Tim Kring: 'Heroes' viewers are 'saps'

It looks like, instead of fixing his show, "Heroes," creator Tim Kring has decided to insult the show's fans instead.

At a screenwriting event over the weekend, which IGN covered, Kring made the nonsensical statement that current modes of on-demand viewing make it more difficult to do a serialized show.

What? That makes no sense, as Time's James Poniewozik points out. "[T]he idea that DVRs and streaming make it harder to follow serial shows is so transparently ridiculous I seriously wonder if Kring even believes it," Poniewozik wrote.

I thought about writing up my furious reaction to Kring's remarks, but I have sworn off this ridiculous show and thought it might be seen as piling on to write another post slamming "Heroes." After all, if I'm no longer even bothering to watch the show and have publicly stated that, shouldn't I just stop writing about it?

I wasn't going to, until I read Poniewozik's eloquent and precise debunking of Kring's idiotic premise -- that alternate forms of viewing work against serialized dramas. Duh. The opposite is true, obviously.

So why was I furious about what Kring said, by the way? Because Kring said this about the people who watch "Heroes" in real time: "So [watching it] on air is related to the saps and the [expletives] who can't figure out how to watch it in a superior way."

Saps and [expletives]? And by the way, that second word begins with "dip." I think you can figure out the rest.

How absolutely infuriating. How does Kring muster the gall to insult anyone who's still watching his show? What arrogance. What cluelessness. Not only is his argument weak and without merit, he stoops to calling "Heroes" viewers names.

The only sap here is Kring. Any and all insulting terms should be directed at himself. After all, who is responsible for two seasons of mostly muddy, incoherent storytelling? It wasn't the saps at home on their couches.

As I said in a recent post that mentions an IGN piece on writers who may be able to fix "Heroes," I think, at this point, it's obvious that Kring is the problem with the superhero drama. I might start watching the next season of "Heroes" -- this one is obviously too far gone -- if NBC were to fire Kring and replace him with someone like Javier Grillo-Marxuach ("Lost," "The Middleman") or Bryan Fuller ("Pushing Daisies"). If NBC thinks it has fixed the show by firing two other writers (Jeph Loeb and Jesse Alexander) then trashing those writers (anonymously) in the press, it should think again.

Even if Kring sticks around, as Poniewozik points out, changing the show from a serialized show to a standalone show isn't the only option: "You could try revamping your show so that it becomes the complete opposite of what it was conceived as. Or you could try, you know, not sucking. A story arc or two that doesn't inspire ridicule could go a long way with the saps and [expletives], is all I'm saying. "

It's really been difficult this week to decide which showrunner is more deluded. There's Kring, who insulted a large segment of his audience, and then there's Shonda Rhimes of "Grey's Anatomy," who told EW.com this week that the preposterous Izzie-Denny story is one of the most "interesting" things the show has ever done. Sure, if you define "interesting" as -- and this is me talking here, not Rhimes -- "truly, mind-blowingly stupid, even for 'Grey's.'"

Let me break down how a "Grey's" train wreck works: The show comes up with a migraine-inducing story line, the fans revolt, the critics castigate, then Rhimes talks up that development in the press as one of the best things the show's ever done. Sheesh.

I'll close by recommending that you read Poniewozik's takedown of Kring. I agree with every single word. And somehow James managed to write that piece without sounding as if he's not sputtering and harrumphing, which I've failed to do here.

Who could say that being able to watch a show repeatedly, at one's leisure, is a detriment to serialized storytelling? That is such a flimsy, transparent excuse. I'd much rather the show just say "Hello, this is what we're doing and you can go suck a lemon if you don't like it" than go through the theater of scapegoting and flimsy excuse and grand plans to DUMB DOWN THE SHOW FURTHER THAN THEY ALREADY HAVE. The primary problem is that the show isn't smart enough anymore that the ongoing storylines are muddled with lunacy, characters behave stupidly to suit whatever situation needs suiting, and that all is presented in a haphazart way. So, rather than tighten up the story, he wants to abandon trying to tell one, blaming the FANS who take it seriously and the TECHNOLOGY that allows for repeated and convenient viewing? What the holy frak is he thinking?
As a viewer i never watch this show,But by calling us Saps,why the hell can't he come up with something better then the Pap that he's been force feeding us. And he can kiss my Vorlon A*S. GTO

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