026 4 It's always amusing to watch a new sci-fi or fantasy series commence , trying to explain how their ' heroes ' arrived at their newly found status . In a way , this makes Heroes novel , with a huge part of this first series being all about this journey . Normally producers of such series drag this out over an extended period of time , feeding the audience titbits in the hope of keeping the audience captivated through titilation . It is this voyeuristic approach to the past which makes Heroes ( and for that matter , Lost and similar ) the success it has been . However I felt that sometimes the scriptwriters ran out of ideas and shortchanged the audience by making the ' Bobby Ewing gets out of the shower ' leaps of faith , which stretched the incredulity , and distorted the story . I'm going to be honest , I am only halfway through this first series at the moment , so I will rereview this upon viewing completion .
064 4 I am happy to own this series that I have enjoyed watching from the start and what shows I missed I watched on nbc site , this was great and I enjoy the comic book novel series online as well . I think this is a great purchase if you have enjoyed the show as I have .
116 4 I had to place a last minute order , it arrived on time , exactly what I had ordered . I have been very please with Amazon , they make every effort to grant great customer service . I will continue to be a faithful customer . This was the second last minute situation in which Amazon came through .
134 4 I love the series . It is like an addiction . The first day I watched 6 + hours . Wonderful .
Teresa Smith
141 4 This was so riveting , that I wanted to watch it all in one sitting !
I highly recommend this to anyone who likes adventure / drama . Loads of fun , and interesting all the way through . When does Season 3 come out ?
147 4 I actually bought it as a Christmas gift for a friend , but I know she was glad to receive it and enjoyed watching it .
157 4 what more can you say ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? great show , great service . thanks so much . would highly reccomend .
162 4 This was a great way to start my collection of this series . I like the way it seems to play out like a comic book . Great series . Plan to own all of them for watching when there is nothing on tv . Great shipping and price through Amazon .
165 4 My wife and I both enjoyed watching Heroes season one very much . The product came to us in great condition , arrived within the dates given upon ordering the product , and we got a much better price on the item then we could have gotten at the stores in our area .
We very much liked the story lines within Heroes and the characters that were created by the writers . Look forwards to watching season three .
058 4 If you loved Season 1 as I did this set will make you happy but if you like extra features you may be somewhat disappointed . Some of the DVDs have commentary for each episode but some of them have only 1 episode per disk with a commentary track . To me it was a slight blemish on an otherwise fine product . There aren't any extra features such as background making of and that was another blemish but if you buy DVD sets for the show and not the extras then you may appreciate not having to navigate alot of garbage .
045 4 I hadn't seen any of the broadcasts , but this is a fun series . It looks great on HD DVD ; and there are tons of extra features included . Personally , I hate the fold out packaging and would have preferred a thinner box with slimcases , but this is a minor quibble . If you are fan and have an HD DVD player , this is a great set .
130 4 Heroes is a great series and since HD DVDs are cheap now , this product is of exelent price .
179 4 If you love suspense , thrillers , mysteries , and supernatural this show is for you . This is one of my favorite tv shows . The first season got me hooked .
061 4 As a comic book fan , and a film lover it is great to get to see the two mediums combined every week ! I am from the u.k and I loved this series , although the plot went slightly skew in the middle quarter the momentum that built toward the climax was superb even if the ending was only an eight out of ten . Ali Larter is superb , and I found her and sylar to be the best characters on the show . But to be honest I loved everybody aprt from . . . . . Hiro ! Yes I sound evil but I didn't like his character at all . He was comic relief at first but then he seemed to irritate me a lot . I hope they up the ante for this show in season two , although I think Sylar should have died I think keeping him alive speaks of a lack of creative ideas for season two . Lets have a fresh baddy with the bogey man that is mentioned toward the end of this season . I loved Heroes because it was dark and showed that comic book kids that were called geeks at school ( well I was ! ) now dominate the world of enetertainment , is also nice to see Tim Sale's art on screen and Jeph Loeb's writing skills out there for all to watch . Buy It Heroes is an experience not just a t.v show .
075 4 First I was not expecting much but this show did deliver on all fronts .
True power and great assembly of cast , well structured main plots and side plots . Awesome story telling , some great guest surprising actors ( Christopher Eccleson etc )
However both in imagination and scale , combined with all out talent & even if you loath it . The intelligence & spirit of this show is beyond any other embodied most in Peters character yet present in leaps and bounds in all the others .
It makes you think , it gave some true iconic depth & appeal the imagery in the pilot alone shows how far reaching one little show can be . Worth every penny & cannot wait till season 2 finely gets all the way to Scotland .
Great viewing & hope when season 2 arrives that it is half as good as this by the way - Homecoming was an epic among some other great stand alone episodes .
More please !
112 4 I came to Heroes late , only two years ago . so I had a lot to catch up on . I was lucky enough to belong to netflix to see some of them on-line , so I decided to get the dvd . It was well worth the price to do so . Not only do you get to see the entire episodes without any commericals , but there are deleted scenes , and audio commentaries with the cast and crew . That was great fun to listen to . Well worth the price .
135 4 Heroes is one the most addicticting tv shows.It will keep you so hooked and amazed when you have finished watching the entire season one . The characters are very unique and troubled . You will definately end up falling in love with these characters ( for me it was Sylar ! ! ) It is a fun show for all ages ! ! ! It has alot of action scenes and some dramas.You will love it ! ! ! ! ! ! This the best show of our time ! ! ! so buy dvd ! ! ! ! I love it . It is mind blowing ! ! ! ! ! There you go . . . Save the Cheerleader . . Save the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Heroes totally rock .
186 4 This is just a great show with a great ensemble cast ! It plays very well on the mysterious angle because , no character is truely safe , you never know what will happen next .
062 4 This was a satisfying series , fun to watch , with enough twists and turns to keep you interested . It's appealing in the same way as a comic book , but with more complicated plots and characters . Thankfully , it isn't one of those programs that takes itself so seriously , you have to wade through an hour of political and social sermons to get to the story . We'll see if the second season is also free of politics . Almost too much to hope for . If you are like us , and unable to regularly catch a network television series , this is a great investment in a few pleasant evenings . If you like this , buy the Lost series next . We also follow 24 on DVD , which has a lot of action in a political setting , but hasn't been especially preachy yet .
166 4 If you are looking for a show with lots of action , this is the one ! It actually has a little of everything . . . action , romance , sci fi and LOTS of twists ! The writer really messes with the viewers ' heads ! It is really an amazing series . It's addictive ! When you start watching . . . you won't want to stop ! Then you get to the end of Season 2 and are sad because you have to wait for Season 3 to come out in dvd !
073 4 My friends and family alike have become enraptured with this show . The character development and plot twists kept us coming back week after week . Because of this show , we went and purchased the HD-DVD drive for our Xbox 360 . If you enjoy shows and stories of people developing superhuman abilities , this is a must see . Get caught up on season one before season two begins in late September . If you've already seen it , enjoy the extra features and refresh yourself on the storylines again .
015 4 All I can say is that the HD-DVD version of Heroes is fantastic . Obviously , I love the storyline , but the crisp HD picture throughout the series and the various extras including deleted scenes and other perks such as being able to easily find all the places the hidden broken helix is definitely puts this at the top of my collection . If you like Heroes and have access to a HD-DVD player this is definitely the way to go !
032 4 This
Heroes - Season 1 [ HD DVD
] 7 disc set . The product was good as new even though it was purchased as used set . HD quality was excellent . Having the standard DVD set also , this is an excellent upgrade worth the watching .
035 4 You do not have to be a comic book geek to enjoy this series . The characters are fresh , revitalizing , and have keen development . HD DVD is mind blowing .
087 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season 1 [ HD DVD ] ( HD DVD )
There isnt much to say , except that the unaired first episode should have been the one they went with .
The show is great , I cant wait for season 2 on HD-DVD : ) .
108 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season 1 [ HD DVD ] ( HD DVD )
Whole 1st season , including the original never aired directors cut of the pilot , which had Matt doing a different story line and had a different character that can explode . interesting .
086 4 iv just received season 1 from amazon , and am chuffed to bits with it , it hasnt finished showing in the uk and iv just watched the last 7 episodes back to back . what a show really thrilling and exciting loved every minute and am really pleased with amazons swift delivery to the uk . . . . . . one very happy customer
052 4 season 1 is great . riveting stuff . finished the entire 7 disc in one sitting . whew . . .
109 4 Whole 1st season , including the original never aired directors cut of the pilot , which had Matt doing a different story line and had a different character that can explode . interesting .
090 4 While TV tends to copy hit series in an unnerving way , this is not bad at all . Series such as Lost and 24 among others re-introduced big-time the idea of a series-long plot ( which used to be unpopular on american TV ) with good effect ( in the first season ! ) . Here we are confronted with a series of individuals with superpowers who are involved in a long unraveling story . the acting is good , very good , better than on Lost and after a somewhat boring first episode , the series really does catch momentum . The set is beautifully presented as boxed sets used to be ( first editions of X-files and Buffy ) . While it is derivative and is not original in a way that X-Files , say , were , it is nevertheless a great series to watch .
168 4 This is a great Science Fiction TV series . Anyone that loves a good action packed series will love this one !
173 4 Heroes is a great series which takes Mutant X , X Files and The X Men to another dimension . Asks questions regarding when did evolution stop and did it for the human race ? Great cast and wonderful story line .
110 4 I know , I know , it means I did it . LOL Get over it . I had originally Netflixed this series to give it a go . My standard allowance time for a show is 8 episodes . I figure if you don't have me interested by then , you aren't going to . Needless to say , I own the DVD for all three seasons . Now , before anyone says I'm just a Heroes lemming that can only give a 5 star review , check out my reviews for the other two seasons . They aren't 5 star . This is , however , the only truly awesome season of the series . I like the other two , but they are nowhere near as good as season one . It just seemed fresh and not like anything else out there . Granted , the main characters aren't as fleshed out as they could be , but I can get over it . There is at least some progression as well . They aren't the same at the end of the series as they are at the beginning . Of the bunch , I could have done without the Niki / Jessica character . She was the weakest of the bunch in my opinion . Claire can be a bit annoying at times , but I guess I might be the same way if I got a power I didn't really want or didn't know why this was happening to me . Overall , this has a sense of wonder and freshness that is hard to come by in serialized drama . There are a lot of good drama shows , but they all seem slightly different slants on the same thing . This show they tried to take the normal and turn it on its ear . The first season accomplished that , the other two a little less so . Haven't seen season four yet , so I can't comment on that . Season 4 was half over when I started season 1 and didn't want to go into it not knowing what was going on .
097 4 Finally a show worth watching.I don't watch television , so I have never seen heroes before . I bought season one because I am a big x-men fan . I have to say that this show is amazing . From the opening credits of episode one to the season finale . I could not stop watching . I watched the entire season in one seating . This is what they should have done with the x-men . The x-men stories are too big and complex to be told in a mere two hours . They had no business being put on the big screen . Tim Kring is a very smart man . Stan Lee the x-men creator himself took his hat off to him . By playing a cameo role as a bus driver in season one . This show is going to go on for a very long time . I am very glad that somebody finally got it right .
136 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
I bought this on a whim after a friend recommended . My family sat down on the weekend to start the series . By the end of the weekend we were ready to call in sick on Monday just to finish the episodes . It starts out slow , but it is ok because you need to learn all the characters . Very nice storytelling I love the interwoven stories of the main characters , and have since bought and watched season 2 .
138 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
Heroes Season 1 starts off kind of slow , & it's easy to lose interest in it . Don't do that , or you'll miss out on an rocking series . By Season 2 Heroes takes off running , lets just say Heroes just keeps getting better with every new season . Heroes is a series that you'd want in your collection .
155 4 I was extremely pleased with the fast and efficient service . My DVD arrived at it's destination quickly . I would definitely order from them again .
131 4 I'd gotten this quite a while ago when it was dirt cheap , halfway through
Season 2
. I'd never seen it before but heard many good things . The whole superhero aspect really interested me . So I took a chance .
It starts out slow , giving detailed background information on each character while moving the plot forward at what seems like a snails pace . But as we learn more and more about each character , how they tie together , and what will happen next ( or what we THINK will happen ) , it becomes quite addictive ! We are eager to learn the superpowers each of them get , how they use them , and what will happen next . It's a beautiful formula carefully planned out to keep people watching . I've never seen any of the other seasons , so I don't know if they've kept it up . From what I've heard so far they've slipped a bit . . . but who knows .
What I like best about the DVD itself is the layout of the content , the comicbook style of the chapters . To me this gives the overall feel that we're actually seeing a comicbook , rather than just a show . I love how the extra / deleted scenes are on each disc , rather than colleting them together seperately at the end ; this way we don't have to scratch our heads as to where such-n-such scene happened . The documentary features on the last disc are quite short , but give the viewer a basic overall aspect of how things came together . I would have liked to have seen more details on the original concepts , character creation , and stuff like that . But perhaps its best that we don't know everything ; it might spoil the fun of discovering through the show what happened .
Overall I can't recommend this enough . Might want to wait and get it around $20 or so , but I would pay $35 for it as well . This series would be great for kids , and I'd recommend it to people who feel that their meant for something more than just working a job they hate . It allows us to live our fantasy through someone else . And , perhaps , influence us to make changes in our life to do what we're really meant .
014 4 I LOVE this show . I have never been this excited about television before . But this review isn't about the show , it's about the DVD set .
I honestly expected more extras . I don't like HD so i bought the basic DVD set , and it said it contained nearly 3 hours worth of extras . Yes , it does , 73 minutes of such are the un-aired pilot which i honestly wasn't all that thrilled about .
I gave it four stars because the show is superb , the case it comes in is brilliant , and the few special features i do get to see are entertaining , but i was expecting more . If you love the series , buy the dvd set . Just don't expect much for extras .
069 4 I'm glad I was able to catch the entire season before the new season began .
I'm officially hooked and spreading the word and the DVD to the people that I know .
099 4 Quite disconnected from reality ; however , engaging in a strange , escapist way . I've only been through two episodes but do look forward to the unfolding of the story . Bet you can't eat just one seems to apply . Not high art , nor great television - - we've seen better , much much better . But we're scraping the bottom of the barrel these days and this fits the bill for our age . I'm stunned and a bit dismayed that people would give it 5 stars , must be a generational thing . Not for the thinking crowd .
158 4 For those like me who missed episodes , had gaps from interruptions or had failing attention , Heroes 1st season is a pleasant reintroduction to the beginning of the Heroes series . I haven't seen a quality sci-fi program that wasn't worthwhile seeing again , and you usually find elements not seen the first time .
A DVD set , obviously , provides a very good long term storage system for quality video images and stereo sound . And it's a far better storage system than VHS tape . Technology is always marching on , and DVD is safe for 5 - 10 years . Most advances are incremental steps ; choose your shots well .
So , I'll be getting the additional years / seasons as they are available .
Kurbe
140 4 Many folks agree that Heroes started going downhill in the 2nd Season but I would argue that there wasn't much there to begin with . The premise is wonderful ( and not all that different from its better predecessor The 4400 ) . But there are some terrible storylines written about African American characters and beautiful women by writers who have NO IDEA what they are like in real life . Everyone , for this reason is quite shallow and without any real depth , much like a layman's impression of a comic book character . The whole Jessica , DL and kid story is so bad , I long to throw things at the TV when they are on screen . Peter Petrelli's acting is pretty bad making him a sorry lead character . I like Hiro and Peter's brother a bit but not all episodes can be about them , can they ? I would prefer a DVD set with all Hiro episodes .
053 4 Heroes is probably the best TV series on DVD that I have seen ! It was hard to stop watching it , even though I was trying to make it last . I bought it for my girlfriend and had never seen it on TV . I decided to watch it with her and was totally blown away . I plan on re-watching it soon . The characters are well developed , and it brings a realistic viewpoint to the subject of super powered people . Definitely not the same old cliche material here . Can't wait for the second season !
077 4 I know this show got a lot of guff for certain things , like the end of season 1 . But it's damn near impossible to make every episode of a 23 episode season better than the last . . . especially when trying to segue into a second season , all while making TV that looks like a movie ever week . It's the cream of the crop here , and the DVD really shows that stuff off . . .
Really cool shizz within for the fan-boys in all of us .
094 4 I just so happened to pick this one up after it came out on DVD , never knew about it before then . This is one of the best , controversial , and thrilling TV series to come out . I'm glad I stumbled upon it . This one is hard to stop watching once you stop . It definately is not the traditional movie / series about people with unique abilities , but by far it is the best . You really never know what is going to happen next , it has lot of twist and turns that you won't expect . I watched the whole series in two days that's how awesome it is . I don't find to many TV series worth watching , but I definately can't wait for season two to come out . Hope you enjoy watching this as much as I did .
128 4 I never watched Heroes on TV , but I would hear the hype everyday , so I bought a cheap copy of season one and I completely understand why everyone is going bezerk over this show ! The characters are extremely interesting and the plot always keeps me coming back for more . I love the cast and the acting , in my opinion , is top notch ! For any Marvel or other comic book fans , this show will definately not disappoint !
177 4 I love Heroes . Every monday I would sit down and exitedly wait until it came on , and every monday night , I was left waiting for more .
That is the only reason I gave it 4 stars . I ALWAYS wanted more . It never seemed to answer questions , or when it did , 5 more popped up . There were SO many plots , half the time I forgot about most of them .
But that is me just nit-picking . Over-all it is a very fun , and interesting show . Makes me want super-powers , that's for sure : P I definatly can't wait to buy the 2nd season .
171 4 This series is very spectacular.I watched it till about disc four when i 1st got it.I stopped watching it for about 2 months , and watched LOST the rest of the 2 months.I started to watch it again with my friends and i couldnt stop watching it.Some episodes you fall asleep its so boring , but most of the episodes are great im waiting for the 2nd season to come out to find out what happened to sylar and the rest of the heroes.This is a great show for 10yr olds and higher im sherees son and im 11 and understood each episode greatly.The episodes are easy to understand and there very interesting to watch sometimes i wish i had some of there powers on the show.It always makes you wonder whats going to happen right after the next episode.MUST BUY
117 4 I love this series and for now I have it on my roku box / thru netflix . All three volumes and Vol . 4 ongoing . This is also true for Legend of the Seeker season 1 and ongoing for 2 . Even though I own LOST season 1 - 4 / dvd's all 5 seasons are also on my watch instantly / Roku Box . . . and lots more . Oh , also 1 & 2 of Jeremiah . . . . { pls . what's the problem ? why can't we buy Jeremiah S .2 yet ? ? ? ? ? } So I can't see buying ' amazon on demaned ' and not being able to take it , physically , with me plus nothing nicer than extras on DVD Box sets . Besides , I , 95% , purchase my dvd sets from Amazon . You usually have the best deals ! ! ! ! Much Mahalo's and Aloha , Mari
174 4 I had never seen the series until my brother bought the DVD for me and I was blown away by how great it was ! All of the plotlines are so intricate and each character has so much to give that it just amazes me that they got such a great cast that works well with each other . I really liked all of the characters although I would have to say that Hiro and Ando were my favorite . The whole plot line of people with special powers wasn't cheesy at all and you could relate to these people who aren't perfect and just looking for there little place in the world . The action kept you on the seat wanting to watch the next episode and hoping that Sylar would be caught and that you would finally find out who Mr . Linderman was . This really was a great DVD and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone .
031 4 Heroes season 1 is one of the best single seasons of TV ever to be made . I considered buying it on Blu-ray for tons of money , until I realized that I could get an HD-DVD player for my XBox 360 and then get it for much cheaper on HD-DVD . The formats are exactly the same from my experience , so if you have an HD-DVD player , get it on HD-DVD . I have watched it four or five times since I got it , and that was only a couple of months ago . Highly recommended .
056 4 I bought the HD-DVD series for my wife and I ended up watching it more than her . I had some trouble with Disk 4 , but once I upgraded the software on my HD-DVD player , everything worked and looked great .
159 4 I bought the video for me but my husband couldn't stop watching it . He's hooked on it .
170 4 I was doubtful of watching this as I don't watch many shows because they are all the same premise . My buddy brought it over and said no matter what , I was gonna watch it . So , I humored him and watched the first episode . Then , around 6 hours later we are still watching the show , anxiously going through the episodes . This show is just unreal and amazing . Every turn of the corner is a new twist . Also , the level of violence in this show surprised me as it's a network show . This show is a slightly watered down version of X-Men .
184 4 I have received Heroes season 1 on dvd . Unfortunately I do not live in a country with the region 1 dvd-player . But I had a computer , so I could still see the dvd . I have watched Heroes before , but it is fun to see it again , because the other time around you catch some things you did not see the first time . I also liked the extras on the dvd . Especially some of the audio commentaries . Those are a really good insight in to the show . So overall a really good dvd and the only problem is the region , but I was aware of that , when I bought the item . I can only recommend Heroes to everybody who loves a good show !
105 4 Finally watched Season 1 and purchased 2 thru 3 . I enjoyed every moment of it . Great story and special effects . Oh . . . and great cast . Onto Season 2 now . . can't wait !
107 4 Disregarding the bad rating and review for Heroes lately , Season 1 is a must-see . The ideas , the story-telling , the lines , and almost all the characters are amazing . And I love Peter Petrelli . Too bad , he didn't get what he deserved in the following seasons .
audio commentaries , deleted scenes on each disk , also on the last disk a making of , special effects , stunts score , and profile of tim sale the artist . here is rundown of what is on each disk :
disk 1 : genesis and don't look back , also unaired pilot TK cut
disk 2 : one giant leap , collision , hiros , better halves
disk 3 : nothing to hide , homecoming , 7 min to midnight , 6 months ago
disk 4 : fallout , the fix , godsend , distractions
disk 5 : run , unexpected , company man , parasite
disk 6 : .07% , the hard part , 50 yrs . gone , landslide
disk 7 : how to stop exploding man , and the dvd extras
I will buy my own dvd set of season 1 , as I return this loaned set .
For the superior quality of the disks and contents , amazon's price is reasonable .
043 4 I never watched the show on tv . last week my brother loaned me his dvd set . Am now hooked on the series , terrific story line and production values , my only disappointment is that some of the acting is poor - - but most of the cast is excellent . The DVD set is excellent . Outstanding packaging which includes summaries of each episode on every disk . Pictures are crisp and clear , and sound is excellent . DVD set is loaded with extras : audio commentaries , deleted scenes on each disk , also on the last disk a making of , special effects , stunts score , and profile of tim sale the artist . here is rundown of what is on each disk :
disk 1 : genesis and don't look back , also unaired pilot TK cut
disk 2 : one giant leap , collision , hiros , better halves
disk 3 : nothing to hide , homecoming , 7 min to midnight , 6 months ago
disk 4 : fallout , the fix , godsend , distractions
disk 5 : run , unexpected , company man , parasite
disk 6 : .07% , the hard part , 50 yrs . gone , landslide
disk 7 : how to stop exploding man , and the dvd extras
I will buy my own dvd set of season 1 , as I return this loaned set .
For the superior quality of the disks and contents , amazon's price is reasonable .
050 4 I own Lost ( season 3 ) on bluray and also did buy Heroes on HD DVD , as you know both formats are the new gen one , but let me tell you a secret , the quality of image in heroes goes beyond lost , it's great , i don't know why but to my eye it was a great experience . The extra material is good and the sound like me a lot of too . You are going to be very happy since the first chapter if you buy it , no doubt . It is paid by itself in the very moment you see Claire in HD ; )
092 4 I bought this dvd not having seen an episode on tv ( I hate commercials ) . The first day I watched the 73 min . original pilot and was blown away . I then watched 3 eps a day until I had finished . Then I turned around and watched them again ( all within the space of 2 weeks ) . What an amazing show ! ! I hope season 2 will be as good as season 1 , even though I won't watch it until next Sept . , when the dvd's come out .
146 4 A must own title on HD DVD ! It's so cheap these days it is basically a mistake to NOT buy it if you own an HD DVD player . What are you waiting for - buy it !
151 4 I loved this show on broadcast , and I love it more on DVD . I could mention that it could use more DVD-exclusive content and special features , I do love commentary tracks . But , this is a minor issue by comparison . This is , bar none , the best opening season for any television series . Perhaps the second season wasn't all that it could be , and the third season is almost up to standards , but those are separate concerns . Here's the bottom line : Get this DVD collection . Get it and see what I mean . It is genius , from start to finish .
176 4 Interesting , and sometimes hard to follow . There are a lot of different stories and within each story a lot of detail thus making it hard to follow . I rated it 4 stars only because at times it got hard , but all together a great show . The concept of the show is very refreshing and very interesting . If you don't like sci fi i would not recommend it . Its very dark so don't expect a lot of laughter , all and all good show .
BUFFY seemed to be a show produced by a great TV writer who loved comic books , while HEROES seems to be a show produced by a great comic book writer who loved TV . I think there is some merit to that . ( For the record , I'm primarily a lover of great TV who also enjoys comics and graphic novels , and I have a couple of large bookshelves dedicated to holding various graphic novels . )
The more curious debate that I've seen on the Internet was the First Half of the Season versus the Second Half of the Season . This mystifies me because to me it seems clear that the second half of the season was far superior to the first half . This is an important question because the vast majority of really good shows - - and I very much want to believe that HEROES has the potential to be a very good show - - tend to get better as they go along . The best new show of the 2006 - 2007 season was unquestionably FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS ( and I'm sure the few hundred people who saw it will agree with me - - how can a show be so good and get so few viewers ? ) . And there is absolutely no question that it got better and better and better as it went along . For me I saw HEROES as being good and fun for about the first two-thirds of the season and then near great for the final third ( I'll leave aside the somewhat disappointing finale for a second ) . I know the particular episode where everything kicked into a higher gear : Company Man , in which we learn in considerable detail the nature of Mr . Bennet's job and how he became Claire's adoptive father . For me , a series is as interesting as the characters on the show are complex and this was the first episode where any of the characters became complex as opposed to perplexing . The rest of the season increased the complexity and the depth of the characters . Earlier it wasn't clear that the writers grasped a simple truth : a show about someone who can fly or become invisible or who is indestructible is not interesting ; what is interesting is how a person responds to that . But the latter part of the season did seem to get that .
One reason I think that Season Two has a chance to be a lot more interesting than Season One is that in Season One you sometimes had a large ensemble cast that sometimes did little or not interaction . Many of the main characters did not meet until the season finale ( I actually would have loved to see how Peter , whose ability is to absorb the abilities of other heroes , would have reacted to being around Ali Larter's character , whose ability is a super empowered alter ego ) . The various characters were simply spread about with little or no connections to one another . But Season Two could see a much more coordinated cast .
Since my review is either the first or second review written after the season finale ( I refuse to write a review of any series that I have not seen completely and I really wish Amazon would make it impossible to review any season of a show before the finale has been broadcast ) , I thought I would say something about that . After a season-long build up to the finale , in which there would simultaneously be a confrontation with Sylar and an attempt to prevent the nuclear destruction of New York City , the final battle was a bit of a let down . Not only was the final resolution a bit unimaginative , there was little originality or complexity . There was very little to mark it off as special . Moreover , it is not even clear that in the final battle anyone even died . All that happens is Peter and Sylar meet , Hiro delivers an apparently fatal blow to Sylar , Peter goes nuclear , Claire is about to shoot him , and Nathan intervenes by snatching him and flying off into the stratosphere before he explodes . But irritatingly , Sylar turns out not to have died but crawled off into the sewer , and I'm betting that Nathan flew off before Peter exploded . And Peter , of course , will rejuvenate after exploding . One of the lessons that BUFFY taught us was that good series have body counts . A number of characters did die over the course of the season on HEROES , but having the possibility that no one died in the finale lessened the cost of the victory . I did like the brief beginning of Chapter Two following the resolution of the nuclear incident . Hiro finds himself catapulted somehow to 17th century Japan confronted by a larger group of archers . A single horseman is on a distant hill , with a banner containing the symbol that is placed on the shoulder of several of the heroes in Season One , a horseman who seemed to bear a sharp resemblance to Hiro's father ( played by George Takei ) . So while the finale was a bit of a disappointment , this definitely pointed towards interesting things ahead . So also did the revelation by Molly , the little girl with the ability to locate anyone by merely thinking about them , that there was someone who was far worse than Sylar . I'm sure we'll be meeting this person in Season One .
I liked the cast as a whole . I was even bothered less by Milo Ventimiglia , who I had always intensely disliked in his days on THE GILMORE GIRLS . Hayden Panettiere was adorable as the indestructible cheerleader ( though there was a brief controversy early in the season when her gay best friend was suddenly de-gayed inexplicably , almost certainly as the result of network pressure in response to small but passionate anti-gay groups ) and it was great to see a high school-aged character being played by someone actually that age . Masi Oka quickly became a fan favorite as Hiro , the young Japanese would-be hero who somehow aspired to being able to overcome the space-time continuum , and surprisingly managed to do precisely that . Ali Larter was wonderful as Niki / Jessica , the schizoid and incredibly dangerous beauty who struggled all season with reconciling her two natures . Sendhil Ramamurthy was a fascinating presence as Mohinder , an Indian geneticist struggling to understand the genetic permutations that allowed some individuals to develop unusual abilities . There were many others as well , in addition to many excellent guest appearances ( though a shout out to Christopher Eccleston , the former DR . WHO star who teaches Peter how to control his powers ) . My favorite character was , however , Jack Coleman as Mr . Bennet , who is easily the most complex character on the show . Early on we suspect that he might be an utterly sinister individual ; only gradually do we discover his actual agenda and aims .
All in all , this was an amazingly entertaining show . I find that different shows I watch meet different needs . I watch BATTLESTAR GALACTICA for its depth and stunning originality and I love to debate the tiniest detail with other fans . FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS I watch for the way it plunges so deeply into the emotional lives of its characters ( it really isn't ' about football ) . LOST I watch for the ongoing complexity of its rich and wonderful story ( after recovering from a string of weak early Season Three episodes ) . But other shows I just turn off my brain and have fun . UGLY BETTY was one of these and HEROES another . I found it to be infectious and uncomplex fun . And yeah , it really was the onscreen equivalent of a really good comic book .
002 4 What if you discovered that you had a superpower - - great strength , flight , teleportation , or amazing healing ? And what if you could use it to save the world ?
Superheroes are everywhere in entertainment , from comic books to movies . But few manage to be as intelligent , geeky and well-written as Heroes , a solid comic-book style TV series that explores the repercussions of several ordinary people who discover that they have strange - - and sometimes dangerous - - powers .
It opens with Mohinder Suresh ( Sendhil Ramamurthy ) reflecting on the human quest for knowledge - - even knowledge that we shouldn't have - - right before learning that his father has been killed , possibly murdered . Suresh's dad believed that special people were cropping up , much like in X-Men .
And we are introduced to the heroes : stripper Niki ( Ali Larter ) harbors a secret dark side , cheerleader Claire ( Hayden Panettiere ) heals from any injury , Japanese Dilbert Hiro ( Masi Oka ) can bend time and space , Senatorial candidate Nathan ( Adrian Pasdar ) is able to fly , his brother Peter ( Milo Ventimiglia ) can copy others ' powers , a cop Matt ( Greg Grunberg ) can read minds , and junkie artist Isaac ( Santiago Cabrera ) sees the future . There are plenty of others that show up , but these start the ball rolling .
While Claire and Hiro explore the potential of their new powers , Niki and her son try to elude some hired thugs - - and end up overwhelmed by her dark side , and framed . And Suresh searches for the answer to his father's death , only to find that his genetics research is involved with the special people , and that a superpowered serial killer is targeting them .
Even worse , Hiro takes a trip to New York ( five weeks in the future ) , and sees the city destroyed by a massive blast - - as does Isaac , through his paintings . How to stop it ? As a future Hiro tells them , save the cheerleader , save the world . The Heroes begin slowly coming into contact , in a haze of dreams , visions , murder , swords and death - - and to stop the serial killer and save New York , more sacrifices may be made . . .
Unlike most shows about people with superpowers , Heroes isn't really about the action or flashy battles . It's half epic save-the-world-as-a-team story , and half exploration of how real , ordinary people would react if they suddenly found out that they had superpowers , and how this would change - - or NOT change - - their lives .
The storylines are incredibly intricate and complex , since there are a dozen subplots and a lot of time travel , and plenty of hints at future events . The careful painting of all these storylines even further in two episodes , one of which shows the pre-Heroic lies of the characters ( and how Syler became a murderous terror ) , and another that shows what the future will be like if they don't change it . It's not a pretty picture .
These complex storylines are enhanced by lots of suspense and tightly directed action , and the makers always know how to throw in a shocking twist , such as a sword-carrying future Hiro showing up . . But there is also some poignancy , and very dark humor from time to time ( Claire waking up in mid-autopsy , or twisting her broken neck around ) . Not to mention some great , sometimes geeky dialogue ( Where did you learn all this ? X-men No . 143 when Kitty Pryde time travels ! ) .
The actors are pretty much all good - - Larter gives a great double performance , Zachary Quinto is a wonderfully twisted villain , and Panettiere gives a good performance as a teen whose adolescence has a lot more than hormones in store . Masi Oka is the standout , though - - his Hiro is sweet , endearing , geeky , heroic , sad , kindly , funny and thoroughly lovable . The scene where he arrives in New York is adorable .
The Heroes are only starting their journey , and the first season of this geeky hit is a must-see for fans of intelligent sci-fi drama . And I doubt their journey is over . . .
005 4 What if you discovered that you had a superpower - - great strength , flight , teleportation , or amazing healing ? And what if you could use it to save the world ?
Superheroes are everywhere in entertainment , from comic books to movies . But few manage to be as intelligent , geeky and well-written as Heroes , a solid comic-book style TV series that explores the repercussions of several ordinary people who discover that they have strange - - and sometimes dangerous - - powers .
It opens with Mohinder Suresh ( Sendhil Ramamurthy ) reflecting on the human quest for knowledge - - even knowledge that we shouldn't have - - right before learning that his father has been killed , possibly murdered . Suresh's dad believed that special people were cropping up , much like in X-Men .
And we are introduced to the heroes : stripper Niki ( Ali Larter ) harbors a secret dark side , cheerleader Claire ( Hayden Panettiere ) heals from any injury , Japanese Dilbert Hiro ( Masi Oka ) can bend time and space , Senatorial candidate Nathan ( Adrian Pasdar ) is able to fly , his brother Peter ( Milo Ventimiglia ) can copy others ' powers , a cop Matt ( Greg Grunberg ) can read minds , and junkie artist Isaac ( Santiago Cabrera ) sees the future . There are plenty of others that show up , but these start the ball rolling .
While Claire and Hiro explore the potential of their new powers , Niki and her son try to elude some hired thugs - - and end up overwhelmed by her dark side , and framed . And Suresh searches for the answer to his father's death , only to find that his genetics research is involved with the special people , and that a superpowered serial killer is targeting them .
Even worse , Hiro takes a trip to New York ( five weeks in the future ) , and sees the city destroyed by a massive blast - - as does Isaac , through his paintings . How to stop it ? As a future Hiro tells them , save the cheerleader , save the world . The Heroes begin slowly coming into contact , in a haze of dreams , visions , murder , swords and death - - and to stop the serial killer and save New York , more sacrifices may be made . . .
Unlike most shows about people with superpowers , Heroes isn't really about the action or flashy battles . It's half epic save-the-world-as-a-team story , and half exploration of how real , ordinary people would react if they suddenly found out that they had superpowers , and how this would change - - or NOT change - - their lives .
The storylines are incredibly intricate and complex , since there are a dozen subplots and a lot of time travel , and plenty of hints at future events . The careful painting of all these storylines even further in two episodes , one of which shows the pre-Heroic lies of the characters ( and how Syler became a murderous terror ) , and another that shows what the future will be like if they don't change it . It's not a pretty picture .
These complex storylines are enhanced by lots of suspense and tightly directed action , and the makers always know how to throw in a shocking twist , such as a sword-carrying future Hiro showing up . . But there is also some poignancy , and very dark humor from time to time ( Claire waking up in mid-autopsy , or twisting her broken neck around ) . Not to mention some great , sometimes geeky dialogue ( Where did you learn all this ? X-men No . 143 when Kitty Pryde time travels ! ) .
The actors are pretty much all good - - Larter gives a great double performance , Zachary Quinto is a wonderfully twisted villain , and Panettiere gives a good performance as a teen whose adolescence has a lot more than hormones in store . Masi Oka is the standout , though - - his Hiro is sweet , endearing , geeky , heroic , sad , kindly , funny and thoroughly lovable . The scene where he arrives in New York is adorable .
The Heroes are only starting their journey , and the first season of this geeky hit is a must-see for fans of intelligent sci-fi drama . And I doubt their journey is over . . .
007 4 The first time I heard about this show , I rolled my eyes . After all , it was by no means original . Every character ( with the possible exception of Nikki / Jessica ) was already done by X-Men . Claire ( Wolverine's healing ) , DL ( Kitty Pryde ) , Peter ( Mimic ) , Nathan ( at least 5 characters ) . . . I probably only watched it so I could see how it compared to X-Men . And then , I was hooked .
There is plenty of action to go around in the season . What had me just as hooked was the characters . They were by no means shallow . They had to deal with real problems - cheating spouse , living up to his parent's standards , fear of what parents would say if they knew who they really were . . . While some of them had deeper stories and personalities than others , I loved how the good vs . evil line remained blurred . For example : Was Bennet ( Claire's dad ) , perceived as evil in the first few episodes , really bad ? On the other hand , the bad guy felt guilty at the loss of innocent human lives . It was not a simple we're good , you're evil , let's fight , good wins type of show .
Fans of the X-Men will not be disappointed in this show . Any sci-fi fans , not to mention action / drama fans will absolutely love it . It is definitely a must-see . I can't wait to see all the extras myself .
011 4 I hate television . I never , ever watch tv . But I saw a preview for this show over the summer of 2006 while in a movie theatre . It totally caught my eye , and I decided to actually be home the day it came on and watched it - must have been the commercial-free pilot episode . It sucked me in . Maybe it was the fact that they cast a stunningly handsome Milo Ventimiglia as the empathic mimicrist Peter Petrelli - or the goofy and lovable Masi Oka as the time-travelling Japanese businessman with complete faith in saving the world ? Not sure , but the brilliant writing hooked me .
Granted , there were moments throughout the season where some of the actors ' lackluster acting skills had me groaning through some scenes , but it all melded together beautifully . The writing , each and every word , came together for some reason . Not a single thing in this series is put there for chance . EVERYTHING MEANS SOMETHING . And I love that they don't leave you dangling and wanting to hang yourself - the writers totally answer your questions ( but also leave you asking several more . . . . )
Sure . . . we all wanted to see more action with Sylar vs . Peter - but let's not forget . . . these are ' Ordinary People with Extraordinary Powers ' . . . . you try dealing with this stuff in your life ; )
I don't understand why anyone would not like this show . As someone who has not enjoyed television for a long time , I can certainly say this series has been a breath of MUCH NEEDED fresh air . Definitely something for everyone - an intelligent , brilliant , edge-of-your-seat show that keeps you satisfied , yet wanting more after every show .
013 4 What a great start for what I hope is a long running series . Great pacing , tightly plotted with enough reveals with conceals , a satisfyiing story arc / season finale . Great casting ! Lots of fresh faces along with lots of familar ones .
The THEME : What if some everyday folks suddenly became superpowered in the real world ? What if these people's origins , though seemingly random , were very much connected ? And How do you stop a man from exploding ( along with a bunch of NYC ) ?
If you didn't see it there's alot more to it than those questions . Lots of drama , some cool effects and plenty of humor too .
The 9th Wonders is a fictional comic that parallels the events of the characters in the series , partly because it's creator Isaac Mendez ( SANTIAGO CABRERA ) is an artist who can paint the future . This ability eventually joins these seemingly random group of heroes and villans together to resolve the fate of the city , and maybe , THE WORLD !
The series won plenty of respect from NBC along with award from the likes of the American Film Institute for Best TV Program of the Year , Hollywood Foreign Press Association , a Golden Globe ( for Best TV Drama ) , the Peoples Choice , and others.In fact , the NAACP acknowledged the series for its efforts , and well it should , the cast is amazingly diverse in race and gender ( but science-fiction and fantasy has always been ahead of the game there ) .
The archetypes roll out , but rarely take the obvious paths . Several character story threads are ultimately all entwined . Like that of Hiro Nakamura's lovable Japanese geek who can bend time & space ( Masi Oka ) and his powerless but loyal friend . Or Peter Petrelli ( Milo Ventimiglia ) the power-absorbing male nurse who may be the cause or the solution of the problems to be , and his flying politician brother ( played by Adrian Pasdar or Top Gun & Profit ) . The brainy ( but likable ) Micah Sanders and his super disfuntional family , Niki , a mentally split super-assassin / super-stripper mom and the phazing ex-con dad . The invunerable Cheerleader Claire Bennet who's past and present has been puppetmastered by dark forces . The would-be police detective with mind-reading powers and young Dr . Suresh seeking not only to finish his father's work , finding these heroes , but stopping his father's killer . But who are the heroes and who are the villians ? And what of the murderous watchmaker Sylar ?
In typical soap fashion , even the ugly characters are interesting to look at . Eric Roberts , Malcom McDowell and Zachary Quinto appear as baddies in this charter season . Other cameos include George Takei as Hiro's father .
Watch for the 6 episode spinoff / filler series on NBC Heroes : Origins that will introduce a new superpowered character each week , viewers will select who makes it to the second season of Heroes .
016 4 Fall of 2006 saw the debut of many buzzed about shows . Some went quietly away since they failed to catch the interest of the audience . But a few caught on big time and took off . Heroes was one of those shows .
This is an ensemble drama with lots of different characters and storylines to follow . As the series opens , ordinary humans begin to discover they have super powers . There's Claire ( Hayden Panettiere ) , a Texas cheerleader who can heal herself from any injury , even death . In Los Angeles , cop Matt Parkman ( Greg Grunberg ) begins to hear the thoughts of everyone around him . Niki Sanders ( Ali Larter ) , Las Vegas stripper and single mom , has a Jekyll and Hyde like problem . In Japan , cubical worker Hiro Nakamura ( Masi Oka ) discovers he can stop time and teleport . Convinced he has these powers for a reason , he sets out with his best friend Ando ( James Kyson Lee ) on a quest .
But things are really heating up in New York . Senatorial candidate Nathan Petrelli ( Adrian Pasdar ) is trying to keep his ability to fly under wraps so he can win his election . Meanwhile , his brother Peter ( Milo Ventimiglia ) seems to be able to absorb any power he is near . And artist Isaac Mendez ( Santiago Cabrera ) can paint the future , but only when he is spaced out on drugs . And his latest picture is of a nuclear bomb going off in New York City . . . .
Even this description just begins to scratch the surface . There are conspiracies aplenty and a villain that must be stopped at all cost . Other characters come and go as well , adding to the show .
In fact , that's one thing that sets this show apart from others . Not every main character is in every episode . Only those needed appear . And since most of the storylines run parallel for most of the series , just about every gets a break at some point .
Yet the show is surprisingly engrossing . It took me a couple episodes to be fully hooked , but once I was , there was no looking back . I had to tune in each week for the next chapter in the saga .
The show builds to a season climax that brings everyone together for a final battle . Unfortunately , the season finale was very disappointing . It was more confusing then it should have been and didn't tie up the things that they had been promising to do all season . I don't mind most of the loose ends , but I expected the bomb storyline to be better concluded .
The show sports some great acting . Everyone is perfect as their character . The fan favorite , and with good reason , is Masi Oka . He is an absolute delight as the lovable Hiro .
Despite the weak finale , this show has lots of promise . You can bet where I will be Mondays this fall .
017 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
* * WARNING : SOME SPOILERS AHEAD * *
Welcome to the world of HEROES . The pilot episode titled : GENESIS gets the series off and running right off the bat with the voiceover of a Indian genetics professor named Mohinder Suresh . Suresh surmises If God has indeed created himself in his own image , then I submit to you that God is a cockroach . With Episode 1 , this great series succeeds in creating this realistic , modern day world where you have these very ordinary people suddenly finding themselves blessed with extraordinary abilities or cursed with them .
This realistic environment , sans spandex , clever codenames , capes and secret identities hidden behind masks becomes a world one can easily accept . Much like the world of Marvel's merry mutants , the human race is on the threshold of a major leap in evolution . In fact , this threshold has already been engaged and breached because these beings are already among us emerging from all corners of the globe .
If one can suspend their disbelief for a moment , you can buy into the fact that a human being can fly while another one can read other's thoughts . But the strength of the seiries lies with the viewer's ability to ignore the super powers angle for a
minute and get to know this interesting cast of characters ; plain every day characters that we can come into or have come into contact with during our lives already .
We come to know Peter , a male nurse who has the ability to absorb powers of other heroes through proximity and re-use them .
Nathan : His brother who is gifted with the power of flight .
Matt : A police officer who can read the minds of those around him .
D.L . : A former ex-con who has the power of phasing through solid and organic objects .
Claire : A cheerleader with regenerative healing powers and appears indestructible .
Hiro : A loveable Japanese cubicle slave with the power of time travel and the manipulation of the space time continuum
Isaac : A comic book artist who is able to paint the future when he's under the influence of heroin
Micah : A young boy with techo-kinesis ; the ability to tap into any machine and hotwire it's programming for total control of various electronic devices and his mother Niki who is in constant struggle to suppress her super-human enhanced and possibly-evil twin doppelganger Jessica
If there is a lead to be found within this fine cast it may very well be , what we come to know will be the most powerful of the good guys , the aforementioned male nurse Peter Petrelli . His story will cross the paths of several of the major players of this show , including Mohinder himself who has traveled far to New York City to delve deep into the death of his father and the mysteries that surround it .
While many found the pilot episode short on action , more fans believed that the success of the show went into it's riveting character development and simple storyline and arcs peppered throughout the season with timely catch phrases : Save the Cheerleader , Save the World and Are you on the List ? aiding the series into playing out like one live action comic book with connecting chapters .
For instance , the first chapter establishes that Mohinder , as well as looking into his father's death , is also on the search for Patient Zero , allegedly the very first person to develop these special mutant abilities . If Mohinder is on the search for this individual , the question of the first leg of the series is the mystery surrounding the horn-rimmed glasses dude or HRG , Mr . Bennet who seems to be somehow wrapped up in the death of Mohinder's father and at the same time is aware of the research that the Suresh's were conducting .
His affiliation with the Primatech Paper Company only serves as a cover for an organization ( how large remains to be seen ) that investigates and studies these same fascinating beings with superhuman abilities .
Oh , by the way , did I mention that this mr . Bennet is also the foster father of our resident cheerleader ? That's right . The one with the healing factor . But at the pilot's conclusion begins the arc that will take these heroes and the fans on a tremendous journey throughout the season . One cataclysmic and singular event must be prevented from occurring .
On the floor of the future-painting artist named Isaac we see New York City seemingly obliterated within a mushroom cloud . When the artist utters the words we have to stop it the rollercoaster ride begins .
So , if a connection has been made to these fine beings as a homage to the X-men , then their chief antagonist Sylar serves as the series Magneto . Except Magneto is more of a defender of his oppressed fellow mutants . Sylar shows no such allegiance to anyone save Sylar . Sylar , formerly known as Gabriel Gray has emerged as the villain of the show who is on the hunt for these super-powered beings as well .
Not to study , not to conduct tests , but to acquire their powers and make their powers his . Unlike Peter Petrelli , Sylar has to kill these gifted beings by slicing open their heads and stealing their powers through some unknown manner.Though it's been hinted that Sylar eats his victims brains thus digesting their powers , this has yet to be established .
Although from start to finish , it's hard to find an episode that wasn't fine in it's execution and story telling , my first season favorites are :
Episode 4 : Collision ( where Peter meets the future Hiro )
Episode 8 : Seven Minutes to Midnight ( Hiro meets Charlie )
Episode 9 : Homecoming ( Peter and Sylar square off , Eden and the Haitian show up too )
Episode 10 : Six Months Ago ( Hiro goes back in time to change the present )
Episode 14 : Distractions ( Claude becomes a mentor to Peter )
Episode 15 : Run ! ( Matt encounters Jessica )
Episode 17 : Company Man ( the enigmatic Ted Sprague goes nuclear )
Episode 20 : Five Years Gone ( 5 years into the future reveals darker heroes and a reality where heroes are labeled as terrorists ) and
Episode 21 : the Hard Part ( Linderman's involvement in the Hawkins family is revealed ) .
Is it presumptious of me to say that I'll probably LOVE the season finale :
Episode 23 : How to Stop an Exploding Man ? ? ? since I am writing this review a few days BEFORE the season finale airs ?
Perhaps . That's just how great this season has been going . Watch Heroes with one friend or 10 . Then talk about it with 100 more . But you will definitely enjoy this show . Sit back and watch sci-fi television at it's finest .
018 4 * * WARNING : SOME SPOILERS AHEAD * *
Welcome to the world of HEROES . The pilot episode titled : GENESIS gets the series off and running right off the bat with the voiceover of a Indian genetics professor named Mohinder Suresh . Suresh surmises If God has indeed created himself in his own image , then I submit to you that God is a cockroach . With Episode 1 , this great series succeeds in creating this realistic , modern day world where you have these very ordinary people suddenly finding themselves blessed with extraordinary abilities or cursed with them .
This realistic environment , sans spandex , clever codenames , capes and secret identities hidden behind masks becomes a world one can easily accept . Much like the world of Marvel's merry mutants , the human race is on the threshold of a major leap in evolution . In fact , this threshold has already been engaged and breached because these beings are already among us emerging from all corners of the globe .
If one can suspend their disbelief for a moment , you can buy into the fact that a human being can fly while another one can read other's thoughts . But the strength of the seiries lies with the viewer's ability to ignore the super powers angle for a
minute and get to know this interesting cast of characters ; plain every day characters that we can come into or have come into contact with during our lives already .
We come to know Peter , a male nurse who has the ability to absorb powers of other heroes through proximity and re-use them .
Nathan : His brother who is gifted with the power of flight .
Matt : A police officer who can read the minds of those around him .
D.L . : A former ex-con who has the power of phasing through solid and organic objects .
Claire : A cheerleader with regenerative healing powers and appears indestructible .
Hiro : A loveable Japanese cubicle slave with the power of time travel and the manipulation of the space time continuum
Isaac : A comic book artist who is able to paint the future when he's under the influence of heroin
Micah : A young boy with techo-kinesis ; the ability to tap into any machine and hotwire it's programming for total control of various electronic devices and his mother Niki who is in constant struggle to suppress her super-human enhanced and possibly-evil twin doppelganger Jessica
If there is a lead to be found within this fine cast it may very well be , what we come to know will be the most powerful of the good guys , the aforementioned male nurse Peter Petrelli . His story will cross the paths of several of the major players of this show , including Mohinder himself who has traveled far to New York City to delve deep into the death of his father and the mysteries that surround it .
While many found the pilot episode short on action , more fans believed that the success of the show went into it's riveting character development and simple storyline and arcs peppered throughout the season with timely catch phrases : Save the Cheerleader , Save the World and Are you on the List ? aiding the series into playing out like one live action comic book with connecting chapters .
For instance , the first chapter establishes that Mohinder , as well as looking into his father's death , is also on the search for Patient Zero , allegedly the very first person to develop these special mutant abilities . If Mohinder is on the search for this individual , the question of the first leg of the series is the mystery surrounding the horn-rimmed glasses dude or HRG , Mr . Bennet who seems to be somehow wrapped up in the death of Mohinder's father and at the same time is aware of the research that the Suresh's were conducting .
His affiliation with the Primatech Paper Company only serves as a cover for an organization ( how large remains to be seen ) that investigates and studies these same fascinating beings with superhuman abilities .
Oh , by the way , did I mention that this mr . Bennet is also the foster father of our resident cheerleader ? That's right . The one with the healing factor . But at the pilot's conclusion begins the arc that will take these heroes and the fans on a tremendous journey throughout the season . One cataclysmic and singular event must be prevented from occurring .
On the floor of the future-painting artist named Isaac we see New York City seemingly obliterated within a mushroom cloud . When the artist utters the words we have to stop it the rollercoaster ride begins .
So , if a connection has been made to these fine beings as a homage to the X-men , then their chief antagonist Sylar serves as the series Magneto . Except Magneto is more of a defender of his oppressed fellow mutants . Sylar shows no such allegiance to anyone save Sylar . Sylar , formerly known as Gabriel Gray has emerged as the villain of the show who is on the hunt for these super-powered beings as well .
Not to study , not to conduct tests , but to acquire their powers and make their powers his . Unlike Peter Petrelli , Sylar has to kill these gifted beings by slicing open their heads and stealing their powers through some unknown manner.Though it's been hinted that Sylar eats his victims brains thus digesting their powers , this has yet to be established .
Although from start to finish , it's hard to find an episode that wasn't fine in it's execution and story telling , my first season favorites are :
Episode 4 : Collision ( where Peter meets the future Hiro )
Episode 8 : Seven Minutes to Midnight ( Hiro meets Charlie )
Episode 9 : Homecoming ( Peter and Sylar square off , Eden and the Haitian show up too )
Episode 10 : Six Months Ago ( Hiro goes back in time to change the present )
Episode 14 : Distractions ( Claude becomes a mentor to Peter )
Episode 15 : Run ! ( Matt encounters Jessica )
Episode 17 : Company Man ( the enigmatic Ted Sprague goes nuclear )
Episode 20 : Five Years Gone ( 5 years into the future reveals darker heroes and a reality where heroes are labeled as terrorists ) and
Episode 21 : the Hard Part ( Linderman's involvement in the Hawkins family is revealed ) .
Is it presumptious of me to say that I'll probably LOVE the season finale :
Episode 23 : How to Stop an Exploding Man ? ? ? since I am writing this review a few days BEFORE the season finale airs ?
Perhaps . That's just how great this season has been going . Watch Heroes with one friend or 10 . Then talk about it with 100 more . But you will definitely enjoy this show . Sit back and watch sci-fi television at it's finest .
019 4 I had very low expectations coming into the series . Even though I was excited about it , I felt it was jumping on the superhero bandwagon . Well , if that is so , Heroes does it with grace and intelligence .
First seasons have the challenge of enticing and keeping viewers while maintaining the original concept . There are only a few bumps along the way in this season , ( over-exposure of less interesting characters and some uneven episodes ) but Heroes has proven to be a solid show a majority of the time .
I am not quite sure what happened with the season finale . It almost appears as if they ran out of money , time or ( dare I say it ) ideas . It isn't bad , just not as explosive as the hype lead viewers to believe . I hope the show is setting the stage for a better second season opener . I'm counting on it .
I expected more extras and maybe a comic booklet , but no real complaints . It's not easy to package a seven-disk set . An interesting surprise in one of the featurettes discloses the actor that plays Hiro , Masi Oka , once worked as an effects technician for Industrial Light and Magic ! I find that both interesting and inspiring as I do the first season of Heroes .
024 4 Warning ! Multiple Spoilers below !
By any standard 2006 - 2007 was an exceptionally good season for television , with a host of very good new series being introduced . In fact , there was something of a battle for the survival of the fittest taking place , with more new serial dramas than viewers were able to support . Shows with considerable potential like SIX DEGREES and THE NINE simply did not have a chance to develop given the amazing range of competition . FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS , UGLY BETTY , MEN IN TREES , DEXTER , and , of course , HEROES were some of the ones that managed to survive .
HEROES was one of the more hotly debated shows on the Internet this year . Few doubted that it was good ; the question was how good . Was it a masterpiece , potentially one of the great series ever , or was somewhat overrated , given more credit for excellence than it deserved ? Much of the debate centered on HEROES versus LOST . I'm not quite sure why these two particular shows were paired in the debate , as if the excellence of the one somehow hinged on the excellence , or lack thereof , of the other . Personally , I'm no great prophet , but I'm willing to take a few stabs on the relative merits of HEROES . I loved the show , didn't miss a single episode , and looked forward to seeing it each week . But it never hit me as a truly great affair . If I compare it with the best supernatural / Sci-fi shows of the past decades ( the audience to which the show mainly catered ) , it didn't , in my estimation , come up to the complexity or sophistication of BUFFY , ANGEL , ALIAS , LOST , or BATTLESTAR GALACTICA . For instance , I just read of a call for papers for one-day academic conference in England on BATTLESTAR . The show is so rich and complex that I can imagine dozens and dozens of potential topics for academics to discuss . But I can't imagine this with HEROES . It simply lacks the kind of depth you find in the other shows ( though I suspect LOST's depth will be end-of-series depth , if it turns out to possess it - - most of LOST's academic interest lies in its narrative techniques ) . HEROES is enormous fun , but I get the sense that each week any viewer is able to absorb and process all of the information that he or she is given . One may be left with a few questions , but they are not terribly difficult questions . And I never found myself engaged in the kinds of online debates that I have had with BUFFY or BATTLESTAR . Part of the reason is certainly due to the fact that HEROES is focused more on plot than on character . BATTLESTAR , for instance , is always primarily about things that are taking place beneath the surface of the show . With HEROES , it is mainly about what is on the surface . In short , HEROES simply lacks a lot of the depth of the best genre shows .
I read one really good description of HEROES : BUFFY seemed to be a show produced by a great TV writer who loved comic books , while HEROES seems to be a show produced by a great comic book writer who loved TV . I think there is some merit to that . ( For the record , I'm primarily a lover of great TV who also enjoys comics and graphic novels , and I have a couple of large bookshelves dedicated to holding various graphic novels . )
The more curious debate that I've seen on the Internet was the First Half of the Season versus the Second Half of the Season . This mystifies me because to me it seems clear that the second half of the season was far superior to the first half . This is an important question because the vast majority of really good shows - - and I very much want to believe that HEROES has the potential to be a very good show - - tend to get better as they go along . The best new show of the 2006 - 2007 season was unquestionably FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS ( and I'm sure the few hundred people who saw it will agree with me - - how can a show be so good and get so few viewers ? ) . And there is absolutely no question that it got better and better and better as it went along . For me I saw HEROES as being good and fun for about the first two-thirds of the season and then near great for the final third ( I'll leave aside the somewhat disappointing finale for a second ) . I know the particular episode where everything kicked into a higher gear : Company Man , in which we learn in considerable detail the nature of Mr . Bennet's job and how he became Claire's adoptive father . For me , a series is as interesting as the characters on the show are complex and this was the first episode where any of the characters became complex as opposed to perplexing . The rest of the season increased the complexity and the depth of the characters . Earlier it wasn't clear that the writers grasped a simple truth : a show about someone who can fly or become invisible or who is indestructible is not interesting ; what is interesting is how a person responds to that . But the latter part of the season did seem to get that .
One reason I think that Season Two has a chance to be a lot more interesting than Season One is that in Season One you sometimes had a large ensemble cast that sometimes did little or not interaction . Many of the main characters did not meet until the season finale ( I actually would have loved to see how Peter , whose ability is to absorb the abilities of other heroes , would have reacted to being around Ali Larter's character , whose ability is a super empowered alter ego ) . The various characters were simply spread about with little or no connections to one another . But Season Two could see a much more coordinated cast .
Since my review is either the first or second review written after the season finale ( I refuse to write a review of any series that I have not seen completely and I really wish Amazon would make it impossible to review any season of a show before the finale has been broadcast ) , I thought I would say something about that . After a season-long build up to the finale , in which there would simultaneously be a confrontation with Sylar and an attempt to prevent the nuclear destruction of New York City , the final battle was a bit of a let down . Not only was the final resolution a bit unimaginative , there was little originality or complexity . There was very little to mark it off as special . Moreover , it is not even clear that in the final battle anyone even died . All that happens is Peter and Sylar meet , Hiro delivers an apparently fatal blow to Sylar , Peter goes nuclear , Claire is about to shoot him , and Nathan intervenes by snatching him and flying off into the stratosphere before he explodes . But irritatingly , Sylar turns out not to have died but crawled off into the sewer , and I'm betting that Nathan flew off before Peter exploded . And Peter , of course , will rejuvenate after exploding . One of the lessons that BUFFY taught us was that good series have body counts . A number of characters did die over the course of the season on HEROES , but having the possibility that no one died in the finale lessened the cost of the victory . I did like the brief beginning of Chapter Two following the resolution of the nuclear incident . Hiro finds himself catapulted somehow to 17th century Japan confronted by a larger group of archers . A single horseman is on a distant hill , with a banner containing the symbol that is placed on the shoulder of several of the heroes in Season One , a horseman who seemed to bear a sharp resemblance to Hiro's father ( played by George Takei ) . So while the finale was a bit of a disappointment , this definitely pointed towards interesting things ahead . So also did the revelation by Molly , the little girl with the ability to locate anyone by merely thinking about them , that there was someone who was far worse than Sylar . I'm sure we'll be meeting this person in Season One .
I liked the cast as a whole . I was even bothered less by Milo Ventimiglia , who I had always intensely disliked in his days on THE GILMORE GIRLS . Hayden Panettiere was adorable as the indestructible cheerleader ( though there was a brief controversy early in the season when her gay best friend was suddenly de-gayed inexplicably , almost certainly as the result of network pressure in response to small but passionate anti-gay groups ) and it was great to see a high school-aged character being played by someone actually that age . Masi Oka quickly became a fan favorite as Hiro , the young Japanese would-be hero who somehow aspired to being able to overcome the space-time continuum , and surprisingly managed to do precisely that . Ali Larter was wonderful as Niki / Jessica , the schizoid and incredibly dangerous beauty who struggled all season with reconciling her two natures . Sendhil Ramamurthy was a fascinating presence as Mohinder , an Indian geneticist struggling to understand the genetic permutations that allowed some individuals to develop unusual abilities . There were many others as well , in addition to many excellent guest appearances ( though a shout out to Christopher Eccleston , the former DR . WHO star who teaches Peter how to control his powers ) . My favorite character was , however , Jack Coleman as Mr . Bennet , who is easily the most complex character on the show . Early on we suspect that he might be an utterly sinister individual ; only gradually do we discover his actual agenda and aims .
All in all , this was an amazingly entertaining show . I find that different shows I watch meet different needs . I watch BATTLESTAR GALACTICA for its depth and stunning originality and I love to debate the tiniest detail with other fans . FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS I watch for the way it plunges so deeply into the emotional lives of its characters ( it really isn't ' about football ) . LOST I watch for the ongoing complexity of its rich and wonderful story ( after recovering from a string of weak early Season Three episodes ) . But other shows I just turn off my brain and have fun . UGLY BETTY was one of these and HEROES another . I found it to be infectious and uncomplex fun . And yeah , it really was the onscreen equivalent of a really good comic book .
025 4 At a time when the world is at war , when we are all distracted by our own lives and our own hangups etc , its seems that the WORLD waited for a way to have something else to look to . Who knew it would be a TV show that gives us everyday people with everyday problems , who just happen to discover that they have extraordinary powers and abilities .
What makes HEROES unique is the human element , the fact that the story itself is treated not as a what if senario based in real situations , but as a This could really be happening situation . The show is character driven and wonderfully written as well .
Stan Lee says that when he created Spider-man people could relate because he was the most accessable and believable of all the other comic book characters and because he was more human and vulnerable .
I think that's why HEROES works so well it takes everyday people and places them in the these comic book like scenarios . This show is about love , loss and in the end hope . The kind of hope that this world is missing now , and that's why the world embraced HEROES , because inside of us we all wish that we could SAVE THE CHEERLEADER , SAVE THE WORLD and for an hour each night we did
028 4 I'll be picking up my boxed set this weekend , but really , I'm not buying this for the extras , although they need more mention . This is just a review of the tv series from my PoV . Total rating is 4.5 stars .
This type of show really is character-driven as opposed to plot-driven ; the point is to get to know these characters as opposed to doing a villian of the week show like Buffy the Vampire Slayer . Yes , there was the plot device of New York City is in danger ! , but each week was really about the characters and getting to know them . So that's my focus . The characters were brilliantly played . Unlike many fans of the show , I actually found Nathan and Nikki to be my faves . Adrian Pasdar is an excellent and really underrated actor who brought a different side to the show . While everyone was in love with Peter and Hiro's joy of being superpowered , and everyone related to the high school angst of Claire's outsider status , I think Nathan represented the adult whose life has just been given the major upheaval by , well , life . He was a needed character , and Adrian Pasdar was a great casting decision . Nikki was an interesting twist as a character . I like Ari Lightner , but I wasn't 100% sure what the character was all about . Once I learned more about her , I really liked her . The split personality worked for me , but I'm glad it got integrated by the end of the season . And lest I forget , Matt . Matt , to me , also made some very interesting decisions throughout the season , and I wonder what the fallout will be in September . He took a turn which I dind't see coming , but am not surprised with . It was needed to keep him interesting . Hiro , Claire , Isaac , DL , Peter . . . they were all great characters . Skylar was an excellent villian , and HRG was certainly a character who provided endless hours of speculation . It's going to be interesting to see what the show does next season . Are Peter and Nathan dead ? What about Ando now that Hiro is in feudal Japan ? Is Matt among the living ? Is Sylar alive ? And what about Kirsten Bell , Dania Ramirez , and Nichelle Nichols , all brilliant casting decision for characters to come .
The camoes and guest characters provided some great plot development , especially for Matt . . . let's face it , telepaths are boring , so he needed a good story . And Clea DuVall , one of the most underrated actresses around , gave it to him . The Invisible Man , George Takei , Eden , and all the others served good purposes , weren't just cannon fodder , and I wanted them all to join the cast !
Half a star deduction for :
- the finale . It was overall great , but it needed to be longer . The climactic battle was anything but . It reminded me of the bad flick that was Generation X staring Finola Hughes and based on the Marvel Comic of the same name . It was really campy and hokey by the end . I wanted it to be better .
- The decision by NBC to unout Claire's buddy Zach , then write him off the show . I see a lot of people pleased with the racially diverse cast , and I agree , but to have a fake myspace page for the kid listing him as questioning and then redo everyone's memories and make him straight then get rid of him was a very poor decision by NBC , IMO . Gay kids deserve role models , too , you know .
- They hype . I think the fault really should be laid at the feet of the NBC PR crew . THEY made the ads . NBC missed the mark a few times with marketing . Not the show . But it does factor into my decion to give this a 4.5 star review marked by four instead of five stars . The show needs to deliver , and there were times it didn't . I loved the arcs , and Save the Cheerleader , Are You on the List and the other marketing campaigns were great . Except that they were usually a week or two ahead of the actual episode which was aired .
Do I recommend this show , of course . It's quality television . Overall very well written and acted , and it's something you could sit down with the kids and watch without worry . There were a few gross out scenes , usually involving Claire and Sylar , which may scare younger viewers , but it's something I'd let my niecesd and nephews watch . Minimal swearing , not in-your-face , over the top and constant sexuality , simulated comic-book-esque violence make this a show for most viewers .
Most of the 2006 season hasn't graduated . Really , what are the real carry overs ? Oh , right , NBC's Heroes and ABC's Ugly Betty . That's really it . For all the bad reviews of the show , the numbers and survivial and overall critical and fan acclaim speak for themselves . And just because I can't resist , ignore the haters . Lost fans are disgruntled because this season fell apart , and Battlestar Glactica fans are annoyed fanboys whose favorite show will never get picked up by a major network and they're just jealous of the commercial and critical success this show has pulled off . ; )
034 4 It's true . Heroes was one of the most talked about shows of the past couple of years . Having heard all of my friends ' raves about the show , I decided to watch season 1 to see what all the fuss is about . Turns out , yes , the show is good . Although , I do have to say that it's slightly overrated .
So what's the show about ? Well , if you guessed the show is about heroes , you'd be correct . Only we're talking about SUPERheroes here . You know , like Superman and Spiderman-the ones who have extraordinary abilities . In season 1 , we're introduced to the heroes , all seemingly ordinary people who are in the process of learning about their abilities at the start of the first episode . Putting their powers to good use , the heroes come across quite a few obstacles . Ultimately , the heroes must learn how to use their abilities to stop New York City from exploding .
Let's talk about the positives first . The cast is surprisingly pretty good . Hayden Panettiere , Ali Larter , Masi Oka , Milo Ventimiglia , Zachary Quinto-all completely different actors / actresses and all perfect for their roles . Only a couple of shoddy actors here and there . In terms of the characters , the heroes have some pretty interesting abilities . From regeneration to being able to paint the future to being able to hear other people's thoughts , this show has it all .
The reason for the 4 stars is that it's all a bit scatter brained and confusing . In the beginning , we get a ton of information and not quite enough answers . For example , the name Sylar is mentioned quite a few times in the opening episodes but we're not introduced to him until later on in the season . This wouldn't have been a big problem if Sylar wasn't a main character ( he is ) and if we knew exactly who the heck he was and why he's so important . It also seems as though the writers were making up the rules and changing them as the show moved on . Like in one scene , a character's powers will stop working out of the blue and the writers won't explain why . Talk about irritating . If the writers made the strings a little tighter , half of the show's viewers wouldn't be distraught that this season fell short .
When I think about my favorite shows , I remember that I love them because of the mystery and the surprise factor . I don't think there's enough of that on this show . On paper , this show is brilliant . In actuality , however , what could have been a GREAT show is only just good because of its lack of shock and its loopholes . Looking back on this season , I think the only real interesting , on the edge of your seat sort of parts were in the first few episodes . If the entire season maintained this interesting feel , I would have certainly rated it 5 stars . Like I said , it's a good show but I don't think it's must watch material .
040 4 These stories are an event in your life . Sometimes , it feels like they can maybe even save you . HEROES is not one of these stories . ( At least , not yet . ) The actors are generally good ( many of them have played wonderful supporting roles in other hit shows ) . The comics style for the X-men-esque genre is fresh . The super powers are fun . The villain is most definitely evil - he's black without hints of gray . And our heroes have a glimpse of a future that they want to alter - a prophecy that destiny has given them a chance to change . It is a recipe for a hit show , maybe even a great show . BUT , it hasn't yet found a way into our hearts . Does anybody actually CARE about these characters ( barring sweet , sweet Hiro ) ? I find that I wouldn't cry for them . Or cheer for them . Or sit on the edge of my seat and hope for them . I do hope that this will change as the show grows - there were a few moments there in this season where I felt like the show could really be great . Definitely keep this show on your radar !
( I have to say that I admire the writers for tackling a show like this . It seems to me that one of the dangers of a show where everyone has super powers is that once the audience has opened up their imaginations , they start to wonder things like , well , if he can fly , why doesn't he just do it ? It's hard not to overthink the plots , and hard for us to believe that anyone with super powers and super friends might actually be in danger . Good luck , show writers ! )
041 4 Heroes was recommended to me from several people who were fans of the show , and since I was way behind in the hype , I quickly downloaded episodes from I-tunes to catch up . I am more of ` The Office ' fan than a series starring superheroes , but I quickly came to realize several good ( and bad things ) about this show , which I will be glad to lay out :
Heroes is about a group of people who experience a change within them before ( and after ) an eclipse , and while the premise makes it seem as though it was people around the world who will join up as one , many of the characters in the show are in the US . From Episode one to its finale , the series will tie each of these character's lives unto each other . I suppose it would've worked better if we felt some attachment to most of these characters .
We have sweet-natured Hiro , who can manipulate time and space , and his tag-along friend Ando . Hiro knows a terrible thing will happen to New York ( since he traveled into the future by accident ) and will stop at nothing to achieve his goal . This young man is probably one of the best characters you can attach yourself to . It seems that I constantly watched each episode just to see what Hiro will do next . The others , are not all that hot .
Isaac , a painter , is a seer who paints the future in his paintings , and in him we are faced with a lot of drama . His drug addiction , the loss of his girlfriend , his angst that there is nothing he could do to change anything that is about to come until episodes down the way , where he makes an ultimate sacrifice .
Claire is the cheerleader . Yes , the one that the heroes ( primarily Peter ) must save in order to save the world . Her ` father ' ( Claire is adopted ) , in the beginning , is assumed to be Syler , or possibly working alongside this mystery man who seeks out heroes to kill them for their powers . Down the road , you realize that Claire's ` father ' is a deeper and kinder man then we realize . Despite this , ` saving the cheerleader , saving the world ' . . . it never really pulled off to be this big thing that the series promised . So she's saved . . . but the world still is in peril and Syler is still on the loose . There was no huge impact from her being saved other than the heroes being this close to reuniting with one another .
Niki , a mother with a real double-personality problem , is struggling on her own in trying to tame her other evil half while supporting her son and running away from her murderous husband , who surprises us all when he reveals the man he is . Then you have Matt , a cop who can read minds ; Nathan , the stubborn brother of Peter who can fly ; and Peter himself , the main star of the show whose powers are later revealed that he takes on the powers of those around him . And the man who has to find all of these people is Mohinder Suresh . Picking up where his murdered father left off in his research , Mohinder eventually comes face to face with the murderer that killed his father , and although it doesn't end in the way people imagined , if it did , then there goes the season , no ?
Now that I got the bulk of the characters covered ( and hope the spoilers weren't too big ) , let's go over the fact that this show really is worth watching . It is , and it's fun , but there's a lot of filler added in to make the episodes all around the time frame of 45 minutes . Things lag quite a lot . And even though new surprises come up in each and every episode after a major cliffhanger made you thirst for the next , you can't hide the fact that the show does have its corny , WTF moments . Like finding out who Claire's real father is ( wow . . . how totally unexpected , but how badly put together ) , and Peter's occasional angry rants . ( ` Damn it Nathan , I have to save the cheerleader ! Save the cheerleader , save the world ! ' Repeat , repeat . . . ) Heroes is more of a drama than a show that features hot-headed , buff superheroes in tights and capes blowing stuff up for the audience . Each episode takes it time in focusing on characters that is really up to you whether you really should care for them or not . And although the finale was short of success , here's to a good season two .
Don't expect too much from ` Heroes ' , the first season . Think of it as a very long introduction to the events that will hopefully happen in Season Two .
047 4 Perhaps one of the most ambitious undertakings in modern television history . NBC took some serious risks this season with a number of innovative and groundbreaking shows . No gamble , however , could have been more unlikely a success story than was their pilot for Heroes .
Because of its comic book , episodic nature , Heroes might have fared better starting off as a miniseries or event playing two episodes several nights in a row to get its audience past an unusually long introductory period where an audience is still trying to identify numerous characters over a not-very-clear plot line . Nonetheless , those who stuck with it were rewarded with one of the most satisfying network series debuts since the 24 .
The Heroes include a shapeshifter , a Japanese worker who has mastered moving through the time space continuum , a cheerleader who can recover from any injury - including death , a mindreading cop , an invisible man , a dual-personality stripper with the ultimate good / evil split , a man who can walk through solid objects , a child who communicates with machines , a heroin addicted artist whose paints the future of the world , a politician with the ability to fly and his younger brother who absorbs the powers of every other hero . There are more to explore and each adds unexpected nuance and richness - as well as endless possibilities - to the story .
All of these people have been tracked down during a lifelong study by a professor from India forced to abandon his family and move to New York for the final part of his research : contact . When he's mysteriously killed , his estranged and embittered son , through a series of intense epiphanies , bedraggedly becomes involved in discovering who these extraordinary people are and the reason for their existence .
With more plot twists , turns and confusion than a night at the Chinese Opera , Heroes manages a balancing act of ancient grand guignal theatre , action / adventure , combined with all in an epic both . In the best bad guy tradition , Heroes offers up villains that , on the surface , seem little more than scenery chewing cardboard cartoon characters - but ah , get to know them , and they are multi-faceted ,
The very best entertainments draw you into another world , are able to create a feeling that engages your imagination and , even in their darkness , beckons the viewer to stay and explore . I do not know any show that has done this better than have the creators of Heroes .
What is most remarkable about this large cast of characters is their very ordinariness . In the very best superhero tradition , each lives an ordinary , mundane existence and when confronted with their extraordinary abilities , must figure out a balancing act to incorporate these abilities into a normal existence . This , of course , ultimately proves impossible and the deeper reasons for why they are they way they are emerge , eventually bringing all together to prevent - or cause - a catastrophic event that will destroy or save the world .
While the entire ensemble of actors provide uniformly satisfying performances , there are , several standout performances : Masi Oka , as the unlikely Hiro - our endearing time traveler who ( literally ) comes straight from the pages of a comic book learning , ungracefully , how to bend time and space to accomplish his mission . Hayden Panettiere as Claire the indescructable cheerleader who , despite her amazing abilities must be saved ; Milo Ventimiglia as Peter - the confused , soft spoken nurse to whom is given the great task : Save the cheerleader , save the world . Then there is Zachary Quinto as Sylar the darkly handsome brainsucker and ultimate boogeyman . But again , trust me , singling out these particular heroes in no way diminishes the potency and brilliance of the rest of the cast - all integral to the telling of this most amazing tale .
Heroes debut season ended - quite literally - with a bang , and even just a peak into next season makes me hungry for more . Lots more !
048 4 Heroes is an amazing show . Tim Kring built a show that is so deep , that every episode , moment , and line means something .
Mohinder Suresh searches for the man that killed his father , at the same time , he's trying to fulfill his father's work . His father studied advancents in the human genes . A number of people around the world have these adavancements , powers , and don't know about it yet .
We first meet Peter Petrelli , a nurse overshadowed by his political older brother . There's Claire Bennett , a normal high school cheerleader . Also are Niki Sanders and her son Micah , her ex-husband DL , Matt Parkman , Isaac Mendez , Claire's normal father Mr . Bennett , and Hiro Nakamura .
The cast is wonderful . Everyone plays their part convinvingly and perfectly .
Included in this set is Tim Kring's 73 minute Unaired Premiere Episode ( In His Own Hands ) . There's also 50 minutes of Deleted Scenes , 12 or so Audio Commentaries on various episodes including a bevy of cast members , plenty of featurettes : The Making of Heroes , The Special Effects , The Stunts , etc .
I highly recommended this series . It's is definitely a must have . Hopefully you'll get it before the next season starts , September 24 , 2007 . This is one of the best shows on television . And the packaging is wonderful .
Definite Must Have .
049 4 This dvd set is quality entertainment ! I loved this show because I loved the show it took its ideas and premise from - The 4400 . Some fans have said that Heros stole directly from The 4400 but I don't really care about that . I like the idea of ordinary people evolving and doing extraordinary things . So watch Heroes and then get a hold of all 4 seasons of The 4400 .
Quality programming is hard to come by but these shows deliver it in bushels !
Enjoy . . .
057 4 If you have been subjected to this series as yet , you will know that it is a little 24 - ish , in that each epiosode keeps you hanging on to the next , and you become very involved in each character's development . You have to see and watch each episode carefully , as you discover things towards the end to which there were hints in earlier episodes .
Without giving away too much , the basic concept is excellent - a bunch of people with extraordinary abilities discovering them in various situations , with characters with different abilities colliding at different points in the story . Plus , the dark organisation that seems to have a vested interest in how events pan out , and a couple of evil heroes that threaten the existence of all others . Everything leads up to a seemingly unavoidable cathartic event that involves all major characters , which influences each of their actions throughout the story . Vague ? I apologise , trying not to turn this into a book report !
There are frustrations that leave you sometimes feeling the dramatic leap of faith the writers ask you to take are a little too dramatic . This is the problem with stories that have that fantasy element surrounding real life characters . This doesn't get in the way of a good story telling , and like all good series , leaves the door open at the very end for a continuation next season ( though , I hope this doesn't turn into a Lost-like scenario , where there's a heavy reliance on what becomes a ludicrous storyline ) .
I do thoroughly recommend the set though , as if you're anything like me you do want to see what happens in that next episode without having to wait a week .
060 4 A sensitive hospice nurse living in the shadow of his politician brother . An office drone dreaming of becoming a hero . A teenaged cheerleader just trying to fit in . An Internet stripper struggling to raise her gifted son . An L.A . cop whose marriage is collapsing . And an artist strung out on heroin . All characters whose lives have just become extraordinary .
NBC's HEROES engages in vicarious wish fulfillment and explores the fascinating nature of super powers and what it would be like to be gifted with amazing abilities . No surprise then that HEROES , premiering on September 25 , 2006 , quickly became one of the hottest new shows of 2006 . While this show's big hook hinges on the superhero theme , HEROES doesn't come all heavy with the gaudy special effects . There are no costumes , no superhero code names ( unless you count Flying Man ! as a code name ) . Instead , HEROES focuses on down-to-earth storylines which ground the cast and the fantasy elements . The everyday settings and situations keep it all relatable . To pique interest , the episodes do end on a cliffhanger , and , on occasion , the show actually doles out answers to several of the ongoing mysteries .
This is a humongous cast , and each actor steps up . Plenty of compelling characters here , but the breakouts seem to be : Hiro Nakamura , the sweetly nerdy and infectiously enthusiastic Japanese office drone , played by the cherubic Masi Oka ; Claire Bennet ( Hayden Panettiere ) , the invincible high school cheerleader ; and the sexy , tortured Niki Sanders ( Ali Larter , oh so sensuous ) . But also effective are Adrian Pasdar as the unflappable and coldly ambitious Nathan Petrelli and James Kyson Lee as Ando , Hiro's sidekick . One of the best things about the show is Lee and Oka's fun chemistry . As well , in Lee , the show provides us with a rootable point-of-view character . With the core roster being so large and varied , there are multiple story threads . But , man , do you get hooked with each one ! The overriding story arc , involving an impending apocalypse in New York , manages to tie in all these subplots .
Every show like this needs a good villain , and we are introduced to several candidates . Zachary Quinto ( who does look like Spock ) is the very scary boogeyman Sylar , a superpowered serial killer who hunts other gifted individuals and murders them to steal their talents . There's the mysterious Mr . Linderman , who seems to have his finger in every pie . My favorite bad guy , though , may be H.R.G . ( Horn-Rimmed Glasses , aka Claire's dad ) , who , as the season progresses , develops into a fascinating , multi-layered character .
So many things to like about HEROES . There's the obvious stuff , with the fan boy's dream of a premise . Then the well-rounded characters with whom you empathize , and their incredible powers . The writing , dabbling in the fantastic but rooted in reality , consistently sucks you in . Each episode forms a chapter in one encompassing narrative ( so you can't really afford to miss one ) . The show drips with human drama , edge-of-your-couch suspense , stupendous action ( when it crops up ) , and an overhanging sense of dread , of Armageddon being only one misstep away . It certainly engages in moral dilemmas , or , put another way : Is Peter Parker cheating when he sells photos of Spider-Man ? Needless to say , the twists and turns , the shocks and revelations , when they surface , will stun you .
HEROES creates an intricate internal mythology , all credit to series creator Tim Kring and his co-horts for some well-conceived world-building . And , as mentioned , HEROES doesn't go overboard with the f / x , but when the show does indulge in f / x , it does so with ridiculous flair . In particular , the stupendous injuries which Claire sustains are of the queasy variety . In particular , one character's power of prophesy adds a darker , even more dramatic dimension to the show , giving rise to the question : Is the future mutable ? Props also to comic book artist Tim Sale , whose contributions cannot be overlooked .
Finally , the high muck-a-mucks actually come thru with the special features , of which there's a walloping plentitude . To start with , HEROES - SEASON 1 offers cast and crew audio commentary on 13 episodes . This includes Tim Kring's thoughts on the unedited , semi-alternative version of the pilot Genesis , which offers up a deleted terrorism story arc . My favorite commentary , though , is on the awesome dystopian episode Five Years Later . Amazingly , there are 50 deleted scenes . There's the 10 - minute-long Making Of featurette , as well as segments on the show's stunts , special effects , and musical score . An interesting profile of color blind comic book artist Tim Sale ( who rendered Isaac Mendez's paintings ) . And you can even play the freaky-cool Mind Reader game .
Got nothing more to add , really . If you haven't yet , watch the dang show and get set to have your bump of curiousity nudged mightily . Oh , and pay the writers already , so Season 2 gets back from limbo .
072 4 Heroes as a series , is just fantastic . A little corny at times ( which is nice ) but overall a great achievement in directing , acting , casting , music and art direction . Especially for the network it's on . The series is a little slow at first till about episode 5 to do character introductions . I break the season into 3 parts . 1 being introductions , 2 being more action with saving the cheerleader and 3 becoming darker when Sylar ( Quinto = best villian on TV in a long time ) gets into full effect and they have to try & stop a nuclear explosion . I'm not going to get into other characters because they all have great stories to tell ( nicki & parkman's are a little boring though until the end ) . I'm a huge Lost & BSG fan and Heroes was fresh when the other 2 shows faltered just a little in the middle of their 3rd seasons .
As a HD DVD set - this is the kind of set that makes me feel bad for people with bluray only players just as I can't get certain movies on HD that are on bluray . It only makes me hate the format war even more . Everyone should be able to enjoy the extras on this set . The amount of extras and the way they are delivered are unbelievable . I absolutely love the picture in picture feature for commentaries and the graffic art stuff . Most of the picture quality is always super ( 8.5 of 10 ) while certain parts are reference quality ( 10 of 10 ) . And that's on a bigger screen so folks with 42 or smaller HD sets will be watching an almost flawless picture . I've read reviews that complained a little about the lack of surround effects in the series but it is not a major deal as I didn't find a problem with it . When you listen to the DD + through a really nice setup , you'll hear all the subtle effects . Overall - another benchmark for extras on a TV set and amazing picture quality in HD . Just a plain GREAT show .
074 4 What if you could soar above the sky , and see the world through the eyes of a bird , or what if you could bend the space time continium , imagine if you wil the possibility of never being hurt , or reading the minds of your peers , what would you do with these gifts ? Would you use them for the benefit of mankind , or would you use them for your own objectives ? Heroes has become one of the biggest hit shows of the 2007 season , its conolation of well placed story plots intertwining the lives of several unique people has proven more than adequate and has dealt the viewer a hand of action , drama , comedy , and horror .
The story takes off when Mohinder Suresh , the son of an obsessive scientist bent on finding the unique individuals who carry within them the genetic code capable of propelling our species to the next evolutionary stage , trying to finish his fathers research . In the process the show dives into the individual stories of Claire , Nikki , Nathan , Peter , Isaac , Matt , and finally Hiro . Claire has the ability to quickly regenerate her cellular structure rendering her invincible , Nikki is a stripper that has a hidden secret in her reflection , Nathan has the ability to fly , Peter can copy powers , Issac can reveal the future through painted portraits , Matt has the ability to read minds , and Hiro can break the space time continuom .
* First Episode Spoiler Warning *
For those of you that want to get an idea of what your in for before you buy the season set , i have decided to give a brief written summary of the beginning of the first episode , if you don't want to know what happens then do not read on .
The episode basically begins with Peter standing on top of a 20 foot building looking out into the horizon , his arms spread open and the wind waving his hair he plunges off of the building and as he is speeding towards the ground you get a glimpse of Nathans face before the screen goes white and you are taken back to Peter who is now sitting on a chair with his nurse coat on apparently day dreaming . After you get a small glimpse at what Peter's life is like , you are taken to Mohinder Suresh who is giving a lecture on the possibility of human potential and the idea that the most fully evolved creature is a cockaroach , while giving this lecture he is interrupted by one of his fathers old collegues who brings him the news of his father's death . Mohinder then decides that he wants to finish his fathers research and so he takes a trip to his father's apartment to acquire clues on what his father was working on , while there , he finds that he is not alone , there is someone else who seems to be interested in his father's research as well . Mohinder then takes a certain something from his fathers archives and leaves the room unnoticed . Now you are taken to Claire who seems to be making some sort of a home movies considering she is being seen through the lens of a camera , Claire begins to climb about two stories onto the ledge of a construction site about 80 feet from ground level , the camera man utters something about how insane this is and then you see Claire plummeting two stories face first , the camera man begins to express his concern for her well being and begins to run towards her , Claire then gets up relocates her dislocated shoulder and says to the camera , attempt number 6 , while a bloody gash over her forhead begins to disappear . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Want to know what happens next ? Well your just going to have to see for yourself .
This is the solid package , one full season of one of the best shows on television in perfect high defenition format , and believe me when i say it looks beautiful , if only the stupid format war would end then the consumer wouldn't have to suffer , i wish that those that have a blue ray player would be able to get to enjoy this also .
To wrap things up , you've got a great show in beautiful high def format , at a great price considering it is 23 one hour episodes , i recommend this to anyone who likes a good super hero story .
129 4 As a long lover of sci-fi superheroes , it is very rare to find anything all that original anymore . After your first love , and for me it was the X-Men in this genre , most other things look formulaic .
It took me two full episodes to warm to this series . At first , I thought it was entirely derivative , exactly the same plot as the X-Men : powerful mutants learn to use their powers , some are good and some bad , while a fearful public stands more or less in the dark as to the truth . The association of Stan Lee to the production didn't help .
Then I noticed several things that made this better and better in terms of quality . The characters are quite interesting , from Hiro ( the naive Manga enthusiast who relishes his status as superhero ) to the complicated family , the Petrellis ( one a politician who is vacillating between sleaze and conscience and his younger brother , variously seen as a softie loser and the most powerful of them all ) . The acting is quite believable , if at times middling . And they grow on you as you see alternative futures and the like for them .
Then there is a tongue and cheek joking at the notion behind the entire genre of mutant superheroes , which fans take way way too seriously for their own mental balance . It is a delicate balance , because while avoiding comedy the viewer needs to suspend their disbelief and just enjoy it . This really worked for me because it was contained in the characters , not in stupid sit-com style situations .
Finally , the peeling back of layers of conspiracy and intrigue are worthy of the X-Files . While it is not to everyone's taste , I enjoyed it , particularly in the father of the cheerleader , who rebels and comes out as a good guy if too machiavellian .
Warmly recommended . It is very fun entertainment .
153 4 I can't lie and say I loved this show from the very beginning . I did not . In fact , after the pilot episode I gave up , until this year when I caught season 3 episodes and it made me realize I've been missing an amazing show . So amazing I had to rent every Heroes DVD and request both seasons 1 & 2 dvd sets . I still wasn't crazy about the Pilot when I saw it again recently , but I loved the realistic approach to super-heroes .
I'm a big fan of Smallville so no surprise Heroes won me over . There are lots of characters and many of them are very likeable . So many in fact that I can't pick ONE favorite because a lot of them are my favorites - like Hiro who can teleport through time and space and make me laugh every episode along with his human side-kick Ando , Claire Bennett who heals from anything like Wolverine , Peter ( who could copy any powers of a super-human he comes into contact with ) & Nathan ( who can fly ) brothers with powers , but different viewpoints , there's Matt the psychic cop / part time F.B.I agent who is trying to find out what happened to him and others like him who have suddenly become more than human . there's Nikki / Jennifer who are sisters one good and one bad , one dead and one alive but they switch places when they see each other in mirrors and reflective objects , there's Angela Petrelli , the manipulative mother of the Petrelli brothers ( Nathan and Peter ) , there's Mikah , Nikki's son who can control machines , there's DL the husband of Nikki and father of Mikah who can become intangible and walk through walls Finally , there is HRG the cunning , manipulative father of Claire and Sylar the show's version of Lex Luthor who kills to take other people's powers . . The stories are fantastic and in this first season this show brought a positive vibe that many tv shows lack these days ( heck even Heroes has become a dark and brooding show ) .
If you've never seen Heroes you don't know what you are missing . There are those fans that think the show has declined , but I think it gets better every week . I'm glad I finally started watching this show and now buy it on dvd . It's already become my favorite show . I suggest you rent it first but if you come to love it like I do you will not regret buying these dvds . Speaking of the dvds , there are so many commentaries with cast & crew that those of you who love commentaries ( like I do ) will love these dvds .
160 4 There has been a fair bit of hype surrounding this series , and most of it is deserved , so if you have checked out some of the best television has to offer ( and the 21st century has some of the finest ever ) then you may like to give Heroes a flight on your screen . I am in for season 2 and maybe you will be also .
The show deals with about a dozen characters , each who discovers they have a special ability , their lives cross each other's and in the backdrop a looming crisis threatens each of them , New York and maybe the entire world . They must learn to come to terms with their abilities before it is too late .
The season starts by explaining the characters and further episodes gradually bring the characters together . This is a bit of a slow burner but stick with it because the second half of this season is a way better than the first which does have some shaky moments and a few off episodes that can make you doubt it . For every low point there genuinely are some very interesting and surprising ones . However one of its major weaknesses is that it cannot escape being labelled an X-Men clone and for all intents and purposes that is exactly what it is . It's the exact same premise dilemma of humans possibly turning against the new mutant emergences , however instead of focusing on this the series is mainly about Sylar , a mutant who becomes an increasingly dangerous force and tries to kill the other mutants . In this respect it hasn't fallen victim to being a complete X-Men rip-off but it does come too close for comfort sometimes .
The other problem is that for every interesting character ( with the emergence of a new actor in the making ) there is one that is boring or whose potential is kept to such a minimal as to barely make them appealing enough to watch when they show up . While this could just be the producers playing some things out for future seasons it is still more than a little tedious and in particular doesn't suit its style like it would in Lost . This is Heroes . We want heroes . If we want Lost we will watch Lost . One other negative is that the story often doesn't make sense and some characters do some very silly things but this is all about the suspension of disbelief , they just ask us to buy into some things that make everyone concerned look very dim . There is a bit of an anti-climax too given such a build up .
So apart from its failing why recommend it ? Well it should be highly suggested for your TV series collection because its production values are consistent with the best of TV along with some nifty plots and some truly exciting story arcs . For example Hero's very tough version of himself , Sylar's method of killing people , Claire taking her date for a drive , Peter discovering how his powers actually work or Matt's family dilemmas . Some heroes live and some die so that keeps you on your toes .
It seems that its plus points are more than enough to not only save it from gathering dust but propel it into competing for the best TV series hot spot . When its goods it's great and when it tries to touch its audience it really succeeds .
Pros :
- High production values
- Cool characters
- Good action sequences
- When the story works its very cool
Cons :
- X-Men does it better
- Some characters are boring or stay small
- Anti-climax
- Plot holes galore
182 4 Very nice series that is excellently written and performed , but contains some gruesome aspects so it may not be suitable for everyone . However , there are many INTERESTING aspects as well so I can highly recommend this series . Characters and the main season overal story are developed over roughly 24 episodes on 7 DVDs . If you are looking for a type of Sci-Fi series that is on Earth and is made up of slowly discovering the special abilities of people living somewhat normal lives , then THIS is it ! It is never clear who are the good guys and who are the bad guys which makes it even more exciting . Here are some details on the disks :
1 . Cases : could be better as they use the hard polycarbonate ( ? ) style where each two disks overlap - - why ? the disks are not so easy to remove . Users want slim-pack , polypropylene cases so that the disks are easy to remove .
2 . Disks : single-sided as they should be and they appear to be of good quality with no pixelation and so on .
3 . Menus : each disk has a menu but they are not so easy to access later episodes . The TOP menu should contain a listing of all episodes .
4 . Price : I picked mine up from amazon when they were about $23 , so wait a while for the sale if you can . However , even at the usual discounted price of $38 , the series are worth picking up . The 7 DVDs for the set are an excellent value and will entertain for hours .
183 4 When I first started watching Heroes , I got hooked on it almost instantly . However , after a few ( well maybe more like 10 + ) episodes , it somehow felt a little . . . empty . Almost every episode ends with a cliff-hanger , which detracts from the satisfaction in viewing . Granted , it's a surefire way of making viewers want to go on watching , but it feels kinda manipulative . Compared with another series such as Veronica Mars for example , Heroes feels like it's not going anywhere fast , plot-wise .
Regardless , the subject matter is interesting , the characters ' acting are generally great , and the plot is not too shabby . I'll actually give it 4.5 stars except the available options are either 4 or 5 , and I really can't give it a perfect , flawless 5 - stars .
Hence if you're the type who likes to watch just 1 or 2 episodes at a go , Heroes might not feel really satisfying . However if you have an entire weekend to dedicate to this , by all means immense yourself in the world of Heroes .
185 4 You guys all know the show . . . I missed it on TV , but I liked what I had heard about it , so I ordered the first season out of curiosity . All I can say is that I watched the entire boxed set over a long weekend - and I loved every minute of it .
Totally recommended for those who are willing to start out on a What if premise and then go for the ride , all the way . HEROES offers something for everyone : Adventure , Science-Fiction , characters you can relate to , stories you may have dreamt to live yourself , Geek-fodder for ages , twists and turns that keep you wanting to know more .
And all this in a smartly executed , visually stunning package .
So - what are you waiting for ?
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
Taking his inspiration from comic books like The Avengers and Justice League as his inspiration writer / producer / creator Tim Kring ( Crossing Jordan ) imagined a world where extraordinary heroes with superhuman capabilities came from ordinary folks . Without solid writing , direction and performances this would be just another wanna-be TV drama as hollow as the 70 ' s TV adaption of Spider-Man . Instead , it's intelligently written ( and some of it has been explored in comic books within the last twenty years but no one has explored it as well as Kring's show ) with strong performances and direction . The show didn't become a powerhouse ratings sensation based on mindless drivel nor based on the sneak peak at Comic-Com . The show earned its kudos for dealing with a number of fascinating themes in the context of a fantasy .
I'm going to focus mostly on the quality of the show in this review , the extras and the quality of the DVDs / HD-DVDs and only touch on the storyline assuming most of you know it or have read about it elsewhere . If not , I have a brief synposis of the plot ( avoiding spoilers ) . You can skip the next paragraph if you have seen the show .
Kring uses multiple characters that represent the next stage in human evolution and together have to somehow saved the world from a horrible event ( which is revealed fairly early in the show ) . There are also two subplots involving the search for a serial killer which is somehow tied into the main plot and a mysterious government agency that is tracking these ordinary heroes for its own mysterious purposes .
First compliments to Kring who learned the lesson of The X-Files and Lost ; know where your story is going and clue your audience in early on so they know there IS a pay off but gradually divulge the details over time . As with Lost Kring occasionally delves into the back story of these characters but primarily focuses on their journey and the conflicts / collaborations between them . The first season of Heroes was virtually flawless with impeccable writing and direction ( featuring veterans such as film and TV director John Badham ) that featured production values you'd see in a feature film . NBC's gamble with Heroes paid off as after Comic-Con the show generated tremendous buzz ( the pilot was shown there ) . Critics responded and in a rare sign of unity so did TV viewers . Here's hoping that the second season doesn't suffer from the sophomore slum that plagued the second season of Lost . Expectations are high but I suspect that Kring and his team will deliver .
Both the standard and HD version of Heroes receive a superb transfer from Universal . The image looks sharp with bold colors and terrific of the surround sound effects as well . While I did have a problem with disc three skipping and freezing , I suspect ( and hope ) this isn't a symptom of Universal's ongoing manufacturing issues that began to plague the studio at the end of 2005 .
First up my only complaint about the show is that there is no chapter placed directly after the main titles . Also , if you watch the individual episodes you are stuck with watching the previously on ` Heroes ' tag at the beginning . These aren't necessary and could have been dropped from the set or , at the very least , have a chapter title place so that you could skip them without having to fast forward through the beginning of the episode .
We get the original pilot which had a substantially different subplot involving a terrorist which was completely cut from the show . While it worked pretty well , dropping it was probably wise given the popularity of the theme with shows like 24 . Writer / producer Tim Kring provides a very good commentary track discussing the changes , details of the shooting and changes the network suggested be made and why he resisted on occasion . The unaired pilot runs longer than the final version by about 20 minutes .
We get 12 other commentary tracks a terrific move from Universal which hasn't always provided much in the way of extras for many of their popular series . The bulk of the commentary tracks are very good with various production members teamed with cast in discussing the making of the episode . This happy mix means that we get both technical information on the shoot as well as on-set info and the take by the actors on the development of their characters and the series .
We get deleted / alternate scenes for a lot of the episodes and you can access them for each one individually . A pity that some of these deleted scenes weren't seamlessly branched as some worked adding to the show and most were cut for time constraints ( although there was the occasional episode that truly had deleted scenes because they either didn't work or were superfluous
We get five featurettes , a game and sneak peaks . Mind Reader is a clever game involving Parkman's ability to reader minds and the old trick of picking a number . The game then picks the number you selected .
Making of ` Heroes ' is a brief but interesting featurette on the genesis , pitch and development of the show featuring plenty of interviews with Kring , the cast and other snippets of the production team . We also find out about where the show is headed and the response to the show at Comic-Con last year .
Special Effects features visual effects supervisor Mark Kolpack discussing how they are able to pull of the CGI for the show , make it look real on a TV time frame and budget .
Profile of Artist Tim Sale allows us to see the guy who really creates the paintings and drawings of the character Isaac Mendez . This veteran of Marvel comics brings just the right element of pop-art to Mendez paintings and the comic book he writes that ends up being pivotal early on in the show .
The Score focuses on composers Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman who were members of Prince's Revolution and have collaborated with songwriters Neil Finn ( Crowded House ) and others . They , in turn , discuss collaborating with Shankar who provides the ethereal vocals for the series .
The Stunts shows how many of the key stunts were created , how the actors participated with on-set wire work and when stunt doubles were used .
Overall this is a terrific set from Universal which could be improved by creating some additional chapter stops , eliminating the preview tags for the previous episodes ( something you really don't need on DVD but they should be optional in case you do want them ) . We do get a play all option which is nice and a series of top notch extras that add value to the set . With the show premiering its second season on September 24 of this year , Heroes arrives in the nick of time to save the viewer from being puzzled as to what the developments were during season one . Highly recommended .
004 4 Once again we were late tuning in to a new hit show . After watching Heroes on NBC-HD we are looking forward to the HD-DVD release to see all the shows we missed .
I agree with the reviewer below that more information about the special futures are needed .
There is a list of special HD features on Tv Shows.com they claim to have confirmed , I can only assume their confirmation is correct , but I don't know any better than anyone else so please don't take my word as gospel on this .
The following bonus material will be on the DVD and on the HD-DVD * Audio * Commentaries
* The 73 - minute Un-Aired Original Series Premiere / Pilot from show creator Tim Kring ( with optional audio commentary )
* 50 Deleted Scenes
* Exclusive Behind-The-Scenes Featurettes :
* Making Of featurette
* Special Effects featurette
* Stunts featurette
* Tim Sale Profile featurette
* The Score featurette
* The following bonus material will be exclusive to the HD-DVD version ( Minder Reader is in 480p ; the other two are 1080p ) :
* Minder Reader ( Interactive Activity )
* U-Control with the following : - Artwork Presentation - Character Connections - Helix Revealed - Genetic Abilities Test
* Connectivity Features - Download Center including User Registration
Oh and the reason you probably bothered reading this at all : Save 5% off Heroes enter tvguide5
Promotion valid through August 31 , 2007 . Entitles buyer to save an additional 5% off Amazon.com's already discounted prices . Enter the code tvguide5 during the checkout process ( on the Shipping & Payment screen ) to have the savings applied . The 5% discount will only be applied to the above titles , and can be used multiple times during the promotion period .
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006 4 Looks like somebody took the whole superhero craze we have been getting over the past few years and came up with a truly innovative and compelling television series . Heroes isn't your standard comic book fan's television show . This is some serious writing with drama , depth and yeah . . . some fun and action as well .
What makes this show so great is the large cast of characters who all seem to have significance in the story . Even better is that all of these characters come from different backgrounds and approach life in different ways , but at the same time there is something special about them . Everybody has that fantasy of being special and this show has at least one character in it you can identify with .
The writing is almost pitch perfect with every episode giving you something to get excited about . The show is done in serial format so what happens in one episode resonates throughout the series , and Heroes takes it to a grand level . Sometimes you get a great cliffhanger styled ending and sometimes you just a cool revelation . Either way each ep is sure to please . That's especially for the last episode of the season , which answers a lot of questions , keeps the lesser questions still hanging , asks even more questions , and ties up the major loose ends nicely . So nicely that even if the show never made to the second season you would have a well-rounded story from beginning to end .
Now for the DVD . If you are going to do it this is the way to go ! This DVD is packed . Here's what you get :
- An extended version of the pilot episode . 73 minutes long according to my sources . That's an extra 30 minutes AND includes footage of a never before seen character ! Well . . . people saw it at the San Diego ComicCon last year , but that's besides the point .
- 50 ( that's right . . . 50 ! ! ! ) deleted and extended scenes .
- Making of Heroes featurette as well as specials on the stunts , special effects , and music score .
- Special profile of Tim Sale : the artist who does Isacc Mendez ' paintings .
- A mind reading mini-game ( don't ask me . . . that's what I heard ) .
This is going to be a killer DVD set . I also heard Heroes season 1 will come out on HD DVD . The buzz is they will include special features exclusive to the HD version in addition to all of the features already on the DVD . So if you have an HD-DVD player you will probably want to forego the regular release and get the HD version .
Anyway if you like the show you will love the DVD ( or HD DVD if that's your thing ) . Doesn't matter if you're a comic book fan , sci-fi / fantasy fan , or whatever . If you like good stories in the serial format this show is it .
012 4 Heroes was by far the best show this year . I'm just hoping that it doesn't lose its appeal / credibility like LOST did . LOST ran out of ideas half way through the first season , but Heroes stayed compelling throughout . I have faith that next fall will bring another excellent season .
For those wondering about a Blu-ray version , it won't come out until Universal begins to release Blu-ray discs . They own NBC and are a studio supporting HD-DVD , therefore you'll have to wait until the studio support Blu-ray to get that version . But in the meantime enjoy it on HD-DVD if you can !
022 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
Taking his inspiration from comic books like The Avengers and Justice League as his inspiration writer / producer / creator Tim Kring ( Crossing Jordan ) imagined a world where extraordinary heroes with superhuman capabilities came from ordinary folks . Without solid writing , direction and performances this would be just another wanna-be TV drama as hollow as the 70 ' s TV adaption of Spider-Man . Instead , it's intelligently written ( and some of it has been explored in comic books within the last twenty years but no one has explored it as well as Kring's show ) with strong performances and direction . The show didn't become a powerhouse ratings sensation based on mindless drivel nor based on the sneak peak at Comic-Com . The show earned its kudos for dealing with a number of fascinating themes in the context of a fantasy .
I'm going to focus mostly on the quality of the show in this review , the extras and the quality of the DVDs / HD-DVDs and only touch on the storyline assuming most of you know it or have read about it elsewhere . If not , I have a brief synposis of the plot ( avoiding spoilers ) . You can skip the next paragraph if you have seen the show .
Kring uses multiple characters that represent the next stage in human evolution and together have to somehow saved the world from a horrible event ( which is revealed fairly early in the show ) . There are also two subplots involving the search for a serial killer which is somehow tied into the main plot and a mysterious government agency that is tracking these ordinary heroes for its own mysterious purposes .
First compliments to Kring who learned the lesson of The X-Files and Lost ; know where your story is going and clue your audience in early on so they know there IS a pay off but gradually divulge the details over time . As with Lost Kring occasionally delves into the back story of these characters but primarily focuses on their journey and the conflicts / collaborations between them . The first season of Heroes was virtually flawless with impeccable writing and direction ( featuring veterans such as film and TV director John Badham ) that featured production values you'd see in a feature film . NBC's gamble with Heroes paid off as after Comic-Con the show generated tremendous buzz ( the pilot was shown there ) . Critics responded and in a rare sign of unity so did TV viewers . Here's hoping that the second season doesn't suffer from the sophomore slum that plagued the second season of Lost . Expectations are high but I suspect that Kring and his team will deliver .
Both the standard and HD version of Heroes receive a superb transfer from Universal . The image looks sharp with bold colors and terrific of the surround sound effects as well . While I did have a problem with disc three skipping and freezing , I suspect ( and hope ) this isn't a symptom of Universal's ongoing manufacturing issues that began to plague the studio at the end of 2005 .
First up my only complaint about the show is that there is no chapter placed directly after the main titles . Also , if you watch the individual episodes you are stuck with watching the previously on ` Heroes ' tag at the beginning . These aren't necessary and could have been dropped from the set or , at the very least , have a chapter title place so that you could skip them without having to fast forward through the beginning of the episode .
We get the original pilot which had a substantially different subplot involving a terrorist which was completely cut from the show . While it worked pretty well , dropping it was probably wise given the popularity of the theme with shows like 24 . Writer / producer Tim Kring provides a very good commentary track discussing the changes , details of the shooting and changes the network suggested be made and why he resisted on occasion . The unaired pilot runs longer than the final version by about 20 minutes .
We get 12 other commentary tracks a terrific move from Universal which hasn't always provided much in the way of extras for many of their popular series . The bulk of the commentary tracks are very good with various production members teamed with cast in discussing the making of the episode . This happy mix means that we get both technical information on the shoot as well as on-set info and the take by the actors on the development of their characters and the series .
We get deleted / alternate scenes for a lot of the episodes and you can access them for each one individually . A pity that some of these deleted scenes weren't seamlessly branched as some worked adding to the show and most were cut for time constraints ( although there was the occasional episode that truly had deleted scenes because they either didn't work or were superfluous
We get five featurettes , a game and sneak peaks . Mind Reader is a clever game involving Parkman's ability to reader minds and the old trick of picking a number . The game then picks the number you selected .
Making of ` Heroes ' is a brief but interesting featurette on the genesis , pitch and development of the show featuring plenty of interviews with Kring , the cast and other snippets of the production team . We also find out about where the show is headed and the response to the show at Comic-Con last year .
Special Effects features visual effects supervisor Mark Kolpack discussing how they are able to pull of the CGI for the show , make it look real on a TV time frame and budget .
Profile of Artist Tim Sale allows us to see the guy who really creates the paintings and drawings of the character Isaac Mendez . This veteran of Marvel comics brings just the right element of pop-art to Mendez paintings and the comic book he writes that ends up being pivotal early on in the show .
The Score focuses on composers Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman who were members of Prince's Revolution and have collaborated with songwriters Neil Finn ( Crowded House ) and others . They , in turn , discuss collaborating with Shankar who provides the ethereal vocals for the series .
The Stunts shows how many of the key stunts were created , how the actors participated with on-set wire work and when stunt doubles were used .
Overall this is a terrific set from Universal which could be improved by creating some additional chapter stops , eliminating the preview tags for the previous episodes ( something you really don't need on DVD but they should be optional in case you do want them ) . We do get a play all option which is nice and a series of top notch extras that add value to the set . With the show premiering its second season on September 24 of this year , Heroes arrives in the nick of time to save the viewer from being puzzled as to what the developments were during season one . Highly recommended .
023 4 Taking his inspiration from comic books like The Avengers and Justice League as his inspiration writer / producer / creator Tim Kring ( Crossing Jordan ) imagined a world where extraordinary heroes with superhuman capabilities came from ordinary folks . Without solid writing , direction and performances this would be just another wanna-be TV drama as hollow as the 70 ' s TV adaption of Spider-Man . Instead , it's intelligently written ( and some of it has been explored in comic books within the last twenty years but no one has explored it as well as Kring's show ) with strong performances and direction . The show didn't become a powerhouse ratings sensation based on mindless drivel nor based on the sneak peak at Comic-Com . The show earned its kudos for dealing with a number of fascinating themes in the context of a fantasy .
I'm going to focus mostly on the quality of the show in this review , the extras and the quality of the DVDs / HD-DVDs and only touch on the storyline assuming most of you know it or have read about it elsewhere . If not , I have a brief synposis of the plot ( avoiding spoilers ) . You can skip the next paragraph if you have seen the show .
Kring uses multiple characters that represent the next stage in human evolution and together have to somehow saved the world from a horrible event ( which is revealed fairly early in the show ) . There are also two subplots involving the search for a serial killer which is somehow tied into the main plot and a mysterious government agency that is tracking these ordinary heroes for its own mysterious purposes .
First compliments to Kring who learned the lesson of The X-Files and Lost ; know where your story is going and clue your audience in early on so they know there IS a pay off but gradually divulge the details over time . As with Lost Kring occasionally delves into the back story of these characters but primarily focuses on their journey and the conflicts / collaborations between them . The first season of Heroes was virtually flawless with impeccable writing and direction ( featuring veterans such as film and TV director John Badham ) that featured production values you'd see in a feature film . NBC's gamble with Heroes paid off as after Comic-Con the show generated tremendous buzz ( the pilot was shown there ) . Critics responded and in a rare sign of unity so did TV viewers . Here's hoping that the second season doesn't suffer from the sophomore slum that plagued the second season of Lost . Expectations are high but I suspect that Kring and his team will deliver .
Both the standard and HD version of Heroes receive a superb transfer from Universal . The image looks sharp with bold colors and terrific of the surround sound effects as well . While I did have a problem with disc three skipping and freezing , I suspect ( and hope ) this isn't a symptom of Universal's ongoing manufacturing issues that began to plague the studio at the end of 2005 .
First up my only complaint about the show is that there is no chapter placed directly after the main titles . Also , if you watch the individual episodes you are stuck with watching the previously on ` Heroes ' tag at the beginning . These aren't necessary and could have been dropped from the set or , at the very least , have a chapter title place so that you could skip them without having to fast forward through the beginning of the episode .
We get the original pilot which had a substantially different subplot involving a terrorist which was completely cut from the show . While it worked pretty well , dropping it was probably wise given the popularity of the theme with shows like 24 . Writer / producer Tim Kring provides a very good commentary track discussing the changes , details of the shooting and changes the network suggested be made and why he resisted on occasion . The unaired pilot runs longer than the final version by about 20 minutes .
We get 12 other commentary tracks a terrific move from Universal which hasn't always provided much in the way of extras for many of their popular series . The bulk of the commentary tracks are very good with various production members teamed with cast in discussing the making of the episode . This happy mix means that we get both technical information on the shoot as well as on-set info and the take by the actors on the development of their characters and the series .
We get deleted / alternate scenes for a lot of the episodes and you can access them for each one individually . A pity that some of these deleted scenes weren't seamlessly branched as some worked adding to the show and most were cut for time constraints ( although there was the occasional episode that truly had deleted scenes because they either didn't work or were superfluous
We get five featurettes , a game and sneak peaks . Mind Reader is a clever game involving Parkman's ability to reader minds and the old trick of picking a number . The game then picks the number you selected .
Making of ` Heroes ' is a brief but interesting featurette on the genesis , pitch and development of the show featuring plenty of interviews with Kring , the cast and other snippets of the production team . We also find out about where the show is headed and the response to the show at Comic-Con last year .
Special Effects features visual effects supervisor Mark Kolpack discussing how they are able to pull of the CGI for the show , make it look real on a TV time frame and budget .
Profile of Artist Tim Sale allows us to see the guy who really creates the paintings and drawings of the character Isaac Mendez . This veteran of Marvel comics brings just the right element of pop-art to Mendez paintings and the comic book he writes that ends up being pivotal early on in the show .
The Score focuses on composers Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman who were members of Prince's Revolution and have collaborated with songwriters Neil Finn ( Crowded House ) and others . They , in turn , discuss collaborating with Shankar who provides the ethereal vocals for the series .
The Stunts shows how many of the key stunts were created , how the actors participated with on-set wire work and when stunt doubles were used .
Overall this is a terrific set from Universal which could be improved by creating some additional chapter stops , eliminating the preview tags for the previous episodes ( something you really don't need on DVD but they should be optional in case you do want them ) . We do get a play all option which is nice and a series of top notch extras that add value to the set . With the show premiering its second season on September 24 of this year , Heroes arrives in the nick of time to save the viewer from being puzzled as to what the developments were during season one . Highly recommended .
027 4 Heroes is a great show . I bought it unseen , hadn't seen any episode on TV . Not even a teaser or trailer . So it was a bid risky to import this title to Norway . But wow , it's great !
The show is well written , the story is good and interresting . You just want to see another episode , and another one . . .
In the first episodes , we meet ordinary people with some extra skills which . They don't know about each other , but as the shows go on , their stories connects .
Heroes looks real good on my 42 HDTV . The picture quality is great .
If you haven't seen Heroes , go and buy it . It's a must have title .
029 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
This show was not suppose to be a hit , lol . The original pilot was supposedly so convoluted and downright annoying that the network made the producers basically change everything about it , and the only reason the show was greenlite was because NBC ran out of Drama pilots . But somehow , the new pilot was downright amazing , and a new hit television show was born .
This DVD box set includes all 23 season-one episodes on 7 discs along with several behind-the-scenes featurettes , mini-documentaries , 50 deleted scenes , select episode commentaries , the original pilot ( w / commentary ) , and a character map .
030 4 This show was not suppose to be a hit , lol . The original pilot was supposedly so convoluted and downright annoying that the network made the producers basically change everything about it , and the only reason the show was greenlite was because NBC ran out of Drama pilots . But somehow , the new pilot was downright amazing , and a new hit television show was born .
This DVD box set includes all 23 season-one episodes on 7 discs along with several behind-the-scenes featurettes , mini-documentaries , 50 deleted scenes , select episode commentaries , the original pilot ( w / commentary ) , and a character map .
065 4 I'm only 9 episodes in , but this show is very addicting ( never saw an episode until I bought the HD-DVD set on recommendation ) .
The HD-DVD set is of high quality both in terms of video / audio and also for the extras ( lots of deleted scenes , etc . ) .
Highly recommended to fans of comic-book style shows ; probably the best TV series to capture the comic-book style .
078 4 I dont understan why isnt in spanish , i think was a mistake by universal , a big mistake because DVD format it's in spanish so why HD doesnt . . i think was intentional by universal , in México a hidef dvd is so expensive , soon we'll see an heroes-hd version for lationoamerica i'm sure . . maybe next year . . . sooo sad . . : (
see you next time ,
Heroes its a great tv serie . . enjoy it
080 4 While I was a considerable Heroes nut during the first season's original tv airing , I was open to the possibility that I might only be excited over something new and different , and I cautiously took my own enthusiasm with a grain of salt . However , even greater appreciation the second time around has to mean something .
I do not believe this is just fad , this show . By all critiques I could put out , it's fantastic . It follows a rather classic idea of comic-book superheroes with mutant powers . Yes , it's been done before , but there is nothing wrong with doing it again and having it work - - just recognize that it has its own twist through keeping its little mutants as normal and human as possible .
They cover a broad group of people : a stressed teenager , a single mother , an average joe cop , a university professor , etc . Yet no one ever becomes a stereotype ( though the show , on occasion , playfully brings them in ) . They all have their own , considerably normal , storylines and very human desires . These are people with whom we can relate .
Then , of course , we toss in the fantasy / superhero angle . Another fresh blend of superpowers and ominous foreshadowing of world destruction . Great , fun stuff . Among the challenges of pregnant wives , dead fathers , and boys there is an intruding single plot that draws in everything else . It's clever , classic , and wonderfully spooky .
But thankfully the show never takes itself too seriously . Fortunately it is so seemingly ordinary that it's hard to get too wacky or cheesy . I find myself laughing during the most suspenseful scenes due to subtle , witty humor .
All of these gather together in an incredible emotion that is never forced , but still keeps you feeling strongly for all of these characters and what they are going through . It plays out almost like a comic book ( indeed , the comics are a common theme ) , and this is what keeps me addictively hooked on each episode .
Now to the DVD set itself . It's probably one of the most gorgeous boxes I have ever held , and the bonus features simply rock . I appreciate the documentaries on stunts and special effects . Oddly enough , they add an extra emotional aspect ( from the perspective of the creative artists ) that make me appreciate the story all the more .
It's funny , tender , exciting , and overpowering in so many ways . It is primarily a story of people who care for one another . Definitely a keeper in the tv world .
084 4 Warning for non-US buyers , this DVDset is indeed locked for de US region . ( in most cases they are not even if Amazon say the are ) . It will not play on a regionlocked DVD player .
Series are fine , have watched it with much pleasure .
085 4 I'd like to review the DVDs and not the series ( which is of course great ) !
I collect a lot of series on DVD and most of the time these productions are only made to bring in fast money . None or little extras , no heart just quick ' n ' dirty .
Heroes is different . The whole thing shows the love of the producers all over it . Nice looks , great menus and , to top it all , a trillion of extras !
Almost every episode has deleted scenes , most of them have a commentary track and lots of other things that really make these DVDs a MUST to buy .
Compare this production to Star Trek ( and I love ST ) . ST when it first came out on DVD had no extras , poor quality and you had to pay twice as much as you have to pay for heroes .
Is there anything else to say ?
Go out and get it NOW !
088 4 There isnt much to say , except that the unaired first episode should have been the one they went with .
The show is great , I cant wait for season 2 on HD-DVD : ) .
093 4 Even though its NBC , they did make a really good sci-fi show while making it a little more family friendly than it would have been on say , the Sci Fi Channel . Although this is not to say that anything was subtracted . If anything , they actually took a failure and made it awesome . If you watch the Tim Kring Cut or something that is the original vision of the show ( the pilot ) it is much darker than how the show turned out when it went public .
For example , Isaac Mendez ( the artist ) doesn't at all look or act like a heroin addict . In the pilot he still was acting the same except that when he tried to quit cold turkey he cut off his hand to get high .
Another good thing they cut from the original shows direction was that the heroes would've been chasing a nuclear powered Islamic dude , being forced by his terrorist buddies to make a bomb in New York . I am very glad this was not 24 with super powered people running around . That would have just been a terribly good way to ruin a show about the fantastic .
If you like stories about super heroes , especially those resembling Marvel's universe , check this show out .
103 4 I absolutely loved watching Heroes : Season 1 on TV but ran out of time and wasn't able to finish the rest . So I picked up the box set here and never once regretted the purchase ( and I usually never buy box sets unless they are on sale ) .
The packaging inside flips out and has beautiful comic book artwork under each DVD . I'm writing this review after watching parts of the seasons after this one , and the show has seemed to lose a bit of its spunk . But this first season is near perfect by itself and has one of the best season climaxes I have ever seen . This one is definitely worth owning and I'm sure the Blu-ray equivalent is great as well .
If you have a weekend to spare and feel like watching through a great season , definitely pick this up .
154 4 I will start by saying that I am biased - - I liked comic books as a kids , watched all sorts of cartoons on Saturday mornings , and dressed up as various heroes for Halloween . Obviously , I enjoyed this season of Heroes quite a bit .
My wife , on the other hand , has no such predispositons and generally does NOT enjoy anything superhero , science fiction or computer-related . We heard a lot about the show , but did not watch it until we purchased the DVD set - - then we watched the episodes three or four at a time . The story is just that good . ( We would have watched more , but we have jobs , kids , and other responsibiliies )
If you don't buy it , rent it . . . in this case , the show is worth the hype .
161 4 The Heroes Season 1 DVD set was a huge pleasant surprise for me and my wife . We enjoy good series Sci-Fi , but seldom get a chance to watch network TV due to our schedules . The shear volume of hype around Heroes convinced us to give this try without ever seeing a single episode of the show .
Like all Sci-Fi , Heroes requires some suspension of disbelief to get full enjoyment , but this series hits on so many levels ( action , humor , special effects , and solid plot ) . This first season episodes were so compelling that we seldom watched just one episode per sitting ( sometimes four of them back to back , keeping us up into the wee hours of the morning : - )
Highly Recommended !
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
These stories are an event in your life . Sometimes , it feels like they can maybe even save you . HEROES is not one of these stories . ( At least , not yet . ) The actors are generally good ( many of them have played wonderful supporting roles in other hit shows ) . The comics style for the X-men-esque genre is fresh . The super powers are fun . The villain is most definitely evil - he's black without hints of gray . And our heroes have a glimpse of a future that they want to alter - a prophecy that destiny has given them a chance to change . It is a recipe for a hit show , maybe even a great show . BUT , it hasn't yet found a way into our hearts . Does anybody actually CARE about these characters ( barring sweet , sweet Hiro ) ? I find that I wouldn't cry for them . Or cheer for them . Or sit on the edge of my seat and hope for them . I do hope that this will change as the show grows - there were a few moments there in this season where I felt like the show could really be great . Definitely keep this show on your radar !
( I have to say that I admire the writers for tackling a show like this . It seems to me that one of the dangers of a show where everyone has super powers is that once the audience has opened up their imaginations , they start to wonder things like , well , if he can fly , why doesn't he just do it ? It's hard not to overthink the plots , and hard for us to believe that anyone with super powers and super friends might actually be in danger . Good luck , show writers ! )
039 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
These stories are an event in your life . Sometimes , it feels like they can maybe even save you . HEROES is not one of these stories . ( At least , not yet . ) The actors are generally good ( many of them have played wonderful supporting roles in other hit shows ) . The comics style for the X-men-esque genre is fresh . The super powers are fun . The villain is most definitely evil - he's black without hints of gray . And our heroes have a glimpse of a future that they want to alter - a prophecy that destiny has given them a chance to change . It is a recipe for a hit show , maybe even a great show . BUT , it hasn't yet found a way into our hearts . Does anybody actually CARE about these characters ( barring sweet , sweet Hiro ) ? I find that I wouldn't cry for them . Or cheer for them . Or sit on the edge of my seat and hope for them . I do hope that this will change as the show grows - there were a few moments there in this season where I felt like the show could really be great . Definitely keep this show on your radar !
( I have to say that I admire the writers for tackling a show like this . It seems to me that one of the dangers of a show where everyone has super powers is that once the audience has opened up their imaginations , they start to wonder things like , well , if he can fly , why doesn't he just do it ? It's hard not to overthink the plots , and hard for us to believe that anyone with super powers and super friends might actually be in danger . Good luck , show writers ! )
063 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
I am happy to own this series that I have enjoyed watching from the start and what shows I missed I watched on nbc site , this was great and I enjoy the comic book novel series online as well . I think this is a great purchase if you have enjoyed the show as I have .
081 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
I watched the first episode of Heroes , and while it was well made with very good acting , I came away with a less than positive view of this program . The producers seem to strongly promote the theory of evolution , mildly promote teen suicidal attempts , etc . In general , if you're looking for a good sci-fi with high morals , and some family values more like Smallville promotes , you might would rather watch , well . . . Smallville . I'm selling my Heroes set .
089 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
While TV tends to copy hit series in an unnerving way , this is not bad at all . Series such as Lost and 24 among others re-introduced big-time the idea of a series-long plot ( which used to be unpopular on american TV ) with good effect ( in the first season ! ) . Here we are confronted with a series of individuals with superpowers who are involved in a long unraveling story . the acting is good , very good , better than on Lost and after a somewhat boring first episode , the series really does catch momentum . The set is beautifully presented as boxed sets used to be ( first editions of X-files and Buffy ) . While it is derivative and is not original in a way that X-Files , say , were , it is nevertheless a great series to watch .
095 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
I had only seen a couple of episodes when I bought the season one dvd . It was so captivating that I could not stop watching until I reached the end . It was fun without demeaning the comic book theme . The writing is outstanding and one cannot anticipate what comes next . This was a very exciting and satisfying surprise .
Barbara
100 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
The pack came with the box and as clean as a new one !
Really appreciate it !
104 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
Finally watched Season 1 and purchased 2 thru 3 . I enjoyed every moment of it . Great story and special effects . Oh . . . and great cast . Onto Season 2 now . . can't wait !
106 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
Disregarding the bad rating and review for Heroes lately , Season 1 is a must-see . The ideas , the story-telling , the lines , and almost all the characters are amazing . And I love Peter Petrelli . Too bad , he didn't get what he deserved in the following seasons .
111 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
I came to Heroes late , only two years ago . so I had a lot to catch up on . I was lucky enough to belong to netflix to see some of them on-line , so I decided to get the dvd . It was well worth the price to do so . Not only do you get to see the entire episodes without any commericals , but there are deleted scenes , and audio commentaries with the cast and crew . That was great fun to listen to . Well worth the price .
113 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
It was a very interesting and yet at time bazaar DVD series . It kept me guessing what was going to happen next . A little later I hope to buy Season 2 .
115 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
I had to place a last minute order , it arrived on time , exactly what I had ordered . I have been very please with Amazon , they make every effort to grant great customer service . I will continue to be a faithful customer . This was the second last minute situation in which Amazon came through .
120 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season 1 [ HD DVD ] ( HD DVD )
Quality of HD DVD is flawless , and the series is as good as it gets . Probably the best one , compare to season 2 and 3 .
125 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
the box was in some what bad condition but its all good.love the show and dident tack long to get to my home
127 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
I never watched Heroes on TV , but I would hear the hype everyday , so I bought a cheap copy of season one and I completely understand why everyone is going bezerk over this show ! The characters are extremely interesting and the plot always keeps me coming back for more . I love the cast and the acting , in my opinion , is top notch ! For any Marvel or other comic book fans , this show will definately not disappoint !
143 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
I know this show has , in the opinion of many , gone downhill from its first season , but this first season is CLEARLY exceptional . I still have high hopes the writers will turn this show around in its present season .
Hereos season 1 is pretty much flawless . Not since E.R . have I seen a better first season take off .
156 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
what more can you say ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? great show , great service . thanks so much . would highly reccomend .
163 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
Great delivery and product as usual . This season was a good value for the money .
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
What if you discovered that you had a superpower - - great strength , flight , teleportation , or amazing healing ? And what if you could use it to save the world ?
Superheroes are everywhere in entertainment , from comic books to movies . But few manage to be as intelligent , geeky and well-written as Heroes , a solid comic-book style TV series that explores the repercussions of several ordinary people who discover that they have strange - - and sometimes dangerous - - powers .
It opens with Mohinder Suresh ( Sendhil Ramamurthy ) reflecting on the human quest for knowledge - - even knowledge that we shouldn't have - - right before learning that his father has been killed , possibly murdered . Suresh's dad believed that special people were cropping up , much like in X-Men .
And we are introduced to the heroes : stripper Niki ( Ali Larter ) harbors a secret dark side , cheerleader Claire ( Hayden Panettiere ) heals from any injury , Japanese Dilbert Hiro ( Masi Oka ) can bend time and space , Senatorial candidate Nathan ( Adrian Pasdar ) is able to fly , his brother Peter ( Milo Ventimiglia ) can copy others ' powers , a cop Matt ( Greg Grunberg ) can read minds , and junkie artist Isaac ( Santiago Cabrera ) sees the future . There are plenty of others that show up , but these start the ball rolling .
While Claire and Hiro explore the potential of their new powers , Niki and her son try to elude some hired thugs - - and end up overwhelmed by her dark side , and framed . And Suresh searches for the answer to his father's death , only to find that his genetics research is involved with the special people , and that a superpowered serial killer is targeting them .
Even worse , Hiro takes a trip to New York ( five weeks in the future ) , and sees the city destroyed by a massive blast - - as does Isaac , through his paintings . How to stop it ? As a future Hiro tells them , save the cheerleader , save the world . The Heroes begin slowly coming into contact , in a haze of dreams , visions , murder , swords and death - - and to stop the serial killer and save New York , more sacrifices may be made . . .
Unlike most shows about people with superpowers , Heroes isn't really about the action or flashy battles . It's half epic save-the-world-as-a-team story , and half exploration of how real , ordinary people would react if they suddenly found out that they had superpowers , and how this would change - - or NOT change - - their lives .
The storylines are incredibly intricate and complex , since there are a dozen subplots and a lot of time travel , and plenty of hints at future events . The careful painting of all these storylines even further in two episodes , one of which shows the pre-Heroic lies of the characters ( and how Syler became a murderous terror ) , and another that shows what the future will be like if they don't change it . It's not a pretty picture .
These complex storylines are enhanced by lots of suspense and tightly directed action , and the makers always know how to throw in a shocking twist , such as a sword-carrying future Hiro showing up . . But there is also some poignancy , and very dark humor from time to time ( Claire waking up in mid-autopsy , or twisting her broken neck around ) . Not to mention some great , sometimes geeky dialogue ( Where did you learn all this ? X-men No . 143 when Kitty Pryde time travels ! ) .
The actors are pretty much all good - - Larter gives a great double performance , Zachary Quinto is a wonderfully twisted villain , and Panettiere gives a good performance as a teen whose adolescence has a lot more than hormones in store . Masi Oka is the standout , though - - his Hiro is sweet , endearing , geeky , heroic , sad , kindly , funny and thoroughly lovable . The scene where he arrives in New York is adorable .
The Heroes are only starting their journey , and the first season of this geeky hit is a must-see for fans of intelligent sci-fi drama . And I doubt their journey is over . . .
001 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
What if you discovered that you had a superpower - - great strength , flight , teleportation , or amazing healing ? And what if you could use it to save the world ?
Superheroes are everywhere in entertainment , from comic books to movies . But few manage to be as intelligent , geeky and well-written as Heroes , a solid comic-book style TV series that explores the repercussions of several ordinary people who discover that they have strange - - and sometimes dangerous - - powers .
It opens with Mohinder Suresh ( Sendhil Ramamurthy ) reflecting on the human quest for knowledge - - even knowledge that we shouldn't have - - right before learning that his father has been killed , possibly murdered . Suresh's dad believed that special people were cropping up , much like in X-Men .
And we are introduced to the heroes : stripper Niki ( Ali Larter ) harbors a secret dark side , cheerleader Claire ( Hayden Panettiere ) heals from any injury , Japanese Dilbert Hiro ( Masi Oka ) can bend time and space , Senatorial candidate Nathan ( Adrian Pasdar ) is able to fly , his brother Peter ( Milo Ventimiglia ) can copy others ' powers , a cop Matt ( Greg Grunberg ) can read minds , and junkie artist Isaac ( Santiago Cabrera ) sees the future . There are plenty of others that show up , but these start the ball rolling .
While Claire and Hiro explore the potential of their new powers , Niki and her son try to elude some hired thugs - - and end up overwhelmed by her dark side , and framed . And Suresh searches for the answer to his father's death , only to find that his genetics research is involved with the special people , and that a superpowered serial killer is targeting them .
Even worse , Hiro takes a trip to New York ( five weeks in the future ) , and sees the city destroyed by a massive blast - - as does Isaac , through his paintings . How to stop it ? As a future Hiro tells them , save the cheerleader , save the world . The Heroes begin slowly coming into contact , in a haze of dreams , visions , murder , swords and death - - and to stop the serial killer and save New York , more sacrifices may be made . . .
Unlike most shows about people with superpowers , Heroes isn't really about the action or flashy battles . It's half epic save-the-world-as-a-team story , and half exploration of how real , ordinary people would react if they suddenly found out that they had superpowers , and how this would change - - or NOT change - - their lives .
The storylines are incredibly intricate and complex , since there are a dozen subplots and a lot of time travel , and plenty of hints at future events . The careful painting of all these storylines even further in two episodes , one of which shows the pre-Heroic lies of the characters ( and how Syler became a murderous terror ) , and another that shows what the future will be like if they don't change it . It's not a pretty picture .
These complex storylines are enhanced by lots of suspense and tightly directed action , and the makers always know how to throw in a shocking twist , such as a sword-carrying future Hiro showing up . . But there is also some poignancy , and very dark humor from time to time ( Claire waking up in mid-autopsy , or twisting her broken neck around ) . Not to mention some great , sometimes geeky dialogue ( Where did you learn all this ? X-men No . 143 when Kitty Pryde time travels ! ) .
The actors are pretty much all good - - Larter gives a great double performance , Zachary Quinto is a wonderfully twisted villain , and Panettiere gives a good performance as a teen whose adolescence has a lot more than hormones in store . Masi Oka is the standout , though - - his Hiro is sweet , endearing , geeky , heroic , sad , kindly , funny and thoroughly lovable . The scene where he arrives in New York is adorable .
The Heroes are only starting their journey , and the first season of this geeky hit is a must-see for fans of intelligent sci-fi drama . And I doubt their journey is over . . .
033 4 I must admit , I didn't get into this show until Fall of 2007 . I'm so glad I did . If you've been disillusioned by the same , boring dramas week after week on network television , this is the kind of show that will restore your faith in good television writing .
I could tell you about all the characters , plot twists and hidden nods to comic books in Heroes , but that's been covered by other reviewers , much better than I could ever write .
The question you're probably asking yourself is . . . . what can this reviewer say to make ME decide to give Heroes a chance ?
To set the stage , let's consider some of the movies that have come out about comic book characters : Batman , Daredevil , The Punisher , just to name a few .
The comic book movie that stands out , and the one which most people have seen , is
Spider-Man ( Widescreen Special Edition )
.
But why ?
It's because Spider-Man isn't a stereotypical hero from Krypton or born into extreme wealth who immediately wants to help other people . . . he's Peter Parker , a teenage kid from Queens , who never wanted the limelight and wanted to be like everybody else . However , fate decided that his great power also carried with it some great responsibilities - and that means he had to give up some things he really wanted to help others .
Spider-Man works because viewers can relate to a character who has human flaws and doesn't always make the right choices . . . the choice of selflessness , and thinking of others before oneself , is the surest sign of a hero .
Now let's swing back to the tv show .
In the case of Heroes , we are introduced to a special group of people across the globe that discover they are more than just ordinary . . . . they are extraordinary . While some of them are excited about their abilities , some of them [ like our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man ] , just want to shirk back into the doldrums and be the same as everyone else . Some of them are afraid of being different . Some of their powers honestly frighten them and they would give their left arm just to be ' normal ' again . There is one person who gets intoxicated with their powers and wants nothing more than complete and total domination . It's up to our heroes , whether directly or indirectly , to stop him .
It would be easy to make a show that showcases special effects and pays no attention to character development ; but this box set of Heroes takes us on a 23 episode arc which explores the motivations of every character , whether good or evil .
I think one of the greatest strengths of Heroes is the struggle of each ' special ' person . In their own way , each character comes to their own understanding of what a hero really is . . . . a person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose . Are they ready to accept their destiny ? Or will they tuck tail and run the other way ?
This entire first season plays out like a perfectly scripted comic book . Each episode ends with a cliffhanger , and will have you itching to put the next disc into the DVD player . The special features include deleted scenes , commentary audio tracks , interviews , and more . The box set also has the unaired 73 - minute pilot episode . . . this offers us insights into some of the existing heroes and shows us one hero that was cut and then re-created into another character .
You don't have to have superpowers to be a hero .
And you don't have to read comic books to love this show .
These Heroes have stories to tell . . . don't keep them waiting .
037 4 Geeky . Convoluted . Funny . Horrifying . Dramatic . Action-packed . All of these descriptors are appropriate for HEROES season one , which is why it became an immediate favorite by TV watchers all over the world . Television creator / writer Tim Kring is well known in prime-time circles with such things as CROSSING JORDAN and
PROVIDENCE
to his credit . But Heroes is something new even for Kring . He has jumped , nay , dashed , headlong into the fantasy realm .
There are some common themes running through Heroes that make it a four star rating rather than five . Dark and conflicted superheroes are well-known to comic book and graphic novel fans .
SPIDER-MAN
had to battle his own dark side , as did
SUPERMAN
and many others .
THE HULK
is just a pi $ $ ed-off green guy who has to learn to control his anger and is aided by love . Such are several themes within Heroes ( for instance the Niki / Jessica character's love for her son Micah ; and Nathan Petrelli's battle with the good and evil that surrounds him ) . From this standpoint , there's not a lot of fresh meat on its bones .
Where it succeeds ( and overwhelmingly so ) is in its characters . They are particularly well cast with each person living that fictional person's life . Claire Bennett ( played by Hayden Panettiere ,
THE DUST FACTORY
) is a wonderful person that all audience members must cheer for . She's a cheerleader who can regenerate her damaged body . Fire . Radiation . Falls from fifty story buildings . Nothing can permanently injure her ( or can it ? ) .
Nathan Petrelli ( played by Adrian Pasdar ) is the penultimate politician , trying to win his congressional district while at the same time attempting to hide his special ability . He can fly and his brother Peter believes he can too . Nathan tries in vain to talk Peter out of discovering his super abilities , but more surprises await Peter than could ever be imagined .
Niki Sanders ( played by Ali Larter ) has something terrible inside her . She battles with this evil twin while at the same time trying to protect her equally gifted son Micah ( Noah Gray-Cabey ,
LADY IN THE WATER
) .
Isaac Mendez ( played by Santiago Cabrera ) is a junky artist who can paint the future . And when he paints the obliteration of New York City , he soon finds himself the interest of a unique company of people designed to find these gifted men and women .
Any series wouldn't be complete without a villain , and Sylar ( Zachary Quinto ,
24
) is definitely that . Initially just a simple watchmaker / repairman , Sylar finds that he can steal the powers of the gifted and use it as his own . . . but only after dissecting their brains .
This review definitely wouldn't be complete without mentioning the wheels that keep this thing turning , and that is Hiro Nakamura ( Masi Oka , BALLS OF FURY ) . He and his sidekick Ando ( James Kyson Lee ) infuse almost all of the much needed comic relief into the series . One of my favorite banters between them was , Hiro : My only concern is should I hide my true identity ? A costume maybe ? Ando : You start talking about capes and tights and I'm out of here .
A truly fun series to watch , and something for everyone , even those that don't like comic books , superheroes , or fantasy .
079 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
While I was a considerable Heroes nut during the first season's original tv airing , I was open to the possibility that I might only be excited over something new and different , and I cautiously took my own enthusiasm with a grain of salt . However , even greater appreciation the second time around has to mean something .
I do not believe this is just fad , this show . By all critiques I could put out , it's fantastic . It follows a rather classic idea of comic-book superheroes with mutant powers . Yes , it's been done before , but there is nothing wrong with doing it again and having it work - - just recognize that it has its own twist through keeping its little mutants as normal and human as possible .
They cover a broad group of people : a stressed teenager , a single mother , an average joe cop , a university professor , etc . Yet no one ever becomes a stereotype ( though the show , on occasion , playfully brings them in ) . They all have their own , considerably normal , storylines and very human desires . These are people with whom we can relate .
Then , of course , we toss in the fantasy / superhero angle . Another fresh blend of superpowers and ominous foreshadowing of world destruction . Great , fun stuff . Among the challenges of pregnant wives , dead fathers , and boys there is an intruding single plot that draws in everything else . It's clever , classic , and wonderfully spooky .
But thankfully the show never takes itself too seriously . Fortunately it is so seemingly ordinary that it's hard to get too wacky or cheesy . I find myself laughing during the most suspenseful scenes due to subtle , witty humor .
All of these gather together in an incredible emotion that is never forced , but still keeps you feeling strongly for all of these characters and what they are going through . It plays out almost like a comic book ( indeed , the comics are a common theme ) , and this is what keeps me addictively hooked on each episode .
Now to the DVD set itself . It's probably one of the most gorgeous boxes I have ever held , and the bonus features simply rock . I appreciate the documentaries on stunts and special effects . Oddly enough , they add an extra emotional aspect ( from the perspective of the creative artists ) that make me appreciate the story all the more .
It's funny , tender , exciting , and overpowering in so many ways . It is primarily a story of people who care for one another . Definitely a keeper in the tv world .
I do not have to fight the thought police to make my life better each day . I hate being told what to do !
This blu-ray vs . HD DVD war crap is just too stupid . People write Amazon.com reviews for HD content like they have a personal / financial stake in either format . I can't figure out what the damn problem is .
I own a PS3 and an X-BOX 360 with the HD player attachment . I own a 42 AKAI HD projection television that I LOVE ! I own blu-ray movies and I own HD DVD movies . Folks . . . I can't tell one goddamn difference between the two formats . I mean . . . what the hell is the problem , people ? My god , some of you out there are giving HEROES HD a 1 star rating because its on the HD DVD format . Come on people , don't be stupid . You all are getting caught up in a manipulation by BLOCKBUSTER and TARGET - - both huge companies report that they are only going to carry blu-ray . Other companies are continuing on with the HD DVD format . Sony owns blu-ray so of course they are pushing their product . Another huge movie studio just proclaimed that they will only use HD DVD .
The point of all this confusion is - - stop being children . I defy any one of you critical people out there to prove to me just how blu-ray is better than HD DVD . So far , I havent seen either format really take advantage of all that extra space that some of you proclaim that blu-ray has more of than HD DVD . So damn what ! From what I can see , it looks like the regular DVD versions of HEROES may actually have more content jammed into its guts than the HD versions .
Wake up , find your true compass , open your eyes and see the black for the white , and stop being stupid ! If you love HEROES like I do you'll buy it in whatever format you can gets your paws on !
Also , reviewers - - if you can not write a sentence using the King's English , with just a little proper grammer and syntax , then please do not try . Some of these reviews are just a crying shame . Here is a tip - - write your review on paper first so that you can hold your words in your hands and correct your mistakes off the computer screen .
arjayuniverse.com
horrorwalker.com
realitycheckuniverse.com
010 4 I still live in the United States of America . 48 years later in life , I am still allowed to make up my own mind about the way I live my life - - ultimate meaning : I do not have to fight the thought police to make my life better each day . I hate being told what to do !
This blu-ray vs . HD DVD war crap is just too stupid . People write Amazon.com reviews for HD content like they have a personal / financial stake in either format . I can't figure out what the damn problem is .
I own a PS3 and an X-BOX 360 with the HD player attachment . I own a 42 AKAI HD projection television that I LOVE ! I own blu-ray movies and I own HD DVD movies . Folks . . . I can't tell one goddamn difference between the two formats . I mean . . . what the hell is the problem , people ? My god , some of you out there are giving HEROES HD a 1 star rating because its on the HD DVD format . Come on people , don't be stupid . You all are getting caught up in a manipulation by BLOCKBUSTER and TARGET - - both huge companies report that they are only going to carry blu-ray . Other companies are continuing on with the HD DVD format . Sony owns blu-ray so of course they are pushing their product . Another huge movie studio just proclaimed that they will only use HD DVD .
The point of all this confusion is - - stop being children . I defy any one of you critical people out there to prove to me just how blu-ray is better than HD DVD . So far , I havent seen either format really take advantage of all that extra space that some of you proclaim that blu-ray has more of than HD DVD . So damn what ! From what I can see , it looks like the regular DVD versions of HEROES may actually have more content jammed into its guts than the HD versions .
Wake up , find your true compass , open your eyes and see the black for the white , and stop being stupid ! If you love HEROES like I do you'll buy it in whatever format you can gets your paws on !
Also , reviewers - - if you can not write a sentence using the King's English , with just a little proper grammer and syntax , then please do not try . Some of these reviews are just a crying shame . Here is a tip - - write your review on paper first so that you can hold your words in your hands and correct your mistakes off the computer screen .
arjayuniverse.com
horrorwalker.com
realitycheckuniverse.com
042 4 As a long time comic book fanboy I had my doubts about Heroes . Actually , I wanted to hate it . I thought that it was going to be a show cashing in on the increasing popularity of movies like X-Men and Spider-Man . After viewing the season in it's entirety on DVD I'm pleased to say that I love the show . I think it's what many fanboys have been dreaming of . An action-packed , creative and intelligent show that reveals the kind of mature writing comic books often have . Heroes is about what the title implies . Across the globe people begin to discover that they posses unique abilities . Some can walk through walls , stop time , or read minds . The main plot follows the heroes as they try to stop a bomb from going off in New York City . No one knows were the bomb is or who is going to detonate it . but thanks to the time traveling Hiro , they know they only have a limited amount of time . What's nice about Heroes is that while the show moves steadily with the main plot , it balances itself by going off on numerous subplots that reveal the individual heroes stores like Clare's relationship with her mysterious hero kidnapping dad , Hiro ( My favorite character ) learning the code of the samurai , Peter and Nickie's family problems and the creepy hero killing Sylar . They all mesh amazingly well and keep the show watchable and very addictive ( in my case anyway ) If you're a sci fi fan , comic book fan or just a fan or great TV , Heroes is your show .
044 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season 1 [ HD DVD ] ( HD DVD )
I hadn't seen any of the broadcasts , but this is a fun series . It looks great on HD DVD ; and there are tons of extra features included . Personally , I hate the fold out packaging and would have preferred a thinner box with slimcases , but this is a minor quibble . If you are fan and have an HD DVD player , this is a great set .
098 4 Heroes is a very well-thought out series . When something didn't make sense or was left loose at the end of an episode , it would be tied up later , giving you an Oh YEAH ! I remember that ! feeling .
And to any of the people who say that this series didn't make sense , I must tell anyone else who might think to listen to the bad-mouthers , it's an intelligent series and doesn't try to to hold your hand and make sure you get what's happening . That's why this veiwer is looking forward to season 2 . If you pay attention and simply use your brain to piece it together as you watch , it's a very good series .
102 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
I absolutely loved watching Heroes : Season 1 on TV but ran out of time and wasn't able to finish the rest . So I picked up the box set here and never once regretted the purchase ( and I usually never buy box sets unless they are on sale ) .
The packaging inside flips out and has beautiful comic book artwork under each DVD . I'm writing this review after watching parts of the seasons after this one , and the show has seemed to lose a bit of its spunk . But this first season is near perfect by itself and has one of the best season climaxes I have ever seen . This one is definitely worth owning and I'm sure the Blu-ray equivalent is great as well .
If you have a weekend to spare and feel like watching through a great season , definitely pick this up .
148 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
Although we are all getting a bit overdone on multiple character , plot , places , skipping back and forth in time ( is anyone but me Lost yet ) Heroes has some really great actors , in particular they have older characters in starring roles . If for no other reason I gave this TV show a five star . That said the show is challenging to watch as there are so many characters and plots running at the same time . Unlike Lost which follows a similiar format , Heroes does take the time to develop each character througout all three seasons . Sometimes the show gets off track rather intentionally or to allow the producers to bring back previously killed off characters , but it eventually rerights itself so one can follow how the whole series plot is unfolding . It has kept my interest but I wonder as we get to the end of season 3 if it can keep up the twist and turns and not get LOST .
169 4 For months I'd had many friends tell me how great Heroes was . On a whim , I rented the show with no expectations . Tends to be best to go into something new that way . After the first episode , I was blown away . The plot sucks you in and you can't stop watching till the end of the season . After that , you literally crave more . It was amazing how the writers / creators were able to make heroes out of ordinary people . Each hero has a set of very real problems ( money , school , etc ) that most people can easily relate to . If you can , rent the show . If you like it , then do what I did and buy it . You won't regret it .
181 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
Very nice series that is excellently written and performed , but contains some gruesome aspects so it may not be suitable for everyone . However , there are many INTERESTING aspects as well so I can highly recommend this series . Characters and the main season overal story are developed over roughly 24 episodes on 7 DVDs . If you are looking for a type of Sci-Fi series that is on Earth and is made up of slowly discovering the special abilities of people living somewhat normal lives , then THIS is it ! It is never clear who are the good guys and who are the bad guys which makes it even more exciting . Here are some details on the disks :
1 . Cases : could be better as they use the hard polycarbonate ( ? ) style where each two disks overlap - - why ? the disks are not so easy to remove . Users want slim-pack , polypropylene cases so that the disks are easy to remove .
2 . Disks : single-sided as they should be and they appear to be of good quality with no pixelation and so on .
3 . Menus : each disk has a menu but they are not so easy to access later episodes . The TOP menu should contain a listing of all episodes .
4 . Price : I picked mine up from amazon when they were about $23 , so wait a while for the sale if you can . However , even at the usual discounted price of $38 , the series are worth picking up . The 7 DVDs for the set are an excellent value and will entertain for hours .
the writing . The writers for this show did a masterful job of creating an involving story arc and in giving the viewer just enough information to keep him or her coming back for more . Answers to various questions were carefully dolled out over the course of the season so that the viewer never feels frustrated by too little story dragged out over too much time . The pacing of this season was , in a word , perfect .
The other reason to devour this show is the characters and , in particular , the endearing and wonderful Hiro . My favorite of the characters , Hiro exemplifies that childlike joy that some people possess when they discover they are particularly talented at something . He provides comic relief without being too silly and his earnestness make him very lovable . His faithful friend and sidekick Ando is certainly not to be overlooked either and these two make for a truly dynamic duo . As far as complexity goes , my vote goes to Claire who starts out struggling with typical teenager desires and grows and develops over the course of the season until she is easily the most sympathetic character .
Excellent writing and excellent characters would mean little without the acting to back them up , though , and this show has that in abundance . All of the actors imbue their characters with life and believability so that even though the bulk of them are possessed of superhuman powers they still seem like the kind of people who could be your nextdoor neighbors .
I simply can't say enough good things about this show . I encourage everyone who enjoys really engaging , story and character driven , and thought-provoking television to watch this show .
003 4 I cannot emphasize enough that this is a stellar example of the power of character driven TV that follows a continuous plotline . If you're looking for something that you can tune into and out of then this isn't the show for you . If , however , you're looking for TV that is engaging , intriguing , and innovative then this is the show for you .
My preferred activity is normally reading and I don't watch much TV because , frankly , I find most TV subpar . Imagine my delight when I tuned into this show mostly out of curiosity and ended the season a diehard fan . I never missed an episode and looked forward to each new one with great anticipation . I give most of the credit for this to where I feel the credit is due : the writing . The writers for this show did a masterful job of creating an involving story arc and in giving the viewer just enough information to keep him or her coming back for more . Answers to various questions were carefully dolled out over the course of the season so that the viewer never feels frustrated by too little story dragged out over too much time . The pacing of this season was , in a word , perfect .
The other reason to devour this show is the characters and , in particular , the endearing and wonderful Hiro . My favorite of the characters , Hiro exemplifies that childlike joy that some people possess when they discover they are particularly talented at something . He provides comic relief without being too silly and his earnestness make him very lovable . His faithful friend and sidekick Ando is certainly not to be overlooked either and these two make for a truly dynamic duo . As far as complexity goes , my vote goes to Claire who starts out struggling with typical teenager desires and grows and develops over the course of the season until she is easily the most sympathetic character .
Excellent writing and excellent characters would mean little without the acting to back them up , though , and this show has that in abundance . All of the actors imbue their characters with life and believability so that even though the bulk of them are possessed of superhuman powers they still seem like the kind of people who could be your nextdoor neighbors .
I simply can't say enough good things about this show . I encourage everyone who enjoys really engaging , story and character driven , and thought-provoking television to watch this show .
008 4 This review is from :
Heroes - Season One ( DVD )
It seems like every show that I start to enjoy on TV lasts a few episodes and then gets promptly cancelled . Thankfully Heroes did not suffer that fate !
This ambitious show does not fit into the typical mold of a hit TV show . What is more surprising is that it is on NBC , one of the big networks and not on a cable channel . With all that said , Heroes really delivered in it's freshmen season . It gave us interesting characters , fantastic powers , the right amount of humor , and the looming doom of catastrophe , all in a neat package .
Of course the show has it's critics , and I will agree that not every episode is hit out of the park , but they are all good in their own way . People have said that the stories and powers are unoriginal , taking things from Watchmen and X-Men , and all I can say to that is many movies and TV shows draw from other material and at least here they pay homage to great works of the past and use it interesting ways .
If you are looking for a new show with great flair and interesting characters and stories , check out Heroes .
009 4 It seems like every show that I start to enjoy on TV lasts a few episodes and then gets promptly cancelled . Thankfully Heroes did not suffer that fate !
This ambitious show does not fit into the typical mold of a hit TV show . What is more surprising is that it is on NBC , one of the big networks and not on a cable channel . With all that said , Heroes really delivered in it's freshmen season . It gave us interesting characters , fantastic powers , the right amount of humor , and the looming doom of catastrophe , all in a neat package .
Of course the show has it's critics , and I will agree that not every episode is hit out of the park , but they are all good in their own way . People have said that the stories and powers are unoriginal , taking things from Watchmen and X-Men , and all I can say to that is many movies and TV shows draw from other material and at least here they pay homage to great works of the past and use it interesting ways .
If you are looking for a new show with great flair and interesting characters and stories , check out Heroes .
038 4 I re-watched the entire series over Labor Day weekend and loved it ! I didn't have my HD dish until mid-season so I missed the premiere etc in high def - these disks definitely make for a great viewing experience . I liked the tons of deleted scenes and the easy to navigate menus . I am a big fan of disks with the option to either watch a single episode or to play through . Universal doesn't have any long boring repetitive intros to HD disks like other studios who will remain nameless . . . .
Heroes itself is one of my favorite new shows and this is a stellar presentation package in brilliant HD video with great sound ! Watching on my 65 inch HD tv with my Bose home theater system it was great !
046 4 What happens when oridinary people begin to discover that they may not be so ordinary afer all ? You get
Heroes
, a fantastic show that doesn't just stop and focus on the surface of its premise of people with extraordinary powers . The creators of the show take you deeper than that , bringing the audience on a journey into the lives of its characters , as they grow and evolve while coming to grips with their newfound abilities . From the first episode of the season to the last , the story builds , never revealing too much before it should , nor leaving the audience with too little at any time . With great writing and a great cast of talented actors , this is a show that keeps you wanting more .
076 4 With all the hype surrounding this show , I was terrified that I would be horribly dissapointed by it . I managed to catch a couple of episodes when they originally aired , but felt lost and unable to catch on . I contemplated going on-line to watch the earlier episodes or at least find a good synopsis of the story line so far , but hesitated for some unknown reason . It was then that I decided to wait for the show to come out in it's entirety to begin .
And I'm glad I did ! I'll admit , I've been a fan of other TV shows . . . from Buffy to CSI to . . . eh hem , yes , I'll admit it . . . Xena the Warrior Princess . And this show has a little bit from all of the above ! The investigation of the human genome . . . girls who kick some major booty . . . and a sense of fun and humor that can really make or break a TV show . I haven't bought an entire season of a TV show in a long time , but after renting the first two discs I knew I had to buy this outright ! I most definitely reccomend this to anyone and everyone .
083 4 I am a huge X-men fan . So how does this stack up ? I think it brings a sense of realism to the comic book idealism .
Nathan is Heroes version of Professor Xavier , but he is young and just learning his limits , or lack thereof . Claire , the Cheerleader , is Wolverine without the claws . I could go on , but the point is this , if you like X-men you'll love this . It is definitely for an older crowd , though ; there is lots of violence that doesn't even stop with death .
I hold back the fifth star only because I believe the level of gore was unnecessarily high .
096 4 I had only seen a couple of episodes when I bought the season one dvd . It was so captivating that I could not stop watching until I reached the end . It was fun without demeaning the comic book theme . The writing is outstanding and one cannot anticipate what comes next . This was a very exciting and satisfying surprise .
Barbara
132 4 The show can occasionally be overly dramatic and unnecessarily violent . Fortunately , the show also has a distinct sense of humor that counter-balances some of the heavy-handedness .
I can see how some viewers may find Hiro and Ando annoying , but to me they were fun . Though the show does meander , the writers do a commendable job staying consistent in terms of tone and continuity . There are numerous beats in early episodes that pay off late in the season . And the entire season works well as a complete story with each character following a distinct arc .
The show really hits its stride after the Homecoming episode , which essentially marks the midpoint of the season . Standout episodes include Six Months Ago , Company Man , and Five Years Gone . It bears mentioning that the story of Heroes owes * a lot * to The X-Men and Watchmen , however , it manages to establish its own identity with its distinct style .
172 4 I watched the pilot a few weeks ago and was instantly hooked . The characters are all very different but likable , the acting is great , the stories are interesting , and the powers are cool to see while they're developing - - there's more than just flying and super-strength . This show sort of has everything , in a way : action , romance , sci-fi , family relationships , corruption , mysterious characters with dubious morals . . . The one things I noticed , though , was a distinct lack of fun . It's all drama and angst , especially for Nikki and Peter . Hiro and Ando make up for a lot of it , but it's still very much present .
Regardless , Heroes is definitely recommended , and not just for fans of these superhero-y type things . Buy this DVD and prepare to spend an entire day watching - - with bathroom breaks , of course .
175 4 The packaging is awesome with all the amazing paintings inside and the black envelope displaying the solar eclipse .
Discs came all in mint condition without skips or freezes . Menus are animated but can be a little confusing with all the sophisticated painting designs . The imagery is neat and clear for a standard DVD and conveys an impressive feeling of realism when watching the show on a big LCD or Plasma TV . Extras are included abound , although some are not so necessarily needed , but it is best if you see for yourself .
After one has seen this entire season on DVD there won ` t be anymore questions to ask about the show and its plots , eventually people love it or hate it . I love it and the product deserves 5 stars for a high level of american television entertainement .
