‘Heroes Reborn’ Can’t Revive Magic Of Original Series

Heroes Reborn debuted last night, once again trying to capture the draw of Season 1. But, Heroes Reborn comes nine years after that first series began, and Heroes has been off the air for over five years. They couldn’t revive the series back then, and now the challenge is compounded with new and old elements added in, which confuse and complicate.

Loyal fans who didn’t desert Heroes when its storylines started to wander likely have no problem watching the new series. As long as viewers don’t expect Heroes Reborn to have a Season 1 feel at the first go, and just enjoy whatever new elements producers cook up, then they will enjoy this.

Viewers who weren’t with the original Heroes and who enjoy a challenge should appreciate this new series as a chance to get acquainted with a unique show, but as Vox details, they can’t expect to understand everything. At the very least, new viewers will be drawn to download earlier Heroes seasons to decipher things while watching Heroes Reborn. Heroes Season 1 was NBC’s critical success. They may not be able to recapture that by trying to fully emulate things done right in the past, but if they could grasp what really worked at that time, they could apply it to any new series.

The comic book style storytelling was the novel strength of the original. The intertwining storylines and character origins, many developing in parallel, when adhered to stubbornly, created a mess. If Heroes Reborn fails, it could be because this particular form of comic book style development isn’t doable, and needs to remain in the comics. It could also be that writers working on the show haven’t the talent to make it work.

What would be more useful and what could save Heroes Reborn from a presumed fate, is to get back to a more conventional form of storytelling. Not to eliminate what makes the series unique, but to lessen the confusion enough to keep everything in order. It could still be a revolutionary series, but with a truly workable framework.

As The New York Times reports, the major challenge to Heroes Reborn, besides itself, are the cornucopia of superhero shows on TV right now. There is no longer the clear playing field that the earlier Heroes thrived on. If Heroes Reborn wants to survive in the current climate, it also has to look outward, and make sure they bring enough ingenuity to challenge superhero shows about more established comic book bigs.

[Photo by Heroes Reborn/YouTube]