Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Heroes season 1 DVD


In July of 2006, I had the pleasure of taking my son to the San Diego Comic-Con for his first time. Because I was being a responsible father of a ten year old, I opted out of a number of interesting panel discussions that I would have otherwise went to had I been alone or hanging with my buddies who annually attend the Con as well. One of those panels I skipped was for an upcoming television show debuting on the Fall 2006 season on NBC. I figured the show would probably tank or get cancelled early (as has been my luck with a number of new shows I pick each season).

Boy, was I wrong!

It was maybe a week or so before the September debut that I heard about Heroes again. It was likely in the pages of Entertainment Weekly or something, and what I heard got me curious. Could NBC pull off a show about metahumans (people with super-powers) without it being lame? I remember still another attempt by NBC back in the early 80's called the Misfits of Science - the only good thing to come out of that was the debut of a then-unknown Courtney Cox.

Needless to say, after watching the premiere hour of the show, I was hooked! Heroes was my new weekly obcession. And I wasn't alone - those debut ratings were through the roof. Many were likening the shows format - an ensemble cast with lots of mysteries and unanswered questions - to ABC's Lost. I wouldn't know - I don't watch that show. But, the interesting thing was that the show didn't keep the viewers waiting for answers. We would get them, and then we'd have more questions! It was captivating, exciting, and...oh yeah...it wasn't lame the way the super-powers were worked in. Ordinary people with extraordinary abilities - folks may have tuned in for the powers, but it was the characters that kept us coming back for more: Mr. Bennett and his daughter Clair, Hiro and Ando, Peter and Nathan Petrelli, and of course Sylar!

Even though I caught every episode in the first season, often watching them twice - once during the Monday debut and then replaying the DVRed episode again the following Monday night to refresh myself before the next new hour, this was a must-buy DVD for me. Never a doubt in my mind or a hesitation. This was a keeper and something I know I'll go back to over and over again as the years wear on. For me, it is the perfect mix of story, characters, mood, music (done by Wendy & Lisa, former members of Prince's Revolution band) and more. And having it on DVD will allow me to pause and catch little details I might not have caught the first go-round as well.

My favorite episodes from the season: "Company Man" where we discover the past of Mr. Bennett, and "Five Years Gone" where Hiro and Ando end up in a future gone terribly wrong. Both have a lot of comic book elements to their pacing, framing, etc.

The extras on the DVD are very nice. I'm a big fan of deleted scenes as well as commentary tracks, and this set has quite a few of both (50 deleted scenes!!!). It also contains the original 72 minute pilot episode that was shown at Comic-Con back in 2006 (which I've heard has a lot of elements that changed or were dropped in when converted to the first two hour episodes). So, I get to experience that pilot after missing it the first time around - minus the chattering crowds around me or the smell of the unwashed masses in a large viewing room. Sounds like a win-win to me.

In all, this set will keep me busy until the debut of season 2 on Monday September 24th.

2 comments:

princ£$$ loui$£ said...

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louise

Martin Maenza said...

Louise, when you are making a new post, there is an icon on the little row above the window that allows you to add a picture to your entry. The key is either a) you have to upload the picture from your computer to a spot on the Internet or b) include a link to a picture somewhere already on the Internet. If you are using a picture from another site, that site might have protection in place to prohibit folks from linking to their pictures. Just do a little trial and error and you'll get it.