....on whatever crosses my mind

Heroes! Episode 11

Elle is dead. 

Boooo!

With that stupid turn of events out of the way, Episode 11 folks.

This was an okay episode.  Just further established the sides of the battle. 

We got to see that Peter is still a wimp (when will he be Future badass Peter?), Sylar is still a killer, Noah and Claire really love each other, and everyone else is more or less inconsequential.

First of all, the death of Arthur Petrelli didn't have any of the resonance it should have had.  Sylar should be a Petrelli. Why? Because it deepens the show's emotional arcs. 

The revelation that Arthur (and Angela Petrelli to a lesser extent) has been lying about Sylar being a Petrelli was lame.  Lame as hell.  There was so much potential there for the family with this development.  Early in the season we were treated to some of that with Future Sylar and Future Peter and any scene with Angela and Sylar.

Now - Sylar is basically the same guy he was in Season One.  I don't know that this is useful, but we'll see.

It was nice to see Chad Faust from The 4400.

Oh and in case you forgot...booo on the killing of Kristin Bell.

Heroes! Episodes 8-10

So I haven't blogged this show since that misguided "in the past" episode for Episode 8.  I mean, Hiro had to go through all of that to realize it's freakin Arthur Petrelli?  

do.not.want.

The show is squandering a good concept right now.  The two-parter that concluded with last night's Episode 10 was overwrought and poorly executed.

Why in the world are Elle and Sylar flip flopping every other scene from good to bad to good to bad? Snooze...oh, and totally unbelievable?  These are the most compelling "villains" the show has and their "conflicted" natures have been completely abused.  They were downright annoying by last night's Episode 10, something I never thought I'd say about either of them (esp. Kristin Bell, who I still adore)

I am still annoyed with Mohinder and the prominence of Daphne irks me as well.  I think they both need to be gone.  Seriously - gone.  Can we have DL back in exchange?

Heroes! Episode 7

This was a great episode all around as the storyline tightens nicely. 

No major complaints from me makes this the best episode of the season.  All the Petrelli scenes were terrific.  Everyone played a key role and it was nice to see some unusual scene groupings.  Especially liked seeing Niki Tracy in a scene with Meredith.

But who am I kidding?

This....

Heroes! Episode 6

 

At this point, the show is dominated by the effortless cool of the Petrelli family.  Part of this is that the mythology continues to (rightly) revolve around them, the other part of it is that they are casting the Petrelli roles stupid well.

Robert Forster is an inspired choice for Daddy Petrelli.

That said, this episode moved a bit too slowly for my tastes.

I'm beginning to be weary of Claire's "I wanna be a hero" schtick. 

I also just am not happy with Mohinder's turn this season at all.  I just don't think the writers have earned this shift at all.  It still feels abrupt and out of character.  I buy that he might be envious. I do.  I just don't think they showed him this way enough in the first two seasons to merit him injecting himself with the formula in the first 20 mins of Season Three's first episode.  Just felt too fast.  Unearned.  And they just aren't moving quickly enough now that he has become such a meany.

Comparatively - it makes so much sense to me that Peter could straddle the line between hero and villain since Sylar has always been his mirror and he was, for all intents and purposes, the baddie in Season One (albeit unwittingly).  I can also see why Claire might become Future Claire and why Ando might end up killing Hiro.  Those personalities and character dynamics were set up from the very beginning.

Mohinder has none of this.  As such, he sucks this year.

Also - I'm getting really pissed about this whole no Kristin Bell thing.  Elle kinda rocks hard.  They need to bring her back and stop fuckin around.  Daphne is just not a cool enough replacement.  Her energy is a bit off-putting (though, admittedly, she does work well off Masi and James).

The final moments of Episode 6 though set us up for what promises to be a killer Episode 7 next week.

Stay tuned...

Heroes! Episode 5

 Here we are.  Episode 5.  Right around the time television shows settle into their run.

Same is true here, where the elements that have worked well for the first 4 episodes continue to do so and those that don't, well...don't.

The Good?

• Everything having to do with the Petrellis.
• The deepening mythology across the board, but particularly around the "mysterious" formula.
• It seems that Matt Parkman is going to be a big part of this season.  I'm intrigued.
• Adam Monroe is back.  So is Parkman's dad (in a really cool reveal I should have seen coming, but didn't).  Oh and yet another Petrelli (in a really cool reveal I saw coming in last week's preview of this episode).

The Not So Good?

• No Kristen Bell. (seriously, what the fuck is this?  Daphne is just no match for the effortless cool of Veronica Mars, folks)
• The whole Claire-Bubbs-HRG-Sylar subplot (boo.just.boo).
• It seems Tracy was just a fuck you to the viewers, because she's basically Niki now.  As a fan of Niki, they should have just kept that character.  This backdoor way of keeping Niki around is kind of irritating.
• Mohinder is lame as hell!
• And on that note, it's time to get rid of the last wonder twin.  She serves absolutely no purpose.  Can she go away and we get DL back?  Thanks! 

Heroes! Episode 4

So Episode 4 was all about Peter and his neverending quest to be a hero and save the world.

Sounds tedious, no?

Well, actually, not so much.  This season is all about upending our assumptions about who these characters are.  So watching Peter basically make himself into a villain whilst thinking he's saving the world was entertaining.  And it makes sense as we think about how Peter was the one who was actually the danger in Season One.  Sylar continues to be the most compelling figure as we see Future Sylar.  Future Claire rocks HARD as well. 

The scene with Peter and Future Sylar and Future Claire (speedy girl from Friday Night Lights and Marlo Stanfield were there too, but inconsequential) was perhaps some of the best shit the show has yet done (rivaling the scenes last week between Sylar and Angela).  Hiro and Ando are becoming more and more serious characters with depth instead of the funny Asian guys (which was always vaguely insulting I thought).

That said, it was interesting to learn that some of the "heroes" were created, not born with powers.  Less interesting how Tracy was basically Niki this week.  And still not feeling Mohinder at all this year.

Also - in terms of structure, it was unclear how much of this week's episode was in Matt Parkman's head.  I'm not sure how I feel about it, but the line between hero and villain is so beautifully muddied this year, that I'm willing to ride this piece out.

Lastly - no Kristin Bell?  Boooo.

Heroes! Episode 3

 

Episode 3 continues this fascinating dance between Sylar and Angela Petrelli.  Can't find the words to explain just how cool and interesting and brilliant this development is.  As a fan of actors, watching Cristine Rose and Zachary Quinto bring this dynamic to life is truly thrilling.

From a purely artistic point of view, the show is doing a bang up job muddying the lines between hero and villain.

Big YAY for Milo as both Peters and Jamie Hector's escape from capture by Sylar and Noah. (which means he'll be on the show still!).  Lame power though, Jamie.  Sorry brother.

That said, it seems Matt Parkman will be stranded outside the storyline a la Hiro Season 2 until some big reveal around sweeps.  Eh, unenthused.  Love Greg Grunberg but Parkman is a snooze.

I'm still irritated by Ali Larter's transition to someone entirely new, but there's a nice twist at the end of the episode that has some real potential.  Seeing Micah (a lil grown up) again was nice. 

The best scene in the episode was one with Claire and her biological mother, Meredith Gordon (played by Jessalyn "Asshole" Gilsig*). 

Claire and mommy reunited (Season one)

It's nice to see Claire step outside of her usual victim role (and acknowledge it) and one is always happy to see Gilsig in anything.

Lastly, so glad Mohinder wasn't in this episode.  Not feeling him at all this season.

*"Asshole" is what Gilsig's character always called Christian Troy on Nip/Tuck. I'm sure Gilsig is not an asshole.

Heroes! Episodes 1&2

 

The season premiere of Heroes last night basically rewrote the entire show and silenced any doubt that the creators couldn't do what they did so beautifully in Season 1.

Five Best Things About The Premiere

5. Letting out the villains.

Mostly because two of the villains are played by Jamie Hector (Marlo on The Wire) and Francis Capra (Weevil from Veronica Mars)

4. Finding out just who Angela Petrelli is.

It's about damn time we find out what her power is and just how much she knows about this entire world. 

3. Kristen Bell

Nuf said.

2.  Sylar and Claire

This is fantastic!  I got tired of waiting around for this resolution.  Plus - Hayden had jack shit to do last year, which made no sense since she was a major emotional focal point of the first season. By resolving Sylar and Claire it not only makes Sylar that much more dangerous, it gives Claire somewhere else to go as a character.

Bonus - Future Claire and the final moment between Angela Petrelli and Sylar

1. The new dynamic between Hiro and Ando. 

This is just awesome in every way.  Giving Ando something to do besides be a sidekick is a masterstroke.  The palpable tension between the two men is a nice change to a dynamic that has been played for laughs too much in past seasons.

Two Things I'm A Lil Shaky About

2. Ali Larter as a whole new character.

The creators basically conceded to viewers that Niki/Jessica is just not all that interesting as a character and that they didn't have much of an idea how to change that perception.  So they created a whole new character.  I like it enough because Larter was the best actor on the show in Season One, playing dual roles with aplomb.  She's good here too as the new character is nothing like Niki or Jessica (Larter's ability to just move differently is physical acting at its best).  But I liked Niki/Jessica so they'll have to win me over with this.

1. Everything having to do with Mohinder

Yea, this just felt a bit forced.