…whoever lined up the venerable veteran chosen to play time traveler Hiro Nakamura’s father in an upcoming episode of “Heroes.” Even Masi Oka, the actor who plays Hiro on the popular NBC series, has described the casting as “absolutely brilliant.”
Don’t want to know who it is? Then don’t click on the link. But, really, you want to click the link. You know you do. And it will be ever so very rewarding.
So go ahead. Click the link. You’ll be glad you did.
Honest to God, that’s really the title of a Monkees song. Swear to God.
First off, I’ve never mentioned this before, but I really dig the way they put the title of each episode onscreen…and I think this week might well the most comic-book-esque way they’ve done it, putting it across the sand and having it vanish with the tide. Anyway, the title washes away as the episode begins with Mohinder bidding his father adieu, but I’m sure no-one believes he’s gonna stay in India, even if he does have a hot woman chick giving him the eye and trying to hook him up with a new job. Mohinder’s flashback dreams…flashbacks to events he never actually experienced, mind you…certainly hint that he’s a part of the hero clique as well. So he’s got a sister? Now that’s a total comic book development. I love it.
So Isaac’s falling under Eden’s spell, just like Mohinder did. Damn that pretty face of hers! Do we really believe that she has a power as well…? Yeah, actually, that’s about the only thing she’s said that you probably can trust. Claire’s dad actually appears to have a heart; I don’t for a second believe that he doesn’t have more of a motive than we’re seeing, but I do believe he really does want to save his adopted daughter. But to spend all episode getting Isaac cleaned up and off heroin, then put him back on the H just to get him to paint the missing picture…? That’s cold, man.
Greg Grunberg officially earns the right to not be referred to as AliasBoy anymore. His performance during Ted’s interrogation was awesome, and his reactions over the past few episodes to the revelations about his wife have been consistently believable. If anyone from this show gets nominated for an Emmy for their acting, Grunberg is one who deserves it most.
And lastly…dammit, I really liked Charlie the waitress; she was cute as a button…and the scenes between her and Hiro were about as sweet as sweet gets, making them the polar opposite of the dark and shadowy shots of Sylar sitting in the restaurant. I should’ve known that would mean she wouldn’t get out of the episode alive…but I didn’t. I was totally blindsided by it. There was never any doubt in my mind, however, that Hiro would try to go back in time to save her…but given that he didn’t return when he was supposed to, one wonders: is this the trip that leads to his eventual soul-patch-and-samurai-sword look…? Either way, that last shot of Charlie and Hiro in a photo that hadn’t existed a few minutes clearly shows the trip didn’t go entirely as planned.
Once again, NBC provided us lowly TV writers with the opportunity to talk to a couple of cast members from “Heroes.” This time, it was Adrian Pasdar and Milo Ventimiglia, otherwise known as brothers Nathan and Peter Petrelli. It was a packed call, though, so we only got one question and answer out of each of them…
Bullz-Eye: Is there any truth to the rumor that the major ongoing story arcs will all be brought to a conclusion by the halfway point of the season? I’ve heard that (creator) Tim Kring had written the early scripts with an eye to the possibility that the show could be cancelled early.
Milo Ventimiglia: Adrian, do you wanna…?
Adrian Pasdar: Sure. Well, from – I think – all of our perspectives, there really can be no end to this story, because one door closes and another just opens. The storyline, as it was explained to us early on, there may be periodic endings to some subplots, but the overall arc of the story…it’s never-ending. And that was one of the major attractions, I think, for A) all of the cast, and for B) the writers.
BE: And, Milo, how quickly did you discover that Peter’s power was to duplicate the powers of other heroes in his vicinity? Was that mapped out from the get-go as well…?
MV: Uh, no, going into the pilot, I had no idea. I just saw there was this dynamic relationship between Nathan and Peter, and there was Peter aiding his brother, Nathan, in discovering that he could fly. And it wasn’t until a couple of months later, after the show had been picked up and we were all in New York at the upfront, Tim walked up to me and he had a big smile on his face, and he said, “I think we’ve figured out Peter.” And then he dove into his explanation of what Peter’s ability was.
“Heroes don’t run away; bad guys do. Heroes help people.” Damn, Niki’s son is profound.
I don’t think too many people believed that the opening scene of Peter with Simone’s dad was anything but a dream, just as I’m sure I’m not the only one who, when they saw Simone at the door, knew instantly that her father had died. It’s interesting how the elusive Mr. Linderman now has ties to both Peter and Nathan. It didn’t occur to me that Nathan’s wife might be handicapped; I have a sneaking suspicion that she’ll end up developing powers as well…beyond, of course, just to power to hypnotize men with her beautiful blue eyes. Great family brunch scene, especially Peter turning the tables on Nathan and being the one doing the blackmailing for a change. Nathan’s still an asshole, though he does show that moment of brotherly love at the last second.
I keep meaning to mention that Claire’s mom seems so eccentric that I have to wonder if it’s some sort of elaborate act…but that’s just an aside. Frankly, I thought Claire’s brother, Lyle, was going to upload the video of her various “stunts” onto the ‘net, since my understanding is that that’s what all the kids do with their cool videos these days. But, nope, he was just freaked out by her abilities…to the point of asking her if she’s an alien. You gotta love the fact that his first thought was not to ask her about her powers but, rather, just to grab a staple gun and shoot her right in the hand.
As usual, Hiro’s scene was the most fantastic of the episode, with him stopping time before a car could explode, allowing him to save the victim and her would-be rescuer…who, as it happens, was Niki’s ex-husband. Hiro also gets the obligatory funny scene, telling Niki’s son about his comic book appearance.
AliasBoy is back! Matt starts the episode still trying super hard to save his marriage, but that’s the problem with knowing everything the other person is thinking: you know everything the other person is thinking, both good and bad. The marriage may not be salvageable, but at least Matt got that punch in. So now he’s back with the FBI again, discovering that Syler’s latest victim was burned in some fashion that results in massive amounts of radiation. Before, though, he was freezing people. Then, when the dynamic duo find him in the hospital, Syler makes the comment about what might happen if he uses them again. Are his powers evolving…?
Niki asking for help from her “evil twin”? Yikes, that’s desperation. (By the way, was this the first time we heard that Niki’s alter-ego is named Jessica…?) She doesn’t really do much this episode except fret to her girlfriend…well, not ’til that very last scene, anyway. Great moment with Micah revealing his powers at last. I knew that kid wasn’t just a super-genius!
Want to read synopses of November’s “Heroes” episodes?
Probably not.
Which means you won’t want to click below.
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