Review of Heroes, Season I
An overview of the show's strengths and weaknesses
Synopsis
Heroes, Season I, is a 23-episode television series that first aired in the fall of 2007. The show follows the lives of a number of people with special (which is to say, superhuman) abilities as they discover what they can do and come to terms with their new selves. To complicate matters, certain of these characters uncover a grim future when they find out that a nuclear explosion will destroy half of New York City in a few short weeks.
Review
For the most part, Heroes fails to be more than a predictable action/drama full of clichés. Even if one overlooks the lack of originality in the nuclear bomb + New York City plot, the show remains riddled with worn out characters and events, from a hospice nurse searching for meaning in his existence, to a villain whose parents’ demanding expectations of greatness drove him to evil.
The show suffers from this persistent employment of overused material. The plot grows stale after a point, and writers recycle the same tired dialogue about the need to save the world, discover one’s destiny and fight against the odds.
Because of the inordinate amount of hype given to the matter of an NYC apocalypse throughout Heroes, the conclusion to the series feels anticlimactic and deflated. The final showdown is over in a couple of minutes, and all but two of the characters are entirely disempowered by their failure to act on the plans they spent the previous 22 episodes agonizing over.
Another great weakness of Heroes is the number of characters it attempts to juggle. The show boasts no fewer than 12 protagonists, and if one includes other recurring supportive roles, the central cast approaches 30. With the stories of so many people to focus on at once, it is unsurprising that little holes often appear in these mini plots. Inconsistencies abound, and apparently significant details appear and disappear with no later follow up.
On the other hand, there are two or three storylines that succeed in being quite gripping, and it is these that will likely keep viewers interested through to the final episode. Toward the end of the season these stronger plots take over, and most of the more endearing and/or intriguing characters are given more screen time.
There are a handful of particularly strong episodes that hint at true creativity buried in the writers of Heroes. One such episode gives a glimpse of a future in which large portions of the population have been discovered to have these “superhuman” abilities. The episode offers interesting and somewhat thoughtful predictions of the social issues that might arise under such circumstances.
One highlight of the show is the performance of Masi Oka, the Japanese actor who plays Hiro Nakamura. Oka displays considerable talent in portraying both a geeky, naïeve young man and an older, jaded and dangerous freedom fighter. His is one of the more charming and compelling characters of the show, despite being given an overabundance of angstful dialogue to work with.
Overall, Heroes can make for light and entertaining viewing. Some of the show’s repeated flaws may become frustrating over 23 episodes, but there are enough good performances and intriguing plot hooks to keep most viewers enjoying Heroes for what it is: simple entertainment that’s better than a lot of the other stuff on TV these days.
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