Heroes

Starring: Hayden Panettiere (76 episodes), Jack Coleman (75 episodes), Milo Ventimiglia (70 episodes), Masi Oka (66 episodes), Greg Grunberg (64 episodes), Sendhil Ramamurthy (63 episodes), James Kyson (63 episodes), Adrian Pasdar (61 episodes), Zachary Quinto (61 episodes), Ali Larter (58 episodes), Cristine Rose (53 episodes), Ashley Crow (41 episodes), Jimmy Jean-Louis (32 episodes), Noah Gray-Cabey (29 episodes), Randall Bentley (20 episodes), Robert Knepper (19 episodes), Elizabeth Lackey (19 episodes), Santiago Cabrera (17 episodes), Leonard Roberts (17 episodes), Dawn Olivieri (16 episodes), David Anders (15 episodes), Dania Ramirez (15 episodes), Kristen Bell (13 episodes), Zeljko Ivanek (13 episodes), Thomas Dekker (12 episodes), George Takei (12 episodes), Madeline Zima (11 episodes), Stephen Tobolowsky (11 episodes), Robert Forster (10 episodes), Malcolm McDowell (10 episodes), Ray Park (9 episodes), Eric Roberts (7 episodes), Richard Rountree (6 episodes), Christopher Eccleston (5 episodes), Dianna Agron (5 episodes), Bruce Boxleitner (3 episodes), Ernie Hudson (2 episodes), Stana Katic (2 episodes), Seth Green (2 episodes), Breckin Meyer (2 episodes), Kellan Lutz (1 episode), Clint Howard (1 episode), Stan Lee (1 episode)
Directed by: Greg Beeman (12 episodes), Allan Arkush (11 episodes), Jeannot Szwarc (6 episodes), Paul A. Edwards (3 episodes), John Badham (2 episodes), Paul Shapiro (2 episodes)
Rating: TV-14
Genre: Drama, Science Fiction, Thriller
2006-2010

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4

Summary: Ordinary people all around the globe discover they have super powers. Some use those powers for good, others for unimaginable evil.

Review:
Tim: I can't think of a television series that started with as much promise as "Heroes" did, only to crash and burn in a shockingly short amount of time. The first season of this series was one of the best I'd ever seen- I loved the characters, the tension, the world they created. I was incredibly hooked. By the fourth season, I was praying the show would end. I only continued to watch out of habit- I could care less about anything happening. Where did this show go wrong? There's so many flaws we could point out.

The first season worked because it felt grounded in reality. We learned about each of these characters and we quickly grew to love them. The combination between those with superpowers and ordinary humans was great. There was a clear threat in Sylar, and there was a clear (and awesome) rallying cry- Save the Cheerleader, Save the World. Creator Tim Kring did a remarkable job in bringing his vision to the small screen.

Unfortunately, it all felt apart under the weight of its storytelling. There was no clear vision, so the story would chase down rabbit holes, having to start and restart. The story became an absolute mess. Peter was granted certain powers, then those powers went away, came back, changed. It made no sense. The same thing happened with Hiro. A series of absolutely terrible decisions basically ruined the greatest character on the show. The series horribly decided to give powers to his human characters- Mohinder and Ando should have stayed powerless. They (and a few others) brought a wonderful balance to show, mixing the regular people with those with powers. The transformation of those characters ruined who they were and helped to usher in the crumbling of the show.

Another issue "Heroes" had to deal with actually came from one of its greatest strengths- the remarkable performance of Zachary Quinto as Sylar. He was one of the most chilling, unforgettable villains and a big reason I loved the first season so much. Quinto was too good, though, and the showrunners had no idea what to do with him. They needed to move on, but they tried to force him into the continuing story. We had the absurd plot where Sylar becomes good (kind of). It was so clear that they had no idea what to do with the character, but they couldn't bear to part with one of the best aspects of their show. They should have cut their losses and moved on to protect the integrity of the show. Unfortunately, it was a case of too much of a good thing is a bad thing, which helped ruin the show.

The cast was very, very good. They were just given a raw deal with the writing. Hayden Panettiere was very good as Claire Bennett. Jack Coleman was one of the true stars of the show as her father, Noah. I loved Milo Ventimiglia as Peter (perhaps my favorite character) before they completely ruined him. Masi Oka was perhaps the best character on the show. Hiro was a joy to watch (before they ruined him). Ali Larter is another character who was quite strong until the story made her character pointless and annoying. I could go on through the rest of the cast, but you get the idea. The series brought together a remarkable, diverse cast. They gave them great roles and the cast stepped up. Unfortunately, the show fell apart, leaving the cast to look silly and pointless towards the end of the run.

I truly loved the first season of this show. I liked the second season. I could tolerate the third. I dreaded the final season and sighed in relief when "Heroes" finally ended. I am so torn when I think about this show. I remember finishing the first season and thinking, "This is my new favorite show". However, the series left such a bad taste in my mouth at the end, it's hard to remember how incredible it once was. This series is a true cautionary tale- no matter how good of an idea you have, if you don't have a clear vision, you can easily ruin what was once great.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



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