TVSquad

(S02E11) When Kristin offered up the chance to review the Fall (Season?) Finale of Heroes, I couldn't resist stepping in to help. While this episode lived up to a lot of the promises of the season, much like last season's finale, it may have been a little lighter on the action than you'd want. There are a lot of big changes for a lot of the characters and yes, the promised "hero" death. We get resolutions on the virus plot, the Sylar/Mya journey, Hiro's quest to stop Adam, the Bennet situation, and in the end, there's enough to entice us to come back for more. It's all here and let me tell you, if Kristin was yawning and checking her watch through the last episode, there wasn't time this week. This episode is absolutely jam-packed from start to finish. "Volume Two" wraps, and as with last year we get a teaser of Volume Three. But we'll get to all of that after the jump.

(S02E10) For the second to last episode of the season, I found tonight's show a bit slow. It had it's cool parts--I even have dedicated a section to them at the bottom of the post--but I looked at my watch a lot throughout the episode.

Overall, I think Heroes has come a long way since the beginning of the season. I think many Heroes viewers are just spoiled from the novelty and plot twists of the first season so they are critical when stories/characters aren't up to snuff.

But, that said, I am looking forward to the season finale. As the ads keep saying, "It all comes down to this."

(S02E09) "You've gone native. Are you kidding me?" Noah Bennet to Mohinder Suresh.

Just when you thought Mohinder couldn't get any stupider, he goes and shoots Noah Bennet in the eye. He is really in too deep with this company. And lately, he is making Matt Parkman look like a genius. (Wait, did Parkman just make me say that? Dumb joke, I know.) More on this after the jump because it basically took up the whole episode.

But before I go through all the storylines for this week, let me just say that I was so relieved that those ridiculous mascara-plague twins were absent from this week's Heroes. And just so I don't get too excited about it, I put a picture of them in the post to remind me that they are still on the show. (However, they are the vehicle to get the devilish Sylar back in the states so I suppose I forgive them on some level.)

I have to admit that I don't really get why so many Heroes fans are up in arms about this second season. I've heard everything from "sophomore slump" to "it has jumped the shark" to "it sucks!" and I don't agree with any of those viewpoints.

Has it been the intense, oh-my-God look how this episode ended in another cliffhanger thrill ride of the first season? No, but I think that's more a case of how the last season ended and how they had to set up this new season, with new plots and new heroes and old heroes in new situations. And I think that the show really kicked into gear with Monday's fantastic installment.

After 15 consecutive days of Mohammed (TV shows) coming to the mountain (the Beverly Hilton hotel), today the mountain (actually, the TCA membership) went to Mohammed. Two bus loads of TV critics boarded vehicles to hit five sound stages and the offices of TMZ.com.

First up was The Closer at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. Kyra Sedgwick and other cast members of the TNT drama mixed and mingled on the show's squad room set. Most reporters hovered around Sedgwick to inquire about her Emmy nomination for Lead Actress in a Drama Series, the show's new season and husband Kevin Bacon.

(S01E17) Damn, this is good TV. Heroes has raised the bar for itself again. That's my review, thanks for stopping by, I look forward to reading your comments.

Seriously though, I don't know where to start. The show this week focuses on one main story: the life and career of that "company man," Mr. Bennet, the man with a hidden first name, aka HRG. He is, as we knew, mysterious, calculating, and deceptive. He's also intelligent, conflicted, and loving. Jack Coleman, who plays this character teasing out all his layered glory, deserves an Emmy based on this episode alone.

Do we love or do we hate the horned rimmed glasses clad character of Mr. Bennet better known as HRG? On one hand he seems to have dedicated his life and career protecting his cheerleader daughter Claire, on the other he puts his family and others in jeopardy with his lying, manipulative memory zapping ways. Its hard for anyone who meets the actor who plays HRG to resist asking if he's a good or bad guy.

On the next episode of Heroes,airing Monday on NBC, Jack Coleman, the actor who portrays HRG, says that those questions will be answered as his character's motivations are revealed. Out of all the episodes he alludes to this one as his favorite, "I'll just say that at the end of episode 117, I will not tell you exactly what it is but its very emotional and stuck with me for a while."

Which makes everyone wonder: what on earth kind of superhero story line would bring a mostly stoic actor to an emotional blunder? Usually thats the kind of talk when someone is going to be written off a show, giving no hints to his character's demise he does admit, "There are some relatively profound changes heading toward HRG, but i don't know that they are going to continue [them] or what's going to happen into the next season."

Interesting.

The entire cast of the NBC hit Heroes will appear on CNN's Larry King Live Friday at 9.

Now, I'm sure it's a pretty safe bet that King hasn't seen even one episode of the show, and he'll rely on producers and researchers to give him notes on the show. Though this never seems to help him for some reason. So I'm sure we can look forward to the following questions:

"OK, as I understand it, all of you people are trapped on some island, right?"

"So Jack Coleman...are you the cheerleader that needs to be saved?"

"Let's go around the room...what do each of you think of this Anna Nicole Smith story?"

You've probably seen all of those CBS promos that say that Shark, the new James Woods legal drama, is the "most watched new show." Then how come the Nielsen numbers say that Heroes, the new drama over on NBC, averages 14.5 million viewers while Shark averages 13.4 million?

It's because CBS is using an odd little bit of ratings math. CBS released a statement to explain why they're saying that Shark is the most watched new show. Combined with the Washington Post's explanation of what CBS is talking about, it gives me the type of headache I used to get when trying to read chemistry textbooks back in high school.

Various things I've been thinking about lately.

1. I don't know why I didn't notice this before, but the guy who plays Horn-Rimmed Glasses Man on Heroes, Jack Coleman, is the guy who played Steven Carrington on Dynasty in the 80s! I didn't recognize him at all. Not that I watched Dynasty. I was a Knot's Landing guy. Great hair though.