Spring Break
'Heroes' looks forward, prepares for new season?
by Mike Epstein
Arts | 5/1/07
Posted online at 12:01 AM EST on 5/1/07
Last Monday, after a six-week break, the new superhit Heroes finally returned, ready to keep us on the edge of our seats. It's a character-driven, science-fiction drama in which certain people realize that they have unique abilities and become entangled in a plot to detonate-or prevent-a nuclear bomb in Manhattan.
The heroes are varied and well-developed: Claire Bennet, the Texan cheerleader who doesn't know her past and somehow automatically and immediately heals any wound; Hiro Nakamura, a Japanese cubicle bug who can travel through time and space ;Isaac Mendez, a Manhattan-based heroin junkie who paints the future and others.
The show manages to attract fans o f both the science fiction and mainstream drama by having a diverse cast of attractive characters who, despite having super powers, lead normal lives with real problems. Meanwhile, the intricate entanglement of multiple storylines keeps the suspense high for every character.
For the geeky fanboys who notice every detail, the possibility that each story could have some kind of profound effect on all of the others is enough to keep them enthralled. To the more casual viewer, if one story gets boring, you know that something refreshing is coming in like, five minutes-but I don't know how you could possibly be bored.
New heroes and familiar-faced cameos keep the show fresh. Every time a new character is introduced, we're always wondering, "What can they do and how do they fit the puzzle?" And of course, the writers will be happy to oblige you-eventually. The show reels you in with a one-two punch of surprise and inevitability that creates an unbelievable suspense, leaving your mind and your heart racing.
But as the season nears its end -four episodes are left including the finale-it looks like its closing the door on its biggest draw: anticipation. Not to worry, though; If last week's episode is any indication, there will be plenty of wild conspiracies for us to conjure up. The return episode showed us that, now that it's back, Heroes is going to be bigger.
The heroes are varied and well-developed: Claire Bennet, the Texan cheerleader who doesn't know her past and somehow automatically and immediately heals any wound; Hiro Nakamura, a Japanese cubicle bug who can travel through time and space ;Isaac Mendez, a Manhattan-based heroin junkie who paints the future and others.
The show manages to attract fans o f both the science fiction and mainstream drama by having a diverse cast of attractive characters who, despite having super powers, lead normal lives with real problems. Meanwhile, the intricate entanglement of multiple storylines keeps the suspense high for every character.
For the geeky fanboys who notice every detail, the possibility that each story could have some kind of profound effect on all of the others is enough to keep them enthralled. To the more casual viewer, if one story gets boring, you know that something refreshing is coming in like, five minutes-but I don't know how you could possibly be bored.
New heroes and familiar-faced cameos keep the show fresh. Every time a new character is introduced, we're always wondering, "What can they do and how do they fit the puzzle?" And of course, the writers will be happy to oblige you-eventually. The show reels you in with a one-two punch of surprise and inevitability that creates an unbelievable suspense, leaving your mind and your heart racing.
But as the season nears its end -four episodes are left including the finale-it looks like its closing the door on its biggest draw: anticipation. Not to worry, though; If last week's episode is any indication, there will be plenty of wild conspiracies for us to conjure up. The return episode showed us that, now that it's back, Heroes is going to be bigger.
Be the first to comment on this story