Heroes

Nice to be wrong sometimes. I didn't want to watch this show. Hearing the premise of a bunch of normal people gaining super powers and using them to fight evil seemed like exactly my type of show, but for some reason I assumed it wouldn't be any good, and I'd just be disappointed. So I skipped the pilot. But my far wiser and prettier half wanted to watch it, so I got dragged along to watch episode 2. Still skeptical, I found several things to not like about it. First, there was some grotesque and seemingly-unnecessarily graphic corpses going on in that episode. I'm talking someone frozen and missing half a skull, and another nailed horizontally to a wall for no apparent reason. Then there's the dialogue- - decent, but not spectacular. Not trite and cliched, but not witty and irreverant, like other hero-based shows I've known and loved. Then, some of the powers were just weird. The chick that looked into the mirror, then woke up later and everyone was murdered, horribly, with the implication that she had done it. The guy that painted the future, but only when under the influence of heroine. What type of message is that? And the plot seemed a bit scattershot, other than preventing a massive explosion some time in the future. Overall, it was okay. But not good enough for me to commit to another series.

Or so I thought. I watched the next episode. It was a little funnier. A few things started clicking into place. Characters started connecting. The next episode was better. Sure enough, the show hooked me. And every episode so far has been better than the previous one, which is a damn impressive feat.

So what's to like? First, Hiro. The loveably language-challenged, good-natured Japanese kid with the ability to stop time. He is instantly likeable, and provides a lot of the humor, along with his coworker, translator, and friend, Ando. Hiro's the perfect normal-guy-discovers-power character for the viewers to identify with. He's so normal. He looks nothing like an action star. Even though we see a glimpse of his sword-wielding badass future, we know his affable, nice-guy-living-in-obscurity roots. He has a power, and he wants to use it to help people. He doesn't always succeed, but you can't help but root for him. There's a little bit of Hiro in all of us.

Next, you wonder who the villains are. Claire's father is clearly a villain, and there's a solid air of sinister beneath his everyman image. He's got an agenda, you bet your ass. And it can't be too pretty. Yet he comes off sympathetic, if only for his obvious concern for Claire. He's still a father (albeit adoptive), and his protective instinct is pretty severe. Of course, he could be protecting her for other reasons, say...he needs her for his ultimate plan. Or, could be a little of both. Still, Mr. Bennett is a great villain - - understated, yet quietly menacing.

Also, as each hero's power is explored, you start to see there is a character-relevant metaphor for each, which I really hoped was the case. For example, Peter has always been in his brother's shadow, never really did anything that remarkable on his own. So he's got issues as to whether he is able to accomplish something, whether he will amount to anything. He wants to be a hero, but he struggles to figure out what he can do. Ultimately he discovers that his power is that he can absorb and use the powers of others when near them. This means, as he admitted a couple episodes ago, he is pretty much powerless on his own. So the question will be whether he can overcome that, and help people without the benefit of borrowed supernatural powers.

By contrast, we have his brother Nathan - the politician, the golden boy, with unlimited potential. His superpower? He can fly. Certainly appropriate. However, he denies his power, tries to act like it doesn't exist, and tries to curb his brother's heroic impulses. And he's mired in controversy and corruption - tied to a mob family, paying for support in the election. Cheating on his crippled wife. Also appears to be cold and heartless a good portion of the time. Now, this leads some to suspect maybe Nathan will turn out to be a villain, or conclude he's just a bad person. I don't think so. I think it shows he's got a lot of personal issues to overcome before he can accept his destiny as a hero. As someone with considerable power in the real world, he also has the power to help people. Right now, he's mired in selfish, shortsighted crap. He doesn't see his potential for greatness. But when he does, when he accepts his gift? Sky's the limit.

That pretty much sums up the show. Heroes has endless potential. I know some friends who are skeptical as to how long the show can last, because once they deal with Mr. Bennett and Sylar and this future explosion, then what? What's left to deal with?

Believe me, that's just the start. If the writers are worth their salt (and by the way the story seems to be coming together, I'd say they certainly are) then they've got things lined up for years to come. When one villain is taken down, another rises, with a different and even more sinister plan for the future. (Realistically, Sylar is probably small time. Sure, he can do some scary shit, but he's just accumulating powers. Worry about the Mr. Bennett types with bigger plans.) What happens when some of these "heroes" decide to use their powers for evil? What happens when one of our main characters goes through something so painful that it changes them, and they become the enemy? What happens when the public finds out? Sure, X-Men has explored that implication many times over - fear, paranoia, hatred, and conflict - but it's definitely something that should be addressed here.

It sounds like we're just about to find out some of the bigger questions about the powers themselves - how they happened, why they happened, what they mean, etc. To me, this is (or should be) the broader point of the show - - not dispatching the particular villain of the week, or stopping the impending disaster. There will always be more villains and more disasters down the road. A good show uses these villains and disasters as signposts along the roadway toward what the writers want to say, the broader message. From what I can tell, that message is that each and every one of us can be heroes, that each of us has the power to help people and make a difference. This show should be able to last several strong years just showing the growth and development of these characters as they go from insignificant to heroic. And despite my earlier reservations, I believe this show just might get there.

This marks the end of my comprehensive television review. Thanks for reading.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled posting about random, outlandish crap.