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"Heroes" Series 1 (US and Torrents edition)

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Jared Louderback

06:29 / 25.06.06

Has anyone seen the adverts for this show? It looks fucking rad, like the 4400, but way more superhero-y.

"They thought they were like everyone else... until they woke with incredible abilities. In Japan, a lowly office worker can teleport at will. In New York, a struggling artist can paint the future. In Los Angeles, a discontented beat cop can hear the thoughts of others. Elsewhere, a high school cheerleader discovers she is unbreakable and a single mom realizes she has a powerful alter ego. Heroes chronicles the lives of these people and the lives of others like them – whose destiny just might be saving humankind."

I really, really, really can't wait. The idea of a good superhero show on primetime tv with an actual budget and special effects makes me giddy like... things that are giddy (it's late and my ability to make metaphors is gone).

Ganesh

09:49 / 25.06.06

Hmm, it does sound potentially interesting - particularly if the characters aren't limited to American teens. It'd be nice if it were a little like the Wild Cards universe, with bizarre/useless abilities as well as the more conventional superhero powers.

Yotsuba & Benjamin!

17:22 / 25.06.06

>>with bizarre/useless abilities as well as the more conventional superhero powers.<<

Snoozers!

;D

Hieronymus

18:00 / 26.06.06

It'd be nice if it were a little like the Wild Cards universe

Wow. I thought I was the only soul who read those books. Yeah, if it's anything like that, I'll be happy with the show.

Never did understand why they haven't made a Wild Cards TV series.

MintyFresh

15:44 / 29.06.06

I saw the advert about the cheerleader jumping off a bridge and thought it was some kind of public service announcement about suicide or something. Once I got over the shock of "OMG how can they show this on TV?! NONONO she's gonna die can't look away ARRRRRGH!" and realized that it was an advert for a show I thought it looked pretty cool. I loved the 4400, and this looks to be twice as cool, but I think I really just want to watch the cheerleader get mangled.

Spaniel

The trailer seems promising. All the classic "X-Men" plot elements are there (discovering weird powers, the world's reacton to it, the threat of foreseen impending doom to motivate the characters), but wrapped up in a relistic drama setting.

btw, "realistic drama setting" seem to be the latest trend on TV sci-fi - in shows like Battlestar Galactica, Lost, The 4400, and now this Heroes - as opposed to the old camp style we grew up with - like in Andromeda, Star Trek et al, etc. I like it

PatrickMM

05:01 / 26.09.06

First episode aired tonight in the US. I liked it, despite a few flaws, and it's certainly got potential to grow into something really amazing. The opening crawl would indicate they've got a large overall plan, and that's encouraging. I've got a soft spot for the subject matter, and I'm really hoping they can make this great.

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

16:26 / 26.09.06

Thank Christ they're rerunning the pilot on SciFi on Friday since I missed it.

Hieronymus

19:32 / 26.09.06

*bump* There's an encore presentation tonight so check it out if you missed it Monday.

While most of my attention was drawn to WoW, when I could sneak glances to the tube, this show looked pretty good. Lots of your usual exposition and setup that goes into these things. But like PatrickMM said, the story seems to have a pretty good idea of where it's going.

I'm kind of perplexed though. Who was the guy in the geneticist's cab? The creepy one that made the geneticist run like hell to get away from? I gather he's our villain but what is his history exactly? Did they go into that?

PatrickMM

20:02 / 26.09.06

I believe he's the cheerleader girl's father, and he was also the guy at the geneticist's father's apartment back in India. That's all we know so far, except for the fact that it'll be a lot easier to talk about the show once I learn everyone's name.

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

20:05 / 26.09.06

Can't watch the repeat of the pilot as Gilmore Girls premieres tonight...

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

20:11 / 26.09.06

Ah, and off to BitTorrent I wend my weary way once more...

MattShepherd: I WEDDED KALI!

11:18 / 27.09.06

The first episode was decent, but I'm withholding judgement until they get two or three under their belt. Hiro was a high point, and I'm hoping they go in a good direction with the politician/nurse brothers. Creepy Government Dudes That Look Normal And Suburban is getting to be a tired cliché for me, though.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

12:12 / 27.09.06

Watched most of the first episode last night (before drunken/stonedness made me go to bed)... seemed pretty good, though a little ropey- the script in particular seemed fairly clunky, though not irredeemably so. I could watch it, and take it seriously, but not quite immerse myself in it, if you know what I mean. If the script gets better this could be a top show.

Mouse

15:19 / 27.09.06

Don't know if it's available to UK viewers, but NBC.com has the latest episode (currently the pilot) online. They also do it for Studio 60, and I guess possibly some other shows. If y'all can watch it in the UK on the nbc site, no more need for torrenting the episodes, which in my experience is a royal pain in the backside.

link: http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/

I was a little underwhelmed, but it always takes me a while to get into a new show. I really liked Hiro though, for some reason.

Triplets

16:47 / 27.09.06

With that title they should've given Hiro multiplication powers.

... I'll get me coat.

MattShepherd: I WEDDED KALI!

21:47 / 27.09.06

I really liked Hiro though, for some reason.

I think the producers/writers are savvy enough to know that the massive geek population is going to need a "he is us" hook to get into the series. Hiro is a comic nerd, unpopular with the ladies, and totally psyched about having powers, as opposed to the other cast members, who seem to be mystified or really ticked off about being indestructible and/or flying and whatnot.

makingbombs

05:32 / 28.09.06

I wanted to like this, but the pilot left me pretty cold. Maybe I've been spoiled by what feels like so much great and interesting TV in the last few years because this felt like a show that should've been on late-night TV about a decade ago. Something about the scripting felt very... early 90s. The geek-character was clever and his scenes 'popped' more than others, but otherwise...

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

16:31 / 02.10.06

Just finished watching the pilot. I liked it. It's got a lot of potential. I'm getting the sneaking suspicion that one of the baddies will turn out to be Milo Ventamilglia. Especially since it seems he can't fly and isn't as special as he'd hoped to be.

PatrickMM

15:50 / 03.10.06

Second episode was yesterday and I really liked it. After the first episode, I saw a lot of potential, but this one had me more sold on the idea that they could actually make this work in the long term. Greg Grunberg was great, and the comic book within the show/time disjunction was pure Morrison.

The show's reminding me a lot of Carnivale, with the idea of a group of chosen people banding together to stop an apocalyptic event, so it was appropriate to see Clea Duvall turn up. Hopefully the ratings for this will stay strong and we'll actually get to see the whole story play out.

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

16:06 / 03.10.06

I'm with you. I liked the second episode lots better than the first.

I'm currently having arguments with my best friends about potential plot twists. I still think Peter will end up on the side of evil, if only because my theory is that those who want so desperately to believe they are special go bad when they discover they really aren't. Losing faith in what you could be can shatter you.

I'm also convinced the pixie-haired girl who "intervened" Mohinder's life is the real agent; the exterminator was just a red herring.

And it's fairly damn sinister that Eyeglasses Man will sacrifice his adoptive daughter for some unknown oogie cause.

I hope this show sticks around because it's sure caught my interest.

Jack Fear

17:03 / 03.10.06

I'm also convinced the pixie-haired girl who "intervened" Mohinder's life is the real agent; the exterminator was just a red herring.

S'obvious, isn't it? Except to Mohinder, who is required by the script to be as thick as pigshit.

Episode 2 was a huge improvement on episode 1, this is true, but I'm still not feelin' it in my guts. I'll give it two, maybe three more weeks to blow me away, after which it drops off my to-do list.

I mean, I'll probably continue to watch it most of the time, because Monday is my designated TV Night and it's on just before STUDIO 60, but no longer will I be making any special effort to have the kids in bed and the kitchen cleaned up by the stroke of 9:00.

Jack Fear

17:07 / 03.10.06

Also: I'm thinking that the aforementioned "oogie cause" is the whole reason that Eyeglasses Man adopted Claire in the first place—that these people are playing a long game, and that they believe in keeping their friends c,lose and their enemies closer (see also: pixie girl insinuating herself into the lives of both Mohinder and his Dad).

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

17:14 / 03.10.06

Good idea there, Jack.

Also, if I'm not mistaken, it seems as though Alter-Ego Mom's (I was going to label her Slutty Mom, but that was neither fair or appropriate) kid also has a touch o'powers as evidenced by his crude drawing of Peter and his brother. Though I have difficulty believing a kid obviously bright enough to fix or make a new logic board for his computer couldn't be a little more coherent of an artist.

I'm not entirely blown away either, but I do find the concept of the show intriguing enough to stick around and watch to see how it will play out. I haven't really been paying attention to the new shows on the autumn schedule, so if there's anything else out there new and interesting, I'm awfully remiss.

Mouse

21:51 / 03.10.06

Pixie girl looks familiar. Is she from another show?

gridley

14:03 / 04.10.06

She was Laynie in "Everwood."

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

14:22 / 04.10.06

It's sad because you'd think that the hot Indian professor would be extra paranoid following the suspicious death of his dad. But beauty slides under the radar, I guess.

Jack Fear

15:22 / 04.10.06

Naw, it's just that the script requires the characters to do appallingly stupid things.

Like take your bright ten-year-old for a ride in a strange car with decomposing bodies in the trunk. Or self-publish a comic and put your photograph and home address in the indicia. Or grow estranged from your father over a disagreement in statistical analysis.

Nothing in this show holds up if you apply the slightest standard of realistic human behavior to it; I'm still trying to decide if that works in its favor or not.

TobiasAC

15:22 / 04.10.06

<Pixie girl looks familiar. Is she from another show?>

She was also in Brick...

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

16:11 / 04.10.06

Jack Fear speaks strong truth.

I feel silly now, me.

(Though I was like, "Why wouldn't Alter Ego Mom's apparent genius child question the appearance of a shiny vintage car and her need to drive out into the desert?")

MattShepherd: I WEDDED KALI!

23:17 / 04.10.06

Just watched ep2, and yeah, pretty much what Jack said. But it's got enough of a Stan Lee vibe to people's general state of obtuse hysteria that I still kinda dig it.

gridley

12:51 / 05.10.06

Naw, it's just that the script requires the characters to do appallingly stupid things.

To be fair, though, Jack, people do plenty of appallingly stupid things in real life too. Especially when there's a pixie girl around.

Never underestimate the power of a skilled pixie girl.

PatrickMM

02:58 / 06.10.06

In the case of the kid, I think they did a scene earlier where he looks suspicious and asks her what's going on, so, rather than continue doing this, they just skipped over his presumed questioning of why they all of a sudden have a convertible. However, I'd agree that that turn of events was a bit weak, those elaborate puzzle schemes created to ensnare our heroes are something that only turn up in fiction.

Psi-L is working in hell

08:57 / 06.10.06

I really want to like this, and certainly bits of it are better than others (the Hiro scenes mainly). But it just isn't quite slick enough yet to make me love it. The plot seems to move too quickly, perhaps because they've got so many characters to cover, but this results in things happening with not much finesse, and like others have said, almost conveniently ignoring what would be a credible reaction by a character, for the sake of moving the story along quickly.

I'll continue watching for a few more episodes though before I bail.

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