangered Bionic Women relaunch, where the (admittedly low) quality of the show eventually became irrelevant because the real story became the behind-the-scenes problems... Problems that NBC were never really shown to be able to fix (BW went through, what, three creative teams on eight episodes of that show?) - leading to an impression that the network couldn't fix its own problems... which won't help with this situation.
The best case scenario for both NBC and Heroes as a series, is getting new producers in place who can revitalize the writing of the show, bring a new discipline to the series that will silence critics, and have some level of nerd cred to reassure the hardcore fans that it won't become ER Plus Flying Dudes. E!Online is claiming that NBC want Bryan Fuller to return to the show post-Pushing Daisies cancellation (although that isn't necessarily a done deal yet), and Meredith's already suggested Steven DeKnight as another alternative, but I'm thinking of a couple of people a little more unexpected (and a little more employed): Drew Goddard and Brian K. Vaughan, both currently at Lost. Goddard's experience on Lost, Alias, Angel, Buffy (not to mention Cloverfield) show that he's good with the fantastical, multi-character, labyrinthine nature of a show like Heroes - and also that he's able to pare back a lot of the growth to get to the core of the stories, emotions and concepts necessary to make said series work - while Vaughan brings a similiar comic book experience of superpowers, superhero teams and longform storytelling to Loeb, but with the addition of better (or, at least, more subtle) character work and a fresher eye towards how to deal with the stereotypes of the genre.

Whatever happens next, however, one thing's for sure - Sunday's firings has taken Heroes from being a troubled show to a symbol of NBC's problems as a network; their stepping in to try and fix the show in such a public way has meant that it's going to become a priority for the people in charge - and one that they can't afford to mess up. Save the Cheerleader Show, Save the Network.

The EW article suggests five ways to fix Heroes, most of which we've covered extensively in our recaps of the show. In particular, subplots have been multiplying and growing like mutant vines, there are too many characters, and people are acting ridiculously out of character for the sake of a wacky plot twist. But EW being EW, they're able to get inside dirt — such as the fact that the actors have been protesting their characters' out-of-character behavior.

Also, the EW article, by the magazine's resident geek-TV expert Jeff "Doc" Jensen, highlights one complaint I haven't seen before: the show reuses the same sets too often, adding to the feeling of sameness. We're always in the Bennett house or the lab that used to be Isaac's painting loft.

The article also quotes Kring as saying it's an epic drama about two families, the Petrellis and the Bennetts. And then Jensen suggests that may not be enough — Heroes should be about something bigger and more thematic, like Lost. Jensen wants Heroes to do what Lost did — decide on an end date, and then work towards a big conclusion. (With fewer episodes per season.)

And finally, and perhaps most damningly, Jensen says Heroes can no longer hope to be big, important TV like Law And Order. The best Heroes can hope for at this point is to be "a solid genre series that satisfies a smaller group of rabid fans." Did I mention this article is like the kiss of death for this show? I picture the network suits reading this and writing off Heroes season four.

Meanwhile, the article also does include some spoilers. In particular, the "Villains" arc is leading up to a twist where Mohinder shares his powers-giving research with the uber-bad-daddy Arthur Petrelli. And in the big flashback episode, airing Nov. 10, there's a scene where Gabriel, who has yet to be Sylar, makes Ziti for Elle — who is about to doom him to his life of being a brain-scooping serial killer. Elle brings him a "scruffy dinner guest" who has a secret power. "He's special too!" Elle says.

The "Fugitives" chapter, starting next spring, is totally different than the current "Villains" arc, promises Kring. "The story will again focus on core characters and enmesh them all in a plot that Kring says was inspired by current events pertaining to homeland security, invasion of privacy, and the war on terror." And the story has a "wide-open road," promises Kring.

According to Kring, the much-publicized third volume, "Villains," will only last 13 of the third season's twenty-five episodes, after which the show will immediately begin its fourth volume, to be called "Fugitives." The fourth volume is expected to run twelve episodes through to the end of the third season. No plot details were given about "Fugitives," but given the show's love of ripping off - I mean, "paying homage to" - old X-Men comics, don't be too surprised if you see the main characters having to go on the lam from some official governmental attempt to seek out and destroy everyone with superpowers following an attempt to save the world gone horribly wrong.

Kring also mentioned that the second half of season two, which was never filmed due to the writers' strike, would have been called "Exodus." And he said we won't learn any more about Kaitlin in Volume 3, but we will see more of Echo, the loud shouty postal worker from the webisodes. And the show is hoping to get invisible man Claude (Christopher Eccleston) back, as soon as Eccleston's schedule works out.

[Heroes The Series] and [Heroes Spoilers]

In Kring and Peck's trilogy, a man named Chandler Forrest takes part in LSD experiments administered by the CIA in the 1960s, and gains strange abilities. Given the fact that the book spans four or five decades, you can expect it to be sort of sprawling and involve tons of intricate conspiracies. Besides trashing Rick Moody (and David Foster Wallace, and Jonathan Franzen) Peck is best known for the 1993 AIDS novel Martin and John. His most recent novel, The Garden Of Lost and Found, was about a Midwesterner who moves to New York, but you can't read it because it got withdrawn in the wake of the closure of Carroll & Graf when parent company Avalon changed hands.

Alternate history, formerly the preserve of genre authors like Harry Turtledove, has been gaining a new currency in recent years. Philip Roth's The Plot Against America explores an alternate World War II where Charles Lindbergh deposes FDR. And Resistance by Owen Sheers also explores a WWII where things went differently, in this case a version where the Nazis overrun Russia and take over half of Britain. And of course, Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union takes place in an Alaska that became the new Jewish homeland.

The other interesting thing about the Kring/Peck deal with Crown was how they sold the book: they only had 25 pages of material (presumably including an outline) and a video trailer that editors had to sign onto a password-protected Web site to watch. It's become common practice for authors to make video trailers for novels once they're published, but I've never heard of authors selling a book to a publisher using a video. The future of publishing? [Observer] Acid blotter art by Trevor Brown.

Since the writing on the website isn't covered by the Writer's Guild (even though several guild members have contributed to it), that means they'll have new content for at least three months, according to project manager Joe Tolerico. They're also working within continuity, and everything on the site gets approved by Tim Kring before it hits your screens. It's basically meant to serve as a gap between Volumes 2 and 3, and hopefully that means they'll be explaining why Volume 2 started out like a lead balloon.

Here's some of the better parts of Heroes 360:

• 
  
• The Comics. They're all fairly short stories, maybe five to six pages in length, but they feature quality artwork with some of your favorite Heroes characters. SEE Matt Parkman on the job! READ as Hiro learns how crappy the future is! GASP as Peter Petrelli gets ribbed for being a nurse! Plus one of the most recent stories features Horn Rimmed Glasses Man himself whaling on a superpowered guy with a baseball bat. Not too shabby.
• 
  
• The Spinoff Sites: Sites for places like PrimaTech Paper (the front for the mysterious Company), 9th Wonders (the comic publisher in the show), and The Yamagato Fellowship (a fictional Japanese foundation that studies heroes) do their best to make the world of Heroes seem real with updated content and design. PrimaTech Paper even has a page informing clients that Noah Bennet is unfortunately no longer with the company. Wink wink.
• 
  
• The Interviews, The Video, The Forums: There's enough extra content at these sites to make Peter Jackson's DVD producer jealous. Everything from video interviews to behind the scenes looks, and a forum that speculates on everything from Hiro's virgin status, to the secret powers that Mr. Muggles must wield.
• 
  

So with the strike dragging on and...

Jeph: Strike? What strike? You mean, it might last longer? What?

Well, since you've completed a whole volume before the strike, will NBC be putting that out on DVD a bit sooner to give fans something in the interim?

Tim: Well, there are really no plans for that, and we're not talking to NBC right now. But, it seems like a very logical thing to do since we have a whole volume with a completed story.

Jeph: Great, I can see the headlines tomorrow. "NBC Releasing Heroes DVD Early!"

There's been a great effort in the show to tie powers to genetics, but at some point will you look to other methods for people getting their powers?

Tim: I shied away from that idea initially, but I also said I reserve the right to have it morph and change into other theories. There have been other theories posited, like that maybe someone made them and that this was all experimental. Since we know the company is a big nefarious operation, you could definitely come to that conclusion.

Jeph: I think it's God. I've always thought it was God!

Tim: And there has been some talk about the possibility of the spiritual aspect of the powers.

Suresh has been the human voice of the series and been used as a framing device. Will that continue when the series comes back?

Tim: Yeah, we didn't lean on it as heavily in Volume Two as we did in Volume One. There is an omniscience to that voice, as if he's talking from some distant knowing place in the future, and that idea is still good for us.

The Heroes graphic novel has been the first foray at taking the show into the comic book realm. Jeph, are you still writing comics?

Well, we didn't really do a graphic novel. Every week we put out a comic book online, so it's a webcomic. This was just a collected volumes of those issues, but it was all recolored by artists, and it looks a lot different on paper.

And, I'm proud to say that I have the number one comic book in the world right now, the new Ultimates that has just been relaunched, and next month I'm relaunching The Hulk.

Well, thank you both, we love the show.

Tim: Thank you very much!

Jeph: Yes, thanks a lot, and good luck with io9!

Molly has finally recovered from her coma, which was caused when Matt guilted her into using her powers of finding to locate his mind-destroying dad. Now daddy-issues boy is using his newfound powers of mind-control to make Molly obey him and eat her cereal. In fact daddy issues were the theme of last night's episode. Claire screamed at her father, HRG, that she hates him for abducting her boyfriend, and then HRG tortured Elle, the electrogirl, while explaining that her father Bob is evil. Dude. And then Hiro went back in time to visit his dead dad, took his dead dad to his dead mom's funeral, and had a tearful goodbye. Actually it was a pretty good episode, but we could have done without all the daddy stuff.

They're going to let you pick and choose from an extremely limited set of flashcards and create your own hero! Visitors to their "Create A Hero" site will be able to choose the parameters for a new "hero," such as a "Drop Dead Gorgeous Female From Asia With A Medium Body Type." Since when was that a superpower? If your choice garners enough votes, they'll actually appear on the show the following week. That's right, they have plans to do this every week.

Whew. Show saved! No more plot holes or dragging storylines, thanks NBC! Seriously, if the writers are going to have to juggle things like working in a gimmicky new hero every week, how are they going to be able to get the show back to last season's heights of critical acclaim and viewer adoration? This just smells like a desperate bid to shoehorn in some advertising, since the whole "Create A Cameo" is sponsored by Sprint. Ditch those cell phones, pick up your pens (post-strike, of course) and give us back the show we loved.

So it turns out that Peter was kidnapped by Bob, the guy who runs the prison/mental hospital for dangerous heroes where Suresh has been working. There he met Adam, an OG hero who has lived for 400 years and masterminded the destruction of the previous generation of heroes. But the best part about what happened to Peter during his bout of imprisonment was his strange electro-domination relationship with Elle. I love when he says to her, "I thought there was more to you than the whole sadistic lightning thing." WTF, does she need to have more going on than that? I hope there's nothing more to her than that, because I could watch a whole season of Elle's electro-domination and then some.

The result? A scene that is both cool and slightly maniacal, with Hiro shutting time on and off and worrying about paradoxes before kissing his lover. Of course the samurai sees their cheatin' ways, and all kinds of time-mangling events are about to be unleashed. Meanwhile, in other subplots, unbreakable cheerleader Claire found herself trapped in a plot from the movie Heathers and mega-mutant Peter is trying to find poutine in Montreal. So let's focus on the kissing for now. The kiss that fractured time.