Heroes

We've been really enjoying Netflix recently. After burning through season 3 of LOST over the course of a few weeks, we rented season 1 of Heroes. I had seen the pilot when it first came out, and immediately filed it away as a future rental/purchase. I hate watching shows like that over the course of a season. I hate waiting for the next show, and I can't stand commercial interruptions. Of course, I wasn't expecting a show that would be nearly as addicting as LOST has been, but it looked like a cool concept.

So, the spoiler-free review. The premise: people are "evolving" all the time. Individuals are born with unique abilities at a certain rate, some of which manifest at a young age, and some that appear later. The cool part is how the writers demonstrate a believable reaction from the characters as they realize what they can do. Some of them embrace their gifts (like the guy who can bend time and space), some focus on the impending social stigma (like the cheerleader who heals instantly from any injury), and some are mildly embarrassed (this one's my favorite: the guy who can fly -- who hasn't ever wanted to fly??!-- he basically says, "Big deal, so I can fly!) Then there's the "what the heck is his ability anyway?" characters that help to drive the plot.

Anyway, so there has to be a plot, and enough villiany to justify some heroism. Once I realized what the major event of the season was going to be (IT'S A BOMB THAT EXPLODES NEW YORK!!!), it became a rather fun game of figuring out which characters fit where in my constantly evolving model of the final events of the season. Although it was ultimately predictable on many fronts, it was nonetheless enjoyable to watch it all unfold.

The primary villain, who cannibalizes other "special" people to gain their powers, is presented as alternately crafty and stupidly power hungry. I find this sort of dissonance annoying, and I thought that that character was written with a total lack of craft. He was quite scary, though. Secondarily, there is an agency of some sort that searches out people with abilities and either exploits them or destroys them. Thirdly, there's some mobster who seems to connect all of the main characters. And finally, (and most compellingly) there's the people who you KNOW have some ability, but you haven't seen it yet. It is these characters that make you want to watch season 2.

The show ostensibly revolved around Claire, the cheerleader, in season 1, but I think that the main character of the show was (duh) Hiro, the Japanese 20-something who loves comic books and who can bend time and space. I came to like many of the protagonists by the end of the season. I think that, in general, the writers did a decent job of developing the characters and creating a sense of mystery. I'd also say that the show was really well-cast. I believed all of these actors as their characters. I thought that Hiro, Claire, and Nathan Petrelli were especially great throughout the season (forgive me for not bothering to learn the actors' names).

I seriously doubt that any subsequent season will be as good, since the plot of season 1 had so many great dramatic elements. Still, we've got the next season in our Netflix queue, and I'm a fairly loyal viewer. It's gotta be pretty foul for me to just give up. I'm looking at you, "24".