TVSquad

(S04E11) I am thankful that we are finally getting to the meat of this volume. I am thankful that we are inching closer to the inevitable conclusion of this battle between Sylar and Nathan over who will retain control of the body. And I am thankful that Angela Petrelli, the always incomparable Cristine Rose, was back this week.

Also making a return appearance for the Bennett family Thanksgiving dinner was Sandra, along with her new beau Doug. And, of course, Mr. Muggles. It's sweet that Muggs fell in love with Doug's dog, but that doesn't excuse Sandra for dating such a total tool. It's a little awkward to think of going to your ex's holiday, but it's not unheard of. Particularly since she probably already knew Claire was going to be there.

Not to be outdone, Samuel had a Thanksgiving dinner of his own back at the Carnival, but Hiro certainly wasn't thankful to be there.

(S04E06) If there was a theme this week, it's about nurturing and guiding people with abilities. We followed up with Sylar, now in the nefarious embrace of the Sullivan Brothers Carnival, as well as Peter and Hiro, and by extension Emma. The quest to save Hiro's life from the brain tumor that's killing him even affords Noah the opportunity to atone for his cold past by providing support to a former kid he and the Haitian had "visited" back in his Company days.

We got some very nice character moments this week. I like Hiro in the role of mentor to Emma, as it gives him a focus for his crazy optimism. Plus, we got to see how stopping time makes a magic show even more awesome -- I know that's the kind of crap I'd be doing with that ability. Screw saving the world, watch me make this woman vanish.

(S04E05) I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but sometimes I wonder if we don't have more people reading TV Squad than Heroes has viewers. And so I want to keep reminding fallen fans who may have jumped ship over the past two not-so-great seasons that things are going much better this season.

There's a better balance in each episode than there's been. In the past few weeks, we've been sticking to mostly three storylines per week. This time around, we checked in on Peter, Claire and Sylar (after his unearthing last week). They're allowing the characters room to breathe and be themselves, rather than just rushing into the next adventure.

It was character growth and development that I'd missed the most, and we're finally getting it. Zachary Quinto was fantastic this episode, and even Hayden Panettiere showed an inkling of range. Oh, who am I kidding, she was as wooden as ever, but that's why we like her ... right? That kind of looks like a cardboard cut-out up there, doesn't it?

(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.

(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.

(S04E01) Volume Five - "Redemption"

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.

The Heroes casting reports just won't stop. Yesterday, we learned that Prison Break's Robert Knepper would come on board as a new villain. Now, Star Wars baddie Ray Park is in talks to appear in the show's next season for a sizeable arc.

As Darth Maul in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Park famously wielded a double-bladed light saber to slice up Liam Neeson. He showed his goofier side as Toad in the original X-Men film and recently as a Skywalker Ranch security guard in Fanboys. We still don't know any details about Park's role on Heroes, but some Interweb bloggos are convinced that he'll play the "Knife Thrower" described in Heroes' recent casting breakdowns.