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I’ve broken up with television shows before. The most painful in my memory was “The Sopranos“–a show I adored, but could no longer watch at the end of its fifth season because it had gotten so brutal. With J. J. Abrams’s “Lost,” while I used to feel passionately invested, I now have a kind of on-again, off-again relationship where I could really just take it or leave it.
Tonight, I think I might break up with Tim Kring’s “Heroes,” now in its third season (NBC, Mondays at 9 p.m.)–and just when it gets into religion, at least explicitly so. Sadly, it’s the religion piece that’s making me flee.
The basic situation: in episode one, Nathan Petrelli, the politician, has a near-death experience (he’s shot by a future version of his brother, Peter Petrelli). When he manages to live, he wanders into a church and becomes born again. Nathan finds religion, finds it big time, and gets political with it. The show’s first season famously advertised under the offbeat slogan, “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World,” and its twist on that success for season three comes out of Nathan’s mouth as he’s in church: “Save Ourselves, Save the World.”
Puh-leeze. If the writers could have been a bit less heavy-handed with Nathan’s conversion, a bit less stereotypical, a bit more subtle, less cheesy, I might have found Nathan’s newfound faith interesting. But as it is, every time he comes on screen, I cringe. It’s like the writers took every stereotype people have about Christians and wrote it into Nathan Petrelli’s season three persona. If his character and this season continues as-is, I think another break-up is in store for me. Though this one will be far less painful than “The Sopranos.”
posted October 7, 2008 at 12:10 pm
I get google alerts for ‘The Sopranos’ – my favourite show, while at the same time I have a huge interest in religion and spirituality so I am extremely keen to hear about your fall out with The Sopranos … what was wrong with the end of series 5? Adriana and Tony B … indeed, very brutal, but is that it? Remember, first episode of series 6 pretty much puts Tony Soprano in his place – probably making all the Adriana and Tony B fans feel like they got some satisfaction. i don’t know, but I hope you explain the big fall out with ‘the Sopranos’ …
posted October 8, 2008 at 2:57 am
don’t watch t v
idle mind is the devils workshop
those people are about selling ads
it has nothing to do with bettering your soul
just lightening your pockets
posted October 8, 2008 at 2:55 pm
In all honestly I think they just “dipped” Nathan in his way of finding God.They havent exactly made him grow a beard and wear sandals either.They guy was having a hard enough time dealing with the idea that someone shot him simply because he had lost his fear of being hunted and wanted to share his secret with the world.( Seems kinda familiar-especially when it come to someone in our world who has HIV,Cancer, or even an STD.)
I think its going to just propel the show like an extra oar in a boat.They have the majority of the cast coming to “reality” with their decisions and choices for their own futures.I agree it shouldnt be a shiny ball distracing us from the rest of the show,but its part of the character and what he’s keeping in mind..
posted October 17, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I agree that I’m on the verge of breaking up with Heroes, but it’s not the religion that’s got me down (although I’m a Christian and I really am not liking the spiritual storyline with Nathan. He seems very wimpy lately). It’s the confusing, numerous characters and story lines. It’s the same reason I stopped watching Lost, and if they don’t pare down the mish mash, I’ll have to stop watching, too.
All the best!
Joanne Brokaw