I'm going to try and post a couple of these every week for "Heroes", "Lost" or whatever else strikes my fancy.
Last week really turned things around for me as far as this season goes. I enjoyed the early parts of Volume 3 and thought the premier of this volume showed promise, but things quickly fell apart. I even joined the crowd of detractors on my blog with a post titled, "Why Heroes May Suck, But I'm Stickin' With It Anyway."
Then the very next week, the show seems to answer all of my challenges. Storylines that seemed to be going nowhere, or just running in circles, were suddenly headed somewhere...somewhere pretty cool. Of course, I was cautious. I've been burned by "Heroes" before, and wasn't going to fall so easily.
After this week's episode, I'm head over heels all over again.
The Hunter (who is not only an awesome character, but also a very fine actor) gets his comeuppance but not without serving up some Klingon-style cold revenge. Claire finally gets off of her haunches and does something...something other than getting trapped/saved/accidentally dismembered, that is. Nathan finally decides (with a little assist from the Hunter) what side he's really on. Angela continues to be the character I'm most interested in, and Ando and Hiro get a new mission, a very messy mission apparently.
Big props go to David H. Lawrence XVII (yep, that's really his name) as Eric Doyle. In the span of 42 minutes he managed to be endearing, sympathetic, tragic, frightening and devilishly fun. No small feat. Incidentally, if you're on Twitter you should be following him @
davidhlawrencexvii (you should be following me too @
joelsharpton). He's a funny guy and occasionally has some juicy behind the scenes scoop.
Problems with the episode? Not many. My only real complaint is that they seem to have shut the door for any future adventures from Papa Sylar (aka John Glover). That's a shame, since his character was fascinating and as an actor, John Glover has few peers in TV. However, I'm sure if John wanted to come back and play, the enterprising minds at "Heroes" could figure out a way for him to miraculously recover from that terminal cancer problem. Pity it doesn't work like that in the real world.
Now, the news out over the last few days has been good. "Heroes" has gotten a (n unnofficial) pickup for next season from NBC. With Bryan Fuller's return (he worked on this week's episode) the series could really find its stride again. The rumor mill has been buzzing that NBC is considering planning an end date for the show (ala "Lost" and "Battlestar Gallactica"). While I agree with some of the articles about this question that it could free up the writers to write overarching stories with real and satisfying climaxes, and loosen the burden of week to week fear of ratings, it would also limit what I think sets this show apart from those other serial sci-fi dramas.
"Heroes" is a comic book brought to life. The characters in the X-men have changed over the years. People leave, people come back. Some die, some find new powers, some switch sides, but the team, the book goes on and on. When the show originally arrived on NBC, it was thought of in just such a light. We could (every few years) have characters leave (die, retire, whatever) and be replaced with new people finding their abilities and taking their place alongside some of our other heroes. The phrase a "sci-fi Law and Order" was even batted around. To hope that a show in this modern climate could last as long as the "Law and Order" franchise has would be foolish, but to think that the only thing we should get out of "Heroes" is one satisfying arc of five, six even seven seasons is a shame. I always envisioned more, and in my heart, I still hope we'll get it.
