Rough Trade Friday: Heroes
And now for something completely different...television. Today I recommend you snuggle up with your special someone (no, not your hand) and watch Season 1 of Heroes on DVD.
I must be one of the few people that feel this way, but I am utterly torn on whether I like Heroes or not. It does seem custom made for me to like it: funky conspiracy plots, random mutant superpowers, hot cast, Sulu, so, what's not to like? Well, it all feels so engineered to me and like an X-Men rip off to me. Don't get me wrong, this is quality television, and occupies a coveted TiVo season pass nirvana at casa del Blunder, but I still have this lingering doubt about it. I almost feel like I should be insulted somehow.
For those of you that somehow missed the overall plot (Save the cheerleader, use a condom! er, that wasn't it...). Genetic freaks with funky powers start appearing in the world, whilst a super-maniacal super-powered super-serial killer kills them off and steals their powers. A hot Indian doctor tries to warn them, and Malcom McDowell continues to amaze me with being able to get work. (Save the cheerleader, ride a cowboy? crap, that's not it either) Of course, the seemingly separate arcs start to merge and fairly complex mythology starts to emerge by the end of the season (Save the cheerleader, use a sheep?) well worth your time investment (You hear me JJ Abrams? I'm calling you out! Freaking waste of three years...).
Heroes season two is due to start any time now, so pick up/torrent/itunes Heroes S1 and get up to speed.
The Boy Blunder
Posted to Comics on 14 September 2007
· Comments (2)
Other stuff like this: Heroes, Rough Trade Friday, television, Tim Kring
oh you're not the only one with the love/hate relationship and Heroes. I was a little offended watching the show as a comic book fan, but i knew that they couldn't really do anything truly original, given the thousands of comic book heroes out there.
Once I allowed the show to be what it was (the culmination of all comic book stereotypes in an intricate, geektastic storyline) it became highly enjoyable. Plus i love the fact that we are rewarded as viewers, instead of being blue-balled like Lost (though i still love that show as well :-) )
My beef is that it looks like the series is heading towards a Rising Stars-esque climax. The only reason it's a beef is because i know how that ended: in a pile of mediocrity.
Well, as a boy who's in the middle of compiling the syllabus for the class he's going to teach on the superhero, I'll toss in my two cents with a verdict of terrific. Now, yes, of course, there are relatively easy one-to-one correlations here - DL is Kitty Pryde, Niki is a watered-down Crazy Jane (the Grant years), and Peter is... Bishop, sort of.
X-Men ripoff? Well, sure, I suppose, but they're expanding the audience. For those unfamiliar with superhero worlds, Heroes is a breath of fresh Buffy-scented air. For those of us who are, it feels less to me like a ripoff and more like an homage. Plus it's got the fanboy-cred it needs with Jeph Loeb at the helm, and the very first fictional artist whose art is actually good (thank you, Tim Sale).
But besides all that, the thrill of the first season, for me, was all about Hiro. What Heroes is able to do that I haven't seen before is portray, over the course of an entire season, the joy and danger and thrill of discovering you have superpowers. Hiro is the perfect example of this - what's one of the first things he does? Teleport into the women's restroom on a dare. Movies do this in a montage sequence (remember Tobey Maguire slamming into the building), but Heroes is able to extend that out and really involve the audience in a new and exciting way.
Anyway. Preliminary thoughts.