(S04E10) For some reason, while I was watching this episode I got to thinking: "What if this had been the second season of Heroes." Would it perhaps still be a top-rated show; one that NBC could rest its laurels and future on instead of Jay Leno? As with that first season, I feel that sense of wonder about what's going on, and things are really coming together.
That said, there is some sloppy thinking on the parts of both Tracy and Hiro this week. But there's also the continuing consolidation of power by Samuel, and finally an explanation of both why he's doing this and what Mohinder's been up to.
I'm going to admit to being wrong now. For weeks I've been saying that I haven't missed Suresh at all; that I would be just as happy if he never showed up. But his return and appearance (and even explanation for his absence) were handled so well, that I liked him all over again.
Question: is it possible for Heroes to add enough actors and actresses from cool, hip shows so it also becomes cool and hip again?
Kate Vernon, who played Ellen Tigh (and a Cylon - hope that wasn't a spoiler!) on the Battlestar Galactica remake, is joining the cast of the NBC show. Greg Grunberg first unveiled the news on his Twitter account a couple of days ago. Seems like that's where a lot of breaking news happens nowadays, eh?
(S04E07) We'll have to wait until next week to see Hiro try to save Charlie. This week, we stayed with Noah and Jeremy, checked back in on Claire and Gretchen, and saw how Matt was faring with his unwanted head-guest. And things didn't really go well for any of them.
The series is really finding a nice stride, for those of us left to enjoy it. I'm racking my brain trying to think of ways to inject a sense of excitement into the show to lure some of its wayward former viewers back. Who could they cast for an arc on Heroes that people would have to tune in to see. Summer Glau? Jennifer Aniston? Bill Cosby (he has the power of slow dancing)?
They're keeping things pretty simple now, not stretching us beyond three storylines per episode, and the sense of excitement and wonder really is back in a way I've not seen since the first season. I'll not go so far as to say this is the Heroes of old, but it's a helluva lot better than the Heroes of lately.
There's been plenty of talk the past week about a former cast member ofLostwho might not be coming back to the island for the ABC show's last season. By process of elimination and a little detective work, some thought that the person who didn't want to come back to the show was Harold Perrineau, who played Michael. He left the show once, came back later, and then was killed off in a boat explosion. After that he didn't have many nice things to say about the producers or the show.
But you can forget about all that talk, because Perrineau says that he would love to come back to the show for the last season but he hasn't been asked yet. As for all that stuff about not liking his time on the show or holding a grudge against the producers, he says he loved his time on the show, loves the cast, and there are no hard feelings.
(S04E04) What are you doing with your life? Are you happy with what you do every day, 40 or more hours a week? If not, then you're not truly living your life, you're living someone else's. Only when you realize that this life is a gift and it's so much shorter than any of us can possibly realize, can you truly start to live for yourself. Take a risk. Do what you want. Do what makes you happy.
That's pretty heady stuff, but it was apparently on the Heroes writers' minds tonight, because that's exactly what this episode was about. And it turned out pretty well. There were moments of true growth for several of our characters, some good and some probably not so good.
(S04E03) Let's talk candidly. After all, it looks like you and I are the only ones left watching this show. Remember the good old days when Heroes was the top-rated show on NBC and all the talk at the proverbial water coolers? It feels like it was only three years ago.
It's a shame that it looks like this ratings erosion is a permanent one, as tonight was a good installment. Unless things turn around immediately, it's a pretty safe bet this will be the last volume of Heroes. They need to sneak in some stunt casting or film a live episode or whore the stars out to all the talk shows relentlessly if they want to save the show. If they want to.
(S04E02) Things are definitely getting interesting again. I'm glad Heroes went with a two-hour premiere, because it wasn't until the end of this hour that we had enough to really grab our attention again. As expected, Samuel Sullivan and the Sullivan Brothers Carnival are right at the heart of the mystery right now.
There's another mystery brewing at Claire's college. Or maybe there isn't. Could what happened with Annie be as straightforward as everyone seems to want us to believe? But now that's the least of Claire's problems, due to her little impromptu experiment.
This episode focused primarily on four main storylines, and it progressed very smoothly for it. It wasn't too confusing, and I came out if it with a sense of confidence that there's a plan for the season. I'm still not sure if it's accessible enough for new viewers, but you never know. Maybe people are smarter than I give them credit for.
A new volume and new faces ... on the show, that is. At this point, I think it's a bit of a pipe dream by NBC to think they can nab new viewers. And as much as I was hoping they'd make this as accessible as possible, things are still pretty hopelessly complex. The situation with Nathan/Sylar alone is enough to make any new viewer change the channel. Maybe see how House is coping with life in the asylum.
On the other hand, Robert Knepper has joined the cast as Samuel, the leader of the Sullivan Brothers Carnival, and I couldn't be more excited. No matter how ridiculous Prison Break got over four years, Knepper was just deliciously villainous as T-Bag. And he's just as enigmatic on camera here.
Tonight's premiere is a two-hour extravaganza, including the first two episodes of the new season. Look for my review of the second hour in a separate post.
Everyone has an opinion about how Heroes has been the last couple of seasons. Even NBC. In the new promo for the show (two-hour season premiere on September 21), it seems that even the network knows it could be better. The clip is titled "Back At Their Best," Noah says the lines "you have to remember who you were" and "maybe we're looking for redemption," Tracey says "I'm back," the words NEW BEGINNING appear on a wall, and the song that plays in the background is "Second Chance."
Heroes fans who think the show has gone downhill would probably say this is the third or fourth chance, but we get the point, we get the point.
I have no idea what Heroes star Greg Grunberg is filming tonight, but he needs extras for it.
Grunberg says on Twitter that he needs extras from something he is filming tonight. You need to be 50 years old or older (he says you can bring your parents or grandparents), and it will take an hour or so. By the way, this is in Santa Monica. If you fit the bill and you're interested, call the Hotline: 323-936-4943.
I assume this isn't for Heroes since NBC would probably need to coordinate it.
Lost won't premiere until early next year, but we're already hearing that several former cast members might be coming back to the show. This being Lost, we have no idea how this will happen. Did the bomb succeed? Will it be flashbacks? Ghosts? Time travel? Clones? Robots? Did they never really die in the first place?
Update: The post on Grunberg's page was a retweet originally written by someone else. (Apparently, I need Grunny to control my mind and actions!)
Greg Grunberg is reading my mind.
Yesterday, the Heroes actor tweeted a short rant about The Listener, NBC's new show about a paramedic who can read people's minds. As everyone who watches Heroes knows, Grunberg plays a mind reader on his show, which also airs on NBC.
Here are Grunberg's thoughts on the new mind reader in town:
"wht is ths "The Listener" crap. thr's alrdy a show abt a mindreader on tv, its called heroes, & @greggrunberg is all we need."
(S03E25) In my early look at this finale, I laid a pretty broad hint as to the major twist at the end of this volume, and I was impressed with some of the deductive abilities of our readers. And the fact that one of you got it exactly right. Now that we've all seen the final cut of the closing chapter of the "Fugitives" volume of Heroes, we can really look back at it and see how we think things have gone.
What was needed was to wipe the slate clean, resolve as many of the dangling plot threads as possible, and establish a tabula rasa for "Volume Five." Or as much of one as we can this far into a series. After all, these last two volumes have left some pretty sour tastes in many mouths. The set up for interesting things to come next year was definitely well done. I'm more interested in what's going to happen in "Redemption" than I was excited about what happened in this finale.
The other night, Band From TV gave a concert to raise money for autism research. The band features Greg Grunberg, James Denton, Adrian Pasdar, Hugh Laurie, Bob Guiney, and others. Of course, I'm assuming that's Pasdar. It could be Sylar. Not the best sound quality, but it's worth seeing (and there are more videos here). Take a look at who joins them on tambourine near the end.
Question: is it possible for 
There's been plenty of talk the past week about a former cast member of 
(S04E03) Let's talk candidly. After all, it looks like you and I are the only ones left watching this show. Remember the good old days when 
(S04E02) Things are definitely getting interesting again. I'm glad 
(S04E01) Volume Five - "Redemption"
I have no idea what 
Update: The post on Grunberg's page 
(S03E25) In my 
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