NBC’s Heroes just refuses to die without a fight. The rumors are true that the show is officially canceled, but there’s now talk about giving the show a made-for-TV movie to wrap it up.

It’s hard to understand why NBC would want to invest more money in a dying franchise. Unless, of course, they are a lot like me and others . . . watching each season with the hope that it’ll get better. I’ve concluded that the select few of us who continued to watch — and NBC — suffer from battered wife syndrome. It’s truly tragic.

The first season showed a lot of potential, but it began it’s steady decline after it peaked with the episode Company Man. Creator Tim Kring may have thought up the arc for each volume, but it was increasingly becoming clear that the writers were working against each other. Episodes became a convoluted mess that contradicted each other, dropped entire subplots, and ultimately changing characterizations at the drop of a hat.

Nathan dying at the end of each season became a parody in itself to the point where his final death did not carry the weight that the writers hoped for. “Finale” became synonymous with Nathan dying.  It was expected, and everyone assumed that he’d be back next season.

Sylar’s moral struggle in the first season was well-written and fleshed out how twisted he really is. The writers then couldn’t decide what to do with him anymore; he became a light-switch of being a hero and being a villain. To make matters worse, they repeatedly retconned his family background. The sad thing is that Sylar makes an effective villain or antihero, but without consistency, he — just like Nathan — became a parody.

Claire and Hiro never really evolved as characters. They would gradually mature, but then reset back to where they were. They became frustrating and didn’t really drive the story forward. Claire never learned from her mistakes, and her issues with her Dad became a perpetual nightmare. With Hiro, we were given a glimpse of what he would become, but the writers were too afraid to let him become that. They wanted to keep him naive; keep him lovable. Hiro became childish and selfish, while his sidekick Ando actually showed growth and reached a maturity and understanding in his role as a hero.

Does Heroes deserve a proper sendoff? With its track record, no, it doesn’t. It would only garner viewers from those who want to witness the train-wreck, and the very few genuine fans it still has. It’s a sure thing that it won’t recapture the magic of the first season — unless they retcon Adam Monroe’s death and have him kill every hero and villain on the show. That would be a proper sendoff. That’s something I can stand behind. It would be the only way to redeem themselves.

Source: (Hollywood Reporter)