Heroes
Season One Review
On Heroes, the new NBC hit television series,
a diverse group of ordinary people suddenly discover they have abilities
bordering on the supernatural: the capacity to fly, bend time, become
indestructible and even foresee the future. It seems that nature has
provided an evolutionary response to the modern threats of mankind’s
existence.
It also
seems that the success of Lost has paved the way for television
shows that delve into the supernatural, and the similarities between
these two series abound. For example, there is no opening credits sequence
on Heroes, just a simple spinning-world emblem emblazed on
the screen for a few seconds. And in the very first shot of the very
first episode, we see a close up of a human eye, mirroring the first
shot of Lost.
That is
not to suggest that Heroes is some sort of Lost knockoff.
All creative artists have borrowed, after all; Bono of U2 implied as
much when he sang the line “every poet is a thief.” Someone
even once commented that there are a limited number of stories to be
told and that William Shakespeare wrote them all, yet the Bard himself
pilfered from his predecessors. That’s because storytelling, regardless
of the medium, is about execution. It’s about taking a basic premise,
even a narrative that has been told before, and making it one’s
own. And it is here that Heroes excels.
On Lost,
both main and peripheral characters continuously pop-up in the flashbacks
of other characters, demonstrating a connection between the survivors
of Oceanic flight 815. Heroes likewise connects its main characters:
Hiro’s friend, Ando, is a regular customer of internet stripper
Niki; future painter Isaac and “I-can-fly” Peter share the
same love interest; Peter hails a taxi cab driven by Suresh; and on
and on. But while Lost leaves one wondering why its characters
are connected, Heroes actually offers an explanation.
In an early
episode, while Peter takes his taxi ride with Suresh, he notices an
eclipse in the New York skies. When he wonders out loud if it will be
a total eclipse, Suresh answers, “Not here, no. Some other part
of the world, yes. A global event. Makes one appreciate just how small
our planet really is.” The scene then transitions into a montage
showing the other characters, spread out from Las Vegas to Tokyo, looking
up at the sky and witnessing the same eclipse, suggesting that connections
are not merely a case of fate or destiny—they’re simply
the nature of the universe.
Heroes
also develops, as does its predecessor, at a deliberate pace. This is
a series that believes in character and plot, and is intent on telling
its story on its own terms without being rushed. Although there are
multiple characters, spread out geographically, each episode is not
overly packed with plot twists or quickly burned-through storylines.
Yet despite this tempo, or maybe because of it, one cannot help but
feel captivated by each “chapter.” This is storytelling
on a grander scale: one is not viewing a collection of short stories,
but instead sitting back to enjoy a long novel.
Heroes
has a better “flow” to its narrative, and the episodes do
not feel as disconnected as they often can on Lost. And despite
its comic-book premise, Heroes is actually more relatable,
mainly because it is grounded in a common thread of the human psyche:
the desire to be unique and have some sort of destiny and purpose in
life. After all, myths throughout the history of mankind have reveled
in ordinary people having the power and ability to “save the world.”
We’ve all had this desire, even if we lost sight of it as we grew
older. But we can still relate to it nonetheless.
And the
heroes on Heroes are indeed “ordinary,” from the
Los Angeles police officer who has failed the detective exam multiple
times to the high school cheerleader from Texas. Not only do they have
to deal with the regular problems of every day life, but they now have
to struggle with their new powers. Do they want these powers? Can they
live up to the responsibilities? Do they dare to be different? Heroes
asks these questions.
In the
first episode, “Genesis,” time-manipulator Hiro reverses
that last inquiry when he asks Ando, “Why do you want to be the
same?” His friend replies, “Because that’s what I
am. The same. It’s what we all are.”
Fortunately,
that’s not the case with all television shows, as Heroes
has certainly proved.
September
3, 2007
