how to stop an exploding man -- or a Zergling rush

[samedietc]

Did you see the season finale of Heroes? What did you think?

Have you looked at the gameplay video for StarCraft 2? What did you think?

Comments

[lizzabette]

HOLY JEEZ!

Simone's dad. That's all I have to say. Did not see that one coming, and I really hope "Generations" is as good --- and damn it, I want to know what Mama Petrelli's power is.

[samedietc]

heroes may get criticized for being every super-hero comic with the serial numbers rubbed off, but i do like the secret history of the world that was hinted at, about there being a previous group of heroes.

[cthulhie]

Having not watched the show: I've heard that criticism and heard some examples, but I'm not entirely clear on how that's a criticism. Don't we think it's better that a show about superheroes be actively in touch with its roots? I understand that comic fans might feel annoyed when they see a mutated version of a story they love, but I'm not sure it's a genuine problem. I'm thrilled by the idea of an amalgamated version of classic comics in a different medium. Once we have a genuinely GOOD live-action superhero show, THEN we can move on to novel revisions or parodies. Watchmen (which, of course, they apparently ripped off) doesn't make sense without a history of comics.

[samedietc]

I agree -- being in touch with history of comics is good, which is why i'm glad that jeph loeb is one of the producers, but i think there are two separable criticisms that underlie the "serial numbers filed off" critique:
a) it's not being creative; and b) "they're making money off of our ideas"; i don't agree with either of those critiques, but i think that's what's going through people's heads. (oh, and maybe a third: c) "now they're making this popular our comic book stores will be flooded with the masses!")

[cthulhie]

Dirty masses. They don't wash, you know.

That's kind of the vibe I've gotten from the criticism, but the awesomeness of a meta-comic tv show seems to trump them. I'm looking forward to renting the show--I have something of an aversion to watching TV week-by-week. Also no antenna. Which makes viewing tricky, even if I enjoyed it.

[tragic_ohara]

From the perspective of someone who likes comics a lot but isn't particularly familiar with superhero comics as a genre, and who has never seen the show, I might expand upon "not being creative"; there's the perception (whether or not it's accurate) that superhero comics are founded on their own limitations (most significantly the Comics Code), and in the main are based around cliches and escapist power fantasies. Therefore, it's interesting to screw around with those limitations; I imagine it would be difficult to produce a superhero show that didn't pay a fair amount of homage to classic comics (although obviously I'm kind of underinformed on this point, so I'd be interested to hear specific examples of the kind of thing you mean). I'd personally rather they do something weird (or, even better, something creative) with the superhero model, since that model has been extruded into so many pairs of tights for so many years now, although as cthulie points out I may be asking for a Watchmen prematurely. But then, people who aren't

[jundai]

Hmm, it strikes me that re-using superheroes with the serial numbers filed off is more likely to be interesting than re-using superheroes without filing off the serial numbers. After all, I thought The Incredibles was excellent and I enjoyed Heroes, but I have yet to see a film adaptation of a Marvel comic that was worth the price of admission (except maybe The Hulk, which I suspect was in no small part due to Ang Lee's lack of devotion to the comic). If you don't have the serial numbers (to guarantee sales) and you don't have the originality at least with regard to the power, then perhaps that drives you to try to be interesting in some other way?

[samedietc]

definitely, you could be said to have a point, even within comic books -- something like Kurt Busiek's "Astro City" is predicated on a background of DC/Marvel superheroes, but with the serial numbers filed off so that he can write in the background that the corporate/IP owners and fan-base might not like