Heroes: That Was Fast
Posted by Maggie
October 31st, 2006 at 12:48pm
In Heroes
Last night Heroes continued its reign of awesomeness and occasional clunky dialogue. What is it about Heroes? It's not original. It's not amazingly written. It doesn't have any standout performances (other than Hiro). It's almost never surprising. But something about it is fascinating.
I've tried to come up with some reasons why this show is attention-grabbing, and not The Nine or Shark or Jericho or whatnot.
- There's a lot of them. Just when you're getting pretty sick of Niki not knowing what's she's doing or Peter moping about or even (god forbid) Hiro giggling up every scene, we turn our attention to Bad Glasses Man or Matt or Nathan or Mohinder or Sylar. The story is so spread out, we're still introducing most of these characters.
- They're familiar. Not familiar as in reminding you of your best friend, but culturally familiar. Hardly anyone watching Heroes probably actually knows an office drone in Tokyo or an internet stripper, but we absolutely believe that such people exist. Sure, she's an internet stripper — so she must have a heart of gold. He's a smarmy politician — he must want to cheat on his wife. It's comforting without hitting too close to home.
- Lots of stuff happens. There's not a lot of soap-opery dragging of feet. There's a lot of action, whether it's cheerleaders being flayed or politicians leaping into the sky. It's fun to see people in constant motion, trying to deal with crazy stuff and keep a somewhat normal life.
- We know what they know. Namely, that this stuff is really weird. But we're all in the same boat. Fun and communal-like.
- It's not afraid of its own dorkiness. I like a show that embraces its genre. This is a superhero show, and no one's shying away from that, trying to make it into Six Feet Under. It is what it is.
One complaint (along with the occasionally grating dialogue): I do wish that NBC hadn't revealed in promos that DL could walk through walls. For a show with very few unpredictable moments, it might have been nice not to know that.
Agree? Disagree? Thoughts on which Hero you'd most like to take to prom?
6 Comments Add your own
1. Liz | October 31st, 2006 at 1:20 pm
Plus, they have superpowers! And there’s nothing cooler than regular people being gifted (or not-so-gifted, in Niki’s case) with superpowers.
Yeah, that was lame on NBC’s part. My other major problem is the Peter character. The endless droning on about destiny (when he’s not pushing his hair out of his face, that is) gets old.
2.
Kyle | October 31st, 2006 at 3:05 pm
I don’t like any of the voiceovers. I don’t like the weird disembodied voice that does the “previously on” business, and I don’t like Mohinder’s Grey’s Anatomy-style “this is the theme of the episode” voiceovers. Other than that, I love me the Heroes.
3. sara | October 31st, 2006 at 4:07 pm
I don’t like how Grunberg is a pussy. But I do love me some Shirtless Flying Pasdar.
4. Mike L. | October 31st, 2006 at 10:38 pm
Can I get a shout out somewhere on your site for Friday Night Lights?
I haven’t really gotten into any new TV this year. Nothing has really done it for me. I watched some Studio 60. Ehh. I know that 30 rock is supposed to actually rock. I’m not bothered. The Nine, Heroes, 20 Good Years (ha!). Whatever. Give me The Office and I’m good.
Until tonight. I saw Friday Night Lights and pending a second episode viewing for confirmation of its awesomeness, I can say that I will be watching it regularly for the rest of the year. Maggie, I think you should watch it once and write something about it. I’d be interested to hear what you have to say, even if it is a rant against the poor taste of your younger brother. Although I think you might like it…
-M.
5.
Kyle | November 1st, 2006 at 9:22 am
Mike, when I started reading your comment I thought you were a shill for NBC. For some reason Maggie and I have seen the same 10 seconds of Friday Night Lights two nights in a row and the shaky camera was a little too “edgy” for our taste.
6. Mikey | November 1st, 2006 at 8:44 pm
Hmm interesting, save the nine those are all NBC shows. I really have to fix my coat hanger so I can get the other three channels…
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