ORBzine - 2004 UK Television Review: "Heroes"

ORBzine - Heroes TV Review

[Season 1 !Season 2 !Season 3 ]

Heroes
  • Sendhil Ramamurthy as Mohinder Suresh (father's legacy cab driver)
  • Masi Oka as Hiro Nakamura (space-time mover)
  • James Kyson Lee as Ando Masahashi (sidekick)
  • Jack Coleman as Horned Rim Glasses
  • Hayden Panettiere as Claire Bennett (invulnerable cheerleader)
  • Greg Grunberg [ Alias, Lost ] as Matt Parkman (mind reader cop)
  • Ali Larter as Niki Sanders (dark twin)
  • Leonard Roberts as D.l. Hawkins (phase-thru criminal)
  • Noah Gray-Cabey as Micah Sanders (fix-it boy)
  • Milo Ventimiglia as Peter Petrelli (copycat nurse)
  • Adrian Pasdar [ Near Dark ] as Nathan Petrelli (flying politician)
  • Santiago Cabrera as Isaac Mendez (pre-cog artist)
  • Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 1] Genesis (a.k.a. In His Own Image)
    Shown 25 Sep 06

    Ordinary people all over the globe discover that each possesses a strange super power that may be needed to save the world.

    In India, a Genetics Professor learns that his father was murdered in NYC. Aware that someone was after the old man's research, the Professor travels to America to find the killer.

    In NYC, Peter Petrelli meets his girlfriend's other boyfriend, an artist. Then he has a psychic vision of his brother, Nathan - flying!

    In Japan, Hiro [the little Asian guy from Scrubs] thinks he can control the space-time continuum. His sidekick is too busy ogling Internet stripper Ali Larter ...

    In Nevada, Ali Larter juggles raising a Child Prodigy son with paying off a big-time loan-shark, Mr Linderman. She has a split personality with a repressed tendency for ultra-violence. But is this really a superpower?

    In Texas, high-school cheerleader Claire Bennett [ Hayden Panettiere ] has an unpleasant tendency to self-mutilate. The thing is, she automatically regenerates each time!

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 2] Don't Look Back
    Shown 2 Oct 06

    Now that the main characters have been introduced, we start to get hints of the show's story arc.

    In LA, LAPD officer Matt Parkman [Greg Grunberg - Alias, Lost ] tries to help FBI Agents Clea Duval and Stacey Haiduk catch a serial-killer named Syler. Syler is the world's first known supervillain; he uses superpowers to scoop his victims' brains out!

    Hiro discovers that in 5 weeks time, a huge explosion will destroy NYC. He has 5 weeks to save the city!

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 3] One Giant Leap
    Shown 9 Oct 06

    Clare gets to know her new BF better.

    LAPD officer Matt Parkman [Greg Grunberg - Alias, Lost ] gets to meet Mr Horn Rim Glasses.

    Hiro and his sidekick travel to the USA.

    Peter's relationship with Isaac's GF takes a new twist.

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 4] Collision
    Shown 16 Oct 06

    Hiro and his sidekick decide to work their system in Las Vegas. Nikki is also in Vegas, paying off her debt to Linderman. She must provide companionship to a visiting politician.

    Mohinder meets the Petrelli Brothers. His faith is failing. And then Peter gets a visit from Future Hiro!

    Clare must deal with the aftermath of her night out.

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 5] Hiros
    Shown 23 Oct 06

    As the title suggests, this ep has more than one Hiro. The future Hiro (clad in the nearest thing this show has to an actual Superhero costume) gives Peter Petrelli a good piece of advice. Save the Cheerleader, save the World!

    The present-day Hiro meets the other Petrelli brother, and tries to explain what's going on.

    Nikki finally gets home, her fifty grand debt written off a lot easier than she ever expected. She has unexpected visitors ...

    Clare's father shows the lengths he will go to. Whatever threat she faces, it must be quite extreme!

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 6] Better Halves
    Shown 30 Oct 06

    Nikki's husband comes a-calling. Her Dark Twin has plans as well.

    Clare's dad gives in to her badgering, and invites her biological parents to visit.

    The Petrelli Brothers sort out their relationship.

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 7] Nothing to Hide
    Shown 6 Nov 06

    Nathan and his wife plot their election strategy. Is Peter dependable?

    Matt and Audrey are on Syler's case ...

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 8] Seven Minutes to Midnight
    Shown 13 Nov 06

    Psi-Cop Matt and Clea Duvall interrogate the Firestarter.

    Hiro and his sidekick meet a beautiful waitress. Is she Hiro's love interest? And who's that familiar Syler-shaped figure lurking in the background?

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 9] Homecoming
    Shown 20 Nov 06

    It's the big night, and Cheerleader Claire wants to have her night of glory. Unfortunately, Sylar wants to attend Homecoming as well ...

    The Petrelli Brothers have a falling-out. Nathan tries to protect his brother from his heroic impulses.

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 10] Six Months Ago
    Shown 27 Nov 06

    Hiro jumped 6 months back, so we get to see what everyone else was doing back then. It seems that they all more or less suffered extreme stress at the same time, and thus developed their powers simultaneously ...

    Niki is attending Alcoholics Anonymous, when she is visited by her father. Nathan Petrelli decides to indite Mr Linderman, and faces the consequences. The Professor tests a potential mutant who looks like Sylar ...

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 11] Fallout
    Shown 4 Dec 06

    With most of the loose ends tied up, Nicki is still on the loose. She goes after her husband, intent on killing him and reclaiming her son.

    Eden plans to get rid of Syler.

    Peter Petrelli has another vision of the future. He realises who the exploding man will be. And he also catches a flash of Christoper Eccleston [ Dr Who 2005 ].

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 12] Godsend
    Shown 22 Jan 07

    Hiro and Ando get to NYC. Isaac shows them a picture of Hiro with his sword, and it's apparent that his new quest is to find the samurai blade. We also discover that the recurring mysterious Asian symbol means Godsend.

    Nicki is in jail, facing the Death Penalty.

    Peter meets Claude Rains ... an invisible man!

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 13] The Fix
    Shown 29 Jan 07

    Peter tries to persuade Christopher Ecclestone to teach him how to control his powers. This doesn't make much sense - Ecclestone is a down-and-out who lives on the rooftop of Peter's employer's building. Meanwhile, Nathan and Mohinder try to persuade Peter they can help him.

    Nicki is in a rubber room. Her shrink thinks she can cure her ... Meanwhile, her son tells D.L. another secret.

    Claire tries to track down her birth-mother. Meanwhile, her adoptive dad has to deal with Syler ...

    Hiro and Ando are nabbed by MIBs. We don't know who they work for ...

    The chubby cop submits his FBI report to a LAPD committee. Then he has to decide - stand by his report (and be called a fool) or denounce it (and call himself a liar). He may have a superpower, but he lacks the natural ability to see the obvious that normal people have.

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 14] Distractions
    Shown 5 Feb 07

    Claire goes off to find her birth-mother. We even discover who her birth-father was. However, her adoptive father has trouble with Syler.

    Nicki's shrink wants to meet Jessica. And Mr Linderman's lawyers get involved.

    Hiro and Ando meet Hiro's dad ... George Takei [ Star Trek: TOS ]!

    Ecclestone makes progress teaching Peter to control his skills. But Peter's girlfriend is meeting up with her ex, Isaac!

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 15] Run!
    Shown 12 Feb 07

    Claire tries to meet her real father.

    Mohinder finally gets to meet Syler.

    Hiro and Ando get to Vegas. Before they can get the sword from Linderman, they must help Vegas showgirl Missi Pyle get her luggage back from someone's hotel room. Then things get interesting!

    The chubby cop takes advantage of his free time, and moonlights as a bodyguard. His first job is to protect Linderman's lawyer, who was trusted to return the 2 million that Niki stole. He doublecrossed Linderman and kept the money - but Linderman sent Niki to get paypack!

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 16] Unexpected
    Shown 19 Feb 07

    Hiro tries to save Ando. He discovers that Stan Lee is now a bus driver!

    Company Man's wife is showing side-effects of the multiple erasures. Clare is the only one who realises it, which leads to disaffection with her dad.

    The ex-cop and the pyro-guy team up. Someone else has discovered what the Company Man is up to, and clues them in. The ex-cop has another falling out with his wife, and has nothing to lose.

    The psi-artist takes the necessary measures to save NYC. This leads to a confrontation with Peter, which has terrible consequences.

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 17] Company Man
    Shown 26 Feb 07

    The ex-cop and the pyro-guy hold the Company Man [and his family] hostage. Yes, this is the Desperate Hours episode - but it's actually quite good. It concentrates on his relationship with his daughter, and with his employers.

    We finally get vast amounts of exposition. Several guest stars are fitted into place in the scenario - Christopher Ecclestone [ Dr Who ], Eric Roberts [ Dr Who: USA ] and George Takei [ Star Trek: TOS ]!

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 18] Parasite
    Shown 5 Mar 07

    Syler runs into trouble that he hadn't expected.

    Claire decides to ditch the plan, and goes off on her own. Meanwhile, her father has to clean up the artist's mess. His new sidekick is a shapeshifter who loves playing mind-games with victims.

    The Politician and the Evil Twin meet up at the Casino again. They have business with the Boss, Linderman [Malcolm McDowell - Tank Girl, Clockwork Orange ]. But he knows a lot more than he ought to.

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 19] .07%
    Shown 23 Apr 07

    The Petrelli clan have an ad-hoc get-together.

    There's another breakout from the Company's holding cells. They've got a pretty lousy record of holding on to prisoners, it would seem!

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 20] String Theory
    Shown 30 Apr 07
    Shown th October 2007 [Wednesday]

    Hiro and Ando are in the future! Modern Hiro is captured by Greg the Cop, who now works for President Nathan. Ando goes on the run with Future Hiro, who teams up with whatever other survivors of the explosion and the purge are willing to help. Half the cast are dead, and the living envy the dead.

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 21] The Hard Part
    Shown 7 May 07

    Hiro and Ando stalk Syler. They want to kill him before he destroys New York. Syler doesn't actually want to be a villain, so he visits his mother and explores his options in life.

    All the other characters decide to visit NYC as well, for various reasons.

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 22] Landslide
    Shown 14 May 07

    Linderman wants Mycah to rig the election for Nathan. Mycah's parents want him back, so they infiltrate Linderman's HQ.

    The Cop and the Company Man also infiltrate the HQ, to get hold of the tracking system. This leads to another confrontation.

    Hiro enters the final stages of his preparations.

    A couple of supporting villains are quickly written out. However, the main confrontation is left for the next episode.

    Heroes Heroes [Season 1, Episode 23] How to Stop an Exploding Man
    Shown 21 May 07

    The surviving central characters all bump into each other for the final confrontation. Can Hiro stop Syler? Will Peter himself explode?

    Compared to the rest of the series, this is something of a let-down. The confrontation is brief and anti-climactic, both visually and in terms of story-telling.

    The epilogue is somewhat predictable, but we finally get to see the eclipse.

    Heroes Heroes [Season 2, Episode 1 ]
    Shown th May 2008 [Wednesday]

    Heroes

  • Search This Site

  • Heroes Heroes [Season 2, Episode 1] Four Months Later...
    Shown 24 Sep 07
    Shown th May 2008 [Wednesday]

    The story starts about 4 months after the end of the previous Season. Except for Hiro - he's in the 1600s, and his story takes up exactly where it left off. David Anders [ Alias ] has a most surprising appearance.

    Hiro's dad and Peter's mum have both received death threats.

    Peter wakes up in a cargo container in Cork, Ireland. He's taken in by a trio of very unlikely Oirish villains - Holt McCallany [ Freedom ], Dominic Keating [ Enterprise ] and a token Black guy!

    Heroes Heroes [Season 2, Episode 2] Lizards
    Shown 1 Oct 07
    Shown th May 2008 [Wednesday]

    In science class at school, Claire discovers that certain lizards can actually re-grow severed limbs.

    Heroes Heroes [Season 2, Episode 3] Kindred
    Shown 8 Oct 07
    Shown th May 2008 [Wednesday]

    The loveable Oirish gangsters want to do a big robbery. They persuade Peter to help.

    Heroes Heroes [Season 2, Episode 4] The Kindness of Strangers
    Shown 15 Oct 07
    Shown th May 2008 [Wednesday]

    Micah's in New Orleans, staying with his Grandma [ Nichelle Nichols ] and his cousin Monica. It turns out that Monica has some powers of her own!

    Heroes Heroes [Season 2, Episode 5] Fight or Flight
    Shown 22 Oct 07

    Elle Bishop [ Kristen Bell ] arrives in Cork. She's after Peter, and she's eeevil in a way that the loveably murderous Oirish gangsters can't deal with!

    Heroes Heroes [Season 2, Episode 6] The Line
    Shown 29 Oct 07

    Peter and his GF arrive in Montreal. And worse - he forgot how to use his time-travel power!

    Heroes Heroes [Season 2, Episode 7] Out of Time
    Shown 5 Nov 07

    The Nightmare Man is on the loose. Matt is the only one who can stop him.

    Bennett's plans are unravelling.

    Peter confronts the future, and the terrible consequences of the virus. And the plot takes a turn for the worse!

    Heroes Heroes [Season 2, Episode 8] Four Months Ago...
    Shown 12 Nov 07

    Peter flashes back to his missing time.

    We see what happened to DL.

    Heroes Heroes [Season 2, Episode 9] Cautionary Tales
    Shown 19 Nov 07

    The Company goes after Claire. She's MIA from home - and her dad thinks she's with her boyfriend.

    Heroes Heroes [Season 2, Episode 10] Truth & Consequences
    Shown 26 Nov 07

    Claire is torn emotionally after the events of the previous ep.

    Mohinder tries to get the cure to Nikki. But Syler has different plans.

    Adam takes Peter to find a woman named Victoria Pratt. She's the only one who can tell them where the virus is stored.

    Hiro goes back in time, and finds out the truth behind Adam's initial incarceration.

    Micah's comics are stolen by gang kids. His cousin tries to get them back ...

    Heroes Heroes [Season 2, Episode 11] Powerless
    Shown 3 Dec 07

    Peter and Adam try to get into the vault. Hiro, the Cop and the Senator try to stop them ...

    Micah tries to get his mother to save his cousin.

    Syler holds Mohinder and the others hostage.

    There are cliffhanger endings for everyone!

    Heroes Heroes [Season 3, Episode 1] The Butterfly Effect
    Shown 15 Sep 08

    We start by discovering who shot Nathan Petrelli. His mother is the only one who knows what's going on. She has a power of her own - The first one you manifested, she says - dreaming the future. So evidently he didn't borrow it from Isaac Mendes!

    Sylar goes after Clare. Her power, of course, will allow her to regenerate even if he gets her power ... And if he never had it to begin with, how could he survive being shot by Parkman in Season One? But let's just ignore that, and forget about Save the Cheerleader, save the world.

    Hiro's dad sends him on a quest - posthumously, of course. Hiro must protect a chemical formula which, in the wrong hands, can destroy the world. Naturally, he takes it out to look at it - and it gets stolen by a speedster girl who looks like a cross between Gigi Edgely and Jennifer Sky .

    Mohinder has the serum which can give people superpowers. Should he destroy it, to prevent the Company getting it, or should he use it himself?

    Heroes Heroes [Season 3, Episode 2] Dreamtime
    Shown 22 Sep 08

    Sylar goes for an all-you-can-eat buffet at the Company's cells. This has a very bad result for Elle, and may have bad repercussions for everyone else. There's a mass break-out, so a few villains are running free - and a couple of the good guys!

    Mohinder tries to adapt to his new powers. However, they seem to be in flux ...

    Hiro and Ando track the girl to Paris. Hiro no longer entirely trusts his poor sidekick.

    Parkman's on a vision quest. Not his idea, of course, but he might trim his weight down as a result.

    The Governor [Bruce Boxleitner - Babylon 5 ] and his advisor [ Ali Larter ] want Nathan on their team. But Nathan's busy playing chess with the ghost of Mr Linderman [Malcolm McDowell].

     37.   3- 3        303     29 Sep 08   One of Us, One of Them
     38.   3- 4        304      6 Oct 08   The Year of Our Lord
    
    
    Heroes Heroes [Season 3, Episode 1 ]
    Shown th May 2008 [Wednesday]

    Return to the TV Reviews
    Return to the ORBzine Homepage.
    © Speculator 2002-8