Heroes: Genesis
Genesis, the first episode of the new show Heroes, was solid and included some really great moments. It was a little slow in places due to the large amount of exposition, but this is often a necessary evil in a pilot episode.
At first I was a little put off by the scrolling text as it was very reminiscent of Star Wars, but in the end I decided that it was an effective way to give information that would have been clunky as dialogue. I did like how the episode title was superimposed on the roof, and the whole opening sequence had a very cinematic feel. The visual of a falling man and the concurrent narration was quite effective, and was a memorable opening to the first episode.
The character of Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) is interesting, if a little over-dramatic. The charged and slightly-cheesy dialogue that worked well in the surreal opening sequence does not translate as well into the rest of the episode. He should be key in tying the heroes together. The one moment in the episode that really annoyed me was Mohinder's repetition of the '10% of the our brain power' myth, which has long been discredited.
The murderous mirror image of Niki Sanders (Ali Larter) was very creepy, and the whole effect was well done. The show is called Heroes, so it will be interesting to see whether her power ends up being a force for good, or if she becomes a foe of the other characters.
Hiro Nahamura (Masi Oka) is my favourite character so far. His enthusiasm for bending the space/time continuum is really endearing, and his geekish enthusiasm is really cute. I loved the references to both Star Trek and X-Men, though it would have been interesting to see some shout-outs to less mainstream science fiction. I hope his friend continues to be included in the show, as they work well as a comic relief duo.
Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere) has taken an interesting attitude towards her apparent indestructibility, and I haven't quite warmed to the character yet. I did like the nonchalant way she poked her jutting-out ribs back in. Her father being the bad guy raises all sorts of issues, including whether he knows about her abilities, and her true parentage.
I loved the artwork done in comic book style by Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera). The question will be whether he is always capable of painting the future, or whether this ability is induced by heroin.
Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) really wants to be special and to have a purpose in his life. When he fell off the building, I really did want him to fly, but it didn't happen. The fact that he had been dreaming about the moment indicates that he may have a different power. The fact that he also had a dream about Nathan's accident indicates some sort of foresight or connection, but whatever his ability is, I feel it should be different from Issac's.
Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar) is a self-centered egomaniac, and I certainly didn't see it coming that he would be the one to fly. I really liked the direction of that scene; the jumpy and erratic camera work really added a sense of vertigo.
Overall, I liked the episode. I enjoyed the way that, for the most part, the characters had an innate sense of their ability, and they all felt realistic. It wasn't stellar, but my interest has been piqued. I'll definitely be tuning in again.
Heroes continues next Wednesday at 8.30pm on Channel Seven.
*Screencap courtesy of Wikipedia, and used under Fair Dealing for identification and critical commentary
At first I was a little put off by the scrolling text as it was very reminiscent of Star Wars, but in the end I decided that it was an effective way to give information that would have been clunky as dialogue. I did like how the episode title was superimposed on the roof, and the whole opening sequence had a very cinematic feel. The visual of a falling man and the concurrent narration was quite effective, and was a memorable opening to the first episode.
The character of Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) is interesting, if a little over-dramatic. The charged and slightly-cheesy dialogue that worked well in the surreal opening sequence does not translate as well into the rest of the episode. He should be key in tying the heroes together. The one moment in the episode that really annoyed me was Mohinder's repetition of the '10% of the our brain power' myth, which has long been discredited.
The murderous mirror image of Niki Sanders (Ali Larter) was very creepy, and the whole effect was well done. The show is called Heroes, so it will be interesting to see whether her power ends up being a force for good, or if she becomes a foe of the other characters.
Hiro Nahamura (Masi Oka) is my favourite character so far. His enthusiasm for bending the space/time continuum is really endearing, and his geekish enthusiasm is really cute. I loved the references to both Star Trek and X-Men, though it would have been interesting to see some shout-outs to less mainstream science fiction. I hope his friend continues to be included in the show, as they work well as a comic relief duo.
Claire is unscathed by the fire*
Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere) has taken an interesting attitude towards her apparent indestructibility, and I haven't quite warmed to the character yet. I did like the nonchalant way she poked her jutting-out ribs back in. Her father being the bad guy raises all sorts of issues, including whether he knows about her abilities, and her true parentage.
I loved the artwork done in comic book style by Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera). The question will be whether he is always capable of painting the future, or whether this ability is induced by heroin.
Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) really wants to be special and to have a purpose in his life. When he fell off the building, I really did want him to fly, but it didn't happen. The fact that he had been dreaming about the moment indicates that he may have a different power. The fact that he also had a dream about Nathan's accident indicates some sort of foresight or connection, but whatever his ability is, I feel it should be different from Issac's.
Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar) is a self-centered egomaniac, and I certainly didn't see it coming that he would be the one to fly. I really liked the direction of that scene; the jumpy and erratic camera work really added a sense of vertigo.
Overall, I liked the episode. I enjoyed the way that, for the most part, the characters had an innate sense of their ability, and they all felt realistic. It wasn't stellar, but my interest has been piqued. I'll definitely be tuning in again.
Overall Rating
Heroes continues next Wednesday at 8.30pm on Channel Seven.
*Screencap courtesy of Wikipedia, and used under Fair Dealing for identification and critical commentary
Film & TV on DVD
I love how the visuals are exatly like a comic book (EG; scrolling text or whenever a TV is on looks closely for information about the showand background pictures tell the story).
I just got Episodes 12 and 13, some friends and I are watching them tomorrow night, so excited.
Worth going to the official site and reading the online comic too..
PS: If you haven't already, you can check out my Heroes Blog here
Rugby World Cup 2007
(gasping out loud during a quiet moment in the Opera House Theatre and then explaining why one gasped and then explaining why one gasped over a TV show whilst watching 'art'...well...yeah...)
Damn. I wanted to watch this.
Do you know if it will be replayed?
(ch 7 'encored' 'Lost' and the desperado ladies every bloody day)
What about the cop character? Has he been introduced yet?
Hope you're well Ninabelle...
Dusk
ps. excellent review...definitely cements my interest, I would watch it based on your review.
Film & TV on DVD
Apparently Greg Grunberg's cop character is introduced next week, which I'm really looking forward too.
Rugby World Cup 2007
I won't miss it this time.
Unlike the boat to reality I missed...
Still waiting for my super power to develop.
(Able to leap tall tales with a single pun???)
Passionate Apathy
That said, glad y'all are enjoying Heroes as much as I am. I think "Super Hiro" is going to wind up being the general favorite. With all the "This is my gift/This is my curse" angst being overdone in the superhero genre (is there any form of kryptonite that can get Clark Kent to STOP WHINING??) I just love how thrilled and excited Hiro is over discovering his own abilities.