BEEMAN'S BLOG - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 17

HEROES: “COLD WARS”

WARNING: IT’LL BE A COLD WAR INSIDE YOUR HEART IF YOU IGNORE THE FACT THAT SPOILERS ARE CONTAINED WITHIN

Tonight’s episode was written by Chris Zatta, Joe Pokaski and Aron Eli Coleite. It was directed by Seith Mann – a newcomer to HEROES. Seith's Credits

Every year, one of the challenges is to try to book directors in to direct the various episodes of HEROES. We know, starting out, that Allan Arkush and I will end up doing 8 to 10 of the 25 episodes. Beyond that, we hope to fill up another 10 or 12 with people who have already successfully done several episodes for us. (i.e. Jeannot Szwarc, Greg Yaitanes, Dan Attias, Sergio Mimica-Gezzan.) But – as a TV producer, one has to be constantly discovering and trying out new people all the time. New directors come to our attention in a number of ways. Sometimes it’s as simple as – Allan Arkush or Dennis Hammer or one of the writers or I will be home watching TV and a particularly good episode of some show will come on – and we’ll keep a mental note of who directed it. I also make a point of talking to my other friends who direct or produce and ask them who they like. NBC and Universal also are always recommending people to us who have done well on other shows. There are also a large number of agencies in Los Angeles who represent directors – and agents are always calling and pitching their clients to us. As soon as a season is done, a lot of my time gets devoted to watching DVDs of episodes to familiarize myself with the many directors out there.

But, the booking-directors-for-episodic-TV game becomes a big jigsaw puzzle, and is one of my greatest frustrations in the pre-season. See, we have our 25 episodes, and we have the dates that we plan to make them on. All of the other directors are booking numerous other shows, each with their own schedules. To make matters more complicated, our schedule will usually shift one or two times, a week here or a week there. Also, all the other shows will shift a week or two as well. So, here I am with the list of directors we want to book. All the agents at the various agencies around town are trying to make their clients dates work so that their clients can direct as many episodes as possible within the annual TV season – and it becomes a big rugby scrum of trying to push and pull dates around.

Phenomenally – it’s also difficult to predict who will work out on our show (or any show.) HEROES is complex to direct – technically, creatively, schedule-wise, as well as interpersonally. Some people are excellent directors, but their personality and process may just not fit in with ours. Literally, every show out there is very different – both in terms of what is on screen and with what goes on behind the scenes. People who have worked out very well for me on one show, might not translate well to the new one.

I was a journeyman director for many years, going from show to show – and it’s a peculiar discipline. You, essentially, have to go into somebody else’s sandbox and play with their toys. Obviously, one critical aspect is having the ability to figure out what the creative needs of the show are to make a good episode. But that alone is not enough – one must also be able to adapt one’s style and personality to suit the quirks of the behind-the-scenes personalities. On some shows there is very dominant and sometimes difficult actor, or group of actors. Sometimes there is a very strong willed show runner/creator. Sometimes it is the opposite – perhaps the creator is vague or even passive aggressive. Sometimes there is more than one person in charge – which is fine, unless their personalities and goals are in conflict. Sometimes the actors are inexperienced and need strong guidance. Sometimes the paramount goal is to make a great episode damn the costs (but no one will ever directly say that.) Sometimes it’s more important to be on budget and one’s creative contributions are fine – as long as they don’t get in the way of hitting the number (But no one will ever directly say that either.) It’s a funny business that requires a certain chameleon-like quality to succeed.

All of which is a long way round the bend to get to the fact, that Seith Mann, who is a relatively new director (at this point he has 18 produced credits), really did a nice job of fitting into our system. His name came to us from NBC who had had a good experience with him on FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS. Allan and I watched two of his episodes– FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS and JERICHO. I was impressed with them, because not only were they both very good examples of those shows – they each had a distinctively different visual style and directorial approach – meaning that Seith could adapt to the necessary conditions of the show. This is more rare than it might seem. Many times you hire someone, knowing and accepting that, while they may be very good at performance direction and that they’ll get the basic dramatic beats and put the camera where it needs to be to record the drama – they may not be able to adapt to your visual style. Others might be very visual, but they cannot direct the cast adequately or they may just not have a fundamental awareness of “what’s important” – I.e., where the camera needs to be to capture the moment. Of course I also made a few phone calls to producers who had worked with Seith before – he checked out very well and so he came aboard!

We actually brought Seith in to interview in June of last year. At this point, in season 3, we’d learned all the pitfalls others had fallen into. We were pretty blunt about the fact that HEROES is a tough and challenging show and not for the faint of heart. We producers are pretty up front and self-acknowledging about our own quirks and requirements. To boil it down, simplistically, between Tim and Dennis Hammer’s demand for performance and emotion, my demand for visual style, Allan Arkush’s desire to have adequate coverage to create options in the cutting room, NBC’s demand to stay on budget and the amount of action and visual effects plus the large cast who (while really a very good bunch) have their own needs and idiosyncrasies – it is not an easy show. Seith did not run out of the room – so we decided to book him.

But then came the schedule rugby scrum – we wanted to put him in earlier in the season – but he was booked up on ENTOURAGE and a couple of other shows. Our schedules couldn’t come into synchronicity until this episode - #17. So here it is.

Seith came in facing another big challenge. Back in June we were shooting as many days as needed to complete episodes. But by December a much stricter budget mandate had come down from NBC/Universal. Ever since episode #15 we had to do our episodes in ten days and hit a specific budget number – no “if “ “ands” or “buts.” This script – which had been divided up in the writer’s room between three of our best scribes - was designed to be lean and mean… By design, a large portion of the story took place within one hotel room as Matt, Suresh and Peter grill Noah Bennett (aka HRG.) The rest took place in Building 26, a storage locker and Danko’s apartment (all of which are on our sound stages.) The only days out on location where two at the motel complex and one for the scenes on the park bench between Angela Petrelli and HRG and also the scene in Suresh’s cab which were all shot in downtown L.A. Now - this is all well and good in that it facilitates making our schedule – but for a director it creates a new challenge – How does one keep to the high standards of performance and visual design established by HEROES in the new, more interior, paradigm?

I was working on Seith really hard. I kept proposing that he focus on the long lens, hand held look we had been using in episodes 14 and 16. To me this is a way to go fast and still keep a visual design – plus it had worked for us recently. Seith was always polite – but I could, kind of, tell he was blowing me off throughout prep. In the end I was glad. I never mind someone resisting what I suggest – as long as they end up being right. In the end I realize that Seith had really studied HEROES on a long-term level and was more interested in doing the wide angle/low angle/moving camera look we’d been doing from mid-way through season one than anything developed more recently.

It wasn’t clear to me until I saw the first cut that Seith really had a strong visual design and emotional plan for the episode. In my opinion, despite its containment – it has a strong sense of rising tension. When he could; he really moved the camera well. I was especially impressed with the shot he uses to open the story - where the camera (on a techno crane) glides around the motel – really laying out the geography of the place (which was necessary to establish early as it becomes important for the audience to understand this later.) Even the scenes in the hotel room had enough variety of angles and intensity of performance to ratchet them up successfully as the show goes on. There was also (the critical) attention to performance. There are a number of great scenes and specifically, there is a really strong scene between Jack Coleman and Zeljko Ivanek in Danko’s apartment. The cast really liked Seith and made a point of coming to me and the other producers throughout the episode to say so.

Two interesting facts: When the locations department took us to the motel (which is way up in the San Fernando valley) I liked it right away. It had a very strong, yet contained layout. I said out loud, “It works great. But I feel like I’ve seen this place before.” The location managers kind of shrugged and looked confused. They didn’t mention that it’s THE EXACT SAME motel where MY NAME IS EARL shoots. I guess they know that filmmakers are notorious for not wanting to shoot at places that have already been shot a lot – especially on the same network! But the place was perfect for our needs and so – despite the deception – what the heck!

Last interesting fact: The original version of this script was a much more elaborate story in which – instead of just reviewing HRG’s memories – Matt was inducing hallucinations into his mind. Some of the scenes where similar – such as HRG and Sandra enjoying marital bliss – but then it got weird moving into eerie forests and Isaac’s loft, where Sylar revealed himself as HRG’s dark alter ego. Truthfully it was a very exciting ride. But two things caused it two mutate to what it is now – first it would, clearly, have been more expensive and difficult to produce. Secondly, the network was afraid that it would be overly confusing what with the worlds-within-worlds and ever shifting characters. It was potentially confusing, I admit, but it was also quite dynamic and original. Maybe there’s a world where we could try a story like that again sometime.

All right, loyal fans – I am spent from typing. I am also currently prepping to direct our season finale and must do, at least some, homework tonight. So – until next week ---

THE PICTURES:


SEITH MANN DIRECTS ON SET


THREE TOUGH GUYS DISCUSS TOUGHNESS


THREE MORE TOUGH GUYS TOUGHING OUT A COLD COLD NIGHT IN DECEMBER


ME ON SET


A STEDI-CAM ENTERS THE FRAY


JACK AND ADRIAN


LIFE BEHIND THE MONITOR


SEITH MANN MANS THE MONITOR


LIFE ON SET


SEITH WONDERS “WHAT KIND OF CAMERA IS THAT?” (JACK COMTEMPLATES HIS NEXT MOVE.)



SENDHIL – READY FOR ACTION!


SENDHIL AND HIS STUNT MAN PREP FOR PAIN

Comments

Anonymous said…
no comments at all?

the show is over
Anonymous said…
I remember at the end of season 1, Greg Beeman posted on this blog that the production staff of Heroes was committed to not repeating themselves. Don't look now but there is a terrible explosion that a "hero" is about to cause unless he is stopped...Sounds familiar but I am not sure from where. I am not sure, but I think we already explored HRG's motivations in S1.

Seriously guys, check out www.jumptheshark.com. I think its safe to say that Heroes jumped when Peter P. exploded.

Honestly, instead of developing Hiro's character into the future bad azz, you made him into a bufoon. Aurther Petrelli would have been a great idea if Remo Williams and Jack Bauer had not already explored the idea of dad secretly being behind it all. You introduced meaningless characters (the wonder twins and Adam Monroe anybody?) at the expense of any real character development of the ones you already had.

You guys were sitting on a gold mine, but apparently just did not know what to do with it once you had it. Its no secret that the ratings are dropping faster than Jessica Simpson's sex appeal, but now I think the death watch is officially on.
Rand al'Thor said…
As I was watching the episode tonight, I thought the motel exterior looked familiar. I kept thinking, "Isn't that the same one used on My Name is Earl?" Thanks for confirming that for me. :)
J said…
It's just sad how bad this show has become.
Anonymous said…
U haters need to get a life and quit complaining why can't you all just be happy with the storyline and suck it up. You could keep hating the show all you want but I know as soon as it ends you'll be sucking on the writer's pen begging them to bring it back. I thought this episode was very intriguing, it brought back the same elements and suspense that the show brought along in the beginning. I enjoy seeing another horrifying future in store for the heroes and would like to see how it plays out in the end. I believe they should put all the haters in an island where a big explosion will take place then they will be grateful for having heroes to save their sorry butts... but too bad it'll be far too late!
Anonymous said…
I don't really like it when Sylar is not in an episode [I'm very loyal to my favourite character], but the other actors carried their scenes so well that I could not help but thoroughly enjoy it. Great work.
Misty said…
I'm amazed at what I just read. I thought the visuals of the show were inconsistent this episode and I read and learn there was a new director who decided to take a different approach. I thought the writing was poor because it talked down to the audience by telling us stuff that had already been heavily hinted, we don't need to see the conversations. I also thought it lacked the drama that could have been in an HRG/Matt mental battle. Now, I read that NBC x'd some really good stuff that could have vastly improved the episode. I thought the actors did a phenomenal job this week and were better than ever. Then I read they loved the director, so his talents must lie there.

One question, do you realize that HRG had Uncle Leo angry eyebrows in most of the B&W scenes?

Tell NBC to leave you alone. This was the WORST episode of Heroes ever and I love them all. It wasn't just bugdet cuts, they messed up the creativity of the show. That's not OK.
sk180 said…
Mr. Beeman, i'm not sure if you even check these comments. But I was wondering how much time do the staffwriters have to break stories and produce a first draft. Also I just wish to say thank you for this most informative blog. Despite my problems with the show ,at times, I appreciate the complexities and sheer pressure the crew must be under to produce this series within budget and on time. It is a very ambitious series and everyone should be commended for their hard work.
Unknown said…
Oh, I loved Cold War - it was intense! I found the flashbacks especially very beautifully filmed (Cristine Rose looked absolutely amazing), and I felt that the further look into Noah's motivations was needed. He's not the same person he was in season 1, after all, we all change. Before this ep I couldn't really wrap my head around why he would go back to hunting specials and putting Claire in danger if he was using the same justifications as before. Jack Coleman did a masterful job here - I'm very impressed - as did Milo, Sendhil and Greg.
I'm also glad that we're back to more indepth character stories, taking more time to tell them, even though that means we have to wait longer for some of the other story lines we love.
Tanya said…
I love Heroes. Keep producing a great show. As someone who majored in Communications in college, but has never gotten to work in the field I appreciate these behind the scenes blogs. Heroes is a great show, ignore the haters.
Anonymous said…
Funny how people only speak up when they can express negativity.

I liked this episode, the flashbacks were a nice interval between the scenes with the actions. Maybe some of it was hinted at already but I liked to see back and have it confirmed, not everything has to be skipped simply because people can guess at what happened.

THe interaction between Mohinder, Parkman and Peter were great, I loved watching those moments and how Peter kept being the guy to make the decisions.

Best scene of the episode: when HRG tries to escape and Peter lands on top of the car, simply saying Hi. Nicely done writers!
Unknown said…
There were good and bad points in this episode, but as with all the other eps in this volume so far, the bad outweighed the good.

I loved that we were taken back and forth between the memories and present-time, and the difference in action and mood between the past and present scenes. The pacing worked out really well, and I actually thought the directing style was great. Most of the episode came off as confining and anxiety-inducing, because of the motel room and storage room scenes, but to me that also worked well. The actors all did a good job with their roles. Peter actually stepped up to leader status today, and in this volume especially, I'm really starting to like how he's handling being in charge of things and being the level-headed good guy. Lastly, this episode seemed to be a huge treat for slash fans like myself, which is never a bad thing :)

The only problem I really had with this episode is the last scene. Another explosion? REALLY, guys? Really? I thought we were going to get away from that kind of stuff in this volume: discover something bad in paintings, and prevent it from happening. This is just really frustrating to see, when everything else seems to be taking a turn for the better. I was hoping that maybe we could take a break from the futuristic paintings, but I suppose that there are some things the writers don't want to let go, and I'll still be watching to see how that all plays out.

The part in the blog post about Matt giving HRG hallucinations intrigued me. I wonder at this point if the original script would have worked better because honestly, I don't think this episode presented HRG any differently than Company Man did. Not that I didn't enjoy the ep, I am just curious about how things would have gone down if the visions had been a part of the action. Hmmm... there's a chance it could have gone over into bad-surreal territory, but I have to say I wouldn't mind seeing the writers use the idea in a later episode. I think it would work better with two characters who have more of a connection to each other than Noah and Sylar do, but that's just my opinion.

Thanks for the blog and pics, Greg!
Anonymous said…
Mr. Beeman,
I'm not sure you read these comments, but I'd like to say that I am a very big fan of the Heroes Show and universe. However for the first time during the show's course, I was left extremely disappointed after "Cold Wars". The image of Washington engulfed in flames was, quite frankly, a very cliche and stale moment. I almost felt like deleting Heroes from my DVR roster and scraping the entire end of season. This Volume feels LOST and dead. The only thing that's keeping me engaged is the hope that Bryan Fuller will breathe fresh life into the last remaining episodes and save the show from its implosion. While I understand that most of the show is basically "in the can", I'm seriously cheering for Heroes to return to it's roots of suspense and great character development.

I sat down with my girlfriend and introduced her to Season 1 and she was absolutely immersed in the Heroes world. I asked her who her favorite characters were and she replied the way I did when I was first watching the show. But in that moment, knowing where these characters were in Season 3, I felt like I didn't know any of the characters I was initially introduced to. Yes, characters evolve during the show but now it feels so redundant. I find myself saying "Are you serious?" and wishing that some of my favorite characters would just die.

I know you're one person on a huge totem pole but I have faith that you want to see the show be the stuff of legend.

Our world sucks now, the economy is doing wonders to our spirit. I think we need heroes like we needed Smallville after 9/11...Food for thought ;-)
Unknown said…
Whoops, I meant to say "the good outweighed the bad" in my previous comment! I can't type today :P
Emmy said…
I really appreciate the hard work everyone does on this show. You can really tell that everyone is devoted to its success.
It wasn't my favorite episode for the season. But I still adore the show. I always watch my episodes online. Does Nilson Ratings count that? All my friends enjoy the show and watch it religously. I wonder if this new technology is hurting Heroes ratings.

I Hope so much that you continue with another season. The characters are phenomenal and so interesting. There's a lot of meat on their bones. Something that a lot of shows lack.

As for cold wars, it was interesting but not as pretty or moving as some of the other shows. I still look forward for more shows and more seasons. Keep up the good work! I adore this show
Jemiah said…
Splendid episode - big, huge, massive props to Seith Mann for stepping into the director shoes. (Your description which ends "he didn't run out of the room" made me envision director after director running out, screaming, and you and Kring shaking your head sadly and crossing off a name on a whiteboard.) I really like the tightening focus on a few characters-per-episode at a time; that works a lot better than having to check in with everybody every single week. Great performances this week, too. This is a prime example of what makes me love the show. Good luck on the season/volume finale!
Anonymous said…
Fabulous episode! It reminded me of Company Man, especially the Parkman/HRG tension.

Another highlight: The Petrelli brother scenes were well done. I was shocked when Peter shot the Hunter, but in a good way. He's losing his innocent and naivity, and more of a match for this brother. Petrelli brother dialogue is always my favorite! Very Cain and Abel.

Keep it up! I love Heroes! It's my favorite show!
Anonymous said…
I thought this episode was fabulous. I admit I am very HRG biased, but still - we are back to character development and plot development, and away from how many more people can we bring in so we don't focus on anything...
I loved the visuals and I thought it was well directed. Can't wait for more - it's back to the show I fell in love with.
Anonymous said…
ohhh greg it's amazing episode! greetins :)
Anonymous said…
This was an awesome episode. I like that we got to see a little more of Mohinder's character development: guilt & courage, and a mixture of concern for Parkman and HRG & a desire to save face.

HRG and "the hunter" also make excellent foils for each other. This episode really brought out a lot about HRG.

It was odd having an episode with no Claire, Hiro, or Sylar, but I really enjoyed getting to go into depth with the characters in the episode and it balances last week's.

I really enjoyed it and I think that this is an excellent, fast-paced, and suspenseful season.
Anonymous said…
Can someone explain to me how Hiro and Ando traveled to India in the previous episode? Didn't Hiro lose his powers, and hence, can't teleport himself and Ando? Taking a plane to India would be highly impossible, with Hiro being a wanted terrorist.

Also, at the end of this episode, Peter touched Matt while saving him. So wouldn't he have gained Matt's powers, and thus, lose his flying ability at the same time?

I hope someone can explain some of these rather annoying inconsistencies.
AA said…
Generally a great episode, however
I think Parkman’s apocalyptic painting just one too many.. Heroes should come with a new idea.. unless there is a twist to the plot.
Unknown said…
SFX and PP the episode was mostly fine; I think "Matt's Effect" got missed the last time he used his powers.

Story-wise, my general frustration is that nothing is happening. Someone said it elsewhere: this episode felt like a 40-minute "Previously on Heroes" and 2 minutes of S1 story.

Curious the way Matt and Suresh's hands were tied this episode; Matt couldn't create an illusion to stay safe from Nathan's troops? Suresh can rip a taxi door off its hinges but can't break chains?

Not sure where the "zomg we have to stay within a budget" freak-out's coming from - did you not have a budget before? The rest of the world welcomes you to the reality of delivering something creative within a budget :)

All in all, a sub-par episode in a sub-par season. To me, the untrained viewer, it feels like you're just buying time because you have absolutely no idea where this season's arc is going to end up. It's boring.
Anonymous said…
hey greg i just received some spoilers. apparently there's gonna be a peter vs sylar showdown towards the end of the volume. wohoooO! but please, NEVER KILL OFF SYLAR. as quoted by another forumner, "I hope they realize that Sylar is the reason they have half of their audience."

but im aware that some people are getting bored with the bad-ass sylar. i hope he will turn good during the next volume. or something more interesting happens with his character. you have to keep him! (: cant wait for "Exposed"!
Anonymous said…
It's not just Sylar... The only reason any fans stick around at this point is because they love their favourite characters. It's certainly not because of the storylines anymore.
Every dead character means lost viewers and more disappointed ex-fans who will advice any potential new watchers against tuning in.

I enjoyed seeing Mohinder finally get to play a role. I guess I would have enjoyed his conflict with Matt a bit more if their relationship had been written more consistently in the past. I had been wondering if their entire friendship had been retconned away in Season 3...
Also, still no mention of Molly. I wish the show would return to what it was like in Season 1 and 2, where you at least knew where every character lived, whom they knew and what their basic motivations and goals were. In seasons 1 and 2, Molly was Mohinder's #1 motivation to do anything, and now she's never even mentioned... but like I said, nice to see Mohinder get written like a person instead of a placeholder.

As for the explosion... seriously, that was the worst idea ever. The worst. The absolute worst. I heard a spoiler of it, so I was prepared, but when I saw it on screen, it still disappointed me.

As someone who loved Isaac and accepted his death also because you people promised you simply didn't want to repeat the same plots over and over again, namely that Isaac paints something bad and the heroes must stop it... I cannot begin to express how disappointed I am with this.
Anonymous said…
worst chapter ever.... sorry but, vol4. sucks :S
Anonymous said…
I think last night's episode was great with many exciting moments and interesting flash-backs, it was very enjoyable to see some character development again. The ending was a big deja-vu moment and I'm thrilled to see what the story has to bring.
P.S. I'd never have expected Peter to actually pull the trigger. Peter's compassion for other people and that heart of gold is what makes him a real hero, hopefully that won't change.
Anonymous said…
I really enjoyed this weeks episode.

I loved the black and white flash backs, very cool idea, very arty. Although it's probably been done in other shows, but who cares about those, I'm talking Heroes:)

I was wondering and a bit surprised by what Matt had painted but hopeful that will come clear in future episodes.

I've read in the past that people have complained about season two was nothing like one, yet you try to make this season similar and people still complain. You can't win can you.

I'm glad to see Daphne is alive. I really like her character.

DFG
Anonymous said…
Not as good as last week's episode "Building 26", which was the best Heroes episode I have seen in a very, very long time.

Volume 4 just started, folks. Give it some time.
Anonymous said…
The real artist that could paint the future lives in NYC , his name is Enjai Eele and he along with his twin created a fictional character named Idai Markus that could paint the future in 2000 based on Eele's life experiences and his family's Luba history of producing art and memory boards that predict the future. note: Heroes and sylar are all about "memory" now.

Mr. Eele's family's art is part of the permanent collection of the Met Museum in NYC under Luba Divination Art of Zaire, Africa. note: Usutu, the African that could paint the future.

Bryan fuller and several NBC writers attended Eele's show at Hunter College in April 2005 and by Oct-Nov 2005 tim kring had Isaac Mendez in the can.

In September 2006 Isaac Mendez debuted on NBC and was an instant hit with the public until, Mr. Eele and his twin filed a lawsuit against NBC,Tailwind productions, tim kring, jeph loeb , alan arkush and bryan fuller.

Isaac Mendez was killed off and Heroes started her rapid journey into toilet ratings, saps and dip- shits comments, apologies. i didn't know, it will get better, we promise, matt can paint the future, you're fired jeph and jesse, Usutu can paint the future, usutu written off and a whole host of story lines that were confusing, boring, corny and silly.

Because of racism and corruption a white judge, Denise Cote dismissed the lawsuit.( think Bernard Madoff who is now sitting in a $7 million dollar penthouse instead of jail for ripping off many holocaust organization and wealthy people to the tune of $80 billion dollars).

Mr. Eele and his twin prevailed and the lawsuit was found to have extreme merit and was moved back into the nyc appellate court after 3 years.

According to page 32 of NBC's legal papers that are now in the nyc appellate court under docket number 08-0655 (L), 08-2280(Con) the page reads:
"Defendants (NBC) DO NOT dispute that Idai Markus the artist that can paint the future is a fully developed character in plaintiffs (Mr.Eele and his twin) novel, and that the expression of this character Idai Markus is complex and original."
note: so if this man's work is fully developed and original, what is his character doing on NBC?
And why would a judge tell the public and the industry that copyrighted, original and fully developed work is free for the taking?
NBC also admitted to access and copying of these artists copyrighted work in the nyc appellate court.

all of this information is online and on www.justia.com search the case number.

I've been investigating this story for the last 6 months, and like everyone else i'm waiting to see the outcome of this lawsuit in the nyc appellate court.
this story is very sad and the gall that the men on this blog had in thinking that they could get away with ripping these artists off is surreal.

I would advise anyone reading my comment to go out and investigate this case for yourself, it will shock you and you will have a better understanding of why this show is now an absolute failure.
NBC and tim kring have not been honest with the viewers and if they were both minorities they would both be in prison today under several felony charges.
I wish Mr. Eele and his twin much success in the outcome of this heinous lawsuit.
Anonymous said…
Hello Greg, I would say that love of heroes, and I find it very sad that all this crisis is in the show.
I hope everything is good logo.

It is true that we have to wait another week to see you around the Fuller writing episodes? Why?

But being honest with you, I think if Matt had illusions in the minds of the Bennet would have been very nice.
Anonymous said…
"I've read in the past that people have complained about season two was nothing like one, yet you try to make this season similar and people still complain. You can't win can you."

"Volume 4 just started, folks. Give it some time."

thats right people. dont hate, appreciate. :)
Anonymous said…
What I personally think of why less and less people like Heroes is because it's missing more and more of an important thing from Season 1, namely that people have a life. Season 1 was all about 'ordinary people' with powers, they had lives of their owns, real life conflicts to deal with and then also have to deal with their powers. Now it just seems like they have to deal with their powers and way to surreal problems.

The only characters in this entire Volume as of yet that deals with ordinary personal problems are Luke and Sylar, Luke more than Sylar. However, whereas Luke does have major personal problems, it's sad to see them pushed back as if he has no problems at all. There is much more in Luke's character that I've seen you guys getting out of him.

Also, problem with this episode, is that it pretty much is a Filler episode, meaning that it contributes little to none to the main story, everything told was already deeply suggested and hinted, no big surprises storywise this episode disappointed me.

Nontheless I will continue watching this show :)
Anonymous said…
3:27 PM,

if these guys case has any merit, then jms can sue both the 4400 and heroes for stealing his concept, rising stars. dc and marvel can both sue nbc and heroes for stealing many of the concepts found in the series, and dc and alan moore can sue for the entire main plot line of season 1.
coming up with one character, who has powers that have already been shown in both comics and films

the suit wasnt thrown out because of racism...it was thrown out because its absurd

and as heroes will most likely be cancelled at the end of this season...it will be moot.

btw, monday nites episode was terrible
Anonymous said…
hey, sorry it took so long to comment this week.

I really enjoyed this episode! i always like going into the past and putting the pieces of the puzzle together, and doing so with HRG's character was a treat for me.

there was one thing that confused me: why didn't Matt use his powers to make it appear as though he and HRG were not in the motel room? that way, they never would have been found, and the trouble at the end could have been avoided. but i guess it would be difficult to direct the power at that many people at once..

anyway, thanks again for your behind-the-scenes info! i feel as though the excitement i felt watching the show in season one is returning, and i hope to continue that streak with tonight's episode! Great work everyone! :)
Unknown said…
Thank you, thank you, thank you for finally having an episode without Claire. It was nice to finally not have to deal with her whining or her daddy issues (at least for one episode).
The more I think about it, the more I realise just how much I liked 'Cold Wars'. Visually, it was stunning (that's such a cliche way to say it, but it was), the camera shots fascinated me during the whole episode and the black and white scenes were a nice touch. Seith Mann did a great job :)

The music was incredible too. They really set up the atmosphere well in different scenes. Like the one with Peter, Nathan and Danko, it was inTENSE! Then with Daphne's reveal, it was touching. This episode is definitely going into my favourites for this season :)
Anonymous said…
Hi Mr Beeman

Regarding Hiros power;

Hiro actually has to get his full powers back and not because the fans want to, but because it is a time thing.Remember that future hiro appeared in the subway?According to the writers this was the critical point of change(remember the washlines with all those lifelines?)If he loses the power of time travel permanently he can't go back to say to peter save the cheerleader save the world stuff.Which in turn means peter doesn't save Claire and blows up NewYork.Remember by preventing the bomb to blow up they prevented the creation of the blown up Newyork thing, but also the futurehiro that went back to change it, this still has to happen to maintain the current storyline.You can also go with a Multiverse theory that when you change something in the past an other future is created that runs parralel to the original future(yes like back to the future), but so far it seems on heroes the universe -rule applies.Which also means Ando is going to die (which it's said triggers the desire for hiro to change the future)and Peter will still gets his scar because hiro said to peter that he looked different without his scar.It's just like Orson Welles' the timemachine, in short;Guy is happy with wife, wife dies by a terrible accident, which results in the guy creating a timemachine to go back and prevent the death of his wive...., but the wife still dies... he goes back again, succeeds at first, but in the end his wife kept dying, why you ask?If his wife doesn't die he will never make the timemachine which prevented her death in the first place. He could change some stuff offcourse but the reason for his going back is the death of his wife the same goes for hiro and Ando.
Anonymous said…
@Anonymous lawsuitguy;

You Americans think the solution is in sewing(bad spelling probably, but you"ll get it)everyone that hurts your feelings.
On topic; I challenge everyone in the world to write a true original story without using existing material.
I can tell on forehand none of you will succeed , every thought in this world is thought long before anyone on the world now.
I hope the lawsuite gets rejected and instead of nbc paying them, the twins should pay them 1 dollar a month for the rest of their lives not because of the money, but just so that it shows on your monthly bankaccountoverview.

Regarding Sylar;
I actually think that this season should be a wrap up of his character and not because i hate him or something i just think that after his mommy/daddy -issues get's cleared up there isn't anything usefull to tell about him.
Just invent some new stories and characters and plan their course ahead
Anonymous said…
Rating of a show isn't getting meassured at every individual home :)
There are people who have a box at home or are registered somehow and those people represent a rough estimate of the american population.

- I saw someone write here that America needed Smallville after 9/11...
My answers to that are;
-No you needed a president with a brain, no i will rephrase you needed to VOTE for a president with brains, you just wobbled behind an alcoholic who in his mind was still a child.
The other answer is more a question: are there actual people who like smallville; the rape of superman tv series?
I mean every episode is a replica of the one before .

Regarding the creditcrunch;
We are all in this mess because of greed in general;
-Stockbrokers wanted to make the bigbucks, real estate brokers wanted to sell houses at higher prices.
And every once and a while this bubble bursts.
This particular problem lies in the fact that Banks don't want to loan money to each other or companies for growth or another investment, so it doesn't mean the companies are doing bad, i'm willing to bet my life on it that when the bank will loan money to those companies the companies will flourish aswell as the bank that loans the companies.
O and don't blame the Madow/madof guy, those people who invested money via him have only themselves to blame and their goverment, because they should check companies out..(the guy is still a bastard, just don't make him a scapegoat for failures of other people/organisation)

Oh and to the NBC boss;
Fire half of the so called suits who check if a series is viaable , cancel shows like the biggest loser/celebrity apprentice/Knightrider/medium/ghost whisperer/Smallville
Those shows are a 13 in a dozen, this show still has the potential to grow it is matter of factly the only show that i really want to see, just like the Ateam used to do when i was a kid.
More advice; Hire 3 Directors permanently, hire more writers instead of firing them, Use like 5 writers for the whole storyarc use other writers to fill the episodes in. after an episode get's written let another set of writers check if it doesn't collide with anything else that has happened before or still has to happen, listen to the actors they should know their characters by now and can judge if certain actions are plausible for him or her to do(so that the next time nurse peter handles a gun doesn't use it like a commando would)

End of rant
Anonymous said…
some of you people don't know what you are talking about. Heroes rocks this season. I was unhappy with last season but this one is coming along nicely.
Anonymous said…
This was a good and exciting episode. HRG is always good, although I could do with far less of the daughter/dad ANGST we keep getting repeatedly!).

Love, love Mohinder so it was great to actually get to see him doing something and also get to understand the shame he feels for his previous behaviour and the way this affects his actions and motivation. Mohinder is a wonderful character - please, please make better use of him.

Matt's getting fierce and unforgiving while Peter is turning into a leader, but he's still not thinking things through. Please, no big bangs - I want character interactions not SFX and the more you have the guys together the better it is.

I don't know how Nathan sleeps at night!!

Ignore the naysayers - why are they bothering to watch and comment if they hate the show so much. Heroes took a bit of a dive, but even at it's worst there'w something about it that makes me keep on watching (okay, Sendhil Ramamurthy is a huge motivator, but... ;-P))
no comments at all?
Unknown said…
We sell nike shox and replica louis vuitton handbags with best price ! Come our online nike running shoes store to buy puma shoes now, you will get best service and cheapest price ! If you don't like your nike shoes that you received after you buy, Please send the replica louis vuitton bags back to us, we will refund all your payment. Do you know ? many people low our cheap nike shoes from our website, and buy Nike Air Force Ones every week! Hope you can have a good time! see you soon!
zayıflamak said…
zayıflamak
mordak said…
that's good episode all about it maç özetleri
Anonymous said…
I really like what you guys tend to be up too. This kind of clever work and reporting! Keep up the terrific works guys I've included you guys to my personal blogroll. Remember to visit my blog if you have some time: สล็อต