On September 5th, NBC hosted a conference call featuring Zachary Quinto (Sylar) and Tim Kring (creator) of Heroes. When last season of Heroes concluded, Peter, Hiro, and crew successfully halted the release of a deadly virus. However, with the silver lining comes some clouds, as “flying man” Nathan Petrelli was shot down moments before he was to announce to the world his extraordinary abilities. Proving that when it rains, it pours, superbad Sylar also regained his abilities, effectively kicking off the new volume, which will focus on the baddies.
A bit on our interviewees:
Zachary Quinto returns for his third season on the popular NBC program, reprising his role as arch villain Gabriel “Sylar” Gray. As a super powerful serial killer intent with proving that he’s something special, Sylar is the primary antagonist on Heroes. Upon slicing people’s heads open, Sylar has the ability to “digest” his victims’ powers, making him one of the most powerful and dangerous people on earth.
In addition to his role on Heroes, Zachary Quinto will also be starring as Spock in the new Star Trek film. He’s also appeared in series such as 24, so noTORIous, Joan of Arcadia, Charmed, and Six Feet Under.
Tim Kring is the creator, writer, and executive producer of Heroes. He also holds writer and/or producer credits for series such as Crossing Jordan, Providence, and Chicago Hope. In 2007, he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series as the producer of Heroes.
The call kicks off with a brief introduction, promising that this volume, titled Villains, “will explore the nature of good and evil in all of its characters as a dozen villains are unleashed upon the world.” He also reports that the premiere, which airs September 22nd, will be a three-hour extravaganza. At 8:00, NBC will air a Heroes Countdown Special, followed by two back-to-back episodes. I have personally viewed the screener for the first episode of the season, and can attest to its awesomeness.
The first question is for Zachary, wondering if he knew what a big character Sylar would end up being when he first signed onto the show. Zachary answers that he absolutely did not, and that you can’t predict this sort of thing. The next question, also for Zachary, asks about his theater training and how it’s helped with this role and others. Zachary answers that he’s grateful for his theater background, because it allows him to work from a different perspective than what you typically see in Los Angeles. He said his training also helps him understand where a character lives in his body and voice.
The next question is for Tim Kring. The caller wonders what we will find out in the second hour of the season premiere. While the first episode answered many questions, will episode two delve into what went unanswered? Tim admits that some of these questions will linger a little bit, but that by the end of the third hour, most of them will be answered. Tim also says that since they have been off the air for nine months, they didn’t want to drag a lot of the story. They wanted to answer things really quickly so that you could move forward. He promises “95% of the questions that are posed in the beginning of the volume will be answered by the end of the volume.” He also specifies that Villains is 13 episodes long.
Later, in response to the focus of season three compared to season two, Tim Kring reminds everybody that season two was not REALLY their season two, and that many of the elements of season three would have occurred that season had the writers strike not happened. He says “it was like watching a movie and having the projector break 40 minutes into it.” However, the silver lining was that the long time away allowed them to reassess certain things and figure out what needed to be improved.
Another caller asks if there will be any major changes to the storytelling. Tim Kring responds that they really aren’t introducing any new characters that have their own storylines, and that they’re concentrating very much on the core characters. He adds that he doesn’t believe that any character is being focused on more heavily than anybody else. Zachary Quinto echoes this sentiment, saying that, among the actors, there’s never a feeling that one storyline is suffering in favor of another.
Zachary Quinto also confirms that we do find out more about Sylar’s past. He explains, “I feel like Sylar’s evil is rooted in a great humanity and in a lot of smallness, and a feeling of sort of emptiness.” Tim Kring adds, “I see Sylar as someone who is on a very deep, existential quest to find out the meaning of his own existence and where he came from, and what is driving him.” Tim Kring also reveals that Sylar will have a series of very human relationships in this volume.
Later, one caller asks Tim how much he pays attention to what fans are saying and if it ever affects what they do on the show. Kring answers that while he’d love to say it affects what they do, the fact remains that when the premiere episode airs, they’re already shooting the 13th episode. They’re so far ahead that there’s nothing they can really do about fan feedback.
Interestingly, Tim Kring also reveals that the virus story was the real casualty of the writers’ strike. He explains “the second volume of season two was going to be an outbreak story that would last eight episodes…three episodes into that volume we would have found out what happened to Caitlin, and as a result of the writers’ strike that has been sort of a lost part of the mythology of the show that may never return.”
Another caller asks if we’ll see Kristen Bell back this season, to which Tim Kring answers that she will be in the second hour of the first night back. He adds that she is integral and plays a very large part in the entire volume. He further states that “characters that have never really even crossed paths with one another will cross” and that they “will actually have some very unique pairings of characters.”
Zachary Quinto receives another question asking if he can ever see Sylar becoming a good guy. Zachary answers that he doesn’t really see Sylar as being absolutely good or bad, and that he’s always walking a fine line within himself.
Before Zachary Quinto has to excuse himself due to his travel schedule, one caller asks about the “epic battle” that he has with Elle in the second part of the premiere, and what it was like working with Kristen Bell. Zachary answers that he loves working with her, and that it is indeed a pretty epic battle, with some impressive special effects and stunts. At that point, Zachary Quinto must leave.
Tim Kring takes a moment talk about how the fans have reacted to the series. He says, “Clearly the audience is really not very interested in a very…slow build on this show. They want to hit the ground running. And so it gave us a little time to figure out just how to do that and in many ways how to…tell a story without an act one. To start basically in act two.” He also makes an interesting point about the show’s first season. He remembers, “I actually went online just to sort of see audience reaction in season one about eight episodes in…The audience was very frustrated…and had no idea where it was going, and no confidence in us to be able to figure it out. And three or four episodes later when I logged on, suddenly they were all hooked.” He concludes his point by saying, “And so this third season we’ve sort of figure out a way to hopefully avoid that initial frustration that the audience has.”
Later, another caller asks about the benefits of killing off major characters, and if he’s regretted killing anybody off. Tim responds that you have to have some casualties in these high stake stories, otherwise the viewers become very suspicious of whether you ever really mean it when you raise the stakes. He also notes that due to the ability to time travel, nobody is ever really as dead as they seem. He then refers to how they’ve found an interesting way for Linderman to return this season.
Another caller makes an interesting point that I personally was not aware of, which is that Kaito’s ability was revealed in a deleted scene on the season two DVD.
The final question asks Tim if the average viewer will be a little bit left behind without following the graphic novels and additional extended content. Tim answers that the whole idea of these extensions is that they’re an additive to the show. If you simply watch the series, you’ll have a terrific experience and not really need to find out more. But if you want to dig deeper into the show and its mythology, you have the ability to do that.
And with that, the conference call comes to an end.
