Heroes and the hollywood writing strike

First, I think this writer's strike in Hollywood could be a blessing in disguise. Apparently I'm not the only one. See "'Heroes' creator to fans: I'm Super Sorry (that the season has sucked)." And Kiefer Sutherland doesn't have to worry about his jail time interfering with his shooting schedule; the strike has already postponed the next season of '24' for at least a year. Of course, that means that the bulk of the pressure on Fox doing well will fall on the shoulders of the Terminator tv show. Speaking of which, one of my friends has a copy of the pilot and we're both going to the same event this weekend. A review of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, to be sure, is forthcoming soon.

I'm not going to comment on the details or various plots that are ongoing in this season of Heroes. Needless to say, I still suffer through the show from week to week, only because I mildly empathize with the Peter Petrelli plotline. Nevertheless...

I am going to say that this whole plot line with Claire the cheerleader and West the flying boyfriend is pretty stupid. Not for any tv plot problems per se, but for the whole psychotic boyfriend aspect. Now, I'm not one to give out any relationship advice, but why in the world would a show with the widespread popularity of Heroes give any credence in supporting what I call the worst stereotype on tv today - the stalker boyfriend. I can only hope that the teenagers that are watching this aren't fooled into thinking that anti-social and stalker type behaviour gets you noticed. Well, maybe it does, but not in the way portrayed in the show.

Maybe I'm being far too critical of a minor point. Or that I think that nobody would think this doesn't happen. To my defense, however, I've read too many cases in too short a time to think that I am overstating this position. In real life, the psychotic tendencies of West, based on the couple of storylines he has been in, usually translate over into much more destructive behavior. If that's the point of this plotline and that's where they take it, the writers need to go about it a different way. Which brings me back to my point. If these are the plotlines that are being written right now, maybe it's time to get some new help anyway.

Maybe these plotlines, however silly, are part of the problem. Maybe not. The pending (or ongoing) strike among Hollywood writers begs this question: What the heck are we paying you guys for? Maybe these producers should do what old Ronnie R. did a few years back and hire some new guns. As long as it doesn't interfere with the Lost season premiere in February (which I am purposely doing no research to verify whether this is still accurate or not), I can only hope that the strike will lead these writers to do something a little better in the whole 'solid writing' department.

Tags: hollywood writers strike, heroes season 2 sucks