Heroes: Gone too Soon? (Rogers)

Introduction
The Wired World has broadened access to information and communication, changed the dynamic between a text’s author and readers, and opened channels for interpretation of and response to texts. Regarding advancements such as the hardbound book, Walter Ong writes that “print encourages a sense of closure, a sense that what is found in a text has been finalized, has reached a state of completion.” Ong’s argument is valid for the printed book, but it is doubtful he imagined a future where “printed word,” as on the Internet, was a means of information exchange, addition, and clarification. The connected world allows for millions of people, each knowledgable his or her own area of expertise or interest, to collectively maintain a database of information. As a result, Nicholas Carr has asked, “Is Google making us stupid?” Ong argues that text has reached an unnatural finality that orality cherishes, and Carr worries that 21st century technology has removed the capacity to think, analyze, and explore on one’s own. These two texts share the concern that moving to a new medium can leave behind an important facet of the old. While this may be true, the many benefits of the wired world outweigh anything that is left behind.

Another benefit of the information age is the change in dynamic of authors, readers, and texts. Texts can now be created that place the reader in an authorial role, making decisions that impact the journey or outcome of a story’s progression. Interactivity is the major outcome of the wired world. Through hypertext fiction, readers can dive deeper into a text by reading footnotes, visiting outside resources, and learning context in an existing storyline. Interactive fiction moves a step further because it “cannot proceed without input from the user,” as N. Katherine Hayles explains. The experience is defined by the reader’s actions, therefore the story is unique every time. The original author is used to outline a story and divergent paths, but the reader becomes an author as he or she determines the progression of the fiction. Yet, in certain cases, readers can dialogue with the author and shape a story, such as with television shows or a movie series. Communities dedicated to interpreting and responding to texts are organized through the web. Active discussion can catch the attention of writers and producers, impacting scripts while they are a work in progress.

Heroes came at a perfect time to leverage the power of online communities. The show faced a rocky final two seasons, which has at times been credited to the writers implementing viewer ideas into the plot. Regardless, the ultimate downfall of Heroes was its cancellation by NBC, and many online debates have ensued about a more proper way to send off the show. These interpretative disputes are facilitated by the wired world and allow for deep analysis of Heroes’ storyline and production value. Fans of Heroes were particularly creative, taking the show from its original form and creating new storylines, drawing and painting artwork depicting characters, and other forms of remediation. Additionally, viewers came together to catalogue every last detail of the world created in Heroes. Wikis and message boards served as a table to put together the puzzle pieces of the ever-complicated character map, timeline, and locations that made up Heroes. With many of these resources still thriving today, Heroes is alive and well in the wired world.

Interpretative Disputes
Was Heroes’ ending just? More importantly, were the final seasons of Heroes inconsistent with the success of the early episodes, leading to a necessary cancellation? Or was there still hope for a conclusion as powerful as the firstseason? These questions, as well as many disputes over plot details, have been posed in online communities where viewers from all over the world connect to share opinions and provide insight. In one forum post on the official NBC message boards, a poll was taken regarding the outcome of Heroes and a few pivotal moments in the final episodes. Members commented below the poll with explanations for their vote. The poll format is visually appealing, as it quickly unites the popular viewpoint without having to interpret each person’s comment. However, the message board allows for alternate opinions to be aired, giving equal weight to each post. A poll limits the user responses but the open comment box gives more depth and provides alternatives to sticking with a crowd on any given option. On a fan-based community message board, got-heroes.com, a thread titled “Speculation of a final season ” goes on to discuss the fate of Heroes based on how the show performed each season. The thread has a charm about it, since it is filled with active members from the forum who sincerely care about the show. It reads as though it could be a group of coworkers making conversation around a water-cooler in an office somewhere on the morning after NBC cancelled Heroes. For those without coworkers who viewed Heroes, an online community substitutes for that friendly conversation.

Less friendly debates can also take place, as evidenced in the thread “Who thinks they should just stop now before they screw up heroes any more?” on got-heroes.com. Forum member peterpetrelli15 starts the conversation, “Ok don't get me wrong, i love Heroes, but after this, man after this im not sure it would make sense to keep going.” A few posts later, Chronophasia comes in with, “Hate to be the ‘party pooper’ but I thought this was the best season since season 1 and was wonderfully creative, interestingly written and beautifully filmed.” Banter ensues deciding whether the ending of Heroes was or was not just. Not as successful, however, is a thread by Swaxq attempting to provide alternate endings for the characters. This almost turns into fan fiction at points. Other contributors do not entertain the idea as much, indicating this is neither the time nor place for such a discussion in Heroes fandom. On the 9th Wonders message boards, a site centered around the online comic series that ran parallel with Heroes, a teasing tweet in 2011 fuels the fire for Heroes fans: “@harrisonwilcox Heroes fans: something exciting coming your way this year.” Fans eager for any good news anxiously respond with speculation of using other networks or simply creating more comic books. Regardless, it is clear that the interest for Heroes has not died, and so long as there is a group of people gathered together, there will be interpretative disputes.

Remediation


Heroes came at a pivotal time for television shows interacting with fans through the Internet. The show itself released online comics (also known as graphic novels) running parallel with the TV episodes called The 9th Wonders. This gave viewers and readers even more material with which they could work. NBC showcases a fan art gallery on the official Heroes page, but elsewhere entire message boards contain fan fiction, artwork, alternate endings, and more. In a thread titled “An Alternate Future,” one of the most popular threads in the fan fiction section, user grady_4546 shares multiple chapters where he or she scripts a future for the show. What stands out is a later post where grady_4546 reaches out to the readers for their comments, asking, “i need some feedback! is it too dark? should i lay off claire a bit? less/more dialog?” Once again, the online community is not limited to simply receiving a text, but transforming a text and providing authorial input. Those creating fan fiction understand this debatably more than anyone. Remediation allows fan fiction authors, artists, and every average viewer to transform Heroes into any other form than simply a television show.

Knowledge Communities
Heroes features as many as fifteen main characters in one of its seasons. Fifteen main characters alone is a significant amount to follow, but that is only the beginning. The show is very complicated, creating many character connections and events across a timeline. One could imagine a large pinboard with strings running in various directions as a viewer tries to follow Heroes on his or her own. Luckily, knowledge communities come together online to pool information into a common resource. The Heroes wiki is an excellent example of this hive mind. It has over 5,700 articles (and counting) that cover every facet of Heroes. An endearing page on the wiki is reserved for listing Heroes fan sites and everywhere the show appears online, ranging from other knowledge communities to press articles. A Wikia community for Heroes also exists, paling in comparison with just over 450 pages. Still, it is an admirable attempt to organize a large mass of information. In a knowledge community, the purpose is to gather information rather than try to understand or solve a question. It is then up to the reader of these resources to perform the necessary research and draw his or her own conclusions to the show’s questions.

Links and Resources
Official NBC Heroes Site

Wikipedia Page for Heroes (TV series)

IMDB Page for Heroes

The Heroes Wikia