Monday, March 23, 2009

Ten reasons I like "Heroes" (the first season, anyway)


1. The show borrows elements of the horror genre, including all the awful things that happen to Claire (best example: when her house is nuked and she comes out looking like the Toxic Avenger) as well as Sylar's chosen method of killing and the upsetting way it's depicted

2. Bad things happen to characters we don't think will get hurt (or brainwashed), making the show both more suspenseful and less formulaic than typical network TV

3. The many creative uses, throughout the season, of Matt Parkman's ability to read minds

4. The casting of Linderman (Malcolm McDowell) and Hiro's father (George Takei)

5. Claire's friendship with Zach, which is just affecting enough to be sorely missed when it's yanked away and much appreciated when it's restored

6. The pitch-perfect introduction of Claire's mother's ability

7. The show's comic-book soul, which excuses the cornier bits of dialogue and makes the cleverer ones seem like wonderful surprises

8. The decision to use subtitles when Hiro and Ando speak rather than making them both fluent English speakers

9. The show's tremendous knack for end-of-episode cliffhangers

10. Jack Coleman, who plays Claire's father, and whose performance throughout the season (and particularly in the episode "Company Man") deserves much acclaim

1 comment:

Diana said...

I know! I loved the first season. I was hooked, but then over time it just got too gorey for me to stomach. Have you watched the rest? I'd be interested to hear what you think.