Anyone Catch Heroes?


Television

Dark Archive Bella Sara Charter Superscriber

Did anyone catch that new show Heroes on NBC? Is it any good? It seems like there are a handful of interesting sounding sci-fi type shows on this season, and Heroes was one I was hoping to catch but managed to miss. Anyone think Jericho will be any good? I loves me my good apocalyptic fiction.

Ok, just looked it up and it premiers next Monday. Anyway, what're your thoughts/predictions. Are you going to tune in?

Liberty's Edge

Sebastian wrote:
Did anyone catch that new show Heroes on NBC? Is it any good? It seems like there are a handful of interesting sounding sci-fi type shows on this season, and Heroes was one I was hoping to catch but managed to miss. Anyone think Jericho will be any good? I loves me my good apocalyptic fiction.

I thought Heroes didn't come on until Friday?

Dark Archive Bella Sara Charter Superscriber

Keno wrote:
Sebastian wrote:
Did anyone catch that new show Heroes on NBC? Is it any good? It seems like there are a handful of interesting sounding sci-fi type shows on this season, and Heroes was one I was hoping to catch but managed to miss. Anyone think Jericho will be any good? I loves me my good apocalyptic fiction.
I thought Heroes didn't come on until Friday?

According to the NBC website, it's out on Monday 9/25. I originally posted after seeing it was on Mondays and assumed it had premiered this week because most other shows did.

Liberty's Edge

Maybe. I'm frankly tired of GOOD or GREAT sci-fi shows not getting a fair shake from the broadcasters. I believe NBC has historically been the WORST culprit. Ergo, I am reticent to fall in love with a great show that is just going to get yanked.
American Gothic has given me Once Bitten syndrome.
If it was on sci fi, I might give it a shot.

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

I saw the "director's cut" of the first episode of Heroes at Comic Con, and thought it was quite good. Good characters, good concepts, good dramatic moments, good humorous touches. I've got a season pass on my TiVo for it.

-Vic.
.

Dark Archive Bella Sara Charter Superscriber

Excellent. I'll give it a try then (assuming I remember on Monday to turn it on). Am I right that Monday is the first episode (or is it Friday).

I am a sucker for the superhero genre. Now if only someone would make a good turn based superhero video game. Is that asking so much?


I hope it is not on at the same time as Prison Break because I go to bed pretty early (work at 5 AM) so my DVR is set to record PB. If it's on at a different time, I will be sure to record it and watch it Wednesday.

Dark Archive Bella Sara Charter Superscriber

Well, I caught it, but I wasn't impressed. The thing that's great about shows like 24, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, or Alias is that they don't look like regular television shows due to the camera work. Heroes looked like a regular television show, it had the pacing of a regular television show, and seemed like a mish mash of Lost meets the X-men. I'll probably give it one more shot, but I don't think it's the show for me.


I was pleasantly surprised by the show. Definitely on my "watch" list.

Paizo Employee Director of Game Design

I enjoyed the show to the point where I am willing to give it a few more episodes to really catch me. We will see. Same goes for Jerico for that matter. After the birth and death of a lot of sci fi shows last season, I am skeptical that any will make it long term (see Surface, Invasion, and Threshold).

On the upside.. Lost and BSG both start up in two weeks. Woot.

Jason Bulmahn
Managing Editor of Dragon


I missed it, but apparently it's going to also be run on Sci-fi Channel and USA Network (in my area, anyway), if you get either of those.


I thought that it was great. It's not a movie so they can slow things down and really get into character development. I'm interested in how their abilities really work (ex. Tokyo guy moving time backwards enabling him to also teleport, interesting and what is Ali Larter's ability anyway, does she create a double of herself or does she take on another aspect of her psyche?) It's a hundred times better than Mutant X was (most UPN shows had a general theme of lame in my opinion).

Here's two thumbs up for the show. I can't decide if I want them in costumes or not, though. Probably not. *shrug*


Heathansson wrote:

Ergo, I am reticent to fall in love with a great show that is just going to get yanked.

American Gothic has given me Once Bitten syndrome.
If it was on sci fi, I might give it a shot.

Another fine Shaun Cassidy Joint. I bought the box set. Started to go a little CGI there at the end but me and mine still say "Someone's at the door."

The actress who played the dead sister, Merrilee (sp?), is on that Studio 60 show now. Cable wound up in Friday Night Lights, didn't he?


Sebastian wrote:
Well, I caught it, but I wasn't impressed. The thing that's great about shows like 24, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, or Alias is that they don't look like regular television shows due to the camera work. Heroes looked like a regular television show, it had the pacing of a regular television show, and seemed like a mish mash of Lost meets the X-men. I'll probably give it one more shot, but I don't think it's the show for me.

Well put, thank you. That was exactly my problem with it.

Not to mention that the story didn't pull me. I didn't care about the characters. And they kept going back to some girl in her skivvies for the sake of going to some girl in her skivvies. Premise without developing characters equals a bad time in my book.

Liberty's Edge

The Jade wrote:


The actress who played the dead sister, Merrilee (sp?), is on that Studio 60 show now. Cable wound up in Friday Night Lights, didn't he?

I know Caleb was in Slang Blade and the X-Files movie.


Heathansson wrote:
The Jade wrote:


The actress who played the dead sister, Merrilee (sp?), is on that Studio 60 show now. Cable wound up in Friday Night Lights, didn't he?

I know Caleb was in Slang Blade and the X-Files movie.

Oh yeah, right... Caleb. Durrrr.

He was also in The War with Elijah Wood.

It's hard to resist practicing that kid's west texas drawl. Once met a woman who was confused upon hearing that people had interest in eating pecans. It clarified with this statement, "Oh, a pecan is something you take on a camping trip. You mean pecahn." She also called a barrel a burl.

Dark Archive Bella Sara Charter Superscriber

The Jade wrote:


Not to mention that the story didn't pull me. I didn't care about the characters. And they kept going back to some girl in her skivvies for the sake of going to some girl in her skivvies. Premise without developing characters equals a bad time in my book.

What story? That's the only reason I'm giving it another episode, is to see if we're actually going to get a plot going or if it's going to be another Hide-the-Ball for a stupid amount of time series. Heroes should thank Firefly for my patience. That show's first few episodes were quirky, but not stellar, and I almost gave up on it. Heroes hasn't even been quirky so far, and it's got a lot to prove to me in the next episode.

Edit: This may be just my pet peeve, but what annoys me the most is having to suffer through these characters discovering their powers. Hi, NBC, guess what, the title of your show is Heroes. It's about people with super powers. I know they have super powers when I sit down to watch it. In fact, that's why I am watching it. Seeing them discover that they have super powers is not very interesting. I can suffer through the discover process if it's done well (see Spiderman), but not if it's the same thing over and over for each of umpteen different characters. Take a page from the book of Lost, or heck, WotC, and start the series with a conflict, something interesting to grab my attention. Once you've shown me you can do the good stuff, I'll suffer through boring backstory (though it wouldn't hurt you to make the backstory interesting instead), but making me slog through the same old tired crap just to get to the show I wanted to see (about super powered people) annoys the hell out of me.


Sebastian wrote:


What story? That's the only reason I'm giving it another episode, is to see if we're actually going to get a plot going or if it's going to be another Hide-the-Ball for a stupid amount of time series. Heroes should thank Firefly for my patience. That show's first few episodes were quirky, but not stellar, and I almost gave up on it. Heroes hasn't even been quirky so far, and it's got a lot to prove to me in the next episode.

I only caught the first half, and didn't see a hint of followable story... but I figured it had probably righted itself before the end.

The first episode of Firefly hooked me right there at the end with Nate kicks the bad guy into the engine so he'll not pose a further threat. That's a different alignment than I'm used to seeing in my network TV protags.

I also agree with your sentiment on how taxing the device of "discovery of powers" is going to become. A potential danger is an anthology show where every episode is almost identical. Then again, I don't know where they're going with it... maybe they'll slow down after they've filled the roster somewhat.

It's usually a very useful literary device, to bring a character into a new environment or situation so that we can learn as they learn. It makes the exposition go down easier.

Dark Archive Bella Sara Charter Superscriber

The Jade wrote:


The first episode of Firefly hooked me right there at the end with Nate kicks the bad guy into the engine so he'll not pose a further threat. That's a different alignment than I'm used to seeing in my network TV protags.

I completely agree. That scene alone bought the series another 2 episodes to prove itself. I had been working on D&D, not really paying attention and that woke me up. The atmosphere of Firefly also carried it over a rough patch in the beginning. Heroes has less atmosphere than your average epsidoe of ER.

The Jade wrote:
It's usually a very useful literary device, to bring a character into a new environment or situation so that we can learn as they learn. It makes the exposition go down easier.

Agreed. It's useful to bring in a character into a new environment. Not 6. Compare with Lost. The first episode focused on 2-3 characters, and after that, we didn't have to put up with the "OMG! How'd we get on this island thing" again until the Tallies came into play. Now imagine if the first episode of Lost was all the major characters getting ready to get on the plane and weird stuff is happening. Not nearly as enjoyable.

Or the X-men in most incarnations. The first movie has Wolvie/Rogue being inducted. The cartoon series of the 90's started with Jubilee being inducted. Now imagine if we had to see every single X-man slowly learn they have powers, get invited to the Xavier institute, and then finally, fight Magneto. Zzzzzz...


Sebastian wrote:

Agreed. It's useful to bring in a character into a new environment. Not 6. Compare with Lost. The first episode focused on 2-3 characters, and after that, we didn't have to put up with the "OMG! How'd we get on this island thing" again until the Tallies came into play. Now imagine if the first episode of Lost was all the major characters getting ready to get on the plane and weird stuff is happening. Not nearly as enjoyable.

Or the X-men in most incarnations. The first movie has Wolvie/Rogue being inducted. The cartoon series of the 90's started with Jubilee being inducted. Now imagine if we had to see every single X-man slowly earn they have powers, get invited to the Xavier institute, and then finally, fight Magneto. Zzzzzz...

Michael Chabon wrote the version of the X-men movie that decided to focus on Wolverine, his search for identity, and his inclusion into the X-men. He saw earlier versions of the script and didn't think much of them. Though they didn't use his script they clearly held on to that idea for the final product. The reason they didn't go with his script was that he envisioned the entire first movie to be a character introduction, not meeting Magneto until the second movie. He's gifted, but I don't know if he's that gifted.

Though he did eventually got his chance to pen a comic hero with the Spiderman 2 screenplay.


I like the character development and introduction of powers they have on the show. I don't want them running around as a superhero team yet. If they did that, it would be really silly. Again I think of Mutant X. This show seems more real to me because they are starting from the very beginning.

Saying that, I don't want it to be too slow for too long. They all need to migrate to NY like all true superhero teams do (ala Marvel).

I've got more thoughts, but I have to get to work.


What should have been done was a 2 hour movie off the bat...
And yeah T.V. is really starting to drag me down with it's longwinded character slow progression-and hang me ons I tired of this as child waiting three years for the next star wars movie(The holy trilogy). The write these shows like there are 80 year old men and women just getting into it.

Lost is on tommorrow that show got me hooked but I hate the constant cliff hanging and people just don't ask the right questions or take the right course of actions based on what they've seen or had happen to them. If you were on the Island don't you think you would have handled things different?


Just watched episode 2. I liked most of it. Pretty much what I didn't like were the lopped-off skulls with the brains missing. A little too violent for my taste, but I guess I expected scenes like this after seeing the two guys that Ali killed in episode 1.

What I did like:

Speaking of Ali, I am getting a better understanding of her power. It's triggered by violence, yet violent itself. Less a protector, more executioner. And it seems it has been acting for some time (i.e. the other body buried).

Tokyo boy was in the future! That was a cool twist. But now we know the timeline for season 1. The heroes have 5 weeks to save New York.

Short notes: both brothers have the same power, cheerleader evil dad knows about her, new character (from Felicity) is a cop who gets arrested because of his power. Good stuff.

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

Did anyone else notice the recurring symbol, sort of like a ƒ with an extra horizontal? It first caught my attention near the halfway point of the second episode, and I've spotted it four times since then: in one of the "future" paintings; embedded ASCII-graphics style into the DNA sequencing data scrolling on the computer; in a swimming pool (as a hose with some floaty bits); and in the "flying" drawing the brother did in the hospital. I'm sure if I were to rewatch the epsiodes I'd find more....

Things are also shaping up a bit differently from the pilot I saw in the summer. The pilot was pretty much the first episode, but with a handful of differences:

Most obviously, Greg Grunberg's character, the cop, was introduced in the pilot, not the second episode. His scenes were similar to what we saw in episode two, but they were largely rewritten and almost entirely reshot. Instead of a serial killer, in the pilot they were chasing a suspected terrorist; there was no frozen guy, and nobody was missing the top of their skull. They also recast some of the people in his scenes, most notably the detective played by the girl from Carnivàle.

In the pilot, Niki's son Micah ran away after Niki left him with her friend. He stole some money from the friend's purse, and got on a bus; it looked like he was getting off at a prison (possibly where his dad was, though Dad apparently isn't in prison in the aired series).

There was also one scene with Hiro and his friend in Japan that was cut out, but it really didn't add anything.

That's all that I recall from seeing it once several months ago, anyway.

-Vic.
.


Well I have the story. That's not the problem. A nuke or something very like it is going to wipe out NYC and the "Heroes" lives are all intertied into stopping it--and the psycho brain eater (Patient 0)--and the psycho "men in black" killer guy who's adopted the indestructable girl.

My problem (and I really want to like this show so I'm giving it plenty of chances here) is the same problem I ran into with Surface. Taking a movie length plot and cramming eight-bajillion characters into it so things proceed at a molasses crawl does not make it into a TV show all of a sudden. Yeah, some of the characters are pretty neat--pick three or four and follow them! Integrate the freakin' player group already! Most of all, get them out doing interesting things rather than just being angsty as piece by piece the master plot comes together. Argh!

And yeah...enough with the whole wondering if you're a superhero thing. It killed me when they took up the whole movie with it in Unbreakable; trying to sit through a whole series of it will just drive me insane.

But again good (if way too many) characters and some interesting mysteries unfolding (if WAY too slow) so who knows? I'm willing to give them a couple more weeks before I give up on them.


hehe well I like what I have seen so far; but knowing the tv gods; any show with plot, character developement and anything cerebral enough to pull the interest of D&Ders is likely to get canceled es muy pronto.

Hmm Vic? do you also search for the hidden symbols in Blue Oyster Cult albums? :) Am tracking your phenomenon, but after having watched the Sixth Sense; I realized that I get way to wrapped up in the story to see such periphial clues; luckilly I have tivo :) anyone else see this? Any conspiracies brewing?

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

Valegrim wrote:
Hmm Vic? do you also search for the hidden symbols in Blue Oyster Cult albums?

No, but I know where to send "my answer" from Pink Floyd's The Wall....

Spotted the symbol a few more times in tonight's episode: On the cover of Mohinder's father's book; on the page edges of Claire's Geometry book; on a bunch of the photos tacked to the map in the secret room; and as the necklace of the silent black guy in the bar. (And, as in the previous episode, in the computer display.) I feel like I forgot one.


I did notice some odd stuff on the computer screen, but that is it. I've got DVR, but I erase the episodes after I've watched them a couple times (which I've done).

Am I the only person that doesn't need instant gratification? This slow progression for character development is interesting to me. Don't get me wrong, I like shows that are action-packed (like 24 and Prison Break), but this is a welcome change. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. I'm sure there will be action up ahead.

I'm glad it's not a show where the heroes are battling a new villian every week. The 'freak of the week' really only worked for the X-Files (which is one of my all time favorite series, until DD left). It hasn't worked all that well for Smallville (I've almost left that show several times, either due to the lame 'freak of the week' episodes or to the abundance of sexual content).

So, here's to a show that is going to focus on one main plot and spend its time developing the characters.

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

I gotta say, week after week, this is one show that knows how to end an episode.

-Vic.
.

Dark Archive Bella Sara Charter Superscriber

Can anyone fill me in on what happened last week? Are the cheerleader's dad and the stripper's ex the main villians thus far? How is it that they were in Vegas harrassing the senator and then back in Dawson's Creek (or wherever the hell the cheerleader lives) wiping her ex-boyfriend's mind?

I'm somewhat growing to like the show. It's still about 3 tiers below BSG, but what isn't (other than the Sopranos). Part of it is that I am a sucker for the power stealing type characters.

Plus, it was pretty damn cool how Hiro showed up from the future w/samarai swords and such.


I am addicted to this series; I've gone without good sci-fi for years and suddenly a whole litter of awsome telly programmes hit the screen (or the net) at the same time!

And Hiro is my absolute fave.

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

Sebastian wrote:
Can anyone fill me in on what happened last week?

TV Guide has a recap here.

tv.com is reporting that Heroes has become this season's highest-rated new show!


This is a great show. It really takes me back to when I used to collect comics. Everybody behind the camera is doing a good job.

I have decided to save all the episodes on my DVR. They replayed the first 3 episodes Sunday, so now I have all 5. I'll still buy the DVDs of course (need the extra content).

I wondered about the dad and DL/Syler being all over, myself. My wife helped me out on this one because I started thinking really weird things like teleportation, multiplying, etc. (it's nice have a wife who you can drag into your addictions with).

They are from the middle of the country, so hopping on planes with get them anywhere fast. I assume the dad's job gives him a lot of resources. His family knows he flies a lot. But how does DL get around if he is a wanted man? (Sorry, I am assuming DL is also Syler, but my mind can be easily changed.)

I feel kind of bad, though, because I don't visit the main Heroes board and put this stuff on there. I need to also thinking about joining the craze of MySpace and putting my thoughts of Heroes on there).

Scarab Sages

I really enjoyed the "fall finale" last night, and can't wait for the show to start up again in January. The revelation of who might be the person that actually explodes and destroys New York was interesting, to say the least. I'm also looking forward to seeing just how Hiro gets that sword.

I have to say though, that two of my favorite characters on the show are turning out to be Mr. Bennett and the Haitian, especially after reading the newest graphic novel. They both seem to be kind-of good guys, but each can also be pretty ruthless when they have to be - doing what they have to do to make sure that things turn out ok.

I'm also looking forward to seeing just what other powers Sylar has - man, what a frigin nut case he is.

Save the Cheerle....oops sorry, I mean, "Are you on The List?"


yep; I enjoyed the show last night also, am wondering how the cheerleader fits into the save the world thing; was totaly unexpected the teazer about who is going to explode as i naturally thought it was the other guy who puts out all the rads. it has been a good enough show that i am very interested to see how all the threads fit together and how things will turn out.

The Exchange

Still not sure who actually blows up. Maybe his dream/vision puts him into the role of someone else to view the dream/vision. I am definately "on the list" with this show and have seared January 22nd into my brain. Can't wait!

FH

Scarab Sages

"Valegrim wrote:
,am wondering how the cheerleader fits into the save the world thing.

Here is my theory:

In the episode where they introduce radiation-boy (Todd?) 1st- when he is arrested he says for them to go ahead and shoot, as he might just blow up. 2nd- We've also seen how he can fry someone who gets to close to him. 3rd-We now know that Sylar is completely invulnerable as the fall off the stands with Peter hurt him as well.

The way I see it, Sylar will go after either Todd (or maybe Peter, or both) and try to kill him. But without Claire's fast healing power he won't be able to get close enough to kill without getting fried like an egg on the sidewalk in the middle of summer. If he can't get close enough to kill, then no big boom. Ergo, saving the cheerleader saves the world.

That's my theory.


I think radiation-boy is immune to his own powers so Sylar (our only 'omega level' mutant so far) will eat his brain, gain his powers and then decide to go boom in NY killing thousands.

Peter will be the only guy who can take Sylar on but will first have to get all the other mutants to meet him in NY so he can get 'in sync' with all their powers and become omega level mutant like Sylar and kick his evil arse!

So series ends with super battle in NY! YAY! :D

Liberty's Edge

*Spoiler warning*

Look away now if you haven't been following the show and plan to do so at some future point. (If you're still reading after the previous spoilers, though, this warning is probably irrelevant.) :)

My initial thought upon watching the vision of Peter going nova was that it was a result of him being so close to that many powers at one time. The combination of that many super-abilities in one being made him go boom...which, if true, leaves one with the question of whether the same thing could happen if Sylar is allowed to absorb too many powers in his own gruesome way. Thus, the race is on to stop Sylar before he consumes too many powers, making "the list" vitally important both to him, and to the heroes.

Scarab Sages

Christopher West wrote:
My initial thought upon watching the vision of Peter going nova was that it was a result of him being so close to that many powers at one time. The combination of that many super-abilities in one being made him go boom...which, if true, leaves one with the question of whether the same thing could happen if Sylar is allowed to absorb too many powers in his own gruesome way. Thus, the race is on to stop Sylar before he consumes too many powers, making "the list" vitally important both to him, and to the heroes.

That is an interesting idea about Peter. Have you noticed that they try to keep his interaction with other heroes to a one-at-a-time thing. Only once has he been close to two at the same time, and that was when he saved Claire. Even then, however, he wasn't close enough to both at the same time for it to have any real effect.

Still, I think you might be mistaken about Peter. His power is to mimic other's abilities. Since he doesn't have a lot of control right now, that might be tough, but as he practices he'll get better (as all the Heroes are doing) and be able to use his mimicry to the fullest. That will probably mean being able to absorb several abilites at once so that he can have the strength to battle Sylar.

I think it more likely that the scenario you proposed would involve Sylar. Mr. Bennett already hinted that the scientists were interested in seeing how Sylar's DNA has been affected by his actions, indicating that they are worried about instablity. As he takes more powers and further alters his genetic structure, I think he will become more and more unstable, which would culminate in a nuclear explosion as he tries to absorb Radiation-man's power and ends up reaching critical mass.

I think it was really Sylar exploding, but Peter saw himself becasue of his ability to absorb powers, coupled with his interaction with Sylar.

Scarab Sages

I was just reading that Christopher Eccleston is going to be playing a new heroe on the show. He will portray Claude, whose power is to become invisible. They've stated that the character is an homage to Claude Raines. Pretty cool.

Also, for those who might be unaware, even though they haven't had any new episodes in a while, they have continued to put new graphic novels on the website. They did a four part story detailing an Israeli-born heroe. At the end of this 4-parter, then stated that there will be a sneak-preview at 8:30 Monday night on 22 Jan, just a half-hour before the first new episode.


Aberzombie wrote:
I was just reading that Christopher Eccleston is going to be playing a new heroe on the show. He will portray Claude, whose power is to become invisible. They've stated that the character is an homage to Claude Raines. Pretty cool.

Two actors you can't go wrong with. After Doctor Who, I'll watch anything with Eccleston :)

And Heroes was already a great show.

Silver Crusade

Aberzombie wrote:
Christopher West wrote:
My initial thought upon watching the vision of Peter going nova was that it was a result of him being so close to that many powers at one time. The combination of that many super-abilities in one being made him go boom...which, if true, leaves one with the question of whether the same thing could happen if Sylar is allowed to absorb too many powers in his own gruesome way. Thus, the race is on to stop Sylar before he consumes too many powers, making "the list" vitally important both to him, and to the heroes.

That is an interesting idea about Peter. Have you noticed that they try to keep his interaction with other heroes to a one-at-a-time thing. Only once has he been close to two at the same time, and that was when he saved Claire. Even then, however, he wasn't close enough to both at the same time for it to have any real effect.

Still, I think you might be mistaken about Peter. His power is to mimic other's abilities. Since he doesn't have a lot of control right now, that might be tough, but as he practices he'll get better (as all the Heroes are doing) and be able to use his mimicry to the fullest. That will probably mean being able to absorb several abilites at once so that he can have the strength to battle Sylar.

I think it more likely that the scenario you proposed would involve Sylar. Mr. Bennett already hinted that the scientists were interested in seeing how Sylar's DNA has been affected by his actions, indicating that they are worried about instablity. As he takes more powers and further alters his genetic structure, I think he will become more and more unstable, which would culminate in a nuclear explosion as he tries to absorb Radiation-man's power and ends up reaching critical mass.

I think it was really Sylar exploding, but Peter saw himself becasue of his ability to absorb powers, coupled with his interaction with Sylar.

i think aberzombie is right with this one...or at least on the right track. i don't think its so much him, but someone else entirely. maybe Sylar, maybe not (after all, if the invisible man is being introduced, then there still may be an 'anti-hero' out there we haven't seen yet).

Community / Forums / Gamer Life / Entertainment / Television / Anyone Catch Heroes? All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in Television