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HEROES |
Hiro Nakamura - Masi Oka Claire Bennett - Hayden Panettiere Mr Bennett - Jack Coleman Nathan Petrelli - Adrian Pasdar Tracy Strauss - Ali Larter Matt Parkman - Greg Grunberg Peter Petrelli - Milo Venitmiglia Sylar - Zachary Quinto 
OTHER HEROES SEASONS Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 OFFICIAL SITE bbc.co.uk 
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OrientationClaire Bennett goes to college but before she knows it her roomate has killed herself (or was she murdered?). Tracy Strauss is back and is killing off those that shot her frozen body into a thousand pieces, but she strikes a deal with Claire's Dad Noah to leave him and Danko alive. Danko ends up dead, however, because a man with superspeed and knives was looking for something. That something is a key that leads to a broken compass apparently belonging to someone in a creepy travelling carnival. The carnival is the place where Hiro first learned that he would be a great hero, a path that has led him to a point where his powers are killing him. To save himself would mean that New York would be destroyed, but he can perhaps change a few other people's lives for the better. Matt Parkman is being haunted by Sylar, the man who now wears the face of Nathan Petrelli and actually believes himself to be Nathan Petrelli. Brother Peter is back on the job as a paramedic and is using his powers to save lives. HEROES is back for its fourth season and the signs are that it may have learned a thing or two about what made it great and what derailed it along the way. There are a lot of characters, multiple plotlines, bursts of violent action and lots of character angst to be getting along with in this opening double bill/feature length pilot. Some of these characters, however, have already come together and the plotlines and characters have a focus in the background - the creepy carnival borrowed from Ray Bradbury's wonderful SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES. Carnivals are inherently creepy and ones where the future is seen in living tattoos (also borrowed from Ray Bradbury, THE ILLUSTRATED MAN this time) are even more so. What all this means and where it is going is impossible to say, but there is already a sense that there is a plot and point rather than the wild meanderings of other seasons. The news of Hiro's fatal condition is a blow, but then this is HEROES where being dead isn't always as terminal as it sounds. Matt's conversations with the Sylar in his head are more effective than they have any right to thanks to the playing of the two protagonists and the rest is the usual mess of events swirling around out of which we hope some sense will come. This time around, however, confidence that it will is high. Roll on the next episode. TopInkSamuel from the Carnival manufactures a lawsuit against Peter Petrelli in order to determine whether he is worthy of being invited to join the 'family'. He also displays a little of his own mean streak. Claire has to deal with the fallout of Gretchen learning her secret whilst Matt Parkman is given a taste of what it i like having Sylar inside his head. HEROES is back to its slowburn, character-based ways, which is fine by us if it continues to concentrate on just a few characters at a time like this episode does. By telling only 3 stories at once (4 if you count the introduction of the deaf woman who sees sounds), each gets the time to breathe and progress naturally. The Matt Parkman/Sylar duel is easily the best, being tightly written and well acted, showing the evil side of Sylar off to perfection and just how Matt's innate nobility can be used against him. The Claire Bennett story is pure filler until we find out who Gretchen really is (she can't be just what she sees) and the Peter Petrelli story is clearly part of the main arc and so doesn't go anywhere very fast. How exactly Samuel's earth-moving capacities squares away with his manipulation of living ink is a mystery that is never even mentioned, but on the whole the show is back to teasing and pleasing in equal measures. TopAcceptanceHiro has decided that his mission in life is to correct all his mistakes, but when he gets a call from a would-be suicide on the roof, he tries to rescue the man from his mistakes instead. Traci Strauss tries to go back into politicking and finds that she has changed whilst the man formerly known as either Sylar or Nathan Petrelli (depending on your viewpoint) discovers events in his own misremembered past that could lead to serious consequences. It's only in the revelation of the last few seconds that this episode shows any sense of going anywhere. Hiro is coming to terms with his own mortality, but his GROUNDHOG DAY of trying to save a man sacked for photocopying his backside is played for laughs rather than pathos and is a standalone story. Traci's discovery that she is no longer the amoral political animal that she was isn't exactly either a revelation or very interesting and Noah Bennett wallowing in his own lack of direction is just embarrassing. As for Nathan suddenly discovering a death from his past that he had forgotten (Haitian or no mind-wiping Haitian) - that's just pushing suspension of disbelief a little too far. We really like having some character in our plot, but we also like to have some plot to go with the characters. This is one of those meandering episodes that gives HEROES a bad name by looking like filler, feeling like filler and, unless you have a deep interest in the characters, absolutely is filler. Still, we have that last moment to savour and hope that it might spur some sort of central plot on a bit. TopHysterical BlindnessSylar had shapeshifted into Nathan's body and then had Nathan's personality imprinted. When he was shot dead, therefore, as Nathan he emerged in his original Sylar body and with no memory at all of who he is. Picked up by the police, he learns that he has powers and that he might have killed his own mother. It's not long before he's on the run again. Claire, on the other hand, comes to the conclusion that her new roomate is stalking her during Sorority tryouts. Peter tries to get closer to his family, but ends up getting closer to Emma when he shares her ability to see sounds, an ability that turns out to be more dangerous than just pretty colours. HEROES has always had the propensity to go meandering all over the place, never taking the straight line approach and this episode certainly meanders a lot. Almost nothing actually happens between the start and finish. The whole Sylar story is merely a stepping stone to getting him to the Sullivan Brothers carnival and Claire's whole Sorority adventure is merely to introduce a new character and threat to her. If you've been following the characters to this point then it still manages to be intriguing as to where all these meanders are taking us, but for anyone else it will be a very dull experience. TopTabula RasaNow that Sylar is in the hands of the carnival, Samuel sets about returning his memory to him. Hiro has come to Peter to help him, but it might be that it is Peter that can help Hiro. First though, he needs to team up with Mr Bennett to visit a mistake from the Company's past. HEROES takes another side road that goes in a direction other than that of towards some sort of resolution. Sylar's rebirth gives Zachary Quinto some strong scenes to play, but takes an awful long time to sort out. Meanwhile, Peter and Noah Bennett's little excursion has the aim of helping Hiro, but ends up pretty much achieving nothing. Which is pretty much the feeling about the whole show at the moment. TopStrange AttractorsNoah calls Tracy Strauss in to help with a troubled young man with a dangerous ability, but finds that things do not go well. Claire takes part in a sorority prank, but finds that things turn a lot more serious. Matt Parkman struggles with the Sylar in his head, but may have found the answer lies in the bottle. Noah and Tracy's attempts to save a boy called Jeremy form the heart of this episode and yet the whole point of this strand of the story is to get Tracy to question her place in the real world and the possible attractions of the Sullivan's carnival, a very long route to take for a simple point, but at least the show has the nerve to take this story to its promised end. Claire's sorority shenanigans have no relevance to anything and are pure filler, even with the added desperation of suggesting that she might be a closet lesbian to boot. Matt Parkman's story takes a new twist, but it's a twist that again takes a long time in the coming. We're on episode six now and there's a distinct feeling that we could have gotten this far through the stories in a lot less time with some judicious pruning. TopOnce Upon a Time in TexasHiro travels back three years to save the waitress he fell in love with and lost to Sylar's rampage. Saving her, though, means gaining the help of the man who originally killed her and that's a dangerous prospect. Hiro's time travelling has always been pretty much about his own life and wishes and not about the common good and there's more of that here, but the death of Charlie (way back in Seven Minutes to Midnight) was a turning point for Hiro and a real shock for the audience, so it's OK just this once. The whole episode focusses on this one story (with a sideline in Noah Bennett failing to have an affair) and is better for it. Of course, it will make a lot less sense to anyone who isn't familiar with the original storyline and, like many time travel stories, is more complicated than it needs to be, but for those who have been following the show since the beginning it is a real treat. TopShadowboxingClaire tries to find out why the invisible girl is targeting her roommate, but finds out that neither Gretchen nor herself are the real targets. Matt Parkman finds that not being in charge of his own body gives him an opportunity to fight back against Sylar and Sylar's body remembers something about how it should look. The whole Bennett/invisible girl storyline is completely irrelevant to anything that has gone before, but proves to be one of the more interesting aspects of a better episode. The idea of Noah's past coming back to bite him in the ass is a good one, though Samuel's trying to move in on Claire's loyalty is clumsy to say the least. Even better is the duel between Matt Parkman and Sylar for both his body and information about how the current state of affairs came to pass. It's entertaining, surprising, well-played and comes up with brilliant climactic moment. By contrast, the Peter Petrelli/Emma storyline is tediously going nowhere. TopBrother's KeeperHiro finds out that in order to save his girlfriend Charlie he is going to have to go back in time and save a film from being destroyed by Mohinder. He will then have to save Mohinder from being killed by Samuel without Samuel finding out. The Haitian tries to warn Peter that his brother is just a personality in Sylar's body, but since Peter won't do things the way he's told, he reunites Sylar's body and soul. Tracy Strauss finds that she can no longer control her icy power and Claire may be the only person it is safe to talk to. The reintroduction of Mohinder into the story is an interesting twist and some of the backstory behind Samuel and his late brother's story is revealed, but there is still a real sense that this story is being padded out way beyond its natural length. Tracy's freezing malfunction, for example, is a complete byline that might prove to be important, but here is just a distraction from other, more interesting matters. Like Sylar finally coming into touching distance of his body. Exactly what the fall out of that is going to be isn't revealed in this episode, but then HEROES never does give up its secrets easily. Which is fine, but it's really starting to become harder to care. And why can't characters just talk to each other? Half of the issues raised in this show wouldn't happen if people just talked to each other. The Haitian is in a position to tell Peter Petrelli everything, but does he? No, of course not. Instead he leaves some obscure clues that put everyone in danger. TopThanksgivingSamuel calls together his 'family' of talented individuals for Thanksgiving, but Hiro has learned the truth about the death of Samuel's brother. The Petrelli family come together for a meal that none of them are particularly thankful for, but it does at least give Mother Petrelli a chance to explain what happened to Nathan, until Sylar shows up, that is. Noah Bennett also has family to visit as he tries to persuade Claire to ignore what Samuel said to her. Thanksgiving is an American tradition with little resonance for anyone outside of that country and so an episode built around families sitting down and airing their personal differences is always going to struggle to be interesting, not least because that particular drama has been played out in endless non-genre shows before. The Bennett dinner is particularly tedious as it is little more than a family drama in which separated parents snipe at each other and eldest child announces that she wants to quite college. This kind of turgid family drama is not what we signed up for. The Petrelli family dinner is more interesting since the tension between Nathan, Peter and their mother is barely restrained hatred and things really start to hot up when Sylar makes his entrance. The third strand shows us the truth about the death of Samuel’s brother, but that doesn't exactly come as a surprise. It then ends with Samuel taking action that sends Hiro off to who knows where with the contents of his mind apparently scrambled in what is likely to prove to be yet another pointless plot meander. TopThe Fifth StageClaire arrives at the Sullivan carnival and sees what sort of a life Samuel claims to be building for his 'family'. Noah finds out about her plans just as one of Samuel's talented thugs shows up to get hold of some files. Peter Petrelli goes after he brother Nathan and has to make some hard decisions. Samuel's plans for the talented ones in his care are finally revealed and to be honest they aren't exactly original. He wants to gather all the gifted into one place and create a homeland. Anyone who's seen later seasons of THE 4400 will recognise it and it wasn;t original even then. Still, the idea of gathering an army of people with powers opens up all kinds of avenues. In the meantime, Peter's bruising encounter with Sylar/Nathan shows a side to the character that we haven't seen yet and can't really believe exists. I mean crucifying his brother with a nail gun and kneecapping him with only the promise that he will allow him to heal himself if he complies? Apart from the fact that it doesn't make sense (as he finds out later, moving far enough away to allow Sylar/Nathan to heal would also allow all his other powers back) it's far too brutal for Peter. Still, it's more actual action than the show has produced in some time and the outcome, if it's for real, is a kick in the head. It certainly beats the time spent watching Claire think she likes the carnival. TopUpon This RockHiro appears back in Tokyo with his mind scrambled, but Ando thinks that he can still find some sense in his friend's ramblings. Claire learns more about Samuel, what he plans and what he has done, but is surprised when he makes at least one of his promises come true. Emma the deaf file clerk/doctor finally comes into the story in a meaningful way as Samuel uses her to get to someone who is far more important to him. Hiro's nonsensical ramblings are amusing in their pop culture referencing, but this is really only about Claire's story. Once again by concentrating on a small number of plotlines and giving them time to breathe, the episode is improved and Claire's investigations leave her still unsure as to whether Samuel is a force for good or evil. As well as all the talking, there is time for some action, although Claire escaping her pursuers by using the Hall of Mirrors is far too hoary to pass without comment. The duality over Samuel, though is both nice and refreshing. He is a villain, but how villainous and from whose standpoint? That's the HEROES that we like. TopLet It BleedIt's Nathan's funeral and both his brother and his daughter are in need of some sort of closure regarding the manner of his death. Sylar, reunited in mind and body, returns to the carnival with his own agenda, but finds himself unable to kill whilst Noah Bennet searches for his own way to get into the carnival. HEROES takes another meandering step on its way to nowhere in particular. Peter and Claire coming to terms with the death of Nathan is a necessary step and the one storyline that actually rings true and maintains a hold on the attention. Noah's adventures with the speedster who sliced him up take a whole episode to get him precisely nowhere and is, as a result, a complete waste of time. Sylar also finds a new character trait, but it means nothing as yet, but there is at least some hope that it will eventually become relevant. This episode displays the absolute worst of HEROES in that the writing and acting are good, but wasted in the service of stories with no point. TopClose To YouNoah Bennet is desperate to keep Samuel from recruiting Claire to the carnival and enlists the aid of Matt Parkman in setting a trap for him, but things go wrong and the old lover that they use as bait gets kidnapped. Borrowing his mother's dreaming ability, Peter sees a future in which Emma is in danger from Sylar. Hiro and Ando go undercover into a lunatic asylum to save Mohinder who was put there by Hiro. It's getting hard to know if HEROES has any sort of plot arc in mind since it is wandering all over the place with no real objective in sight. Some of the characters are coming back together again towards the end of the episode, but we are still a long way away from anything that looks like any sort of plot. Samuel keeps going on about his 'plan', but we haven't seen anything that looks dangerous from the man beyond him killing his brother. The fact that it's Hiro and Ando, two of the most likeable characters in science fiction makes it all bearable, though not a lot more. The show needs a real kick in the pants if we are to start caring again. TopPass/FailAs Hiro faces collapses from the effects of his brain tumour and faces a heavenly court over the use of his powers and his right to live, Sylar seeks out Claire to try and discover why he can no longer kill people. Samuel tries to woo his old lover. Hiro plays out a version of A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH in a diner, but the outcome is never really in doubt and we've seen all of this before so it really fails to impress. Sylar's games with Claire are better, but it's still hard to care about the internal woes of a man who is a vicious serial killer and wants to become one again. As for Samuel's trying to get it together with his old girlfriend Vanessa, it's a big yawn right up until the end when we finally see what the man is capable of doing when he is riled and therefore why he might be dangerous. If there is any point to this show at all then somebody get on track towards it. TopThe Art of DeceptionFollowing his destruction of a whole town, Samuel is losing the trust of the 'family'. Claire goes to warn him of her father's attempt to take him down, but then the shooting starts. Matt Parkman takes drastic action to end Sylar's reign of terror. HEROES focusses entirely on only two storylines and everything is more streamlined and urgent than it has been for a long time. The Matt Parkman/Sylar storyline is dramatic, but doesn't seem to be getting any closer to the main story of Samuel and the carnival folk. That storyline, at least, comes together quite nicely with the bad guy finally showing some of what makes him the villain of the piece, turning the tables on his enemies quite nicely. The end is getting near and there is an acceleration in the pace of the show, but there doesn't appear to be any sign that all the current storylines can come together successfully by the end. TopThe WallPeter and Sylar must find a way through a seemingly impenetrable wall in the mindsccape that Matt has left them stranded in. Meanwhile, Claire is shown her father's memories of exactly why he became a member of the Company hunting down those with powers in an attempt to get her to turn to Samuel. The sense of acceleration towards the end of the season continues as again two stories are all that the show concentrates on and, for once, they are both very strong ones. Noah Bennett's history is tragic, but could have come off as irrelevant at this point were it not for the fact that he is the most interesting character in the whole show. The fate that befalls him and Claire provides the big cliffhanger into the next episode. Then there's Peter and Sylar's almost-reconciliation in Matt Parkman's nightmare scenario. Sylar has been good before and either we didn't believe it or he reverted to type and it will be interesting to see if now he has become one of the good guys. If not, then it's just history repeating itself, which would be disappointing since this character change has been managed fairly well. And Samuel is finally going to put his plan into action after what seems like a very long time. The Carnival is going to New York where he intends to demonstrate what his people can do. Lives will be lost, but he doesn't see that as being a problem. TopBrave New WorldSamuel has taken the Carnival to New York where he plans to kill thousands of people as a show of strength to gain respect. Noah Bennett believes that this will bring about open warfare, but since he and Claire are trapped 40 feet underground, there's not much he can do about it. Or is there? It's season finale time and since the previous big finishes have all be pretty much wet flannel moments, expectations were not high. The finish is bigger than the previous ones, but it still manages to miss out on being something really spectacular. The build up is much better with Claire and Noah having a real heart to heart as she watches him prepare to die and Matt attempts to stop Sylar and Peter from leaving. The big moment, however, is a small moment. Hiro finally manages to locate his beloved Charlie and it's a bittersweet moment that really proves that character drama can be far more impacting than the biggest special effects sequence. There's a postscript that sets up for a new season, but we really can't help but ask whether we need more of the same. TopPreviewBBC2 sees the return of the ordinary folk with extraordinary powers show HEROES for season 4 this weekend and it's a sign of the waning popularity of the show that it comes on a wave of absolutely no publicity whatsoever. Considering the blaze of media attention that came with its launch and the subsequent switch to the BBC, the apparent lack of interest by the broadcaster can only serve to sink the show's fortunes lower in the UK. Most of our favourites, those that survived the events of the last season at least, are present and correct for the new season. Claire the cheerleader's off to college, Ando and Hiro are heroes for hire, Peter's gone back to being a paramedic, Nathan is dead, Sylar's alive, but thinks he's Nathan and Noah's having nothing to do with that mess. And the carnival's come to town, bringing with it a family that might be just as unusual as the Petrellis and just powerful. This new volume for the gang is subtitled REDEMPTION and might perhaps be the one to bring the show back to its days of glory. Top |
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