Heroes 1.1: "Genesis"
Written by Tim Kring
Directed by David Semel
Ever since this show was announced, I was intrigued. After all, a lot of similar projects have worked out rather well, especially “The 4400”. To me, it sounded like a TV version of the film “Unbreakable”, which I consider to be underrated. The benefit here, of course, is the wide variety of abilities on display and the distinctly “real world” aspect of the concept.
I’ve always said that pilots have a lot going against them, because of the sheer amount of exposition that needs to be covered. It’s hard to get an actual plot going when the entire universe needs to be established. So I wasn’t surprised by the fact that this first episode, really the first half of the pilot, doesn’t advance the story too far. The pacing seems a bit slow, but then, it was written as a two-hour event, not a stand-alone hour.
A lot of basic character relationships were established, and I like that aspect. There’s the now-requisite “Lost”-esque idea of characters with unknown connections, but I think it will become more a plot point than a plot convenience. The episode is very heavy-handed with the idea that these super-powered individuals are linked by something, and that certain global forces want that connection to remain a secret.
I like a lot of the characters, even the ones with seriously annoying personalities. Hiro is definitely fun, and he is used to introduce the idea of a comic book brought to life with all of his geeky references (many of which, sadly, I recognized instantly). Claire is incredibly cute, but I’m still not sure why she would be filming suicide attempts. They need to make better sense of that. Niki’s hot stripper mom could be a cliché, but her ability has a lot of potential. I’m intrigued by the close connections between Peter, Nathan, Simone, and Isaac, since so many of the heroes seem to be otherwise spread out. And right now, Mohinder Suresh reminds me of a poor man’s Sayid from “Lost”, though he’s obviously meant to be an important supply of exposition.
The overall tone suggests that there is a meta-fictional quality to the series, again not unlike “Lost”. The question seems to be: which came first, the hero or the story about the hero? Pointing back at “Unbreakable”, it was a similar idea. The hero was completely unaware of his strength and resilience until his world fell into a certain “comic book” context. So if there are people telling stories and drawing art about these heroes, where did that knowledge come from? Is there a common wellspring? I’m wondering if this is some kind of “collective unconscious” thing; perhaps some event is allowing the underlying mythology of comics and heroes within the modern world to manifest.
In terms of the apparent conspiracy to hide the truth about the emerging heroes, I have to wonder if Claire was adopted by Unnerving Guy because she would eventually manifest this invulnerability. It seems all too coincidental, which leads me to assume that it was intentional. But there are a few potential plot points that are bugging me right now, so I’m looking to the writers to reward my patience in the coming weeks. Since the series did well in the ratings, I imagine they will have time to prove themselves.
(As a sidenote: I also have a podcast associated with my various reviews called “Dispatches from Tuzenor”. Current episodes cover “Studio 60”, so it might be something of interest. Go to http://entil2001.libsyn.com if you want to listen!)
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4
Final Rating: 7/10
Directed by David Semel
Ever since this show was announced, I was intrigued. After all, a lot of similar projects have worked out rather well, especially “The 4400”. To me, it sounded like a TV version of the film “Unbreakable”, which I consider to be underrated. The benefit here, of course, is the wide variety of abilities on display and the distinctly “real world” aspect of the concept.
I’ve always said that pilots have a lot going against them, because of the sheer amount of exposition that needs to be covered. It’s hard to get an actual plot going when the entire universe needs to be established. So I wasn’t surprised by the fact that this first episode, really the first half of the pilot, doesn’t advance the story too far. The pacing seems a bit slow, but then, it was written as a two-hour event, not a stand-alone hour.
A lot of basic character relationships were established, and I like that aspect. There’s the now-requisite “Lost”-esque idea of characters with unknown connections, but I think it will become more a plot point than a plot convenience. The episode is very heavy-handed with the idea that these super-powered individuals are linked by something, and that certain global forces want that connection to remain a secret.
I like a lot of the characters, even the ones with seriously annoying personalities. Hiro is definitely fun, and he is used to introduce the idea of a comic book brought to life with all of his geeky references (many of which, sadly, I recognized instantly). Claire is incredibly cute, but I’m still not sure why she would be filming suicide attempts. They need to make better sense of that. Niki’s hot stripper mom could be a cliché, but her ability has a lot of potential. I’m intrigued by the close connections between Peter, Nathan, Simone, and Isaac, since so many of the heroes seem to be otherwise spread out. And right now, Mohinder Suresh reminds me of a poor man’s Sayid from “Lost”, though he’s obviously meant to be an important supply of exposition.
The overall tone suggests that there is a meta-fictional quality to the series, again not unlike “Lost”. The question seems to be: which came first, the hero or the story about the hero? Pointing back at “Unbreakable”, it was a similar idea. The hero was completely unaware of his strength and resilience until his world fell into a certain “comic book” context. So if there are people telling stories and drawing art about these heroes, where did that knowledge come from? Is there a common wellspring? I’m wondering if this is some kind of “collective unconscious” thing; perhaps some event is allowing the underlying mythology of comics and heroes within the modern world to manifest.
In terms of the apparent conspiracy to hide the truth about the emerging heroes, I have to wonder if Claire was adopted by Unnerving Guy because she would eventually manifest this invulnerability. It seems all too coincidental, which leads me to assume that it was intentional. But there are a few potential plot points that are bugging me right now, so I’m looking to the writers to reward my patience in the coming weeks. Since the series did well in the ratings, I imagine they will have time to prove themselves.
(As a sidenote: I also have a podcast associated with my various reviews called “Dispatches from Tuzenor”. Current episodes cover “Studio 60”, so it might be something of interest. Go to http://entil2001.libsyn.com if you want to listen!)
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4
Final Rating: 7/10
posted by John Keegan | 17:42
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