Category: Heroes (Page 22 of 22)

“Heroes”: 3 questions, 3 answers

October 16, 2006 /

Due to the phenomenal success of “Heroes,” NBC kindly put together a teleconference with the show’s creator, Tim Kring, and two of the shows stars; their names are Ali Larter and Santiago Cabrera, but you may know them better as Stripper with the Crazy Reflection and Artist Who’s The New Nostradamus. It was a packed call, so we only had the chance to ask one question per person, but here’s what we got out of them…

Bullz-Eye: Ali, in a series that has its fair share of disconcerting moments, yours is definitely the story that’s playing out the most like a horror film.

Ali Larter (“Niki Sanders”): (Laughs)

BE: Given your history with “Final Destination,” did you slip into the role pretty easily…?

AL: You know what? I’m in a bit of fear and distress right now, but if you hold on for just one more episode, we’re gonna get a little romance, you get a little bit of cheekiness in it, and, actually, what’s amazing about this writing is that it really pushes me and makes me kind of find all different tones within our show, so…you’re getting there. That’s just the first couple of episodes. It definitely opens up to a whole new world.

BE: Oh, please let the romance be with Hiro’s buddy…

AL: (Cheekily) Maybeeeeeee…!

BE: Santiago, I’ve been blogging about the show for our site, and I have to wonder: if you had the ability to see the future, do you think maybe you’d spend maybe a little more time trying to change the events you were seeing and less, uh, kind of…whining about it?

Santiago Cabrera (“Isaac Mendez”): Well, I think it’s, uh…I think it depends whether you’re in control of it or not. I think that’s the interesting thing about the surprises that this character can have. It’s that, at the moment, he’s not conscious of what he’s doing, so it’s a pretty freaky thing, and there’s maybe that nature of, “Am I evil, is this coming from inside of me?” Or, “Why is this all happening?” But obviously, if you’re in control of it and you can put it to good use, you can do what you want with it, and that’s a different story. And I think that’s the great thing about this show: that it starts from the beginning of everyone discovering these things for the first time, and, obviously, it’ll be a process of going through each character, and it’ll take people to different places.

BE: And Tim, when I did our fall preview, I opened my comments about “Heroes” by observing, “Whoever had ‘21 years’ in the pool on when NBC would finally decide TV critics had forgotten about ‘Misfits of Science,’ you’re a winner.”

Tim Kring (creator): (Laughs)

BE: And then I proceeded to laugh out loud when I saw on your IMDB entry that you were actually a writer for that show.

TK: Oh, is that right? So that was just a lucky guess…?

BE: It was. Have you been hoarding ideas for 21 years?

TK: Actually, “Misfits of Science” is so long ago that I barely – literally – barely cannot remember what I wrote. But, y’know, I’ve had a long and varied career, so when you look back at it, there’ve been many various genres that I’ve been involved in.

BE: So it hasn’t been haunting you ever since?

TK: No, not really; I’ve just been going where the road takes me. As a writer, if you look back at your career, it’s hard to make any sense of it. It just goes where it wants to go.

External Entertainment, External TV, Heroes, Interviews, TV, TV Dramas

Heroes, Week 3: The Ties That Bind

October 10, 2006 /

Given the already-established tendency for everything in “Heroes” to tie into everything else, it was somehow unsurprising to find that the bodies Niki found in the desert would be connected to her ex-husband…but the threat she made to her sister-in-law was, given Niki’s “capabilities,” none too idle. Should be interesting to see what happens when Niki and her son meet up with Mr. Linderman…

Hiro’s buddy, Ando, starts off acting like he’s going to be one of the most skeptical characters in the history of television – I don’t know about you, but if someone showed me a comic book with panels featuring dialogue I’d just spoken seconds ago, I’d lose my shit – but after he and Hiro successfully team up to save that little girl from being hit by a truck, even Ando can’t deny that there might just be some truth in the craziness Hiro’s spewing. What luck that the prophetic comic book also reveals the fat lady resting her head on Ando’s shoulder during their flight to America. Gotta love Hiro’s snicker.

Am I the only one who wanted Peter to just go completely psycho and kick the living shit out of his brother for that move he pulled on the dais? I mean, the punches he got in were good, but there weren’t nearly enough to make up for having to deal with people think that he tried to commit suicide. It’s nice that he ends up with the girl of his dreams; he’s earned it. And I know I’m supposed to feel bad for Artist Boy, but, honestly, he still strikes me as a complete whiner. You know what your ability is, dude; do something with the information you’ve got!

Policeman Matt manages to convince his new friend at the FBI (Clea Duvall) that he just might be psychic, which leads to one of the two best scenes in the episode: when they encounter the mysterious Skylar in the alleyway. The fact that he got up after being filled full of lead wasn’t a shock…but prior to that, when he without so much as a wave of his hand made the agent place her gun to her own head and begin to pull the trigger? That was sweet. And the second great scene was the unfolding of what Skylar’s apartment looked like as Mohinder and his cute neighbor explored it; it was highly reminiscent of John Doe’s place in “Se7en,” but creepy is still creepy…and that was creepy. Of course, I think everyone knew that when Mohinder brought the cops back, it was going to be completely empty. By the way, maybe I was wrong about the neighbor being shady…or is that what they want me to think?

Claire’s dad might turn out to be a really rotten guy – it certainly looks that way, anyway – but there was a look in his eyes at the beginning of the episode that said, “Even if I have to take Claire down with the rest of these super folks, God help me, I’m also taking down that bitch who lied and stole my little girl’s thunder.” Claire herself wants desperately to just ignore her new abilities and be normal. Yeah, I’m guessing she’s rethought that by episode’s end, where her words…the final words of the episode…echoed those of probably every viewer in America. By the way, if you needed any further proof that screenwriters use their writing skills to avenge the fact that they were at the bottom rung of the social ladder in high school, it’s right there when the quarterback ends up trying to rape Claire. Talk about painting a vulgar picture.

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Heroes, Week 2: Hiro Goodbye

October 3, 2006 /

Better to get the awful Hiro pun out of the way now, don’t you think?

So things start off not long after where Episode 1 ended, with Peter in the hospital as a result of having jumped off that building…but while Peter’s convinced he remembers seeing his brother Nathan flying up to save him, Nathan assures him that, no, he actually tried to kill himself. Nice work, bro. Cheerleader Claire wants to find out who her real parents are, but her dad – who clearly has some connection to these people developing superhuman abilities – tells her not to grow up so fast, that he doesn’t want her to get hurt. Moninder continues to be unable to go five minutes without someone breaking into his father’s apartment, but he does develop a friendship with his dad’s very cute next-door neighbor. I dunno, I just get this feeling she’s hiding something…and might well be in on all the secret goings-on. And when Hiro gleefully walks through the streets of New York, he’s shocked to find a comic book that reproduces the events that have led up to his arrival in the Big Apple…though we’re not entirely surprised to find out that it was written and drawn by Isaac Mendez, the artist who sees the future.

Dammit, I’m doing it again. Sorry, I’m trying to get more into the flow of doing these blog entries, so I hope you’ll forgive me as I get the hang of chatting as though you’ve already seen the episode; I’m still tempted to just recap what’s happened.

Okay, I grinned when it turned out that Nathan wasn’t just lying about having flown himself but, in fact, was completely leaving out the fact that they both flew; you could tell from the way the camera was moving that Peter was going to turn out to be standing in mid-air, but it was still a cool reveal. Niki’s story continues to be the least light-hearted of the bunch – hers is unfolding more like a horror movie – but at least she’s getting a new car out of the deal. Just don’t look in the trunk, for God’s sake. Claire’s clearly gonna break sooner than later and tell everyone about her powers, if only because she’s so pissed off over her bitchy cheerleader buddy lying and pretending that she saved that fireman last episode (that was an awesome shot, by the way, of Claire getting her neck twisted completely around after getting hit by a out-of-bounds football player)…but God only knows how Daddy’s gonna react to that, especially now that he’s swiped the videotape that documents his daughter’s abilities. He might be a loving father, but he comes across as so evil that you just know he could turn on Claire at the drop of a hat. Isaac continues to be a whiny junkie asshole, just as Hiro continues to be the guy you want to cheer for…which would explain why I actually said out loud “oh, shit, what are you doing?” when he happened upon Isaac’s lifeless body and promptly picked up the gun lying beside it. His powers continue to be the most powerful of the bunch; he’d better figure out how to use them quick.

There were quite a few more superhero touches to the show this week, including the frozen bodies with their tops of their skulls removed. It’s also cool to see Greg Grunberg (“Alias”) on TV again; he’s playing policeman Matt Parkman, a cop who’s developed the ability to read minds…and the inability to explain them to others, hence his getting arrested for knowing something he shouldn’t. “You told me!” No, dude, she only thought it.

So here’s a topic of conversation to along with any comments you might have: what other super powers would you like to see pop up on the show?

External TV, Heroes, TV, TV Dramas

Heroes, Week 1: Meet The Gang

September 25, 2006 /

Welcome to NBC’s live-action comic book…and say “hello” to the characters:

* Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimigliai) is a home health-care worker for a dying man who dreams of jumping off a building and flying…but, more realistically, he dreams of dating the dying man’s daughter. Naturally, she’s already seeing someone. His brother, Nathan (Adrian Pasdar, formerly known as TV anti-hero Jim Profit), would just as soon Peter not bother him with either dream, given that he’s pursuing a political career. You can therefore imagine that Nathan’s even less excited about his mom getting arrested for shoplifting. He’s so annoyed at it all that he essentially tells Peter that if he thinks he can fly, then maybe he should jump…but when he does, it’s Nathan who suddenly flies up to save the plunging Peter. Unfortunately, the episode ends with Nathan losing his grip on his falling brother…

* Niki Sanders (Ali Larter) is a single mom in Las Vegas who pays the bills – including those of her genius son’s private school – by gettin’ nekkid on a webcam. She’s got this strange problem where her reflection seems to have a life of their own. She’s also got some tough folks are after her, thanks to her having borrowed money from the mob to keep her son in school. They’re taken care of in quick order, however, when the aforementioned reflection seems to come alive…and kill the mobsters. Or has she done it herself, and the actions of her reflection are less a power than a psychosis? Hmmmmm…

* Claire Bennett (Hayden Panettiere) is a high school cheerleader who’s developed a tremendous increased healing factor – a la Wolverine, if you want to make the comparison – and is constantly testing the limits of her abilities…but, that having been said, she’s also really, really freaked out by them, so you half suspect she’d be just as happy if her last words were, “Well, looks like we found my limit.” She tries to get the assistance of a longtime school chum to help her in gauging her abilities, but the chasm of popularity between them starts gets in the way…until she lunges headlong into a factory fire to save several firefighters. By episode’s end, she’s only sure of one thing: she’s gotta be adopted.

* Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) is officially my hero…and he’s gonna be the hero of every geek who watches the show. He’s well-versed in science fiction and superhero lore, and he’s downright giddy about his newfound ability to do some crazy shit with the space-time continuum, including stopping time and teleporting himself. First stop: the women’s bathroom. (Where else?) But when he clears his mind, stares blankly at an advertisement for New York City, and suddenly finds himself standing in Times Square, his reaction is so authentic that you’re almost as excited as he is!

* Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera) is a junkie artist…one who just so happens to be dating the daughter of the dying guy that Peter’s nursemaiding…and he’s going nuts because he seems to have developed the ability to paint the future. She wants to help him, but he’s too busy freaking out…so much so that he intentionally O.D.’s after filling a canvas with the image of an apocalypse in New York.

* And, lastly, tying the whole bunch together is Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy). A college professor in India, Mohinder believes in the human genome project and feels that mankind may well be standing on the threshold of recognizing the heights human potential…but, then, he got that from his father, who feels the same way. Make that “felt,” since Mohinder discovers that his father has died mysteriously. Concerned that Pops might well have been in possession of important scientific information, Mohinder goes to his father’s residence in India and finds that it’s in the process of being raided; after swiping some of his papers, he then flies to his father’s residence in New York City and finds that his father had been tracking something on a map. He also finds a tape, but we don’t get any scoop on what’s on it. It must be pretty important stuff, though, because Mohinder decides to stick around NYC, getting a job as a cab driver…and not long after doing so, a fellow hops into his car, knows who he is, and freaks Mohinder out enough to jump out of the cab and make a run for it.

What’s coolest so far is how it all ties together, not least of which because everyone witnesses the same eclipse. I mean, Isaac is watching the news and sees the report about the fire where Claire’s rescued the firefighter, Mohinder picks up Peter in his cab, and the fellow who scares Monhinder to death…? That’s Claire’s dad. The preview for upcoming weeks would seem to indicate that the bond between them all is even stronger than we’ve seen thus far.

Wow. One week in, and I already want to know how it ends.

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