Heroes 1.3: "One Giant Leap"
Written by Jeph Loeb
Directed by Greg Beeman
Three episodes in, and “Heroes” is doing quite well. It is one of the first shows to be called a hit for the Fall 2006 season, and for good reason. While the concept of “real world heroes” might be familiar to fans of the genre, the general public hasn’t seen the idea play out on such a canvas since “Unbreakable”, and quite frankly, not a lot of people took that film to heart. The sheer size of the ensemble cast doesn’t hurt, either.
One of my favorite aspects of “Lost” is the variety of characters. Say what you will about which characters are prominently displayed, there’s plenty of ground to cover and a lot of perspectives to enjoy. This series is very similar, because if one subplot or character doesn’t work for you, then there’s half a dozen other ideas waiting for your attention. There is, in essence, something for everyone. And that’s a very simple way to get people to relate to your show.
A lot happens in this episode, even though a lot of it is standard introductory material. The writers are still trying to show us the universe of “Heroes”, and which details differ from the world we understand. For instance, most of us don’t live in a world where a strange symbol that looks like a mutated “S” pops up all over the place. Claire draws it on her books, apparent government agents wear it on a necklace, Syler draws it all over the place, it’s everywhere. Not as subtle as it could have been, but considering how much it takes to get through to some people, it may be necessary.
We finally get to see Syler, and he is about as powerful as one would expect. At the very least, he is the first superhuman to be shown with actual offensive capability, using what appears to be a combination of telekinesis and telepathy (very bad combination). Most of the “heroes” have defensive abilities, so that might be a running theme for the beginning of the show. The “heroes” may be gathering to defend humanity against those with the power and will to prey on those without abilities.
If so, then the logical direction for the series, based on what we’ve seen, is an exploration of each characters’ journey towards one side or the other. The writers are doing a good job of showing how the abilities are not necessarily a godsend, even if the message is sometimes a bit overdone. Claire is cute and has a lot to lose, but if this trend continues, she’s going to become the Kenny of “Heroes”, dying and resurrecting in ever more spectacular ways. (That said, the end of the episode was impressive!)
It’s characters like Matt that give insight into how the emergence of a power might realistically become a problem. The writers don’t go as far as they could, since they have a plot structure in mind and the pace needs to be maintained, but his fortunes rise and fall based on his control over his powers. His journey should be a lot of fun, and if he continues to make strong connections in law enforcement, he could become very important to the story.
Not every character is clicking right now. Niki is fascinating in a rather disturbing way, but her story’s all over the place. Simone and Peter are a terribly boring couple. For that matter, Peter is boring in nearly everything he does, so they need to make him more accessible. Isaac is obviously going to be crucial to the plot, but at this point, I find him irritating. And I’m not sure why, but I have yet to warm up to Mohinder and his role as Basil Exposition.
The saving grace of the show, of course, is Hiro. He steals nearly every scene he’s in, though part of that is the inevitable reaction to someone from another culture with unfamiliar mannerisms. But any genre geek, especially the comic book fans, can listen/read the dialogue in nearly every Hiro scene and recognize a kindred spirit. Which, of course, gets back to that comment about how the audience can relate to the characters, and why this series is doing so well so quickly.
(As a sidenote: I also have a podcast associated with my various reviews called “Dispatches from Tuzenor”. Current episodes cover “Heroes”, 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: 2/4
Final Rating: 8/10
Directed by Greg Beeman
Three episodes in, and “Heroes” is doing quite well. It is one of the first shows to be called a hit for the Fall 2006 season, and for good reason. While the concept of “real world heroes” might be familiar to fans of the genre, the general public hasn’t seen the idea play out on such a canvas since “Unbreakable”, and quite frankly, not a lot of people took that film to heart. The sheer size of the ensemble cast doesn’t hurt, either.
One of my favorite aspects of “Lost” is the variety of characters. Say what you will about which characters are prominently displayed, there’s plenty of ground to cover and a lot of perspectives to enjoy. This series is very similar, because if one subplot or character doesn’t work for you, then there’s half a dozen other ideas waiting for your attention. There is, in essence, something for everyone. And that’s a very simple way to get people to relate to your show.
A lot happens in this episode, even though a lot of it is standard introductory material. The writers are still trying to show us the universe of “Heroes”, and which details differ from the world we understand. For instance, most of us don’t live in a world where a strange symbol that looks like a mutated “S” pops up all over the place. Claire draws it on her books, apparent government agents wear it on a necklace, Syler draws it all over the place, it’s everywhere. Not as subtle as it could have been, but considering how much it takes to get through to some people, it may be necessary.
We finally get to see Syler, and he is about as powerful as one would expect. At the very least, he is the first superhuman to be shown with actual offensive capability, using what appears to be a combination of telekinesis and telepathy (very bad combination). Most of the “heroes” have defensive abilities, so that might be a running theme for the beginning of the show. The “heroes” may be gathering to defend humanity against those with the power and will to prey on those without abilities.
If so, then the logical direction for the series, based on what we’ve seen, is an exploration of each characters’ journey towards one side or the other. The writers are doing a good job of showing how the abilities are not necessarily a godsend, even if the message is sometimes a bit overdone. Claire is cute and has a lot to lose, but if this trend continues, she’s going to become the Kenny of “Heroes”, dying and resurrecting in ever more spectacular ways. (That said, the end of the episode was impressive!)
It’s characters like Matt that give insight into how the emergence of a power might realistically become a problem. The writers don’t go as far as they could, since they have a plot structure in mind and the pace needs to be maintained, but his fortunes rise and fall based on his control over his powers. His journey should be a lot of fun, and if he continues to make strong connections in law enforcement, he could become very important to the story.
Not every character is clicking right now. Niki is fascinating in a rather disturbing way, but her story’s all over the place. Simone and Peter are a terribly boring couple. For that matter, Peter is boring in nearly everything he does, so they need to make him more accessible. Isaac is obviously going to be crucial to the plot, but at this point, I find him irritating. And I’m not sure why, but I have yet to warm up to Mohinder and his role as Basil Exposition.
The saving grace of the show, of course, is Hiro. He steals nearly every scene he’s in, though part of that is the inevitable reaction to someone from another culture with unfamiliar mannerisms. But any genre geek, especially the comic book fans, can listen/read the dialogue in nearly every Hiro scene and recognize a kindred spirit. Which, of course, gets back to that comment about how the audience can relate to the characters, and why this series is doing so well so quickly.
(As a sidenote: I also have a podcast associated with my various reviews called “Dispatches from Tuzenor”. Current episodes cover “Heroes”, 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: 2/4
Final Rating: 8/10
posted by John Keegan | 17:00
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