At first I was afraid, I was Petrellified

[alexsarll]

Well, that Heroes finale was even more of an anticlimax than the first season's. I suppose I should hardly be surprised, I did spot the writer's name at the beginning. Jeph Loeb could write, many moons ago, but nowadays his name serves more as a biohazard warning than a credit. I suspect that unless I hear extremely good word on the third season - among it, that Loeb has taken an enforced sabbatical - then I'm out.
I don't think it helps matters that the BBC are screening it on Thursdays, the day when those of us who still go to the source for our superheroics are coming home with an armful of stranger, better, truer stories in the same vein.

Chris Morris on CERN; as against certain strands of celebrity journalism, he is at once entertaining and (for the general reader) enlightening. I like this sort of polymathic behaviour; Stephen Fry is the obvious example, but one of the joys of Alex James' Bit of a Blur is the way he loves space exploration every bit as much as cheese, champagne, beautiful girls and all the other splendid things in the world. A lot of autobiographies would do well to take a lesson from Alex James; he can admit that he's moved on in life to the extent of a total volte-face, without feeling the need to retrofit a load of moralistic wangst to the days of debauchery. Drink, drugs and shagging are the right thing for a rock star to do; "All happy endings imply gardens." There is no contradiction between these two statements.

Other links of possible interest: missing scenes from butchered silent classic Metropolis have surfaced - sadly without colour-tinting and Queen soundtrack, but I'm sure that can be fixed - and Iain Sinclair on 'The Olympic Scam'.

Tomorrow doesn't just mark the anniversary of some silly colonial insurrection - it'll also be 106 years since the election which returned Britain's first Labour MP, Kier Hardie. He must be so proud of Tony, Gordon and chums.

Comments

Re: that climax

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Well all Nathan needs is a drop of his brother's blood, isn't it? And we've already had one finale where we were meant to believe one or more Petrellis were dead, only to be gypped. As for Niki, she probably hid in a mirror down there or something. They seem to be incapable of killing off anyone except Alejandro, though lords know he needed it. And Sylar escaping, AGAIN? And locking Adam in a coffin because, like, there's no way that someone who regenerates from all damage will eventually be able to dig his way out of that? Just end some storylines, please!

[kiss-me-quick.livejournal.com]

It's ages since I saw the Heroes finale but I seem to remember thinking "is that it?". Mainly because the series had been so short but I can't help thinking they just had to quickly change things because of the stupid writers' strike.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

There is that, but it's not like the first series finale demonstrated them as masters of the art of climax to start with. And really, in an emergency when you need a writer to save your ass - you do not call Jeph Loeb.

[tintintin.livejournal.com]

Also the unprecedented plunge in viewing figures - the first season was a breakout hit and everyone proclaimed HEROES to be the most important new TV show since blah blah blah; then the second season came out, with its godawful meandering Irish and Japanese interludes, and the reboot of the Bennett family's internal crises. Viewers deserted in droves, with the only comparable collapse being the turgid latter half of the second season of TWIN PEAKS.

So, the showrunners panicked due to the looming strike and this dreadful reception, rushing out frantic rewrites and papering over the yawning cracks of the plot, just about managing to keep their heads above water with enough manic thrashing.

[davegodfrey.livejournal.com]

Frankly Hiro and Adam romping round feudal Japan was the best bit of the last series. Peter Petrelli was always the worst thing about the series. Nikki, Mica and surrounding family had so much potential, and were poorly served by the writers.

Mohinder just made me want to stab things. Mostly because he doesn't understand basic genetics and evolution.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Agreed about Japan up to a point - but once it got all relationshippy, they lost me.

Mohinder I liked at first, but gradually came round to the general view of wanting to punch him as he demonstrated his own superpower: the unfailing ability to make bad decisions. It got to the point where I wouldn't have even asked him to make a cup of tea because he'd only pour the boiling water down his own trousers and the milk on my head.

I was never much of a Peter fan, but at least I could only see Peter developments coming one episode in advance, whereas with Niki I was always at least three episodes ahead of her - and I suspect, two ahead of the writers.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I don't think we can even use the word 'Irish' of that particular quagmire - it was emphatically Oirish.

For me, it's much the same problem as 24 had, or even nu-Who to some extent; it wasn't that the first season was spectacularly worse than the first, it was that it had the exact same problems only slightly more so (through complaceny?), when there was a legitimate expectation that it would have learned from the first season's mistakes and instead been better.

One wonders how it would have gone had there been no strike. I mean, the lost 'powers in the time of disco' episode (http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=17061) sounds fun - but it's amazing what you can make a mess of if you put your mind to it.

[baphomette.livejournal.com]

I've scanned the post & the comments on account of being an entire season behind, but AHAHHAHA at the title of this post ;)

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Without wanting to spoiler or owt - there is a scene where a Petrelli says "At first I was afraid" and I thought, that must be deliberate! Brilliant!

Then I remembered who was writing.

[the-roofdog.livejournal.com]

I am determined not to tune into the 3rd series of Heroes though morbid curiousity might get the better of me.

"Alex James bassist in Blur" gives a recommendation in the front of my university tutor's pop cosmology book.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Please tell me they at least give him a comma?

I suspect that whether or not I crack regarding s3 will be largely down to which night of the week it's on and what else is scheduled around then.

[renegadechic.livejournal.com]

theres a new trailer on youtube... or there was. someone took it down.

basically it sounds like 12 dangerous "heroes" broke out of the company and are gonna mess some stuff up. looks pretty dark! i think im the only one who liked the last series. yeah it was slower, but i think a ridiculously epic ending would probably be a bit "so where do we go now?"

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

But at least it would be an ending! Please, just kill Sylar this time. Or Adam. Or someone. Do something which at least gives the impression of significance, rather than displaying this terrible compulsion to keep all the pieces on the board just in case.

[tintintin.livejournal.com]

Love the Sinclair piece. There's no-one to touch him when he gets that bilious, vitriolic bit between his teeth, and the rape of Downriver and East London has been his bete noire for decades.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Yes, Downriver was the first long piece I read of his, and in some ways still my favourite. At times I think his studied curmudgeonliness can get a bit trying (Tube map not as iconic as the M25, indeed!) but set on a target that deserves it like this, he's perfect.

[tintintin.livejournal.com]

I also particularly like Downriver, athough Radon Daughters is probably my favourite book of his.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I haven't read that one yet - it just never seems to leap out at me like others have.

[tintintin.livejournal.com]

There's a wonderful sense of decay in it, even more so than his other works, and the monoped X-ray addict protagonist Sileen is a memorable grotesque. Also, it delves into aspects of the familiar Whitechapel surroundings that fascinate me - the Royal London hospital, the demi-monde villainy of the Blind Beggar and the Grave Maurice on Whitechapel Road... And foxy boxing. Can't forget the foxy boxing.

Having said that, he's written some stuff that I just couldn't abide at all - Landor's Tower I found effectively unreadable, as his prose just becomes an insurmountable wall if you don't know the territory to which he refers in his dense metaphor and allusion.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

No, I've never really been tempted by the ones where he gets outside London's blast radius.

[returntosender.livejournal.com]

I heard the most ridiculous rumour about season 3 Heroes, which if true will mean I stop watching immediately. It is a pity.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Go on, share it - and be aware that with Loeb on the writing staff, however ridiculous it is it will be well within the parameters of his previous crimes against all that is good and pure. Let me guess - Sylar is only Mr Muggles' puppet, and Mr Muggles is in fact Arthur Petrelli, transformed?

[returntosender.livejournal.com]

How Harry Potter!

I heard that it may be revealed that Peter and Sylar are twins. Dear God please can this not be canon.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

But they look nothing like each other!

The poor-quality trailer clip has me interested just 'cos Milo from The Wire is in it. Which I know is exactly what they want to happen...

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I blagged a copy of the first series collection, and aside from the Wireless stuff and the Gaydos art, I wasn't vastly impressed. Then factor in that I was less enraptured of this series anyway, and I don't much like reading comics on screen...

McDowell is coming back, aye. Though whether in flashback or 'now', I don't know.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

No, I never really fell for the animated series, though I have Justice League Unlimited to watch and may reassess matters if that grabs me.

Re: the youtube trailer - the presence of Milo from The Wire has me interested again. Curses.