We Can Be Heroes

I hadn’t had much chance to peruse the new TV season – I’d been caught up in the film festival (ya, poor me) and I’d not paid much attention to what was on the dial. Lucky for me, new season debuts are scattered all over this month, so I’ve been able to catch a few that may become must-sees.

I stumbled across the premiere of Heroes on Monday, a show that I knew next to nothing about. It follows a group of ordinary people who discover they have extraordinary abilities: they can fly, regenerate and teleport, with more characters and powers to come.

It felt very similar to Lost, in the sense that it was showing multiple characters and storylines that are clearly destined to intersect. It also had characters from India and Japan, which is part of a trend for U.S. shows acknowledging there is a world outside its borders. It has also been influenced by Unbreakable and the X-Men series and is soundly grounded in the comic book genre.

“Every ten year old wishes he had super powers, and I got them,” says Hiro, a Japanese worker from a non-descript cube farm, who has discovered he can manipulate the space-time continuem. He’s right, and not just about ten year olds. I’ve often thought teleportation would be a great power and so much better than flying – none of that tedious getting there business. I’ve also always wanted the ability to turn invisible, but I don’t care to examine the psychological reasons behind that.

Will it be a hit? I don’t know. I watched Invasion last year and watched it get unceremoniously cancelled, but I’m willing to see where this one is headed. You can keep up with Hiro’s blog and read a weekly graphic novel on the official site – more evidence that the web is becoming an interagal part of the television experience.

5 comments:

  1. Working evenings I didn't get a chance to watch Heroes Monday, although I caught it tonight through the miracle of VHS. It looks like it could be interesting, although I find some of the characters' stories more interesting than others. Hiro is my favourite character and I enjoyed Peter and Nathan's story (good to see Adrian Pasdar in a series again, even if it's not Profit). On the other hand, I wasn't that interested in the tale of webcam mom Niki, even if Ali Larter is nice to look at. Anyhow, it is one of the few shows this season that seems to have actual potential.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hiro is going to be the breakout star for sure. He's the only one who gets it. And I completely agree about the webcam mom. What sort of superpower is a homicidal alter ego that kills while you're passed out?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've been hearing a lot of talk about this show and it has been garnering lots of attention on various websites. The concept sounds intersting but I haven't managed to figure out when it's on.

    ReplyDelete
  4. "Heroes" is great and it got some kick-ass ratings last week too, so hopefully it won't go the way of "Invasion." Check out "The Nine" when it premieres this Wednesday. I saw the pilot and was really impressed. And "Veronica Mars" returns tomorrow - yay!!

    -webgrrl

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looks like Heroes is surviving ratings hell but I read that The Nine is dropping off. Arrgh, I think that all shows should be greenlighted for a full season and have to be played no matter what. It would certainly make the networks be sure they have quality on their hands.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe
Google+