Tim Kring is probably best known for being the creative mind behind the popular 'Heroes' television series, as well as it's recent counterpart, 'Heroes Reborn', soon to be released on Blu-ray and DVD on the 9th of May, 2016, courtesy of Universal Pictures. What’s less well known, is that Kring also cut his teeth on some other very familiar TV shows before he conceived the likes of the Petrellis, HRG, and the Haitian. 'Like what?' you may ask? Well, check this out. 
Knight Rider (1986)
It's a little-known fact that most of the men in the eighties wore black leather jackets, sported a perm, and spent the majority of their time talking to their car. What? You don't believe me? Why not? Have you never watched the much beloved 'Knight Rider' TV show, where The Hoff talked to his car, KITT, whilst beating up the bad guys in the process? Now Kring may have only penned one episode for this show, but my God, what an episode it was! In ‘Voo Doo Knight’ we saw the perfectly coiffed Michael go up against a ring of art thieves who used a Voodoo Princess to will their hapless stooges into stealing artifacts without their consent. I mean, what a classic! Who needs Macbeth?
Bay Cove (1987)
Hands up every one who remembers this long forgotten horror... errrr... thing! Go on. Own up. Who of you out there spent the 1980s trawling through the 'Radio Times' for this naff horror nasty starring Tim Matheson (famous for 'The West Wing' and 'Animal House'), plus a plot that's as thin as Kylie Jenner's brain cell. Basically, 'Bay Cove' followed a newlywed couple who try to avoid being enticed into a local coven after they move into... errr... ZZZZzzzzzzzz.
Hands up every one who remembers this long forgotten horror... errrr... thing! Go on. Own up. Who of you out there spent the 1980s trawling through the 'Radio Times' for this naff horror nasty starring Tim Matheson (famous for 'The West Wing' and 'Animal House'), plus a plot that's as thin as Kylie Jenner's brain cell. Basically, 'Bay Cove' followed a newlywed couple who try to avoid being enticed into a local coven after they move into... errr... ZZZZzzzzzzzz.
Teen Wolf Too (1987)
What do you get if you mix together a basketball playing teenager plus a funny looking werewolf that looked like Alf? Answer: You get the first 'Teen Wolf' film starring Michael J Fox. So tell me this, film fans, what do you get if you try and make a sequel to this film, and this time have Jason Bateman playing the lead? Answer: A very disappointed Tim Kring, who wrote the screenplay which simply adhered to the original formula. Tut-Tut-Tut! Naughty-Naughty. Please don't to it again.
Chicago Hope (1996 to 1997)
'Chicago Hope' was a hugely popular medical drama that made household names out of actors like Mandy Patinkin, Hector Elizondo, Adam Arkin, Mark Harmon, and Peter Berg. More importantly, though, this show made households everywhere think they were either doctors or very-very sick. Take Tim Kring's four episodes for example. Never once did he mention hospital waiting lists, the price of penicillin, or the fact that most nurses smell of milk, despite the show running for five years.
'Chicago Hope' was a hugely popular medical drama that made household names out of actors like Mandy Patinkin, Hector Elizondo, Adam Arkin, Mark Harmon, and Peter Berg. More importantly, though, this show made households everywhere think they were either doctors or very-very sick. Take Tim Kring's four episodes for example. Never once did he mention hospital waiting lists, the price of penicillin, or the fact that most nurses smell of milk, despite the show running for five years.
Crossing Jordan (2001 to 2007)
With a cast that included George Clooney's cousin, Miguel Ferrer, 'Crossing Jordan' was a series that followed a tenacious and feisty Boston medical examiner and gave Kring his first ‘created by’ byline. On top of that, it also had favorable fan recognition for its supporting cast, who rooted the show in a way other procedurals often overlook.
With a cast that included George Clooney's cousin, Miguel Ferrer, 'Crossing Jordan' was a series that followed a tenacious and feisty Boston medical examiner and gave Kring his first ‘created by’ byline. On top of that, it also had favorable fan recognition for its supporting cast, who rooted the show in a way other procedurals often overlook.
Heroes (2006 to 2010)
Do I have to write anything here? I mean, honestly? Even though it possessed a very similar pretext to J Michael Straczynski's comic books series, 'Rising Stars', the original 'Heroes' TV show had it all. It had a pretty blonde cheerleader everyone wanted to bang. It had a dysfunctional Italian family that wouldn't stay dead. It had a Haitian, an overweight cop, a couple of funny Asian guys, some good bits, some bad bits, an overcomplicated story-line, secrets, revelations, a circus, a formula, time-travel, that guy from 'A Clockwork Orange', and of course, life, death, and re.... BANG!
Heroes Reborn (2015)
Kring returns to his most richly realized universe for this event-driven series which picks up the story several years after the first one left off. Combining the fates of some familiar faces with those of a host of new ordinary Joes with extraordinary powers, 'Heroes Reborn' also uses his returning cast as support for the new characters, creating a typically compelling mystery along the way. There. And I said that without a hint of sarcasm,
HEROES REBORN arrives on Blu-ray and DVD from the 9th of May, 2016, courtesy of Universal Pictures (UK)
THE KRING OF TV
Reviewed by David Andrews
on
April 20, 2016
Rating:
Reviewed by David Andrews
on
April 20, 2016
Rating:
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