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Heroes****1/2
*ing: Milo Ventimiglia, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Masi Oka, Hayden
Panettiere, Ali Larter, Adrian Pasdar, Greg Grunberg, Santiago Cabrera,
Zachary Quinto and Noah Gray-Cabey
Created by Tim Kring
Tagline: Save the cheerleader. Save the world
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recent days, a seemingly random group of individuals has emerged with
what can only be described as "special" abilities. Although
unaware of it now, these individuals will not only save the world,
but change it forever. This transformation from ordinary to extraordinary
will not occur overnight. Every story has a beginning…
Heroes - touted
as the Lost of this year, winning NBC network a cool 14.3 million
viewers with just the first episode (a hit for the network after
5 years), grabbing a Golden Globe nomination for Best Drama and
giving the award-winning Grey's Anatomy a run for its money - is
one of the most imaginative, thought-provoking and gripping television
series to come out in a very, very long time.
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Human beings who have super powers is not a brand new concept but
how many shows can grip you with the opening sequence of the first
episode? Usually shows take their own sweet time to grow on a viewer,
the first few episodes pass slowly and then the level of excitement
grows. But Heroes is a cut above conventional entertainment. It holds
you tight from scene one and never lets you go.
There are parallel stories taking place in different parts of the
world, starting from Odessa to New York to India and Japan. Some "Heroes"
are unaware of their gifts, some just want to be normal and some are
willing to embrace it. What binds them together is a genetic marker
that these distinct individuals carry. These are the men and women
who will take human beings to the next stage of evolution. That is
the gist of the show, Heroes.
The storylines are simple yet extremely complex. The characters vary
from a geneticist Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy), an Indian
following the footsteps of his father who uncovers this global phenomenon,
Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia), a dreamer desperate to find his
calling who has the ability to absorb powers, Nathan Petrelli (Adrian
Pasdar) a lawyer set to take on Congress who dismisses his powers
with indifference, Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka), a Jap who can bend time
and space and uses comics as a reference point, Matt Parker (Greg
Grunberg) a cop who can read minds, Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere)
an invincible cheerleader, Issac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera) a painter
who gets highs and paints future events, Sylar (Zachary Quinto), a
clock maker who kills other heroes to get their powers and many others.
Yes, this is a huge ensemble cast that makes up the equally huge drama,
with a little bit of fantasy and surrealism thrown in. |
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Heroes
works for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the characters are very much
close to real life. It's not just powers that one sees, it's what
these powers do to humans and how each of them react to it. One can
relate to them. The emotions, gestures and expressions with which
each character builds himself in front of the camera are riveting.
Even the big bad evildoers are fascinating.
Secondly, the surprise quotient is always at peak. Every episode ends
in suspense, and leaves one yearning for more.
Thirdly and most importantly, it's an intelligent show. The concept
of a man flying may be inconceivable but the ability to read minds,
the idea that human beings have to evolve further before the end of
time, genetic markings that sets one individual apart from another
makes sense. It makes you wonder about the possibilities out there
and that is no easy feat for a show, especially if it accomplishes
this with just ten episodes.
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As far as subject matter is concerned, even though focus remains on
lead characters and their lives, in a very subtle manner Heroes also
touches upon themes like importance of family, relationships between
men and women, child abuse and adoption, identity crisis that teenagers
often go through in high school, peer pressure, ambition and desire
to be powerful and successful, bombing and its repercussion. But it's
not in-your-face melodrama. It's knitted into the plot with every
piece falling into a place like a perfect puzzle resolved.
It is hard to say who is the best actor in the show. Heroes, like
Grey's Anatomy, is another brilliant ensemble drama. But those worthy
of applause are Milo Ventimiglia, Hayden Panettiere, Greg Grunberg
and Masi Oka. These actors convince you that they have powers in real
life more than anything else. Heroes is shot superbly - the flying
sequences, the spinning of camera, the Manhattan skylight, the children
of the street of Madras, it's beautiful.
In a nutshell, Heroes is an addictive show, you can't forget it once
you see it. Watch out for Heroes and pick up its DVD NOW!
--Maheen Sabeeh.
*YUCK
**WHATEVER
***GOOD
****SUPER
*****AWESOME
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