it’s not chipped, we’re not cracked: a letter to Heroes

Oh we’re shattered. [MC – Memoirs]

Dear Heroes,

I’ve been a little busy lately, and it seems that you thought I was just letting it all slide.  I wasn’t.  I was just getting around to this letter, as it’s been a long time coming.

This may not mean much to you since I’m not a die-hard-fan kinda girl, but you’ve let me down.  To tease me with prospects of awesomeness and then slowly kill off almost every person of color on the show?  Even major characters?  That is NOT the way to my heart.

I loved you so much I volunteered to review your best and worst moments.  Those were good times, even when they weren’t such good times.

But as time went by, echoes of DL, Monica, and even that vortex guy only grew louder in my head.  I don’t have the time or inclination to follow web-posted storylines, just so I can keep up with characters that somehow don’t deserve to make the cut on the small screen.  Year after year, the man who came to be known as the Haitian, continued to be known as the Haitian.  Even after visiting Haiti!  Because having one magical negro wasn’t enough, Usutu got to be a plot device for a while, getting name checked on the show only after he was decapitated!  Two cute Asian guys (one a little bit hot) get to play the buffoon occasionally, while propping up what we finally found out was the MAIN storyline last year.

And I’m losing interest.

Watching the few women of color that appear, disappear – sometimes without any explanation – while the blondes almost always have their freaky coercive and inappropriate sexual assaults?  Not my idea of a good time.  There was the slight incest scare with Claire and Peter, the Puppetmaster scenes, the Sylar/Claire puppetmaster scene, various power plays with every Ali Larter character…and then of course, our good friend from the current season, carnie-tatt-girl.

You really value me so little?

Almost every woman I know who ever watched no longer does.  Why should we?  If we want to see skeevy dudes planning & executing various forms of domination over women, we can just watch the news.

When things were new and fresh, I thought this was the start of a cool show.  And it was.  And this is the end.

Men and women of color on your show continue to be use as props with little more than one-dimensional backstories.  Seriously.  Where is freaking Mohinder?

Becky and the new Usutu are not enough.  The cop and the doctor are not enough.  Angela is not enough.  Portraying your first lesbian while simultaneously painting her as an SWF stalker?  Not even close.

My head hurts when I watch, I think of better storylines when I’m half-awake, and I’m just tired.  I feel like Syfy could’ve done a much better job with the show.  Or maybe Animal Planet.  QVC even.

Good night and good luck, Heroes.  And so I say, with a yawn,

When I break – I break. (MC –  Up Out my Face)

diggin the new season

I’m not totally into the new fall season of tv – at least the scheduling.  I’m actually *liking* some shows, but must they ALL be on Thursday??  Check out my schedule – and all the conflicts:

i make charts

My DVR can only record two things at a time, so I had to rearrange some things.

Some of these shows might piss me off, though, in which case I’ll quit watching and some time spots may open up.

Right now, I like my staple sitcoms and dramas, but I’m auditioning some new ABC shows and a couple CW shows.

I watched Eastwick last night and was pretty disappointed.  I didn’t see the movie all the way through – I saw it in pieces, but *did* see the end.  And I basically hated Jack Nicholson’s character/role.  I was hoping for a show that was going to either follow up on life after the end of the movie, or move in a different direction with the ladies coming into their powers as friends… If the dude stays on the show and the show just ends up remaking the movie – I’m done.

love!

I watched FlashForward tonight, and enjoyed the concept but was still deeply disappointed.  John Cho is love.  So he should totally be THE guy.  Not some random dude with a forgettable face who was in a movie with Gwyneth back in the 90s.  And with him not having a ‘future dream’ – it means he’s probably dead in the future.  What?  Why would he be dead??  Why kill John Cho???

I watched Heroes this week, and was impressed with how loyal the writers were to the STOOPID that runs in the Benetrelli family.  As Wanda Sykes says, “stick wit’ your lie”.  They are sticking.  Glee is really letting me down and I hate that, after the 90s R&B sensation of last week.  I’m glad the Asian girl got to sing, but we still haven’t heard many actual lines from her.  And a pregnant cheerleader?  Shouldn’t we just save that for Secret life of…? Bones is starting slow, but I like that slow burn that Boreanaz and Deschanel have going on.  I could watch the chemistry between them for a long time.  I just hope his awkwardness after the coma eases up.  I don’t want the show to jump the shark just yet.  I’m pretty sure Grey’s has already jumped the shark, with all the I-see-dead-people business last year, but I’ll watch it anyway…later.  Right now – I’ve gotta go to bed.

Here’s hoping I dream of John Cho!

500 times more interesting

That’s how much better Heroes is when it’s about Sylar instead of the Benetrellis.  But I’ll save the rest of what I have to say for the Roundtable.

My vacation was awesome – relaxing – which I’d never have thought before, being in NYC.  But since I’ve been there so much, it really was just about family.  Oh and food.  Really good food.

Cafe Habana is probably my favorite place, but we had some great falafel, fried green tomatoes [seriously! in the City? for real – Brother Jimmy’s does them well.]  Hit up Negril and had some Cafe Spice leftovers, and it was happy days.

And we saw Guys and Dolls and Perfect Murder (again – and it was better the 2nd time).  I’ve always loved Oliver Platt [ever since he was Porthos in the Three Musketeers], and he’s playing Nathan Detroit.  But the real gem in this show is Nicely Nicely.  Tituss Burgess was a shining star when it came to Sit Down (You’re Rocking the Boat).   Best number of the night.

heroes: plot sinkhole

one reason I'm still watching

I’m addicted.  It’s so obvious I’m addicted.

I keep watching even though it’s … it’s sad.  How does a DHS official with a direct line to the president physically observe a woman she knows being tortured, issue a threat to close the entire operation down and charge a senator with human rights violations, and then she walks back out of the torture room – leaving her friend to be tortured?

Then it was sewed up quite nicely when Tracy was left to break the chains and show off her power right in front of the same DHS official.  Just in time to get a bunch of funding for Nathan’s evil plan.

Indian food?

heroes: baby steps

It took an entire first half of a season to get to this point.  ***Spoilers Coming***  The second half promises to be exceedingly better [with the bar so low, how hard could it be?] with ‘Chapter 4: Fugitives’.  Sylar mixed it all up tonight, going after the Bennett’s and Mama Petrelli – but mostly it was a psych-attack on Claire[Bear].

Nathan and Peter got this whole bro-on-bro thing going on.  I hate it, cuz I’m not into the Petrellis at all.

Mohinder has finally been cured of this skin rash.  But Knox is gone.  Freakin’ Tracy.  I hate her.  I loved Knox.  He was the cute boy with good skin this season.

I’m kinda pissed that they’re gonna bring back Micah, so he can be a fugitive.  The fact that Nathan wants to round up everybody with “abilities” [for some reason, it really grates on my nerves that they always call them ‘abilities’ instead of powers…like they wanted it to sound more accessible, but by overusing the word, they just made it sound dorky] is reminiscent of X-men.  I wonder if he’ll have any folks with abilities helping with the work. [‘One of Us, One of Them’ style].

And since Sylar can’t possibly be dead in a fire, I wonder if that shard of glass might be worked loose by falling debris or something.  He’s in a tight race with Hiro and Ando for my fave character on the show.

And about Hiro – he doesn’t have his powers anymore, but does he have a little glimmer of power?  Could Ando make it grow with his new ability?  [Seemed like it took Daphne a while to figure out she’d gone back in time.  Why was this such a surprise?  I thought about her being able to go back in time, prior to Ando’s ‘supercharge’ ability.  Weren’t we all aware of how Superman flew against the rotation of the Earth for a while so he could turn back time, that one time?  Where are Breckin Mayer and Seth Green (our comic book store heroes) when we need them?]

And finally, Peter took the shot.  Can he only fly, or does taking the shot after one has already lost ‘abilities’ restore the ones that have been lost?  Do those who were heroes already have a predisposition to the ability they already had?  Is there another shot out there for Hiro, just in case the supercharge from Ando doesn’t work?

and he Sings!

Ok…that wasn’t final – this is final:  YAY!  Ando has an ‘ability’!!! [see how obnoxious that word gets with overusage?]  All those for the Ando/Sylar fan club line up behind me!

For all my talk this season, Heroes finally made good.  Pretty much.  The odds aren’t great – 2 out of 12?  But still, The second half looks good,a nd I’m willing to give them a shot.  It’s just kinda sux that it’s gonna take until February to see the next installment when the story was finally getting GOOD.   C’est la vie.

the destruction of heroes

don't look directly at this

For a moment, I was given hope that Claire might die.  Instead, I’m watching really crappy father-daughter bonding.  I love Sendhil but Mohinder is officially THE character to hate.

And – folks – you can’t look directly at an eclipse, ok?!!

Best line?  “Why are you turning your head sideways?  What’s your problem, son?”

I had to watch tonight because of the eclipse.  But it’s killing me.

Hiro’s still a child, and Parkman’s useless.  The Petrelli brothers are in freaking Haiti and still calling the guy they’re looking for “the Haitian”.  Every-single-body is freaking STOOPID.

Oooooooh, Seth Green!  Yay!

I know Seth Green has been in all kinds of foolishness, but I love him.  LUV him.  Sucks it’s only a cameo.

Anyhoo, it’d be so great if the show could totally change and Vortex man came back to suck HRG, the cheerleader, and all the Petrellis into a vortex.  It’s only fair.  He should get to come back because it’s opposite day.

Sucks that this epi is just part one.  This Tim Kring fellow seems determined to run this series into the ground.  But I totally can’t wait for the Racialicious recap.

i’m still watching…for now

I’ve watched Heroes Petrelli & Sons since its inception, and stuck with it through all the craziness* thus far.  Chopping off Usutu’s head before even giving him a name may well be the last straw for me.  I’m unsure as to whether I’ll watch another episode or not.  Things have just gone down the tubes, fast.

A drama between the Petrelli’s and the Bennet’s?  I might hafta pass.

And yet – I watch The Hills.  I love it because it’s so tragically…tragic.  Nothing beat the evil grin on Spencer’s face last week after Heidi showed her behind [totally wasted] at a company function – and ended up getting fired.  Completely transparant to everyone except Heidi, Spencer’s like a puppet master when it comes to her.  Which is actually painful to watch sometimes, but ultimately makes great trash tv.

Then there’s GG, which could now be called ‘The Slow Corruption of the Humphreys’.  It’s definitely the prettiest show, though.  Best clothes, by far.  Also my fave of the 3 mentioned here. [Heroes used to have this honor, but keeps killing all the brown people.  GG doesn’t pretend to give brown people weight in the show, and I’m ok with that – be straight with me from the beginning.  I’m not looking for a complete overhaul of American tv in 3 Easy Steps™.]  And lovely of lovelies, we’ve got an arc including the Sicilian from The Princess Bride.  Inconceivable!

I’m not apologizing for my tv habit, though.  That’s my thing.  Everybody’s got their thing – and that’s mine.

*craziness: first and foremost – killing DL. from there? not naming The Haitian, cutting Hiro off from the rest of the heroes, totally forgetting about Micah (and Monica), introducing Maya in the first place, and only keeping Christopher Eccleston for like, 3 shows.

heroes: a veronica mars reunion

I’m so pissed.

It’s not like Heroes is such a friend to POC, anyway, but now, my lovely Francis Capra’s moment is over – just that quick.

First, we only ever saw his reflection, cuz future-Peter Petrelli stuck current-Peter Petrelli in his body so he could change the past [and thus, the future].  Yeah, brown people are just houses for white people to use when they need ’em.

And then, once Peter was finally free of the POC body, the character Jesse Murphy gets maybe 30 seconds to be himself before Sylar decides to eat his brain…or tweak it, or whatever he does.

It’s insulting.

Don’t even get me started on the idiot-fake-scientist, Mohinder.  Hate him.  Seriously?  You discover something, and test it on yourself immediately?  And 15 minutes of super-strength constitute conclusive testing??  Idiot.  That’s why you’re gonna be peeling pieces of your skin off next week.  Ew.  Idiot.  Aaack.

On a different note, maybe we should start some kind of protest against irresponsible depictions of science and scientists.