Heroes, the science fiction drama TV series, premiered on NBC on September 25, 2006. The show is a story of several people who suddenly
realize that they have incredible abilities or powers such as telepathy, time travel, flight and spontaneous regeneration.
The new found heroes soon realize that they have a role to play in preventing a catastrophe and ultimately saving mankind.
The series is written in the style of traditional current American comic books with short, multi-episode story arcs that build upon a
larger, more freakish story arc where people's skulls are being cut off their heads. Gross! They are expected to have 5 seasons.
When the series premiered in September 2006, it was the most watched program among adults aged 18-49, attracting some 14.3 million
viewers. Heroes rose to a whopping status and received the highest rating for any NBC drama premiere in the last five years.
The second season of Heroes will consist of 24 episodes, and the first season of a new spinoff, Heroes: Origins, will include
six episodes.
The second season is scheduled to premiere on September 24, 2007.
The Plot
The plot of Heroes is similar to that of comic books. Like comic books, Heroes has a series of story arcs as well as smaller
arcs within the main story line. No matter what characters exist and what events make up a season, all seasons of Heroes will involve
ordinary people who discover their abilities and their reactions to their self-discovery.
First season
The first season revolves around stopping an explosion of immense proportions that happens in the future. That arc is initially carried
by two characters, Hiro Nakamura (a small Japanese guy) and Isaac Mendez, (an artist that paints the future when on drugs)
the former having seen the event in the future and the latter having painted it from his visions.
The first four episodes revolved around characters discovering their powers. The have to deal with the issues of normal life while trying
to grapple with their new found powers.
At the end of the fourth episode, a smaller arc began with the message "Save the cheerleader, save the world", which is tied to the
explosion already foreseen. By the end of that story arc, the characters have already discovered their powers as well as the existence of
other "heroes" like themselves. Some of the characters even began to realize the need to come together to prevent a catastrophe.
The plot then turns to the question of how the explosion, which was seen in Hiro's trip to the future and Isaac's paintings,
will occur and what role the various characters need to play in order stop it... ot cause it.
Freaky!!
Recurring elements
There are Three elements that appear repeatedly throughout the series: the helix, the scar, and the eclipse.
The scar appears to be man-made, but the circumstances surrounding the helix — its meaning and its manifestations —
is just a muddled mystery that the producers will use to string us along, just like Lost, for another 3 years!
