"Save the cheerleader, save the world." - Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) to Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia)
Heroes: Season 1 DVD Review
By Jude Clement
Almost every television season has one-a new series that captures the imaginations of the audience, critics, and press alike. In the 2006-2007 season, Heroes was that series-buzzed about, written about, and talked about by seemingly everyone. Except me. I missed out on Heroes during its original network run. Now, with the release of Heroes: Season 1 on DVD, I can finally see what all the hype and magazine articles were about. Is the series worthy of the buzz? You bet.
The series centers on a group of people around the world who have developed strange abilities. Los Angeles cop Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg) can read minds. In Las Vegas, Niki Sanders (Ali Larter) has a deadly split personality, while her ex-husband D.L. Hawkins (Leonard Roberts) can pass through solid objects and allow solid objects-like bullets-pass through him. Their son, Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey), can "talk" to computers. In Odessa, Texas, cheerleader Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere) discovers that she is indestructible. Briefly left battered and bruised by a car accident, she heals within minutes. Her father (Jack Coleman) has secrets of his own. Japanese Star Trek fan Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) can bend time and space. When he witnesses the destruction of New York City while jaunting through time, he sets out with his best friend, Ando Masahashi (James Kyson Lee), to save the world. In New York, hospice nurse Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) has vivid dreams about flying, but discovers that it's his brother, Senate candidate Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar) who actually possesses this ability. Peter's abilities are by association. Painter Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera) paints pictures and writes comic books that come true. Indian professor Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) has come to New York to continue his late father's quest to find "patient zero" who might offer the key to these special abilities.
As the series progresses, we begin to realize that all of these suddenly gifted individuals are interconnected in ways both large and small. Many of them also begin to understand that they must come together to defeat the mysterious Sylar (Zachary Quinto), a serial killer who is eating the brains of the heroes in order to absorb their powers, and who may be responsible for the impending nuclear explosion that threatens to destroy New York. With its complex, intertwining storylines and comic book stylings, delving any further into the plot would take away from the fun.
The most enduring comic characters are those born of a specific place and time. Could there have been a Superman without World War II? Maybe, but the war informed comic book's entire world. In a similar way, Heroes reflects today's world while simultaneously remaining timeless enough to have a long shelf-life. Homeland security concerns, distrust of the government and politicians, and the ever-popular comic book theme of the outcasts becoming...well...heroes flow throughout the season.
The comic theme carries over into physical world of the series. Each episode is a "chapter" in the tale. The show's opening credits are featured in a distinctly comic-like font. Unlike most shows that employ onscreen titles for translation of foreign languages, the titles in Heroes are rarely found at the bottom of the screen. Instead, they occupy spaces that in a comic book would contain dialogue balloons. Many of the individual shots are framed to look like comic book panels, employing odd or highly stylized angles.
Heroes also has production values, stunts, and special effects that are normally found only in feature films. Nothing here looks as if it was done "on the cheap," and the effects are absolutely seamless.
The series is also aided by its memorable cast. Masi Oka's exuberance as Hiro is a joy to watch, and he is nearly matched by James Kyson Lee as his best friend Ando, making Hiro and Ando the funniest odd couple since Laurel and Hardy. Hayden Panettiere perfectly captures Claire's sunny darkness. And how terrific is it to see the always likable Greg Grunberg in a series that wasn't created by his college pal JJ Abrams (Alias, Lost)?
The twenty-three episodes that make up Heroes: Season 1 are divided onto seven discs. The discs are housed in a foldout case, the front of which features a photo of the cast. The seven discs attach to four panels-three of the panels hold two discs one on top of the other in a figure eight pattern while the fourth panel holds only one disc. This makes it slightly inconvenient for viewers, causing them to remove one DVD in order to get to another. The back of the case features episode titles and brief synopses. The show's comic book theme carries over to the case's interior which includes Isaac's paintings interspersed with production photos. The case slides into a cardboard sleeve, the front of which features the show's logo.
The beautifully rendered menus are easy to use. Viewers can play all episodes or choose them individually. There are no scene selection menus, but the episodes include chapter stops.
