What's really killing Heroes?

In the interest of honest blogging, let it be known that WB really wants to see the NBC show Heroes survive. But a recent article in the New York Times as well as a few helpful pointers from Entertainment Weekly do not bode well for the series' future.

Our fear comes from the recent firing of Jeph Loeb, senior writer and absolute geek hero to anyone who follows Batman or X-Men. Loeb is arguably one of the best writers of comic hero fiction but apparently he was let go because the plot of Heroes was too complicated. Guess what? It should be!

Heroes is based on a familiar genre, but it's trying to take that genre in a new direction. It looks at the complexities of good and evil, a theme that lost its stark black-and-white moral absolutism several decades ago. These plays on classic themes take time, effort and experimenting. Sure, Heroes has lost its way a few times, but the potential is incredible. Firing Loeb seems akin to an effort to dumb the show down, a move that will simply alienate the remaining fans Heroes has left.

Please, NBC, don't take away one of the few remaining smart television shows. Give it a little more time, a little more marketing and a little more Loeb.

And if you need a sacrifice, go ahead and kill off Matt Parkman, who lost his whole purpose in the cast many episodes ago. Just have him walk off into the African desert with his turtle talisman (because there are lots of sea turtles in the African desert) and never come back. No one will notice.
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