# Heroes 10/13/08 "Angels and Monsters" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 14, 2008, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-10-13-08-angels-and-monsters/467821 "2008-10-14T01:29:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-10-13-08-angels-and-monsters/467821/141 "2008-10-20T04:38:46Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > So… > > My mother-in-law is strongly encouraging us to watch this show, saying we’re bound to love it because we like Lost. > > We’ve sat through the last two episodes with her. She says she’s loaned her copy of season 1 to a friend, but that as soon as she gets it back, we’re going to have a marathon or something. > > Well, from the two episodes I’v seen, as far as I can tell, the writers proceed as follows: > > Select a character. Flip a coin. If the coin comes up heads, have the character act like a good guy for the next three minutes. If tails, have the character act like a bad guy for the next three minutes. Repeat. (The same characater may be selected as many times as you wish.) > > I guess this is what is supposed to pass for “ambiguity” in this show? > > Will things seem better once I’ve watched the first two seasons? As it stands I’m not looking forward to watching them at all–but I think I’m going to have to. > > Gah! My wife and her mother and their habit of _insistent overselling_! 😛 > > -FrL- Heroes is a profoundly stupid show, even more so than Lost. The first season was comic book stupid, but was great fun. This third season is verging on self-parody. The characters are at their most inconsistent; you’re right that they’re sometimes totally out of character from one scene to the next. It’s as if the writers want to create complex characters, missed that course in Screenwriting University, and now just turn everyone into a schizophrenic ball of confusion. In particular, whoever’s writing for Mohinder, Sylar, Angela Petrelli, and Peter seem either not to have watched the previous seasons or are trying to win a bet for how much dicking around they can get away with… However, with all that said, I’m fascinated by the trainwreck, and it’s still entertaining as silly popcorn fare. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-10-13-08-angels-and-monsters/467821/142 "2008-10-20T08:17:35Z")
> [@AllWalker](#): > > Edit: On Peter using 2 powers at the same time, this was why in season one: > \*his fight against Sylar in Mo’s apartment went bad - being invisible left him powerless > \*why, at the end when he’s going nuclear he could not simply fly away himself Although this could be explained by the fact that (especially in S1) he really struggled to control any new power that he got. He had _just_ manifested and wasn’t really adept at using his powers yet – he hardly even understood what was happening to him. If he were, he could have controlled his radioactivity and not exploded in the first place; as it was, not exploding immediately was taking all of his concentration (and he even said as much in the recap episode in S2). If he’d devoted any focus to flying away, he would have lost it before he got 20 feet. Boom. Also, in his fight against Sylar, I got the impression he was trying to _escape_ while invisible, not fight. He was trying to sneak out. Sylar killed him with glass flung into the _back_ of his head, remember. Peter was moving away from him. It may even still be true that he can’t split focus well enough to control two abilities at the same time. Most of his active powers seem to require a great deal of concentration to control. It’d be nice if he would learn to switch gears quickly, so he could use multiple powers in a short span of time even if he can’t simultaneously. But maybe he impulsiveness is keeping him from learning that. He’s not so hot with the thinking-on-his-feet. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-10-13-08-angels-and-monsters/467821/143 "2008-10-20T08:45:33Z")
> [@Windwalker](#): > > Heroes is a profoundly stupid show, even more so than Lost. The first season was comic book stupid, but was great fun. This third season is verging on self-parody. The characters are at their most inconsistent; you’re right that they’re sometimes totally out of character from one scene to the next. It’s as if the writers want to create complex characters, missed that course in Screenwriting University, and now just turn everyone into a schizophrenic ball of confusion. In particular, whoever’s writing for Mohinder, Sylar, Angela Petrelli, and Peter seem either not to have watched the previous seasons or are trying to win a bet for how much dicking around they can get away with… > > However, with all that said, I’m fascinated by the trainwreck, and it’s still entertaining as silly popcorn fare. I agree with everything you just said, aside from being fascinated by the trainwreck. I’m pretty sure I won’t be tuning into Heroes tomorrow or any longer. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-10-13-08-angels-and-monsters/467821/144 "2008-10-20T16:18:51Z")
> [@Kaio](#): > > Although this could be explained by the fact that (especially in S1) he really struggled to control any new power that he got. He had _just_ manifested and wasn’t really adept at using his powers yet – he hardly even understood what was happening to him. If he were, he could have controlled his radioactivity and not exploded in the first place; as it was, not exploding immediately was taking all of his concentration (and he even said as much in the recap episode in S2). If he’d devoted any focus to flying away, he would have lost it before he got 20 feet. Boom. > > Also, in his fight against Sylar, I got the impression he was trying to _escape_ while invisible, not fight. He was trying to sneak out. Sylar killed him with glass flung into the _back_ of his head, remember. Peter was moving away from him. > > It may even still be true that he can’t split focus well enough to control two abilities at the same time. Most of his active powers seem to require a great deal of concentration to control. It’d be nice if he would learn to switch gears quickly, so he could use multiple powers in a short span of time even if he can’t simultaneously. But maybe he impulsiveness is keeping him from learning that. He’s not so hot with the thinking-on-his-feet. Season 1, when he was fighting Dr. Who (Eccleston) on the roof, he stopped a quarterstaff using TK while he was still invisible. The perspective then switched to both of them being visible, but I definitely got the impression that he was using both powers at once. ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-10-13-08-angels-and-monsters/467821/145 "2008-10-22T01:52:54Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > I had the exact same reaction. There are only three possible explanations > > 1. Tracy’s just hopelessly stupid > 2. The writers are hopelessly stupid and completely forgot what happened in a major plot point a mere four episodes ago. > 3. The writers believe that the audience is hopelessly stupid or needs a refresher on what happened a mere four episodes ago, in which case the writers are STILL stupid because they couldn’t come up with a way to do it that didn’t contradict the fact that Tracy should damn well know what happened to Nathan. 1. We the viewer (and a few characters on the show) might think of it as his “I’m a superhero!” press conference. Most characters, including Tracy, do not know the content of his intended announcement and would not immediately place it in that context. [Quote=Shalmanese] That was the reason you suggested he get tapped for the senate seat. [/Quote] She suggested him because of the good publicity surrounding his shooting at a press conference… not because he called a press conference to announce he had superpowers. ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-10-13-08-angels-and-monsters/467821/146 "2008-10-22T02:30:25Z")
> [@EvilHamsterOnCrack](#): > > #4 sounds like the best explanation. As far as Sylar suddenly not being crazy, I think trying to take claire’s power also messed with his mind, as as soon as he actually touched her brain, was when this big change happened. Also ties into the line: “I could feel the pain I caused you”… he got compassion from claire’s brain, or something. Or up until he acquired Claire’s power and became immortal, he was working against time. Now that he doesn’t have to worry about dying, he can move at a more leisurely pace. Fits in nicely with the clock motif. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroes-10-13-08-angels-and-monsters/467821.md?page=7)