Review of Heroes: Genesis (pilot)- 3 out of 4; will make the 6 episode cut

Quick rating: Watch it on Sept. 25 and judge for yourself. It's the best alternative to Monday Night Football, and should hold the timeslot otherwise. Don't bother looking for it on itunes; the link to where I found it can be found toward the end of this review (which may or may not be around by the time you get to it).

Update 9/27: I have updated the link at the bottom to direct anyone wanting to see the pilot to NBC's online media website.

Unlike Justice, the previews for NBC's new show, Heroes (the trailer to which can be located on NBC's website for the show) intrigued me. After complaining about NBC's misleading Heroes advertising campaign, I did manage to find a link to the show via a rather simple google search, which doesn't even require bit torrent or anything else. The quality is decent, and I'll probably re-watch it on Sept. 25 (maybe) to see a couple of things that weren't too clear, but it's worth a watch if you can't wait or have alternate plans that evening and your vcr is on the fritz.

Background for my television perspective on science fiction dramas
The first movie I remember watching was Back to the Future, and that probably hooked me on science fiction generally (although I have very specific tastes). Regarding television dramas with a science fiction flavor, I often find myself hooked on shows that took ordinary life and twisted it a little. Shows in this category that I like(d)/watch(ed) fairly regularly include(d), but are not limited to, The 80s version of the Twilight Zone, Dead Like Me, Lost, and occasionally Smallville (although it's almost gotten too bizarre even for me), Medium, Ghost Whisperer, Star Trek Next Generation, the first three seasons of Sliders, and Quantum Leap. I liked Alf also, although that was more of a comedy, and I was very young when that was on so I don't remember much of it. Similarly, I remember watching My Secret Identity, but couldn't tell you much about it other than he could run really fast and he was in Stand by Me (yes, I am aware Jerry O'Connell was in Sliders and in a few other things also). Regarding the current shows, you may be wondering how I have the time to watch all this stuff in law school and still be able to pull off law review and all the perks that go with it - it's called a VCR (I hear Tivo does essentially the same thing). Anyway, there may be a couple other shows I can't think of right this moment, but at least that gives you an idea of the science fiction shows I have been known to watch on more than one occasion.

Review of Heroes: Genesis (and the show generally)
Heroes, in a halfshell, is about a group of otherwise disconnected individuals whose bodies have, for lack of a better word, mutated in such a way that distinguishes them from the rest of the population. The show doesn't get into the science of it, and, as I had mentioned in a previous post, with little exception, I think you have to suspend all biological/Darwinistic understanding. If you've seen the X-Men movies, it's easy to think of these 5 or 6 people (and perhaps more as the series goes on) as knowing they have these "gifts" and not knowing of any collective organization or group that can help them develop or understand it. Yet.

I suspect that, like X-Men, there is a more (sinister) group that does know generally of these mutations and will stop at no cost to prevent them from developing further for the better good of the non-mutants (ordinary viewers like you and me). Oh yeah, all of the characters (with the exception of Vegas stripper) find themselves in New York on the day of a solar eclipse (sort of like all of the surviving passengers in Lost or the bridge walkers who died when the bridge collapsed in The Bridge of San Luis Rey). The pilot basically centers on introducing some of the characters and the discovery of their abilities.

The Heroes and their powers (may have some spoiling effect, but not really)
Nobody in the show has done any major acting before, but I did recognize the Vegas girl from a couple of movies or tv shows so I'll start with her. I can't remember any character names either, so this is just my condensed version of the pilot.

Vegas mother character: She's a reformed stripper of sorts trying to create a better life for her seemingly exceptionally smart son. Her special ability is some sort of split personality that she can see in the mirror as a off-centered reflection. Her "power" sort of reminds me of the movie Secret Window or Hide and Seek. Nice try NBC.

Japanese teleporter: His power is that he communicates in subtitles. And he can teleport by shaking his head and wishing he was somewhere else. His "power" reminds me of the teleportation power Kevin Spacey's character had/explained in K*Pax. I think there is an X-kid with that power too.

Cheerleader: She has regenerative power like Wolverine in X-Men. Her relationship with the nerdy sidekick who she has videotape her trying various stunts (as you see in the previews) is sort of like Can't Buy Me Love, but it obviously isn't going to go to that extreme. Amazingly, her power to walk through fire extends around her clothes as well since they didn't burn at all either.

Indian Professor: He is continuing his father's research into finding all of these mutations. He travels to New York and becomes a taxi-driver, where he discovers he has the power to pick up only people who are central to the plot. At some point in the show, he may lose his power to walk on his own two feet and be wheelchair bound. You may think of him (minus the evil) like Samuel L. Jackson's character in Unbreakable, since he is trying to figure everything out.

Evil government/private contractor guy: This guy plays the foil to the Indian Professor. His power is that of mastermind, which will probably be developed further. His connections to the other heroes abound. His power to hire competent subcontractor-robbers, however, needs some work.

Art guy: He has the power to draw the future. This isn't really explained but it may have something to do with substance abuse.

Dark haired guy & his twin(?) political candidate brother: I know I've seen this guy in a couple of movies before, but I can't remember which ones. Unlike his minor son roles in these movies, he may be the main character here as he got most of the air time in the pilot. He thinks he can fly, as you can see in the preview and the first minute of the show, and his desire to get his brother's attention drives him to want to test his suspicions. I'm hoping his character is the comic relief, sort of like Greg Focker in Meet the Parents, but I suspect that role is reserved for the Japanese teleporter who listened to his friend tell him to use his powers and teleport into the girl's bathroom at a club.

Cop: He's not in the pilot but he's in the preview. He is played by Greg Grunberg of Alias fame (and he also was Lost's airplane pilot who told them they were 1000 miles off course before being eaten by something that still hasn't been explained). Apparently his power is that he can read people's thoughts. Sort of like Mel Gibson in What Women Want.

Character I would like to see: How about a guy (or girl) who doesn't paint the future but sort of has an instinct to predict the future. You could show her buying three lottery tickets because she knows the third one is a big winner. As the show develops her instincts obviously could get better. I think of other characters who could have virtuso talents similar to those traits that sometimes appear in those with Autism, but this show probably isn't the appropriate forum.

Conclusion: 6 episode run (re-evaluation to follow)
I usually give a show a none, 1, 6, or season run. While I think this show has the potential for a season run (or more), I'll give it the good old 6-episode run to allow it to develop its characters a little more and see if it can get into some sort of storyline. In many ways, I think it is trying to copy Lost with the coincidental characters and may be better off just having each show about a different character with no actual connection (or very subtle and then start to bring them together by mid-season). I'm not too happy about being sucked into a new tv show, but this one seems okay enough that I may wind up watching it. I hope that's the case anyway. The link to the show can be found on NBC's website here: Heroes pilot link). Otherwise, the pilot airs against the Atlanta-New Orleans game (which nobody is going to really care about anyway) on September 25. Another analyst has already written his two cents on whether NBC will trump ESPN in the overall ratings, and I suspect that MNF moving to ESPN rather than broadcast ABC will have a real effect on the television ratings pie.

SPOILER ALERT
The next bit deals with three aspects of the show that don't come until toward the end of the first episode. They are more commentary and rhetorical questions than anything else.


1. The cheerleader's dad is the evil goverment guy? Isn't that a bit contrived?
2. I couldn't see what the guy had painted (and I'm assuming he doesn't die even though I would think that real life odds wouldn't be good and you would bleed out pretty quickly). It looked like some sort of city burning and I'm guessing the cityscape was new york since they flashed it in the next scene before superman tried to fly. I'm assuming "we must stop it" is the event that will unite the heroes in the beginning so they all come together. Personally, a September 11 type tragedy, in my opinion, doesn't make for good fictional (or non-fictional) tv.
3. The brother flies? Well, that was a surprise. I guess he has bigger problems politically if that gets caught on film. Flying though? To what evolutionary end does that help? I mean, I can understand the gills in Waterworld, but flying? Come on...

Tags: heroes, nbc, review