‘Heroes’ has been a television phenomena, much in the same way ‘Lost’ became one. The numerous plot lines interweaving with increasing complexity, mere coincidences revealing sudden realizations and twists, all culminated at the end of each episode with a question.
‘That’s it?’
Yes, despite the marvelous storytelling and special effects, ‘Heroes’ falls victim to the same conundrum as ‘Lost.’ The more build-up and suspense the viewer experiences, the more we are rewarded with more questions than answers. In this way ‘Heroes’ is an ambitious project, trying to rope the viewer in to become so immersed in a story that ultimately leads to watching the next episode. That’s really what TV is all about, though, so to say that I dislike ‘Heroes’ for that would be like saying that I dislike highly caffeinated soda because it keeps me up at night.
But really what is supposed to keep viewers coming back to a show like ‘Heroes’ is that it always forces them to ask questions:
‘Who are the real leaders of ‘The Company?”
‘Why do these people have such extraordinary powers?’
‘What happened to Mohinder’s accent?’
One has to concede that not all questions will be answered. The episodes can be so slow at times that one might even start to think, ‘This is all starting to look a lot like Lost.’
But ‘Heroes’ is essentially different. Whereas you got the feeling that the creators of ‘Lost’ didn’t really know where they were going, with ‘Heroes’ you get the feeling that the creators know exactly where it’s going but they simply don’t want to tell you.
It all comes back to the wide breadth of characters. Each seems to be trying to find it’s own ‘X-Men’ hero to rip off, and in the premier we got an entirely expected appearance of Magneto. But it’s the characters and how they all intertwine that what made the first season so unexpectedly good. Everybody knew they were going to eventually be brought together, the question was how. That’s what the second season forgot, and this third season seems primed to follow in its oblivious footsteps. The heroes, returning from their recent journey of saving the world, immediately divided up into their own little world with their own little sub-plot. There where so many that it was impossible to keep it coherent and the main question after each episode became, ‘What does this have to do with anything?’
After the last season ended with such a thud, ‘Heroes’ attempted to climb its way back to the forefront of pop culture with a real shock. For instance, many questions are answered:
Sylar doesn’t really eat brains.
‘The Company’ isn’t really all that bad.
So that’s what Mama Petrelli’s power is!
And the shock doesn’t end there. The premiere really was incredibly well made. the suspense and special effects are not only spectacular, they make the show greater than it seems to be. While other shows rely on acting or dialogue or simply good plots, ‘Heroes’depends on its ability to create suspense. And where questions are continually answered and a consummation of hours of boring drama, questions are asked at an almost alarming rate in the season premier. That’s really what makes the show so good.
Yes, there are deaths, births, action and, most important, drama. The show seems to be growing up in that the drama now isn’t whether the cheerleader will live, but if the cheerleader is still human.
Like I said, it’s the questions that make this show so worthy.
It ends, as it always does, with yet another question. This one can be asked with a half sarcastic, half anticipatory attitude:
‘What will happen next?’
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