Attending a recent screening of Dr. Horribles Sing-Along Blog, I heard Joss Whedon voice a very controversial pronouncement: No one can save 'Heroes!'

Though, in his defense, he was provoked into such a response only after first being asked if Dollhouse is canceled, would he consider writing for Heroes.

While Joss may have meant to be flippant, those harsh words have been echoing in my brain. After all, who is he to say such a thing? Joss may be right, but it still seems a dire condemnation of a show that is still on the air and which is seemingly strongly supported by its network. Like any drama, it has highs and lows creatively and, like similarly ratings-challenged genre shows, it struggles to secure and retain a portion of the television viewing audience.

Feeling like the gauntlet had been thrown down, I took up the challenge and watched all of the episodes this season to see if in fact the show is beyond saving. Imagine my surprise then when I found that the show still had all the elements that drew me to it from the beginning. It still felt creative and interesting, and I felt intrigued watching the seven episodes to date.

This caused me to ponder a bit more if I could see what everyone else was talking about. A simple Google search brought up the story, 'Heroes': Five Ways to Fix a Series in Crisis that was written by Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly about a year ago. Although it's a year old, some of the issues the column raised still felt timely: (1) too many heroes, (2) absurd plot twists, (3) over-heightened reality, (4) stale storytelling, and (5) Heroes was too disposable.

Looking back, I am not sure I agree. After all, Heroes not only survived its third season, it is now well into its fourth season. Surely, it must have found its footing somewhere in this past year to have made it this far. But, to be fair, due consideration should be given to each issue raised.

Are there too many heroes? Looking back over the past four seasons, we met more than 45 heroes, only 12 of which have been regulars and another 10 were significant enough to readily recall as well.

The regulars included: Claire (the cheerleader who can regenerate), Noah (Claires father), Hiro (time-traveler and teleporter), Ando (Hiros trusty sidekick with the power of amplification), Matt (the mind-reading cop), Peter (the empath), Nathan (the flying man), Angela (the precognitive dreamer), Tracy/Niki (the stripper with super strength/the lobbyist with freezing capabilities), Mohinder (the scientist who turned himself into a bug-like creature with super strength) and Sylar (the watchmaker who figured out how to steal others abilities).

The other prominently featured heroes have been Daphne (the speedster), Samuel (the carnival master with the power of terrakineseis and who uses ink as a weapon), Elle (who had power of electricity), Monica (the mimic), D.L. (Micahs dad who could walk through walls), Maya (the girl with the ability to poison everyone nearby with oozing black goo), Isaac (the prophetic painter), Adam (the Japanese warrior who could not die), Micah (the rebel kid who can talk to machines) and the Haitian (who can erase memories).

And honorable mention goes to: Meredith (Claires mom, the firestarter), Linderman (the collector who had the power to heal), Ted (the human nuclear bomb), Bishop (Elles dad who could turn things into gold), Alejandro (Mayas brother who could stop her poisonous anger), Maury (Parkmans dad with mind-control abilities), West (the flying boy), Luke (the kid who could microwave a person), Eric (the puppet-master) and Arthur (Peter and Nathans dad, who could steal other peoples abilties).

Just seeing all the names and remembering what each could do and how they contributed to the arcing storylines, I would hazard to say, that Heroes would not have been Heroes without them. Additionally, with only 12 regulars, the series was enriched by the multiple story arcs interwoven to create the tapestry of the show. It is what keeps the show fresh, inviting and fast-paced.

Addressing next the concern that the show had absurd plot twists, I will concede that it did travel outside the realm of possibility on a routine basis. However, the shows entire premise is outside the realm of possibility. It posits a reality where people develop special abilities, such as telepathy, mind control, self-regeneration, telekinesis and a multitude of other paranormal abilities that do not yet exist or perhaps cannot exist in the world we live in today. It is based on all these extraordinary abilities that the show was conceived and it invited us to enjoy the exploration of these fantastic phenomena with them. It is absurd, but it was fully intended to be. Thus, we should just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Then, as to the accusation that it portrays over-heightened reality, I again refer to my argument above. This is a fantasy show meant to portray a fantastical world where anything is possible. It only makes sense to over-heighten it to exaggerate how amazing or horrific it is. That is one of the creative licenses of dramatic storytelling - especially when entering the realm of science-fiction. This is very much a necessary ingredient for the stories Heroes seeks to portray.

As to the claim of stale storytelling, it is another concession that after a few seasons any show will struggle to keep their storylines fresh, inventive and engaging. Rather than yell, jump the shark at each attempt to revitalize and kickstart a newly introduced character or at the beginning of every new story arc, a viewer must have patience that the story will slowly unfold and develop as it needs to in order to lay the foundation of the story.

One cannot always start a scene with the character jumping off a cliff or facing a loaded gun. Sometimes it makes sense to allow a natural progression in storytelling in order for there to be a momentum to build up toward a climatic moment. There must be reveals that surprise us and keep us guessing as to what else may jump out and change the way we see each character and their relationships to each other.

But, as with any story, there must be moments to breathe, regroup and re-establish the roots of the story as it bends and weaves through a season. It cannot be simply a leap-frog approach to hopping from one adrenaline rush to the next. No, a good story allows breathing room. Heaven forbid we start calling breathing stale.

And last, the premature pronouncement that Heroes is too disposable. Clearly, both the network and fans disagree. Like similar genre shows which have struggled to retain their audience, Heroes has struggled as well. Its average viewership has been 5.5 million viewers, and those are faithful fans who clearly love the show. And in reward for such loyalty and devotion, the network has continued to order this fourth season. Whether it continues beyond this season remains to be seen, but given the passion of the fans and the continuing creative spark of the writers, it is certainly possible.

Now having discussed and discarded the reasons from 2008 on how Heroes could be fixed, I would like to propose a few of my own. After all, this is 2009 (almost on the verge of 2010), and an entire year has passed - a lot has happened in that interim.

First and foremost, Heroes does not provide enough character interaction - and by character, I mean the primary characters. It is essential in any series for the core characters to interact with each other on a regular basis. Otherwise, the storylines just lead outward like a starburst, not connecting.

A truly good television show finds ways to keep its core group together and interconnected. There is a reason a viewer tunes in and keeps tuning into a television show. They are attracted to the characters, they are curious how they react to each other, and want to see how they address common problems and obstacles together.

Like the saying no man is an island, no television series can effectively operate by taking its characters on solo journeys. No one wants to see Sylar out and about on his own, they want to see him lurking on the fringe of each of the core groups' lives. It is only when he is amidst them that the terror is real -- for it is only when
he is within striking distance that the tension level rises and we wait with baited breath.

So this seasons forced isolation of virtually all the characters has led to a disjointed storyline. Each character is handicapped by having to carry their own story arc without the support and interaction of the other characters.

Looking back, two of the most successful and highly rated episodes of the entire series were Homecoming and Company Man in the first season, which was simply because they brought the scattered heroes together to fight a common enemy. There was perhaps no more thrilling moment than when Peter showed up to rescue Claire just in the nick of time in Homecoming.

The trifecta of bringing together Peter, Claire and Sylar in that riveting episode upped the ante of tension - that and the tagline Save the Cheerleader, Save the World became the rallying cry around the globe and glued viewers in front of their television sets.

Another good example was when Noah, Matt, and Ted all came to together in Company Man. It was the gathering of seemingly unconnected individuals in a moment of extreme crisis that brought the viewers together. So the secret to Heroes success is not just great characters and strong writing, it is imperative that the characters be brought together for the magical ingredients to work.

I mean who does not get chills at the sight of Sylar (Zachary Quinto) and Samuel (Robert Knepper) on screen together. Just knowing that they could join forces and reign hell on earth, or turn upon each other and accomplish nearly the exact same thing, is riveting.

Just like viewers do not like to have characters culled from the pack and sent on solo expeditions, neither do viewers like hanging chads. Whether it be a storyline that was dropped or a character that vanished into the ether, it makes viewers feel like they have been toyed with when this happens. It presumes that the audience wont notice that the storyline came to a screeching halt or jumped to another point entirely and never came back, or that we would not notice when a character simply never reappeared again with no explanation.

A few vanishing points have been Mohinders sister and Micah, who is roaming about without adult supervision using the code name Rebel. As for disappearing characters, what on earth ever happened to Monica or Maya.

Heroes needs to play to its strengths. It has fascinating characters that deserve the chance to test their mettle up against one another and to not be left adrift on their own. It also needs to respect its audience by not taking it down the primrose path and then pretending it did not exist. It simply needs to work on tighter, more integrated storylines to keep the characters together.

Trust me, the viewers are forgiving, but not that forgiving -- which is perhaps why ratings have slid so significantly from an average of 13 million viewers during its first and second seasons to an average of 6 million viewers for the third and fourth seasons.

Finally, as to the question whether Heroes is dead, I say, No! But I may be the lone voice crying in the wilderness. It is a fun show and it deserves a bit more time to shine and dazzle us all. Dont start fitting it for a coffin yet.