I know we're all gonna have differing opinions on everything, but really? It hasn't been three years in the Heroesverse. The math has been done countless times in the past few weeks on how much time has progressed on the show (not counting futures that never happened of course), and it usually adds up to about a year and a half.

Now, they're telling us it's been three years. Sure, that would make sense if it had actually been three years, but it wasn't. Nothing is really changed with the fact they ignored the amount of time progressed, but really? Come on Writers, don't forget your own timeline!

Sure, some people will come out and just say that they changed up the timeline to a course of events rather than a set space of time that has passed. That's all well and good, but why even mention dates in the first place then? Really, this just feels sloppy to me and could have been avoided completely.

Flame, agree, disagree respectfully, or just ignore my topic all you like, but comments are welcome and a discussion is wanted!

it could have been a few months or a year or more since the end of season 3, we really dont know

Can you please explain how it has not been three years? Clearly for those of us who are poor at math, thanks.

Yeah, I thought was weird when I saw that. Heroes and attention to continuity aren't exactly things that go hand-in-hand.

On a similar note, Sylar not killing Charlie changes a lot. Without her ability, he's vulnerable to the Haitian whammy and should be an amnesiac in the timeline around "Fallout".

yes its been 11 months (within a couple of days). I am sure they just used the three years ago thing because for some people it might have been confused since the time frame of this episode is in 2006. Additionally the shows first season aired in 2006, So three years ago our time but 11 months ago (heroes time) is still 2006.

Wait, I am confused. When did her power come in handy for him? Besides all the times he used to to make things easier.

I didn't find myself caring. The episode overall was good enough for it to not distract from it as a whole, and the exact timeline has never really bothered me anyway. Some of you are more exact than I am however

It doesn't matter, because what happened to Claire being grounded from Homecoming? I could have sworn that the day before Homecoming she cut class to go see her real mom. Noah actually stated, "Can't a dad watch his daughter cheer at Homecoming?" NO HE CAN'T, because he grounded her from going to the game!!

The saving of Charlie is way more than a single incident as Sylar would not have been able to drive a semi to get to Zane.

Huge screw up tonight.

maybe she cuts class AFTER lunch?


Yyeeaaahh..

They told us at the beginning of this season that it's been Six (6) weeks from the end of season 3 to the start of season 4.


It's been three years OUR time, as in the show started in 2006 and it is now currently 2009.

As for the show itself, it's only been about 11 months, a little under a year.

Season 1 - Lasts from October 1st to November 8th. A little over a month.

Season 2 - Starts 4 months after the explosion above New York on November 8th. No definite time is given, but the general consensus is that Season 2 only lasted a few weeks.

Season 3, Volume 3 - Starts immediately after Season 2 ends, picking up right at the point when Nathan is shot. Again, this volume lasts for a few weeks.

Season 3, Volume 4 - Starts up, iirc, a month or two after Volume 3 ends. Again, a few weeks (or perhaps a month or two) goes by while the events of the story play out. The Volume ends and our Heroes return to their normal lives.

Season 4 - Begins Six (6) weeks after the events of Season 3 come to a close.

All in all, this does not add up to three years.

I did a timeline of Villains. It takes place in just over a week. And yes, Req, I've done the math too. You are correct, the writers have ignored their own timeline. :/

Claire didn't meet her real mom until after Homecoming, and she wasn't grounded until later that night. No Error.

Yeah she was grounded for punching Jackie, as Zik pointed out

Good point, he's trying to protect her by making sure she didn't go to homecoming...

Didn't they mess up in V3 when they tried to attatch HRG/Elle's messing with Sylar into a S1 moment, when Sylar was already established with multiple kills by the time S1 started...

i feel like on a show like this, as much as it may make some people mad me saying this, i feel like the timeline really doesnt matter.
heroes isnt a show like lost, that focuses on time and the timeline and whatnot, its more on character development, and if they make a few screwups in the timeline, it doesnt hurt the integrity of the show, it may upset a few die hard fans, but the story and the characters are all still there

Well, as much as I don't like it, Elle and HRG got to Sylar before he ever started killing. He was going to commit suicide for killing Brian Davis and taking his ability. Elle and HRG "saved" him and then gave him a new power by bringing another Special to his apartment. Thus, Sylar began to kill more and more people for their abilities, essentially because of everything Elle and HRG did...

I love the show and all, but geez louise...


That's very true. It's a valid point!

The only problem is that it seems like the writers just ignored their own work. They didn't even decide to go back and double check to see if what they wrote was right. It would have taken a few seconds to go and look at the timeline pages of Heroeswiki.com (a site that NBC puts their faith in, I believe) and see what the timeline was. Here's a link:

http://heroeswiki.com/Portal:Timeline

Just peruse the timeline and check everything out. All they had to do was go and double check everything. Instead, it seems that they blatantly ignored the past and slapped a number on the episode, thinking it would be okay.

But, like you said, it's possible that it doesn't really matter. In all honesty, it doesn't really matter, but still. They could have done some things better, even if it's something little like double checking their own canon.

Req I would bet a lot of money that they have someone who's job it is to check the facts. Whether or not they choose to over write somethings for the sake of the story, that is their personal choice. I don't agree with it, but it doesn't make it a cheap mistake.

(newbie first post ) I'm a bit confused, if Noah knew about "Gabriel", then he knew about Sylar, right? I mean, he did know that he ended up creating the Sylar monster, right?

If that's the case, why did he tell Isaac that no one knew how Sylar looked? Unless of course, Noah never saw Gabriel, and only Elle did...or if Noah never connected Gabriel to Sylar until after homecoming...

Did I miss something?

I'm really just referring to the time that he was in captivity at Primatech. Perhaps it's not entirely canon.

http://heroeswiki.com/Mental_manipulation#Notes

I don't think Noah knows that Gabriel is Sylar as of 2006.

In the graphic novel "Road Kill", Sylar used Charlie's ability to quickly memorize a truck operation manual.

Cheap mistake or not, it's still a mistake that didn't have to be made. It's a mistake that could have been avoided easily. Had they just made it to where things really had progressed over three years (which they didn't), I wouldn't be complaining. If they had said that the time between S3 and S4 was big enough to = 3 years total time elapsed within the Heroesverse, I would be completely fine with it. Sure, that seems like quite a bit of time between the two seasons, but I could let that slide.

The point is that they didn't make time stretch out over the course of three years. It has not been three years. They could have done plenty of stuff to make it all work right in our heads, but they didn't. They simply told us that Charlie's death and Homecoming, everything in S1 for that matter, was all three years ago when, in fact, it was not. They just had us accept the truth that it had been three years and not roughly less than a year.

Like I've admitted, it doesn't really mean much. So what if they've changed the timeline so that it fits better with the amount of time that's passed? So what if we don't have to pay attention to any cues they give us on the real amount of time that has passed?

It's not a big deal, but it still would sit better with me had they given us real reason to believe it's been three years, It hasn't been three years. That doesn't sit well with me. Does it change my view of the show? Not in the least. For critics though? They'll take this bit of info and shove it down people's throats, furthering their case that Heroes has "shoddy writing."

It just sucks that this small mistake could have been avoided/addressed. Now, it's just fuel for all the haters out there. :/

I think all of Hiro's meddling should've had a few more ripples than shown, and it would've benefited the show to see them tonight.

For god sakes, drop the random, pointless Claire/Noah/Blonde Girl clearly from Season 4 storyline and focus on Hiro, Sylar, Charlie and Samuel. Claire and Noah should've gotten a mention, of course, as this whole thing was set during the pivotal Homecoming event...but you've got a past Hiro, a past Ando, and a Sylar with future information (albeit vague) and the knowledge of a face he would question later on during "The Hard Part". That should've had some effect on those events, as he knows Hiro due to this mucking about.

They could fix this on the DVD (which I hope they do). As a video editor and a fan of this show I am shocked that such a simple mistake did not get fixed before airing.

also, didn't the cheerleaders hate her at this point for getting rid of their quarterback? and then claire won homecoming queen over jackie, making her really ****** off? and then she punched out jackie for calling zack gay?
in claire's scene, she and the cheerleaders seemed totally cool with eachother.
I'm a tad confused.

One could chalk it up to simply face value. The cheerleaders were going to make an appearance to the opposing team and everyone had to be there, so they just "toughed it out" and all went. Claire just happened to be with them.

Who knows?

Blatant disregard. It started before tonight. First there were some dates on the chalkboard in a carnie tent in the premiere that said "2009" and we just kinda joked that someone messed up. Then we saw Jeremy Greer's profile on Noah's laptop that listed his birthday as being in 1992 and last week Noah called him a "seventeen year old kid."

I agree that it's a huge mistake, but the writers have just decided to bring us into the present. Or maybe season 2 took a reeeaaallly long time?

The timeline makes sense if you look at it through 'clairevision':
2006-2007: Junior year of high school
2007-2008: Senior year, drops out
2008-2009: year off, gets GED
Fall 2009-current: First year of college

To some degree, those events have to happen. There's no way the [current timeline of the] Heroes universe can be any shorter than 3 years.



Graphic Novels are not considered official parts of continuity. The book "Saving Charlie" fits into this category as well.

Had it happened like this, I would be fine with it all, but it didn't happen like that. I would have been fine with it all had they stretched out the timeline, made a nod to everyone and said, "Hey, fyi, we made things move up to a total of three years instead of the 11 months we had going before! Just letting you all know!"

Instead, they just made the switch without letting people know. They did everything they did and kept it a secret and then just hoped people wouldn't notice that, hey! It's suddenly the year 2009 in the Heroesverse! Well schucks, that can't be right, can it!?

While I agree, everything in Claire's life up to this point makes sense if the three years had gone by like they want us to believe, but really? It just seems like they didn't want to try at all and just took shortcuts to get the stories they wanted. It's sad really.

I'm not going to do the whole "I'm a fan of the show, but it sucks now!" punchline. In all honesty, I think the show is doing very well. I may have my own opinions here or there about how I would have liked things to go, but I never really get too angry about stuff that happens. But, when I see a blatant disregard for the story like this, I can't help but be somewhat miffed about it. Honestly, it is ridiculous and utter nonsense for them to just think we'll believe it's been three years when it hasn't actually been that long at all!

But, once again, all it comes down to is whether or not you care. If you're a diehard fan, like me, you probably won't like what's happened. If you're a casual fan, it probably won't affect you too much. (Disclaimer: I don't deal in absolutes. I'm sure there's a diehard fan out there who doesn't care about this problem as I'm sure there's a casual fan out there who is appalled that they would make such a mistake like this.)

GNs have always been considered 100% canon, going all the way back to S1 with Hanah's stories and the War Buddies arc.

please please please please let's not have that argument? There is a thread about it. I'm sure it can be found in the archives. Take it there. For the love of everything holy, take it there.

i'm not bothered by it. the show has made your math wrong as of this episode, just deal with it. it's not important to the story. it is insignificant.

Abandon all hope of a cohesive timeline, yee who enter the graphic novel zone.

Claire was not grounded for cutting class to go see Meredith at Homecoming; she was grounded for socking Jackie the day of Homecoming. Claire and Zach cutting class took place a few weeks later after Zach's mind wipe.

Ahh... so a few hours after this nice heart to heart with HRG she slugs Jackie? Nice.

I get that they probably rounded out the time line to make it less confusing to the overall viewer and not the rabid fans but they should pay closer attention to details like that cause this can spawn a whole "missing 2 years" time hole thing

WHat I'm wondering is - how is Hiro telling Sylar that they all gang up on him to stop him - how does this effect Sylar's actions from this point on? Does he just blindly go down the path he's been following or does the path now change? Does he go to see Issac? Does he even go to Kirby Plaza now?

the three years thing could really be quite simple...

it's been three years for hiro.

he is a time traveller, after all...

It bugs me too, but I agree they probably wanted to tie the show timeline in with real-world time so they wouldn't have to explain why Molly and Micah were ageing so quickly.

My biggest gripe is Matt junior now. Before the timeline alteration, he was my biggest gripe because he had somehow managed to be conceived, born, and turn a year old in the course of one year. Now, after the alteration, he remains my biggest gripe because despite having been conceived in 2006 and born in 2007, he managed to be six months old in 2008 and one year old in 2009...

Maybe he's also a time traveler..

I'm with Aces. Who cares? This whole time issue in no way determines whether or not I enjoy the show. If anything, I think it makes it easier to follow by going along with real time. The reality is, the actors that play these characters age in real time, and the writers probably want to reflect that. Honesly, I don't pay that much attention to all the "six months later", or "six weeks later", subtitles anyway. All I want is a show packed with action, compelling characters, and good story telling. And as far as I'm concerned, Season 4 is delivering big time.

This was a good episode, but timeline-wise, it pulled a divide by zero.

I'm sure I should care more, but I don't. Although you'd think that on a show that involves time-traveling they would try to at least keep things a little more cohesive.

I said it two weeks ago and I'll say it again, instead of considering this episode as ''three years ago'' or ''one year and a half ago'' or whatever, we should see it as ''the day Charlie died''. We shouldn't care as much of the dates, as long as things occurs in a linear manner.

Now, I get that some people don't like the dates issue, but that shouldn't be a big deal! It's the day Charlie died, that's all that matters!

Now, if they messed up with the linearity (like, Sylar having the regen ability already, for exemple), now there'd be a major reason for complaint. But this, this is nothing!

I like this season so far, don't get me wrong. But they really disappointed me with the time-line errors. /cry

THEY CAN'T DO MATH!!

Neither can I. But according to Heroes Wiki, Season 1/2 was 2006. Season 3/4 was/is 2007.

Well if you read the GN her power was key for him to be able to drive a semi lol.

Forgive me if this is posted anywhere else, and I'll be more than happy to move/close/whatever, but I hadn't seen it. One thing that came to mind for me, though:

Six weeks in between the end of season three, and the beginning of season four, aye?

And Mohinder's been dead eight weeks?

. . . Something smells fishy, and I'm pretty sure I didn't bring tuna fish sandwiches for lunch.

In 3x25 "An Invisible Thread", we see Mohinder. Heck, he even tells Hiro that Hiro's dying (see quote):


How could Samuel have killed Mohinder two weeks before he was freed from Building 26, unless the events of season four so far have already lasted for a minimum of two weeks?

The timeline issues aren't enough for me to be THAT mad at the show, but methinks they need to reign it in a bit more.

I think it's safe to assume that a couple of weeks have passed since the beginning of this volume.

After all, if not then Claire has had a really crap first week of college.
I think that her first roomate Annie died on the second or third night, then Claire stayed with her mum for a bit, let's say a couple more days, because the police would have been searching her dorm room and investigating the campus. So that's like four or five days in the first three episodes right there. That's not precise working out, but you get the idea.

I've said elsewhere, but I reckon that Mohinder's death occurs maybe a few days after they burned "Sylar's" body at Coyote Sands. Enough time that everyone has gone their seperate ways and Mohinder has met Samuel and gotten into whatever trouble that leads to his death.

I agree with you. They are on the right time line. They have now given us the time line. 6 weeks began season 4 and now we are a good two weeks into their time frame.

I'm sure a smart guy with IA running for his life could stumble thru driving the truck anyways...