The show ‘Heroes’ started off with a bang. Truly, it was one of the best first seasons of television I’ve seen. And what started with a bang will end with a pucker.
The second season was nothing short of a disaster and the third was worse than that. So now, they’re desperate. Hmmm…what to do to grab some easy attention?
A-ha. They’ll have the young hot starlet of the show go lesbian. At least that’s what they’re intimating with their preview of Season 4 at Comic-con. The move reeks of desperation.
We don’t know if it’s going to be a quick Lindsey Lohanesque trip with a return ticket to Lesbo or an Ellen Degeneres permanent residence thing. But one thing is clear, it’s a desperate attempt at ratings.
The producers of the show are now trying to say people are blowing it out of proportion but they’re the ones who showed the kiss between Hayden Panieterre’s character and her on screen college roommate at Comic-con in front of a crowd of mostly young men to whoops and hollers.
I can’t say I’m going to stop watching ‘Heroes’ because of this because I stopped watching it two episodes into the third season. And it’s not that I mind Hollywood dealing with gay issues and same sex attraction but it’s this awful, cynical and consequenceless take Hollywood has on all things relating to sex.
I remember once going to see a sketch improv show where a few of the male performers could be counted on to be funny for a few minutes on stage but they didn’t seem to know how to get offstage. They had no idea how to end their sketches. So they did the only thing they could think of which was to kiss each other. This got a reaction from the crowd the first time. By the third time everyone was pretty tired of it because we all understood it was a shortcut. An excuse for actual humor.
‘Heroes’ is obviously right there too. They were brilliant for a while but now they’re all looking at each other and they don’t know how to get offstage. My recommendation: If you’ve got nothing else to say, just get offstage.
July 30, 2009 at 4:57 pm
They're not the only ones.
Apparently, sci-fi isn't homosexual "friendly" enough– same way it wasn't women "friendly" enough, until they started removing war, making every @#$# commander a woman and spending too many eps on emotional filler. (Me, bitter? Just a little…. I LIKE sci-fi! It's entirely possible to have interesting character development without halting the series for an ep or two!)
July 30, 2009 at 5:01 pm
I've always liked Dr Who – esp. the Classic series – because this kind of stuff was never on the radar. Just fun campy sci-fi escapism. The newer series brings in a little bit of the Moonlighting-ish sexual tension, but it doesn't dominate the episodes.
July 30, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Personally, I don't think it's a good idea. Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a character become a lesbian, but then they killed off her lover (who was, ironically, the only character who exhibited a conscience at that point).
Heroes' network must have gotten low GLAAD ratings. HBO got a "good" rating because more than 40% of their programming included LGBT issues.
A spokesman for ScyFy (old SciFi channel) said the channel got a low GLAAD rating, so he mentioned that one of the main characters on the new Stargate: Universe series will be a lesbian with a wife back home.
July 30, 2009 at 11:55 pm
"everyone loves a lesbian". I think the whole lesbian sci-fi thing started with Babylon 5 havingg the main character a lesbian. From there on most Sci-fi had either "experimenting" characters or lesbian sub-context (all of the Star Trek series had them). Given the main demographic of the genre, it's not surprising and in fact just good business.
July 31, 2009 at 12:42 am
Small problem– there's no evidence that it actually *does* boost viewers, so the "good business" idea is simply stereotype. (But, since it's one of men, and negative in the "slaves to their hormones" idea, thus is allowable.)
July 31, 2009 at 4:33 am
No evidence that it does boost viewers? You don't really have a clue about how Hollywood works, do you? Obviously it boost viewers or they wouldn't add it over and over and over. In the ratings game you are only as good as your last episode.
July 31, 2009 at 4:48 am
I'd say it's rather obvious you're the oblivious one….
"Why shall I insert female homosexuals? Oh, yeah, it doesn't enormously piss people off AND it gets the homosexual activists off my back! Yay!"
See also: any other token characters.
July 31, 2009 at 2:53 pm
What B5 main character?? Ivanova? No. Claudia Christian has repeatedly said her character was not a lesbian. The actress who played Talia Winters (whose name escapes me at the moment) WANTED to go that direction with the character's relationship. JMS' response?
Dropped her from the story. Instantly.
Few Sci-Fi shows have given religion and marriage a better treatment than Bab5, especially considering JMS is a hardcore atheist.
-Chris M
July 31, 2009 at 2:57 pm
John C. Wright just posted about an article in which the Sci-Fi channel promised to include more homosexualist-friendly material in it's shows: http://johncwright.livejournal.com/269139.html
So one could make a case it is part of the ongoing onslaught to normalize depravity.
July 31, 2009 at 6:22 pm
We've watched Heroes from the beginning. We didn't even give up when Season 2 was a bomb. We sorta like last years season. Maybe just because we love to hate Sylar. But, if this turns into some "hooray for homos" show, we will no longer watch.
January 22, 2010 at 3:58 am
I am disappointed in Heroes – if the lesbian acts continue, I will stop watching.