Heroes – 2.06

Cease the meandering and bring me the head of Kensei. Finally something of drama in the Hiro and Kensei “legend” and I’m really ready for whatever will happen now that Kensei has turned into the jerk wad he always was. To step away from the story, David Anders (Kensei) is a perfect guy for the role. Loved him as Sark from Alias, who’d also turn traitor often to get his way. We’ll see if this move finally brings some more spark to the Hiro story.

I’m still digging Mohinder’s story, and VERY glad to see the Company as not the “SUPREME EVIL FACELESS CORPORATION” of the past. Heroes has always been about shades of grey, and I’m very glad that they’ve fleshed out that even the “bad guys” have humanity. Even Papa Bennett has the human element of wanting to protect his family at all costs, and strike back at those that have manipulated him. Mohinder, still holding on to his ideals, even when playing this dangerous cat and mouse game, has a lot of interest for me this season. Adding Niki-Jessica to the mix is a move in the right direction, too. Mohinder + Partner = Good Stories. Just wait until she has a “I’m not Niki, I’m Jessica.” moment…You know it’s coming.

Also, rats, they didn’t revive DL. At least not this week…..word on the street is you’ll see him soon enough….mmmmm, time travel is wonderful.

Claire and West are still rocking my socks. I like to see Claire getting back at the bully girl, and I’m glad West is there to push her into being special – while her dad is asking her not to. It’s only a matter of time before West and Papa Bennett meet…then the sparks will fly! Though, a question: Claire has walked through fire, jumped off bridges, even lept out a window to escape her biological dad. Why does she still seem like a little lost puppy sometimes? She freaking helped save the world!

Also, Peter. You’ve got a lot of power, but you don’t know how to use it. Fine. Whatever. They BETTER give Peter a bigger purpose in the next “future” episode, and maybe let the Irish Girl get the superbug killing humans…just saying.

So now, the big issue: Heroes is, frankly, uneven. We’ve got lots of stories going on, with lots of characters, but every week Claire and West are involved, Nathan and Matt aren’t? With any chapter book, this kind of weaving wouldn’t so difficult, and even in comics, I wouldn’t likely mind as much. But if the main “premise” of this season is “Generations” and the main “Generations” story features Matt and Nathan, shouldn’t they be involved in more episodes? I know we’re still early in the season, but we’re about a quarter of the way through the non-”origins” episodes, and I worry that many of theses stories won’t resolve until we get to May. Don’t pull a “Lost” on us, just give us some resolution on a few things, then shuffle characters off to other issues. Hiro is the best example. Get him to fix the past, then move him back to the future, and back into the real action. The first episodes seriously felt like filler for the story, as has the “trek” of Maya and Sylar. I don’t want everybody in the same place all the time, but in this case, having Sylar back in the fray, unpowered and attempting to get that power back is MUCH more interesting than Maya’s “torment” (quoted because it’s not that awful if she keeps doing it) over hurting people with her power.

You can’t fool me, Heroes, I know that this even/odd structure is to help deal with writing the series, keeping the characters out of each others hair, and to try to tell different stories. Just don’t keep them pulled apart for too long…

Heroes – 2.05

Look, I’m the biggest Nathan fan in the world, so I just love any episode that has that much Nathan screen time and still allows the other stories to run free. I’m glad Heroes, unlike some other hour-long dramas, doesn’t HAVE to feature each and every character in each and every episode, but I still think they’re making some bad decisions on focus….at least at this time.

I have the foresight to understand the reason they’re spending so much time with Monica the muscle mimic (which is a fantastic term) is because she’s going to have some part in the larger story in the future. But why is Hiro reduced to little narrated “bits” and stuck years in the past? Develop why and I’ll be fine, but when you’ve got a Hero Killer on the loose, targeting the families of these characters, let’s stay where the action is! I’m enjoying Mohinder’s story, Matt’s story, Nathan’s (of course), and even Peter’s — now that these writers made all the choices that last episode’s should have — but, come on, bring Hiro and Claire back to full stories that interact with what makes Heroes the show we’ve come to love: characters.

It’s the neat weaving of Mohinder into the same location as Niki/Jessica, and having them interact so well that makes the show unpredictable and interesting. Having Parkman’s dad be the “nightmare man” and truly showing off that power is a great way to prove that all the characters have enough depth to have neat “nightmares” and true hopes and fears. It really feels real when these super powered characters are dealing with issues like guilt and fear over their life choices.

Now we just need to wait for next week’s DL rising from the grave, and, hopefully, some more Claire and Hiro.

P.S. Did you know Kristen Bell was on the show? Way to lame it up, writers.

Heroes – 2.04

Dear Heroes,

You win. I had my doubts that you would come back to your former glory, but, you did.

The amount of well done elements in this episode forced me to watch it twice. You heard me. I watched the show twice for all the elements. (though, the second time, I was pausing and rewinding with the DVR to catch the elements I was really interested in…)

It’s incredible that Heroes can whip between all these storylines and characters and still have cohesive feeling. I don’t mind having Peter and Hiro sit out this week (especially since last week had me bashing the stories) and shifting the focus to a whole new character. Why? Because that story is what we fell in love with in the first place: regular people dealing with life problems and discover incredible powers. In fact, adding Micah to that dynamic sets up not only sweet characterization (“I wish I could fix your problems” How cute!) but adds the same neat feeling as the West/Claire story has; a secret friend that can keep the same secret you have.

Adding to that, anything with Claire is handled correctly. I honestly don’t think Hayden is the greatest actress the show has, but she plays Claire so well that you can tell she’s conflicted without having brooding overtones. In fact, I’m really pleased that the show continues to have this darkness within many of the characters, so that all seem real, even though they can fly/regenerate/kill people with black eye goop.

That brings me to the Maya/Alejandro stuff. Wow, it took Sylar’s arrival to make me interested…and now? I’m INTERESTED. Sylar seems to really be suffering from some mental problems, especially with the loss of his powers, and I’m really digging the fact that they’ve run him into the on-the-run twins and completely changing the dynamic. Once again, we’ll get to see the “Sylar and Mohinder” style story where one party doesn’t know how bad the other is…I’m just a little disappointed they showed off the twins ability to Sylar so soon. Suspense, please! That being said…I’m glad only one of them speaks English! So useful for their eventual separation story!

And then there is Nathan and Matt. Wonderful. Readers know I’m a huge Nathan fan, and this is an episode that finally shows off all the quality of his character. He’s imagining himself as a scarred man, sad that he’s gone from his sons lives, trying to clean up and fly right (no pun intended), plus he’s helping us put the pieces together of the larger story.

This is the real reason Heroes is so much better than Lost. They answer questions. You want to know who is in the 12? They just showed you. Seriously, they went as far as to show off the faces of 11 of them, and even highlight a few by name. Plus, they showed a blurry photo of Papa Petrelli…a blurry photo. My theory — which is now the standby theory for this blog — It’s Kensei. Wouldn’t it just be a blast to have Papa Petrelli show up back “from the dead” this season and be out for vengeance because they tried to use his son to take over the world? Also, as far as I recall – and please correct me in the comments if I’m wrong – Linderman and Papa Petrelli fought before they died, which, added to the manipulation of Nathan (and Peter, sorta) would make a great dad go nuts…

Speaking of dads, Matt’s Dad is Nightmare Man? Wow, fun! I’m glad that they’re still showing blood relation affects the “abilities” but I hope that doesn’t make every powered member – I’m looking at you, West – a blood relative…cause that could be…kinda…nasty…yeah. Still, Matt is fun character, and I’m looking forward to seeing him interact with his bye-bye-daddy who is also hurting his surrogate daughter. Just don’t take Mohinder with you…that guy needs to get back to work.

You have you own opinions? Post them on the comments, friends!

Heroes – 2.03

I’m of two minds about this week’s Heroes.

Here’s what my brain likes about this week’s Heroes:
Claire and West: Sure, it’s a bit cheesy to have the “fly her into the sky” cliche ala Superman, but, frankly, it’s the best version of that cliche I’ve seen in a loooong time. (Maybe not since the Reeve’s first outing as Supes…) Plus, I’m glad they didn’t beat around the bush with a she’s going to fool him for a while mumbo jumbo they so often try to do. Having Claire have an ally in West is great, plus his reveal about H.R.G. makes perfect sense and will really play on the “Dad with secrets” angle they rode so well in the first season.

Sylar: YAY! No powers! Even though he’s still got the homicidal tendencies, it’s going to be fun watch him wriggle now without having his ability…maybe he’s a “diseased” Hero that can’t access them…I can’t wait for more from him.

Mohinder: He’s finally in a position where I’m worried about him, but still want to see what happens next in his story. Now he has to balance being a serogate Dad to Molly, working in secret with H.R.G, and trying to fool the Company…which looks difficult to do with them providing supplies and supervision.

What I don’t like:

Peter: Fine. Get a powerful character out of the picture for a while. I get it. But losing Peter from the paths of anyone else takes out the family drama with Nathan, Angela, Claire, and the dead – but hopefully will be seen – Papa Petrelli. Plus, Peter struggled so long trying to be a Hero, it’s odd that they’d try to turn him darker. His optimism (plus Hiro…who I’ll get to in a second) carried the series for the first season, and even when he thought he’d be the ’sploding man, he at least tried make things beter. Now, he’s an Irish-kissing, Darth Vader choking, gang banger too far from home to effect or be effected by the other Heroes.

Hiro: They screwed it up. If it was that easy to put Kensei on the right path, turning him from drunk mercenary to Hero, then get Hiro out of there, like they were going to do…until this love stuff got in the way. Look, I like love stories, but they’re trying to put shy, gentle Hiro in the ring with a Kensei that the girl already thinks is great…plus Hiro, in the interest of the timeline et al, will try to make Kensei do everything correctly, so the Kensei of legend will be the Kensei that Hiro made. I want more Hiro as Kensei, I want more Hiro as hero! Plus, writing through time is fine, but don’t retell the whole story to the audience…that’s what the “Previously on Heroes” part is for.

Niki, DL, and Micah: Niki, you’re sick. Tell you kid why you have to leave. For someone who loves her son sooooooooo much, you’re leaving him with people a lot….and Micah, use the powers to get your mom out of trouble. Plus, creators, I’m glad you dealt with mortality with D.L. and put him in the ground, but, frankly, I don’t buy it. Smells like he’s going to phase through the dirt for the 10/28 before Halloween episode, Zombie style.

Nathan: An episode of Heroes without Nathan makes me angry. You don’t want to see me angry.

I know you’ve got thoughts! Post them in the comments!

Heroes – 2.02

Hiro is the hero! I’m really glad that Hiro took it upon himself to try and save the girl, instead of just coaching Kensei. Also excited about Kensei’s ability. I’m holding the theory that he’s still alive in Ando’s time and may have connections to the Linderman/Petrelli/Nakamura parents.

On the subject, I hoped that Angela Petrelli bit the dust with that attack, but I understand how they can now use her to help tell some of the back story, so she sort of needs to survive. At least, until they do a episode in the past… And the symbol? It’s the logo for the Petrelli law firm? What a neat little line to give it more significance! Still, does the city know Nathan, who was going to be a congressman, is still around? Parkman, of course, did but it’s surprising that no one is questioning how Nathan got out of the ’splosion, but Pete didn’t…I want more Nathan time on-screen, and cut the damn beard!

I like that Peter still has some amount of control over his powers, but I was surprised he phased through the ropes DL-style when he barely had contact with him. That opens the debate to whether he can pick up powers from just passing by another “gifted,” or if he needs to be by them for a while. We’ll see…

Also, I’m totally into the Bennett storyline, even though it’s pretty firmly removed from the NYC main stage. Claire’s self-mutilation characteristic made me wonder about her mental state both now and in the past. I mean, think about it, if this girl didn’t know how far her power could go, why would she be jumping off a height to see if she could die? Is it just curiosity, or does she have something else going on in her little teenage brain? I’m also totally behind Noah Bennett and want him to kick some Company ass with the Haitian.

Super happy about Mohinder’s role in this season. Finally they’re using him in a cool double-agent way that makes me worry about him getting caught, hurt, etc. but also makes me feel he has a quality role. And I’m finally glad he doesn’t have a power. It’s nice to have these few normal humans (Noah Bennett, Mohinder) heavily involved with what’s happening, but not flying around or shooting energy from their hands.

Stil, where are Niki-Jessica, DL, and Micah? If you’re going to have them in the first episode of the first season and not show up for the first two of the next, shouldn’t you drop the characters? But I still see them in the promos…hmmm…

Plus, these two new latin Heroes are interesting, but their pacing is soooooooo last season. It’s really hard to jump back to them on the run after seeing Hiro or wondering who attacked Angela Petrelli. Either get them to America in the next episode, or just let them “travel” for an episode while we can focus on the regular characters. But maybe that’s just the More Nathan part of me talking!

Got your thoughts? Comment below!!

Heroes – 2.01

Ooooh, boy, Heroes is back!!!

We’ll be blogging after every episode with thoughts and such….leave us comments in the field below!

First off, I’m glad the Petrellis aren’t dead. I’m a Nathan fan and I’m glad he didn’t burn into a crisp! Plus, having Peter hundreds of miles away and an amnesiac just plain works as a great storytelling device. Getting back his memories is just one of the elements he’ll have to deal with, because he may not even be aware of what abilities he has!

Secondly, the Bennetts story is great. How do you go back to normal after you’ve been so extraordinary? I think Claire and Noah’s struggles are going to be extremely interesting to watch in the future…and that flying kid will only add to Claire’s story.

I like Hiro in Japan, but I know that’ll sidetrack him for half the season. He really is too powerful to keep in the present where he could jump back and forth in time to fix major plot points — like his dad’s death, for instance. I’m glad they’ll be able to justify having Hiro there by having him help Kensei, but I worry it’s just going to take too long. We’ll have to wait and see…

Parkman and Molly have a good storyline, too, and I’m glad to see that they stuck together. But, seriously, they’re living in Mohinder’s apartment that used to be Mohinder’s dad’s apartment? Come on, folks, there’s too many bad memories for a little girl with ghoulish nightmares to be staying at.

Mohinder is finally useful, in my opinion, as a double agent for Bennett. I’m glad to see that relationship built upon, especially after re-watching the last season’s final episodes. Plus, it just makes sense for the Company to want him, with his father’s legacy and his own interaction with the other heroes.

Got your own opinions on anything I’ve touched — or didn’t touch — on? Hit the Comments! Believe me, I’ll respond.

"Heroes" Returns, Event is awesome

Last night we headed out to the Angelika Film Center to check out the “Heroes of Monday Night” premiere event. Though we had to fight through traffic, we made it in time to take plenty of photos — which you can see right here — of the preparation and the event itself.

Lots of “Heroes” fans showed up for the season premiere, and, of course, loved the heck out of it. (Be sure to check out our “Heroes” postings about the show itself, we’ll be blogging about each episode! NBC and Keith’s Comics partnered up to give out LOADS of free stuff, including shirts, hats, posters, and really kicking graphic novels plus a $150 Superman statue. You could tell that everyone in the audience was interested in comics and comic related bits, simply by the t-shirts. Batman, Superman, and, of course, Heroes shirts were all over the crowd, and after the giveaways even more left with Super-”Hiros” on their chests.

Everyone seemed to love “Chuck,” too. I talked to a couple of folks after the event, and they were adamant that “Chuck” would be added to their TIVO season passes!

Still, “Heroes” was the draw of the night. “I love the characters,” Dan Cardines told me. Pam Alam agreed, “The characters really drive the show.” Another big hit was the fact “Heroes” was presented with little commercial interruptions thanks to Nissan. Nissan was also on site at the event to show off their new Rogue, parked outside the theater. The biggest cheer was when Nissan announced, at the final commercial break, that the rest of the conclusion would be commercial free. Both Chuck and Journeyman were completely commercial free, as NBC provided them on DVD. Heroes was live in HD on the big screen and looked pretty great.

The Angelika has been showing Heroes on the big screen live at 8 p.m. on Mondays since last season and will continue to do so throughout this season…thanks to Sally with Lone Star Comics for pointing that out to me!

Overall, the event was tons of fun, and a great way to watch the new season premieres! Did you make it out to the event? Leave your comments in the comments section.