HEROES -
SEASON ONE (2006)

Heroes - Season One (2006)
Actors: Hayden Panettiere, Masi Oka, Ali Larter, Adrian Pasdar, Milo
Ventimiglia
Format: Anamorphic, Box set, Color, Digital Sound, NTSC
Language: English, Spanish
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number of discs: 7
Studio: Universal
Run Time: 1035 minutes
Movie:    
Disc:
   
Heroes is one of those TV shows that was met by both critical acclaim
and instant audience acceptance
- the
premiere episode on NBC attracted 14.3 million viewers, receiving the
highest rating for any NBC drama in the past five years!
The hype is easy to
understand. Obviously green lit after the success of
Lost, it too boasts a huge, fresh-faced cast but with the occasional
genre actor such as George Takei (Mr. Sulu of the original
Star Trek) and Christopher
Ecclestone (Dr Who) thrown in for geek
cred. The plot takes more than just a page from Alan Moore's epic
Watchmen graphic novel and is somewhat reminiscent of the recent Sci-Fi
Channel miniseries, The Lost Room. Heroes
is a huge sprawling page turner of a graphic novel come to glorious life
even though it follows the early
Smallville dictum of no tights and capes (flying is however allowed).
A diverse group of people
spread across the globe slowly become aware of the fact that they possess
superpowers. A Japanese salary man for instance can teleport by bending time
and space itself. In Texas a cheerleader discovers that she simply cannot
die despite whatever injuries she may undergo (in one scene she repeatedly
hurls herself from a tall structure). An aspiring congress man finds that he
can fly, an LAPD cop that he can read minds, and so on. The plot for the
series is kicked off when comic book artist in New York discovers that his
paintings actually depict the future
-
and one of the paintings is that of New York being destroyed in a nuclear
explosion. In the background is a super-powered serial killer named Sylar
who is killing off other super-powered persons in a particularly gruesome
fashion and a shadowy U.S. government agency lacking in moral scruples.
What makes the series
appealing is its clever plotting, slowly peeling away layers of story
episode by episode to reveal new characters and twists as it goes along.
Miss one episode and you might end up missing whole plot points. This single
narrative
-
popularized by shows such as 24 and the new
Battlestar Galactica
-
makes Heroes particularly suited for DVD viewing at home. There's no
waiting for next week's episode, merely select the next episode from the
menu. Also appealing is that Heroes manages to remain compulsive
viewing even though it has no X-Files
background mythos or Lost-style plot obscurity. This is actually
strength: unlike Lost viewers never feel frustrated by onscreen
proceedings, feeling that the scriptwriters are never going to going to
resolve anything.
Like the recent
Battlestar Galactica, there is a moral
ambiguity to many of the show's characters. Few of the characters are
outright good or bad and guessing at their motives make for entertaining
viewing.
THE DISC: Extras
include
interviews, mini documentaries and extensive profiles, including:
-
Unaired Pilot: The Tim Kring Cut with Audio Commentary - A full 73
uninterrupted minutes of the original, unaired, extended pilot episode,
as Heroes' creator Tim Kring first envisioned it, with a character never
seen.
-
The Making of Heroes - From concept to pop culture phenomenon, a
behind-the-scenes look at the hottest new series on television
-
Special Effects - The secrets behind the eye-popping visuals that give
the Heroes their amazing powers.
-
The Stunts - A back stage look at the show's hair-raising stunts.
-
Mind Reader - Matt Parkman's mind reading abilities reveal your inner
Hero with a series of simple tests.
-
Profile of Artist Tim Sale - A look at the Eisner Award-winning comic
book artist (Spiderman, Batman, Daredevil) behind much of the Manga-influenced
artwork used in the show.
-
The Score - Go behind the scenes with Wendy Melvin and Lisa Coleman (of
Prince's The Revolution) as they create their ASCAP Award-winning
musical score.
-
50 Deleted and Extended Scenes
WORTH IT? Oh yes.
RECOMMENDATION: Buy
it.
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