JOINING WITH THE HEROES: TIM KRING & KRISTEN BELL ON HEROES' NEW FACE

[MattBrady]

by Troy Brownfield

Not “a long time ago”, she used to be Veronica Mars; now she’s the newest addition to NBC’s Monday hit, Heroes, and Kristen Bell brings a sharp wit and a loyal fanbase with her. But what precisely was it about the project that drew the in-demand actress to this world of conflicted protagonists and brain-stealing villains? On a conference call with her and Heroes creator Tim Kring, Bell held forth on her choices and her fans while Kring addressed some of the larger issues surrounding the saga.

For Bell’s part, joining Heroes was an easy decision. She said, “I was a huge fan of the show; I watched it from the premiere episode and joked with the writers that Heroes was the water cooler conversation on the Veronica Mars set . . . I think it was , I certainly put feelers out there during [San Diego] Comic-Con with the secret hopes that one day I could be a part of [the show] . . . It was ultimate flattery when they came forward and said we might have something for you to do.”

Kring noted, “The character was created before we cast Kristen . . . We’d be thinking about the character for a while… but when you do cast an actor with personality like Kristen has, you start to tailor [the part] to the actor.”

Leaping into the show after a three-year run on Veronica Mars wasn’t that hard for Bell. She explained, “There was anxiety and nerves, but nothing about it has been hard. They are some of the nicest people I have really ever worked with. [It’s] not just an excellent show, but really fun to be a part of.”

Bell also supplied an apt analogy: “Every time you join a different show, it’s kind of like switching schools . . . “Is everyone going to like me?” . . . This was like starting school that my friends already went to.” Bell alludes to actors like Zachary (Sylar) Quinto, whom she’s known for ten years, and Hayden Panettierre, with whom she shared a New York agent when the indestructible cheerleader was a mere eight years old.

Kring echoes this sentiment, saying, “It should be noted that there were all these common relationships . . . she was kind of already part of the family by the time we cast her.”

Following up on the notion of family among the cast, Kring sells the fact that the central tent of the show is really the tapestry of interrelation. He says, “On our show, the sort of secret of the show is that it really is about the relationship and the characters, so we try to filter things through that idea. Things morph and become different as you watch . . . Nobody is really who they seem to be. . . . In terms of West and Claire, there’s lots of questions that the audience has . As for Monihder, Matt and Molly we sort of wanted to do our version of My Two Dads, a sort of domesticated life for these two characters that we saw circling each other all last year. [One] interesting thing is the joining of characters that didn’t [connect much] last year, like Suresh and HRG.”

As for how Bell’s character, Elle, connects to the mythology of the show, she’s eager to elaborate. She says, “Elle has connections to Noah and Claire; there will be an interesting relationship between her and Claire . . . She also has ties to Suresh.”

In terms of attitude, Bell gleefully explains, “She doesn’t have many boundaries; she’s a little messed up in the head. She very much enjoys her [super] power and the emotional power it gives her over other people.”

Kring actually parts with a bit more info, allowing that “ [Elle] is tied to this company that we’ve talked about for the last year of the show. Elle’s character was actually raised within the company, and in some ways it’s a cautionary tale of [people] living with the powers their whole lives.”

Check back tomorrow for Bell and Kring on “fan frustration” vs. long-term plotting factor, Bell’s relationship with her fans, and how involved a certain actress might be interested in being with a Veronica Mars comic. Bell’s first episode of Heroes debuts on NBC next Monday, October 22nd.

[McNasty]

What a beautiful woman.

[GohanWinner]

Looking forward to seeing her on Heros.

[K-DoG7p7]

Originally Posted by McNasty

What a beautiful woman.

Yes.. and if Nolan ever bring harley quinn into his batman movies.... well.. shes perfect :P
(and she said she is willing to kill for the part .. so even better :P)

[Marius665]

it seems like this season they keep adding more and more characters

[greenflameuk]

Originally Posted by McNasty

What a beautiful woman.

Really?...I've see her in the preview for next week's heroes, and i've seen the odd picture here and there, and i fail to see what the big deal is.

[Prof. Acid]

Originally Posted by Marius665

it seems like this season they keep adding more and more characters

They're trying to compensate for the fact that the show has hit a brick wall, I guess. Last week's episode had the worst ratings in the show's history. People are jumping ship.

[s*p rules]

Originally Posted by Marius665

it seems like this season they keep adding more and more characters

I agree, and it's not a good thing, especially in episodes like last night when we didn't hear from Hero or Peter at all. And I'm already bored with the mexican wonder twins; please let Sylar kill them off quickly.

[Marius665]

They need to focus more on the cast from the first season, and now Mikah's cousin has (Taskmaster) lika abilities? The new characters are getting way out of hand. Something tells me we're not done seeing more new characters in this season.

[theNameless]

It's going to be weird to see Bell on a show where she's not the lead. She has such a.....lead-y characteristic. Oy.

And the show only has 4 new characters so far (soon to be six)....yeah thats a bit much. Especially since the original line-up is already at 12. Werent they supposed to do a mini-series/spin-off to try out the new characters before introducing them to the main storyline?

I honestly cant see how the healing samurai and little miss flash-reflex made the cut.

I love the twins though Such a cool power.

[ddsave]

I hope they leave her character's story open-ended so she can join the regular cast after postive response I'm expecting from the viewership.

[Marius665]

Originally Posted by theNameless

It's going to be weird to see Bell on a show where she's not the lead. She has such a.....lead-y characteristic. Oy.

And the show only has 4 new characters so far (soon to be six)....yeah thats a bit much. Especially since the original line-up is already at 12. Werent they supposed to do a mini-series/spin-off to try out the new characters before introducing them to the main storyline?

I honestly cant see how the healing samurai and little miss flash-reflex made the cut.

I love the twins though Such a cool power.

the spin-off starts in the spring, the female out of the twins, her powers remind me of the black oil in the X-Files

[Clem]

I've never really understood the attraction of Kristen Bell.

I'm not saying she's a bad person or anything, she just doesn't register on my radar at all. Veronica Mars seemed silly and she kinda creeps me out.

Just don't tank Heroes and i've got no problems.

[newfoundma]

Kristen Bell got me to give Heroes another shot. I still don't like it and think it is grossly overrated, but for her I will watch. Seriously, I love Veronica Mars, but there were some clunky scripts and she still made every scene she was in sing. I have absolutely loved her in everything I have seen her in (Pulse, Gossip Girl, Reefer Madness). Kristen Bell can do no wrong.

Also, Zachary Quinto's stupid hot self doesn't hurt.

[shadowchaser]

the season is great so far....but i can't stand the mexican emo twins...enough with the sobbing geez...hope sylar kills them off, that would be a wicked power for him to have...

west can't be trusted either, how come he pinpoints out of all girls in a high school, claire...he works for the others

[Robot H Brian]

Originally Posted by Prof. Acid

They're trying to compensate for the fact that the show has hit a brick wall, I guess. Last week's episode had the worst ratings in the show's history. People are jumping ship.

Keep believing that if you think the antiquated Nielsen research methods accurately reflect the viewing habits of America (especially tech-savvy genre fans), circa 2007.

Nielsen "families" are only in the system for five years. All these numbers tell us is that some Heroes-watching households are no longer in the survey, and they've been replaced by households who aren't watching the show. And research the huge bump the show got in these ratings when "live-plus-seven" numbers were added, not to mention viewings on www.nbc.com (which is how I watch it).

As far as I'm concerned, the show is slowly establishing the characters and situations and will gradually weave them together, exactly like it was done a year ago (rewatch the first three episodes of last season if you think it started off with a bang).

It reminds me of how they do it on The Wire. Don't get me wrong — The Wire is art while Heroes is merely a well-crafted sci-fi show, but both reward viewer patience. I'm giving 'em mine.

[KyleV]

Clem said: I'm not saying she's a bad person or anything, she just doesn't register on my radar at all. Veronica Mars seemed silly and she kinda creeps me out.

Everyone's entitled to their opinion, I just wanted to say that I've never heard anyone describe Veronica Mars like that before.

Just interesting. I can't think of a show that's LESS "silly." But I guess it depends on what you saw (and even then I'm not sure, but I guess different people see things differently).

[Hulksmash100]

This season has just been a massive trainwreck since it began. It's as if the writers came into the season w/ no plot prepared.... the new cast's acting is substantially worse than any of the members of the Season 1 cast. The south american brother sister duo is some of the worst acting I've seen on any show in the last 2 years... & their story is even less interesting than their acting is bad. (Ok the sister is much worse than the brother, at least his accent sounds slightly legitimate!)

The scene's w/ West & Claire watch like something off of the Disney Channel w/ out barf bags included. Nathan's beard looks like it was made at Johnny Rotten's local costume shop out of Mole fur. Super Fake!

Overall, I've just been completely deflated by the limp start that this season has experienced. Last night's was slightly better only b/c we've got Sylar on the move again & most of the dialogue rang a little truer for once.... I'm just praying that it's only a REALLY SLOW build that's preventing it from being as captivating as Season 1 & that the writer's / directors will really hit their stride w/ this season in the next 2-3 eppy's. Otherwise, you can count me out of the 15 million & dwindling viewership.

que sera sera

[newfoundma]

Originally Posted by greenflameuk

Really?...I've see her in the preview for next week's heroes, and i've seen the odd picture here and there, and i fail to see what the big deal is.

I think that Kristen is stunning, but can also pull off girl-next-door. But I really think that a lot of her appeal is in her presence. She is just very alluring in everything she does. And she even seems cool in interviews, just coming off as fun and perky and totally oblivious to how smoking she is.

[I-Ching]

I love's me some Kristen Bell.

Kristen Bell is sorta like Sarah Michelle Gellar, circa early Buffy, but with charm, more talent.

Mark my words folks...she's the next IT Girl.

I never thought of the Harley Quinn thing before, but yeah, she'd be great...I kinda see her nabbing the lead role if they ever make feature film version of 'I Dream of Jeannie'.

[GohanWinner]

The second seasn did start off kind of slow, but yesterday's episode started to move the several plots along, and even threw in some good surprises. The first season didn't really start off much faster.

I agree, and it's not a good thing, especially in episodes like last night when we didn't hear from Hero or Peter at all.

There were episodes last season where various characters didn't show up. But usually it was Niki's story that got the cut so no one really cared as much. I like that they're letting the two most popular characters take a back seat as they flesh out the rest of the cast that is, primarily, very strong.

Sadly, I have to agree that most of the new additions are very boring. I really don't care about the Mexican duo or Micah's extended family.

[CodeGuy]

They've introduced characters, but they've also gotten rid of some of the characters from last season.

DL is deal. Claire's friend from Texas was left behind in the move to California. Matt's wife is gone. Hiro's dad is dead now. Eve died partway through last season. Plus a few other supporting characters have been left behind.

They might have a few more characters than last season had, but not by much. I think the main reason we didn't see any of Hiro or Peter in this episode is that they're spending more time on the other threads. So instead of having 7 threads that all get 7 minutes in an episode, they had 5 threads that each got 10 minutes and we'll see more of the other threads in later episodes.

Oh, and I liked Taskmaster-girl.

[newfoundma]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s93j1wm2PLY

The focus of the promo for one of TV's most watched show was Kirsten Bell last night. I am so excited for her!

[darrenmdr]

Originally Posted by Robot H Brian

Keep believing that if you think the antiquated Nielsen research methods accurately reflect the viewing habits of America (especially tech-savvy genre fans), circa 2007.

Nielsen "families" are only in the system for five years. All these numbers tell us is that some Heroes-watching households are no longer in the survey, and they've been replaced by households who aren't watching the show. And research the huge bump the show got in these ratings when "live-plus-seven" numbers were added, not to mention viewings on www.nbc.com (which is how I watch it).

As far as I'm concerned, the show is slowly establishing the characters and situations and will gradually weave them together, exactly like it was done a year ago (rewatch the first three episodes of last season if you think it started off with a bang).

It reminds me of how they do it on The Wire. Don't get me wrong — The Wire is art while Heroes is merely a well-crafted sci-fi show, but both reward viewer patience. I'm giving 'em mine.

I really really don't understand the point of T.V ratings anymore. They don't cover downloads, streaming or even recording a show digitally or on a tape. I never watch any of my favourite shows "live", preferring to watch them when I get some quiet time so I can enjoy them.

Totally agree with the patience thing, So far every question posed gets an answer in Heroes and the stories have beginnings middles and ends and then a new story starts.

[JLAJRC]

I'm just amazed they referenced "My Two Dads." I thought I was the only one who remembered that show.