TV Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Episodes 21 and 22)

Episode 21 - The Hard Part - ** out of 4

Major plot points discussed below...

Sorry it's taken me a while to write up this review, but frankly, after watching episode 21 I really didn't feel like saying too much about it. After the great time travelling episode, Five Years Gone, this should have really pushed the story further, built up the momentum, and tripled the suspense. Instead, The Hard Part fizzles, spending time on boring subplots that feel completely rushed.

Hiro and Ando return from the future knowing that Sylar has to die. Conveniently it's not too hard to find him (he's just cleaning up in the bathroom), and after a near miss, they follow him to his mother's place. While there, Sylar becomes the star of his very own After School Special when he realizes that no matter what he does his mother can't be happy unless he's the best. In other stories......Claire and Peter talk a lot, Matt and the gang (Sprague and Bennett) head to New York, Nikki/Jessica finds out Micah is in New York, and Micah waits around for Linderman (presumably because Malcom McDowell couldn't make a guest appearance this week).

The only somewhat interesting subplot involves Mohinder and the little girl Matt Parkman rescued way back in like episode two. Turns out the little girl has SUPER POWERS!!! (which marks the fiftieth time a character we didn't think had any powers turned out to....have SUPER POWERS!!!) Regardless, the little girl can locate anyone in the world by just thinking about them, but she's dying from the same disease that took Mohinder's sister. So, Mohinder, under the supervision of Eric Roberts, makes it his goal to find a cure!

My biggest problem with this episode is that it's just too much in one episode. I know that Heroes prides itself on not being like Lost, and that the writers promise to constantly move the plot along (which.....despite their claims...they do even less than Lost, but that's another rant for another time), but there's such a thing as suspense! In this episode two major stories are introduced and solved by the end of the episode (Sylar and his mom, Mohinder and the disease). There's no suspense, and no chance to become emotionally invested in either story because they're over and done with just when they start to get interesting.

Sylar suffers the worst. He starts to develop a moral crisis about killing off most of New York,
and visits his mom. I know you have to see the human beneath the monster, but this whole subplot just grated on me. Having never seen Sylar's mom before the poor actress has to try and go from sweet woman, to overly critical mama, to awe inspired proud mother, to terrified ma, to violent mom in the span of maybe fifteen minutes. When the end of this storyline finally hits home, there's no emotional impact because the woman we are supposed to care about was nothing more than a plot device so that Hiro would feel bad about killing Sylar right away. Argh!

The Mohinder story is a little better. At least we've seen the little girl before (if only for a minute), and there is some nice dialogue between the two, but there's not a single moment where the audience is allowed to believe she will die. One minute she's sick and Mohinder is frustrated, the next minute he found the cure! It's not a last minute cure either. He just comes up and says, "hey, by the way, I found the cure". Hurrah?! ? Why introduce a dying child if said child doesn't at least flatline once?

It's sad to say, but this third last episode really is filler.

Episode 22 - Landslide - ***1/2 out of 4

So....in order to combat last episode's filler status, Landslide throws in at least four or five major plot developments.

By my calculations three characters are dead, or dying. One character, Sulu, made a grand return. Nathan's wife managed to walk again. Nathan won the election. Lots of people pointed guns at each other. And Sylar menacingly stood over New York.

I'm going to go out on a limb here, but shouldn't at least one of the events in this episode happened a whole lot earlier? In these 42 minutes there's at least four episodes worth of material. It's more frustrating because the last episode was so terrible.

Regardless, this one is good, and once again my love/hate relationship with Heroes crosses over into love territory.

I think what works best is that we're finally seeing all of the storylines collide as the entire cast arrives in New York. Even though this episode is busy, the fact that all of the characters are together at least makes the overall story feel like it's moving somewhere. In previous episodes, there was a feeling that things were jumping around too much because the characters were connected only by the thinnest of threads. Here, it starts to feel like the plot is taking shape. One character's actions now directly affects anothers'. Parkman and Bennett help out DL and Niki, moments after talking to Claire and Peter.

And it's fun seeing how these threads connect. Everyone now has a purpose (even good ole Niki!), and the show feels like it has stopped wandering aimlessly. The deaths at the end are shocking, and should shake things up in the next episode.

Hopefully now that Nathan has won the election his character will be in a position where we will be able to do things. It's an exciting development that should put his character into more dramatic situations than he has been in.

I still have a few gripes. Apparently, Sulu is such an amazing teacher that he can turn his son Hiro into a killing machine over the course of an afternoon. Although, because it's Sulu and he's wielding a samurai sword I wasn't too upset. And is there a sale on psychic car flipping stunts that I just haven't noticed? While it was thrilling to see Sylar take on the police to get to Radioactive Man, did it have to be exactly the same way Magneto took out the police in the last X-Men movie?

One episode is left!

Tv Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Episode 20)

Episode 20 - Five Years Gone - **** out of 4

After last week's so-so episode, Five Years Gone puts Heroes back on top with a suspenseful episode filled with all sorts of wonderful moments, real conflict, and most importantly, a sense of fun.

Hiro and Ando travel five years into the future and discover that the world, after New York exploded, is a terrifying place for superheroes. Most of the heroes we have been following have not ended up in good places. Matt Parkman has become a ruthless government agent, Future Hiro is a bitter shell of a man, Nathan is president, Claire's a brunette, and worst of all...Peter Petrelli is in a relationship with Nikki!!! Horrifying.

So, the writers throw in good natured Ando and Hiro and let them completely make a mess of everything.

The reason this episode works so well is that every plotline is connected in one way or another, and as the episode reaches it's frantic conclusion, everything collides in an exciting climax. Unlike many episodes where some characters are given nothing to do but fix bathroom leaks (Yes Matt Parkman, I'm still bitter about that one!), everyone has an important role to play in this complex 45 minute plotline. Alright, Nikki really just does a strip tease, but seriously, that's the most interesting her character has been for a long time.

What's most fascinating is how we now seem to understand these characters even more by looking at what they could become in the future. Matt Parkman has occasionally stepped on the other side of the law (what with that whole diamond thing), but his future self is a cold blooded killer. Suresh may not be the moral compass he appears to be. Even good natured Hiro may have a more bloodthirsty side to him. How many of these character traits will be revealed in upcoming episodes? It's just one of the intriguing questions posed by this episode.

Also, by taking the show into the future, the writers actually manage to add some immediacy to the whole New York is going to blow up storyline as Hiro uncovers (thanks to Isaac) his true purpose in the scheme of things.

My one big complaint has to do with a small letdown in the last ten minutes. Hiro and Peter confront a lobby full of guards, talk a bunch of fighting words, and promise some hard hitting action that we haven't seen on Heroes before. Just as it's about to get really interesting....we cut away.....only to come back at the VERY END of the fight. I know Heroes isn't an action show, but please don't offer such a tantalizing setup if you aren't going to provide any payoff. My only hope is that they are saving the good stuff for the last couple of episodes and didn't want to ruin it too early.

So, overall one of the best episodes of the season!

Tv Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Episode 19)

Episode 19 - .07% - *** out of 4

Big plot points included.

After it's super-sized hiatus, Heroes finally returns with an episode that....doesn't actually accomplish a whole lot. Sure, there are some big plot developments toward the end of the episode, but personally this kind of felt like a filler episode to me.

First the good points. Once again Claire's dad is the most interesting character. Having been captured by his own organization he devises a telepathic escape plan with Matt Parkman. It's a suspenseful plotline, provides real stakes for the characters, and has some inventive displays of superpowers.

I also like Linderman's inclusion in the storyline. After months of people mentioning his name ominously, Malcolm McDowell has managed to turn this potentially one-note villain into a complex character. His speech, in which he puts the upcoming New York disaster into context (it's only killing .07% of the population, but will lead to positive world changes), brings to mind the moral gray areas Claire's father has travelled through as well. His decision to bring Micah into the mix might actually mean that Nikki's storyline could get interesting in the near future.

The mediocre storyline follows Isaac's final stand against Sylar. Essentially playing into the prophecies of both his own paintings and also Hiro's time travelling journey to New York, Isaac dies at the hand of the superhero serial killer. I wanted to feel like this was more of a shocking plot point, but frankly I haven't been able to muster much care for Isaac since the story began. I'm sure this isn't the entire end of his character's arc (he hints that he has left clues for others), but it certainly feels like closure. What bothers me most about this death, is that the potential conflict brewing between Peter and Isaac (over the death of Simone) has run it's course. They had a little fight, and that was it. What was the point of killing her off then (other than getting rid of a boring character)?

I was also mildly interested in Claire's meeting with Nathan, her biological father. It was an awkward scene, but one that managed to convey both Claire's disappointment, and Nathan's cowardice.

Now, as for the bad, I was vastly disappointed with the Peter's dead fakeout. After taking a shard of glass to the back of head, Peter dies. Of course, the audience knows that since he has Claire's powers all anyone has to do is take out the shard of glass and he'll be A-okay, but nope...instead we have to watch character after character mourn because Peter's dead. Suresh is sad, Peter's mom is sad, Nathan's sad, Claire's sad (until she finally smartens up and pulls out the glass). It's just tedious because the audience is twelve steps ahead of everyone else.

Also, I'm going out on a limb here, but I don't think Suresh could really take out Sylar with what I will now dub as "The Bulletin Board of Doom!". The guy has like four hundred super powers, but not one can prepare him for the raw power of a rolling bulletin board? Uh huh.

With only a few episodes to go I'm worried that there isn't that much momentum. The "Let's Save New York" plotline really feels like an afterthought for everyone. I'm hoping that this will change quickly.

TV Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Episode 18)

Episode 18 – Parasite - *** out of 4

Sorry I haven’t written this review until now, but since the next episode frustratingly won’t be airing until the end of April I didn’t feel the urgency.

So, after the season’s best episode, Company Man, Heroes leaves sweeps season with a good, albeit slightly disappointing episode. Part of my problem is that Heroes tends to work best when it focuses on one or two storylines. Parasite is all over the map, incorporating every hero into multiple storylines.

The best story this week is between Suresh and Sylar. After weeks of Sylar posing as a friend, Suresh finally reveals that he has known about his true identity for quite some time, and turns the tables. It’s a nice twist, and finally shows that Suresh is a fairly smart guy, although later on when he lets his guard down, the episode really gets interesting.

The other interesting storyline relates to Claire’s Dad who wasn’t entirely determined to wipe away all memories of Claire’s escape. His wife has some shocking news for him, and it’s fun to see him struggle once again with his company ties and his fatherly role.

Moderately interesting is the Nathan Petrelli storyline. Finally, after a season of hinting the audience finally meets Linderman (a cool casting choice that is unfortunately ruined by the opening credits). Linderman makes Nathan an interesting deal that will hopefully play out in later episodes.

I have to admit that I have grown quite tired of Hiro’s quest of late. Stripping him of his powers on a mission to find a magic sword has just been an awful storyline, and I hope that this episode finally sees an end to it. It’s just painful to see the most interesting character get sidetracked by busy work while everyone else gets to have something to do with the big picture.

As for Peter and Isaac I was less than thrilled with how the Simone shooting wrapped up. I mean, show some emotion for Pete’s sake. I really got the feeling that both men kind of got over her way too quickly. Shouldn’t this make Isaac and Peter sworn enemies? Isn’t that how these things usually work? I got the feeling that Isaac was more interested in slapping Peter on the wrist than wreaking some kind of maniacal revenge. I hope I’m wrong.

The episode wrapped up with some nice surprises, including a particularly nasty predicament for Peter, more family secrets from Claire, and a journey through time for Hiro and Ando.

TV Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Episode 17)

Episode 17 – Company Man - **** out of 4

Yep, for me, this is the first four star episode of Heroes, an extremely well written hour that provides numerous answers, nerve jangling suspense, some tantalizing new plot developments, as well as a very touching and shocking ending (not as shocking as last week’s still unresolved cliffhanger, but pretty close).

Matt Parkman and Radioactive Man break into Claire’s house and threaten to bust some heads if they don’t get answers from Claire’s father. Simultaneously the audience follows Claire’s pop through a series of flashbacks that provide some pretty juicy plot points about his career (Angry Invisible Man was dad’s partner, Hiro’s dad knows a whole lot more about superpowers than he lead on, and his boss is Eric Roberts who has graduated from music-video cameo guy to featured guest star on a top rated tv show). Claire’s dad has been one of the most interesting characters on the show since day one, and these further layers and insights only help to make him more fascinating.

But the episode really gets cooking when Radioactive Man starts to get angry. A tense standoff scene ends cleverly (thank goodness the writers are having the superpowered heroes use their superpowers again), and an unfortunate bullet wound causes a nuclearific finale. It’s been a while since Heroes gave us a cool special effects moment (damn you limited television budgets), but this episode has a stunner.

And even though the ending is a teensy bit too melodramatic (a few too many “dads” in tonight’s script), it’s a welcome change of pace from Heroes-Mopesville Edition. I would rather have a cheesy heartfelt line or two rather than cold, blank stares.

TV shows I'm watching - Heroes (Episode 16)

Episode 16 – Unexpected - ***1/2 out of 4

Proving that last week’s episode wasn’t just a fluke, Unexpected finally starts to tie some loose ends together and, dare I say it, move the plot forward.

This episode follows a lot of separate storylines. Suresh and Sylar (pretending to be all innocent) meet a new hero with super hearing, Radioactive Man starts to realize what all those weird scars and blackouts mean, Claire’s adopted mother has some serious health issues, Hiro tries to save Ando from the crazed Vegas showgirl, and Isaac and Peter finally unleash some repressed anger in New York.

What makes this episode work is that there is urgency to each of these storylines. What is Sylar planning on doing to Suresh? What happens when Radioactive Man gets angry again? Is Hiro really going to leave Ando and go off on his own? And….well….let’s just say the real question of the day is asked at the end with a very exciting cliffhanger.

The only storyline that didn’t thrill me was Matt Parkman’s diamond tale. This storyline is starting to frustrate me a lot. Matt’s all concerned about how to make money to support his family, so he steals a boatload of diamonds. Dude, you read minds!!! You can’t find any legal way to make money with that talent? Just thinking on the spot there’s poker playing, spying, interrogating, heck even chess in the park can make you a few bucks!

But all quibbles aside, Unexpected looks like the ignition that will propel Heroes toward a satisfying season finale.

TV Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Episode 15)

Episode 15 – Run - *** out of 4

I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but….oh man, it pains me….one, two, three….alright, here it is. I enjoyed the Niki storyline in this episode. That’s right. For once I actually thought it was kind of the highlight of this back-on-track episode.

So finally, our heroes are back to doing heroic (as well as villainous) deeds. Ando and Hiro find their roles are reversed when Ando desperately wants to help an abused woman in Las Vegas. Matt Parkman becomes a bodyguard for hire and escorts a business man to a dangerous diamond exchange. In less heroic, but still interesting storylines, Claire encounters her birth father, and Suresh unknowingly makes a deal with the devil in the episode’s best subplot (involving our favourite serial killer supervillain Sylar).

But, it’s true, Niki (or should I say Jessica) steals the show. See, apparently in order to get out of jail she had to make a deal with Linderman to become a hired assassin. So, Jessica/Niki desperately tries to kill the business man Matt Parkman is protecting. Much of the episode involves a rather clever game of cat and mouse through an LA office building. It’s suspenseful, unpredictable, and finally allows Parkman to make a choice that isn’t clean cut.

I'm really not enjoying the whole Hiro-has-lost-his-superpowers storyline. Hiro was interesting to watch because he was so enthusiastic about his powers. Stripping him of this joy is far too frustrating and it's not fun watching him join the mopers (which for the record currently includes Isaac, Simone, the Petrelli Brothers, and Suresh).

Hopefully this episode is putting into play a few more plot devices that will finally get back to the whole New York blowing up storyline. I’m still not feeling the urgency there, but Run is a step in the right direction and hopefully means the midseason slump is over.

Tv Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Episode 14)

Episode 14 - Distractions - **1/2 out of 4

As if the plot needed to move at a more glacial pace, we are now given an episode entitled Distractions. So, while the destruction of New York is fast approaching everyone decides to deal with their own distractions: family, love, angst. Claire meets her birth mother, Hiro argues with his father over the family business, and Isaac and Simone rekindle a little of that romance I never bothered to mention before because it was (and still is) boring. Oh, and Peter learns valuable life lessons from the angry invisible man.

Fortunately, Sylar is back, and he has a rather suspenseful encounter with Claire’s adoptive mother. It’s amazing how much the show benefits by having him back in the ring. Since nobody seems to care that much about New York being destroyed, these recent episodes have suffered from a severe lack of tension…and conflict. Sylar certainly adds conflict, and as Claire’s adoptive mother slowly realizes what he is capable of, Heroes provides some suspense not seen since the “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World” episodes.

As for George Takei’s much touted cameo as Hiro’s father; well it’s pretty disappointing in this episode. Takei is okay, but his role of a hard-edged Japanese businessman is nothing we haven’t seen in numerous previous movies. I’m hoping there are future plans to bring him back so that we can see more than just a stern business face.

So – still slumping, but getting better.

TV Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Eps. 12 - 13)

Episode 12 – Godsend - ** out of 4

When we last left our heroes they were dealing with a new problem; they realized that the cause of the huge, New York destroying explosion is going to be an exploding man. Two weeks later flashes up on the screen at the start of this episodes and…well…our heroes really haven’t done all that much to fix the problem, and don’t do that much in the following 42 minutes. You’ve had two weeks! Jack Bauer, sans superpowers, fixes twelve of those problems in 24 hours!

This episode basically follows the heroes as they go back to moping, the national pastime of most superheroes apparently. They talk a lot about the exploding man, and Hiro tries to steal a sword that will help him focus his powers, but really it’s a return to the mope-tastic first few episodes. The Sylar plot goes nowhere, the exploding man information feels like everyone’s saying, “Previously on Heroes”, and there’s only one or two exciting new character revelations. Ladies and Gentleman, Matt Parkman’s wife finally knows about his telepathy. That’s the highlight of this episode.

On the Niki front we can now add abused prisoner, possible death row candidate (if only they go through with it), and straight jacketed psych patient to her list of “achievements”.

This is a disappointing episode all around especially considering the leaps and bounds Heroes had taken before the hiatus.

Episode 13 – The Fix - ** out of 4

Well, after two episodes, I’m officially calling out Heroes on its midseason slump. Every show has a midseason slump sooner or later, and most often it tends to be in the first season (since most writers don’t know for sure if their show will get picked up for a full season the second half is usually thinly plotted).

But here it is in all its mediocre glory. Once again, very little happens in The Fix. Sure there is a nifty revelation in the Claire subplot surrounding her birth parents, and now there’s an angry invisible man yelling a lot at Peter, but that’s it….

How mediocre is this slump? Case in point - After revealing to his wife his telepathic powers Matt Parkman now deals with the biggest threat yet, faulty plumping in his washroom! Yeah, there’s a plumbing subplot on a show called Heroes!!!

The end of the episode provides a few tantalizing hints suggesting it may be a short lived slump (Sylar’s back, Sulu shows up), but frankly it can’t come soon enough. I’m waiting to see something heroic, even if it’s just helping some lady across the street.

TV Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Eps. 10 - 11)

Episode 10 – Six Months Ago - *** out of 4

Ah yes, the flashback episode. Six Months Ago follows Hiro back in time to save Charlie, the cute waitress. The story then branches out to show what happened to our main characters at the same time.

The episode is a mixed bag, but ends up working thanks to some last minute revelations.

First off, Niki is not getting any more interesting just because more tragedies are brought into her life. Now we find out she was a former alcoholic with an abusive, estranged father. At this rate, by the end of the season we’re going to learn that her mother had four illegitimate children, she has some kind of inoperable brain tumor, and she’s not a real blonde.

But the real meat and potatoes of this episode was the backstory for Sylar. I like origin stories, especially for villains, and this one is pretty cool. I almost wish the episode had focused entirely on Sylar, and less on plot points we already kind of figured out (12 minutes to find out Matt has dyslexia). Sylar meets Suresh’s father, and we start to piece together why he is killing everyone.

I really think that setting up Sylar as being the big villain is great, and I only hope that we see him recruiting some companions in future episodes (hey maybe Niki)

Thankfully, Hiro brings the show to a close with his bittersweet romance (that according to my timeline takes place over two days) with Charlie the waitress. It’s a touching story, but I think there’s more in store for Charlie….so I’m not allowing myself to believe that ending just yet. Hiro has to be able to change the future!

Episode 11 – Fallout - *** ½ out of 4

They made sure that the last episode of 2006 was fantastic (the ½ star off is because the Niki storyline consistently sucks the life out of the show).

Fallout takes us back into the present right after Peter saved the cheerleader. Peter’s been arrested, Claire reveals her secret to her dad, Matt investigates the new Sylar murder, and Isaac’s new premonition has some pretty scary ramifications for the world at large.

Speaking of Isaac, after 11 episodes he is now starting to become more than just “I need to get high all the time” guy. Heroes has a plot device that I am now going to dub:

Hiro Syndrome: The moment a boring character becomes interesting corresponds to the exact moment they physically interact with Hiro!

Think about it: Peter (when future Hiro meets him), Nathan (at the diner), and now Isaac at the Burnt Toast Diner. If only Niki, DL, and Micah could run into him all would be saved.

There’s a lot of drama with Claire’s father and his merry band of government employed superheroes. Once again, his reasons are murky, and Claire trusts him too much, but the way he chooses to protect his daughter is pretty shocking. And there are more twists around the corner.

Now that the Save the Cheerleader, Save the World plot is practically over, this episode leads nicely into the Save New York subplot. The heroes are starting to find each other, and the ending is wonderfully apocalyptic.

If the new year has more episodes like this in store for audiences, Heroes certainly has nowhere to go but up.

TV Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Eps. 5-9)

Episode 5 - Hiros - *** out of 4

Taking place directly after the exciting conclusion of episode 4, this episode clearly sets up a new and interesting plotline. Hiro, from the future (complete with sword), appears before Peter and tells him that if he saves the cheerleader he will save the world.

Peter accepts this task and visits Isaac. Together the two begin to piece together the purpose of Hiro's warnings.

There's a lot that works in this episode, and I think the most refreshing part is that the characters start to shed their uptight exteriors. This becomes most evident with Nathan Petrelli (flying politician), who finally becomes interesting. Up until this episode Adrian Pasdar has been so rigid as Nathan that it was hard to relate to him at all. Here, he has a fantastic moment in a diner where he meets up with Hiro. Maybe it's because he's only dressed in pajama bottoms (it happens after a daring escape), but seeing under Nathan's political facade shows a sly, deprecating and much more likeable character than he's ever been.

It's also interesting to see that Claire's father is not falling into the stock villain category. He has a subplot in this episode where he tries to avenge a horrible crime that was committed against his daughter. While his punishment is brutal (and clearly an abuse of power) his justification for administering it sits in that wonderful moral grey area.

Episode 6 – Better Halves - ** out of 4

This really feels like a filler episode, and ends up being fairly unsurprising. After last week’s episode brought the show up, this one takes it back down in what is probably the weakest episode yet.

The big problem is that we spend so much time with Niki. I’m just not enjoying her story yet, and now they’ve introduced her husband D.L. who is an escaped convict. This whole plot just seems to be about how many horrible things Niki can be involved with (the mob, prostitution, escaped cons, and now domestic violence). The saving grace of this storyline is Micah (Niki’s son) who has some touching moments with his father.

On the plus side there are some nice character touches with Hiro, who finds that even with his superpowers terrible things can still happen in the world.

Episode 7 – Nothing to Hide - ** ½ out of 4

While certainly better than the previous episode, Nothing to Hide suffers from painfully slow plotting. The cheerleader needs to be saved guys! End of the world, remember? It feels like everyone is kind of getting around to that eventually, but boy are they taking their time.

This episode works thanks to the continuation of the Sylar storyline with Matt and a really fantastic moment on a desert highway with Hiro and D.L.

A new burn victim seems to be linked to Sylar, but Matt thinks otherwise. Over the course of his investigation he begins to see that certain powers are more dangerous than others. I like how this opens up the world of Heroes. We meet someone else with special powers and begin to see that our title characters aren’t the only heroes in the midst.

The highway moment is just a fun superhero event where more than one hero comes together to save someone’s life. It’s these moments that really make the show work, and it’s a shame that they are few and far between.

Episode 8 – Seven Minutes to Midnight - *** out of 4

Here we go. It seems like at least one person is taking that whole save the cheerleader thing seriously, her father!

Seven Minutes to Midnight takes us back on track, as the characters try to decipher what future Hiro’s message means, while simultaneously providing some very enticing new storylines.

I’m glad to see Suresh back in India. I felt like he was a walking cipher while he was in New York, but now we get to see his family life and it adds a lot to his character.

On top of that Sylar strikes again, for real this time, and this part of the episode contains some pretty shocking twists and turns. It helps that Hiro is involved, and he’s given a potential love interest (who appears to have a power of her own) which makes his character even more appealing.

But the really interesting aspect of this episode is that it finally delves into Claire’s father and his motivations (which are still murky, but not as much). I’m glad that they’ve taken the route of concerned father, and really show the lengths he will go to in order to protect his daughter.

This is probably the best episode so far, and I eagerly anticipate the next one.

Episode 9 – Homecoming - *** ½ out of 4

This is the episode for me. For every show I’ve watched there’s one episode that seals the deal, and let’s me know I will be tuned in for the rest of its run regardless of how bad it gets (I stuck through the first half of Alias Season 4 for this very same reason). Heroes has finally aired that episode.

That’s not to say it’s a perfect episode (oh look Niki/Jessica is buying illegal weapons now), but it sure does give a good sense of what’s to come.

First off we get a great payoff for many of the narrative threads that have been established this season. Sylar, Save the Cheerleader, Peter Petrelli, Eden (a bland recurring character who piqued my interest this time round), Isaac’s paintings, and Claire’s father all come together by the end.

There’s definitely some creepy imagery here and I was pretty pleased to see how a second episode plot came back to haunt one character in a rather grisly manner. I am also glad to see that Peter has broken away from the moody guy we saw in episode one. .

And how about this? No Hiro. That says something. The best episode of the show didn’t even utilize its best character until the last minute.

This is the first episode that really tapped into the show’s potential. I’ve got a lot of hope for Heroes after this one.

TV Shows I'm Watching - Heroes Episode 4

Episode 4 - Collision - **1/2 out of 4

I'll admit, flying boy has me intrigued now (the non-politican brother). Maybe he's got more going on than I at first expected - kind of a Rogue-style power stealer without the nasty side effects. And by pairing him up with Suresh I feel like these two dormant storylines have been given a much needed injection of...well... life.

In Collision we find the heroes starting to come together in their respective cities, which seem to be Las Vegas, New York, and Los Angeles (although not much is happening in LA this go around).

I have to admit I was kind of hoping for more though...these collisions aren't really too spectacular...until the very last minute which really saves this episode.

Hiro has a comedic subplot about using his powers to gamble. Claire tries to deal with the fact that she was murdered in the previous episode by the quarterback. Matt's been kidnapped by Claire's dad. Nothing earth shattering, but nothing too boring.

We also finally see a bit more of Niki's power when we are introduced to her doppelganger. She has to seduce flying politician brother in order to get rid of her mobster debt. Again, this storyline just isn't really working for me yet, but I definitely liked seeing the doppelganger in action (ahh the old heel through the skull threat).

However, the episode has a really great cliffhanger ending that hopefully means the next episode will be a teensy bit more interesting.

TV Shows I'm Watching - Heroes (Eps. 1-3)

I have been avoiding most of the new television shows this season, not because they don't sound interesting (I'm a huge fan of serialized television shows), but because I was burned last year by getting hooked on interesting shows only to watch them be cancelled at the last minute - I'm talking 'bout you Invasion.

So, now that it can safely be said that Heroes is a hit (I hope I'm not setting myself for disappointment here) I have decided to dive in and watch the first few episodes.

Here's what I think so far.

Episode 1 - Genesis **1/2 out of 4

Suddenly, people across the world start to recognize that they have special abilities. That's the premise of this show which at least has the decency to reference X-Men as an inspiration. The show seems to be less plot driven right now and more about getting to know each of these heroes and where they come from.

In that respect it's a so-so pilot that leaves a lot to be desired. I got the feeling that there was too much teasing, and not enough meat on the bones. We are introduced to a handful of characters who are mostly mopey and uninteresting. Peter Petrelli, a man who believes he can fly, comes across as a colossal bore in this episode which is a pretty bad first step since I get the feeling that he is at the center of the show. While the idea of the regenerating cheerleader character is pretty great, I felt like the show was more interested in showing her power (look, it's gore!) than exploring who she was. In fact the only character who really comes to life is Hiro, the Japanese business man who can bend space and time. His enthusiasm at learning he is special is infectious and he instantly steals the show.

As for the plot we are treated to a few little surprises at how the characters are connected which are unexpected, and the final revelation of Isaac's painting definitely piqued my interest. It goes without saying that these heroes will eventually have to save the world and those plot elements are, maybe not solidly planted, but at least planted in this episode.

It's an okay start that is frankly kind of dull. Everyone tells me it gets better, so I'll stick with it.

Episode 2 - Don't Look Back - *** out of 4

Now, had they aired the first two episodes as one big two hour event, I think it would have made more sense. Episode 2 is where the plot kicks into overdrive.

While I'm still finding the Boy Who Can Fly story to be painfully boring - okay, he can fly and so can his politician brother - the story revolving around Hiro teleporting himself to New York is great! I love how he gets tied in with the psychic painter Isaac, and the final moments of the episode took me by surprise - now here's a plot twist that adds urgency to Hiro's story.

I'm still not sure what I think of Niki, the Internet stripper, who has some kind of doppelganger. Her kid's cute, but her story about getting tied in with the mob seems like a diversion that I don't want to take right now...do we really need another being chased by the mob storyline?

I do have to admit that this episode made Claire (the regenerating cheerleader) much more interesting by exploring her relationship with her father, who is clearly being set up as the villain of our story right now. I'm hoping that they don't make him purely evil...I think having genuine devotion to his daughter will make him much interesting down the road.

And I'm pretty pleased to see Greg Grunberg in the cast especially since his storyline has a lot of potential. He's Matt, a telepathic police officer who gets involved in a serial killer case that is all kinds of messed up (the killer, known as Sylar, impales people with household objects and will sometimes perform his own labotomies).

So, I'm still not sold on the flying brothers, the internet stripper dopelganger, and the Indian scientist, Suresh, searching for his father's secret genetics research (too boring to have mentioned earlier), but the other stories are taking shape.

Episode 3 - One Giant Leap *** out of 4

The stories that weren't interesting before still aren't interesting (although Suresh finding Sylar's apartment was kind of cool), but the stuff that is working keeps moving along at a nice, albeit relaxed pace.

Hiro now tries to convince his friend Ando that he is destined for greatness, and his first steps to becoming a superhero are comical and exciting. Claire has a pretty gruesome experience with a tree branch (I'm not complaining, but man...they really are getting away with some graphic gore shots for primetime television), and Matt comes face to face with Sylar.

It's the Sylar stuff that has me most intrigued right now. He's got a pretty big arsenal of superpowers based on the short, but exciting confrontation he has with Matt. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Sylar's name is found amidst Suresh's father's research (it's complicated just writing about this).

Despite the title, I felt like this was a small step episode, but one that was important to flesh out the characters. Even the stories I'm not particularly enjoying (Flying dudes), I'm starting to forgive a little because I'm giving the writers the benefit of the doubt that they know what they're doing. Solid steps to be sure, but I'm still waiting for that one episode that will really deliver on all fronts.