Heroes (television series), Season 1, huge ensemble cast, assorted directors
Just maybe the best new TV series of 2006–2007. I say maybe because I’ve really only seen new shows on NBC—so what? Studio 60, Brothers Donnelly, 30 Rock? Heroes wins. Hands down. A near-perfect-pitch comic book show not based on a comic book. Even the “To Be Continued” at the end of each ep is properly lettered. And on that topic, this is one aspect of the show that makes it stand out: its structure. Like the serial films of old, like some 1950s TV, each episode ends with a cliffhanger. This sort of episodic storytelling is nearly foreign in television today. It adds to the unusual nature of this viewing experience, and it shows a sort of daring on the part of the producers. To watch this show, you have to really watch--devotedly and regularly; one episode missed, and you're lost. In the imagined world of Heroes, some humans have reached the next step in genetic development. They have powers beyond those of mortal men. Sometimes, these powers are mundane; sometimes, they are history-changing. The first season seems to be mostly about discovery (though there is also the mission: to prevent an explosion from devastating New York City): Wow, I have these powers, now what the hell do I do with them? And how in hell do I control them? If I’m counting right, there are nine major characters—yeah, nine, one of them a sidekick. Add the geneticist (and dig the name: Mohinder Suresh; that’s just cool) and the super-powered villain (and a very bad villain he is), mix in the mob boss manipulator, and you have some damned fine serial television for the comic book set. Naturally, I love it. Perhaps not so naturally, so does my wife. Appointment television is back.) From a media perspective, this raises questions of theme and content. This could not have aired successfully even probably five years ago. What has changed that a show of this nature can be such a huge hit? Is its success solely the result of the growing acceptance and profitability of comic book movies in the mainstream? Maybe, but some have pointed recently to the success of TV shows, particularly Smallville, the reimagining of the Superman myth, which tracks Clark Kent/Kal-El in his youth in smalltown Kansas. (For the record, I've seen only the first season of that show, and it was quite good, but very different from Heroes.) I think the success may actually have something to do with themes: at the center of the show is the fact that these superpowered beings are hiding; some are good, and some are bad; what would happen if their existence became known? This is subtext, until the episode that takes our cast five years into the future. By then, their existence has become known to the public, and they are being registered, tracked, and sometimes eliminated by the human government (which is using superpowered being to hunt other superpowered beings). The word "terrorist" is even used--and hence the subtlety is gone, but we often need to be slapped in the face with themes. In this way, the show harks back to the X-Men comics of the mid-1980s, which had at their core issues of racism, prejudice, and questions about combatting those negative elements of human nature. Still thinking about media and its treatment, I'm surprised I haven't seen commentary on the violent nature of Heroes. It is, at base, a comic book, so it's not surprising that violence is often the problem and the solution to the problem. There are parts that are quite bloody, not Saw or Quentin Tarantino bloody--you still can't do that on television--but fairly bloody for network television. (Now that I think about it, the use of blood and gore is probably not above the level of the average Law & Order or CSI episode...) In some cases, might seems to make right, but then there is surprising depth. The internal journey of Hiro Nakamura (who can bend time and space, and whose dialogue and storyline contain much of the humor of the early eps) is about growth, coming of age, facing inner demons and doubts. His is not the "powers for good or evil" conflict faced by so many comic book heroes (cf. X-Men and Spider-Man to name but two); he knows he is a hero, he will be a hero--he just doesn't know quite how to get there. He may well be the moral compass of the show, and he is a marvelous hero for geeks everywhere.
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I watched the pilot of this show on the internet recently. I'm wondering if the box set is really worth it or if I should just netflix it. Or if i should even bother. If i look hard enough, I could probably just watch all of the episodes on the internet but thats still not as good as dvd. Or as legal.
After reading your blog it seems that this show could really expand like other superhero saga's of its type, so it would probably be worth investing in.
Heroes is great. The fact that it's the kind of show where you have to catch every episode to understand what's going on makes it hard to watch on a weekly basis (for me anyway), so I think the DVD set would be more my speed. There are definitely similarities between the issues dealt with in X-Men and Heroes (mostly about acceptance in society.) Also, the episode you talked about (5 years in the future, etc.) is really similar to the ideas behind the X-Men movies.
Definitely a very awesome show.
I have to admitt my first actual taste of comic media was Spiderman, so I automatically compare everything to Spiderman. I did, however, enjoy The Fantastic Four, but I don't think you did. When it comes to super heros I have to like the character, physcially and personality wise. In the Fantastic Four I like the "flaming torch" and "invisible girl". They were brother and sister so their relationship was fun to watch. I liked Spiderman because I like M.J and Peter Parker, I also like the actors. There is no one in Heroes I find absolutly amazing. I like Hayden Petitere and the Hiro Nakamura character, but I just never watch an episode of it. I agree with you that if you don't watch every episode faithfully then you'll be lost. I understand that. I don't know maybe I can find a Heroes's website and read the recaps.
First of all I want to say I think this show is sick. But other than that the new season is already better than last season. So if you can't tell by the way I am writing about this show I totally agree with you about this show. It is extremely well done although it at times is pretty cheezy like in last nights episode, with Claire and the new flyboy going over the city, it looks really obviously fake but hey overall its a kick butt show.
I always thought that these new TV shows about spderman, X-Men, and superman were just trash, but I saw the movie Batman Begins and I thought that the movie was really well done. In a way it is futuristic, and it has the plot of a comic book. I thought that movie was done and played out exteamly well. I thought I would never like a movie like that, but I was pursuaded pretty easily.
I usually don't watch TV except for "Lost" and the occasional "CSI" episode. After reading about the comments posted by Mr. B and the rest I may have to add this to my list. Good shows are always in short supply to me because I have such stringent requirements for my TV. If this lives up to all the comments and the fact that both Mr. B and the students agree it is worth watching, means it can be enjoyed by a spectrum of age groups. Really cool. I'll be looking into it.
I agree with Ben he said exactly what i think. Because that show is kick butt. Zach why would you care if you did anything that is illegal wouldn't be the first time you did any thing illegal. You don't really care about anything illegal you noob but overall this show is really amazing. I love it and think that Zach should definitely watch all the episodes because I know of lots of people who watch this so if you want to be in the loop with us cool people.
I haven't ever watched the show, but I suggest that diggity rent the first disc from Netflix, and if he likes it, go for there. If you think it is really good, buy it, and if you are curious about the rest of the season, rent it from a video store. The problem with Netflix, although I like it, is that whenever you rent a TV show, you only get one disc at a time. It is a major pain in the butt, because you finish the disc and want to watch more, but you have to wait another two days to get the next DVD. If you rent it from a store, you can get all the discs at once.
I also would like to watch this show, because it sounds good, and superhero shows are almost always good.
Hey Tim, if there's a Blockbuster store nearby, I'd suggest signing up for their system or whatever you would call it. It's sort of like Netflix in the sense that you can rent movies from online and get them in the mail, but when you're finished with the disc you can just bring it to your local blockbuster and get your next DVD right then. Definitely cuts down on waiting time, although it's Blockbuster and I'm not a particularly big fan of them.
And yeah, I'd say it's about time superhero's are getting the shows they deserve, and not so much garbage (Lois and Clark comes to mind.)
Diggity, if you like superhero shows or series with a conspiracy edge, and if you're the type of person who buys DVDs sight-unseen, go ahead and buy it. (I'm not one of those peope; I'd Netflix something first. Always.) JD, I too was surprised that so many students agree with me on this one--or perhaps more to the point, that I agree with them. ; ) As for Blockbuster, bene, well, I try to avoid it. I understand that BB has an Internet service like Netflix's, but of course, they don't have the selection that Netflix has. In any case, Diggity--Happy Viewing!
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