"Or maybe people have just gotten tired of the show, not because of any massive drop in quality but just because they're watching other things, not into sci-fi as much anymore, or don't want to follow another show with a continuing storyline and a lot of characters."

Ah, no. People have gotten tired of the show because of a massive drop in quality. Or more specifically, a massive drop in Season 2 which has not been significantly or sufficiently addressed in Season 3. Characters are shallow, change their motivations at the drop of a hat, and charge off half-cocked with such frequency that their failure to die from their actions is becoming laughable. Plotlines are predictable, cliche-ridden, and inane. I have spoken the exact line of dialogue that was about to be said aloud on more than one occasion. How anyone can watch Season 1 and then Seasons 2 and 3 and not see a change in quality flabbergasts me.

Sorry but I'm not with ya Bob. I think the quality has dropped to a massive degree. The show no longer takes any time to focus on well paced and dramatic story telling. It just jumps all over the place shooting with out consideration of a solid narrative or a logical progression. The writers put out situations that the main characters would never find themselves in. The Mohinder I've come to know never would have injected himself with powers. He wouldn't have played god like that. Also his entire storyline is a terrible rip off of The Fly with Jeff Goldblum. The scene where Mohinder is climbing on the walls and then peeling his skin off in the bathroom are almost shot for shot exact duplicates of scenes from that movie. Sylar never would be tempted by a good side. He is someone who had a chance to change in season one, when learning of his fate at destroying NYC, but in the end he embraced his villainous destiny. Even in season 2 when he had lost his powers he still continued to scheme and murder. The idea that he could settle down with a kid and become a good person is an insult to everything that character has come to be in the last two seasons. It's a terrible disservice to one of the best villains in television history. Hiro stabbing his best friend Ando?! Claire has never been more annoying. Peter turning into the new Sylar?! It was specifically mentioned in season one by Charles that Peter is destined for goodness when Charles spoke of Peter's ability for unconditional love. Don't get me started on the Nathan born again christian storyline. The biggest problem is that the show is taking our favorite heroes and villains and switching their roles. I'm growing annoyed by former heroes that are now becoming villains and by former villains that now might be becoming heroes. The show has gotten us invested in who these people were and now to suddenly switch it all around...it's just no longer the show that many of us loved anymore. This season is dividing the fans. Obviously some people still love it but apparently many of the fans, like myself, feel a little betrayed by the shows new direction. As long as things end as they should and once again Sylar is the villain and Peter along with the rest of the gang are heroes I think the fans that have stopped tuning in may return.

For me it's the bad writing that has me reprogramming my Netflix queue. While the show is about people with super powers, you can't flip the characters around in a five minute segment just to fit them into the new title, "Villains". Take Hiro for example, he spends two seasons becoming the mature "Samurai Hiro", only to start the third season as the same stupid kid he was in episode one. Even Sylar, whose acting is so good you can sort of suspend your disbelief of him transitioning to a "good guy", is written all over the place. I'd say hire some of the writers from recently finished Battlestar Galactica if you can get them.

I was surprised that Heroes got such high rating in the 1st place. I like the show but thought that it would be to niche for general TV audiences.

I believe there are several factors in the rating slide for Heroes.

1. Obliviously the writers strike handicapped the 2nd season momentum and interrupted the follow of the show some.

2. Other shows might be stealing viewers.

3. Some people are watching through other means. I've been watching the show online especially since they have placed a lot clues and extra there. And I guess some people are DVR/Tivoing the show for later.

I think the writers should focus on bringing some of the online Comic Books stories to the TV show. Some of the those stories help to move the tv show story better. If your just watching the show some things get lost, but when you read the comic books some of the tv stories starts making sense.

Great, 2 of the best shows around.

Heroes so far this season has gotten back to the feel of season 1 after season 2's rambling mess.

Chuck is great! He empowers all of us "Nerd Herders". :)

I can't believe that shows like this are doing poorly while the dreks of network television drone on and on. i.e. "Survivor" (which really needs to change it's name to "Popularity Contest"), House ( "Let's kill the patient with science for 45 minutes and then guess at a cure in the final 2 scenes") , etc, ad nauseum.
NBC really needs to kill Knight Rider before they kill off either of these two shows. KR is a train wreck! I do enjoy the gratuitous disrobings and sexual innuendo of the hotties on the show, but the scripts and acting are horrendous!

I tell ya, I'm loving Chuck this season. The show has really hit it's mark. Chuck is becoming more proficient, the Chuck/Sarah relationship is moving along, the Buy More crew is crazier than ever but I agree the show needs more BALDWIN.

Heroes, on the other hand...well lets say I stopped watching it. It's a mess. The writers are crap, the cast is crap, the producers are triple crap and the head of the show (Tim Kring) is an idiot. Last year he publicly stated that he had heard the criticism and was going to use the writers strike created break to "fix" the show. Instead he added more cast (the biggest criticism was the cast was too big), more storylines and brought even more people back from the dead. He didn't learn a thing and "fixed" the show by making season 3 worse than season 2.

Any show that relies on the "theory of maximum stupidity" is doomed to fail. The TOMS states that the when every character has to be a moron in order for the plot to move forward, your show is crap. That's what Heroes is.

i think we all should just enjoy the ride, because what u gonna do, watch those stupid reality shows.

Betwen the election news and Monday Night Football... I'm DVR(ing) Heroes and Chuck. I like Heroes... its hit a bump, but I expect to bounce back.

The biggest reason I stopped watchin Heroes? (Sorry haven't read every comment yet), Too many new characters added for no real reason I could see to develop any plot line.

It was just like Nikki and Paulo on LOST---Good for the eyes, bad for the story.

Completely agree with you Bob, this season of Heroes isn't as bad as people say it is. Sure it has it's hokey elements--Sylar and Bennet as a buddy cop team, and everyone under the sun with powers, but like you said it has never been a grounded show.

This is the same kind of stuff Heroes has always done, they are not trying to reinvent the wheel, they are just making good and entertaining episodes of Heroes.

So suspend your disbelief people, just sit back and enjoy some top notch primetime network television and try not to forget that's what it is.

If you're looking for a show with subtlety watch Mad Men it's freaking awesome.

Also Chuck is one show that is much better than it's first season so those ratings boggle me.