Posts with tag superheroes
Posted May 1st 2007 9:02AM by Michael Canfield
Filed under: OpEd, Heroes, Episode Reviews
(S01E20) This episode is listed as "String Theory" on my PVR and some places online, but on
NBC's site and the screen itself it says "Five Years Gone" so that's what I went with.
"What if?" stories are fun. They allow the creators to play around with characters and show them in unexpected new lights. This isn't a purely "what if?" story, however. What happens here determines "our" Hiro's (younger Hiro's) ability to return to the present and change history in the coming episodes -- or fail to.
Continue reading Heroes: Five Years Gone
Posted Apr 30th 2007 1:01PM by Kevin Kelly
Filed under: Interviews, Celebrities, Heroes
Warning! There be some mild spoilers ahead. Proceed at your own risk, because Hiro ain't here to turn back time. Plus you can click the images for larger versions.TV Squad was invited to visit the set of
Heroes last month, and it's just about time for the episode we saw them filming to hit the airwaves. Tonight's episode is the much talked-about Episode 20 'String Theory', where Hiro and Ando have journeyed five years into the future, and encounter "Super Hiro" -- who is basically normal Hiro with a ponytail, soul patch, Matrix-esque clothes, a flawless English accent, and much more control over his powers. However, something has gone wrong ... right? Because if he had total mastery of those time-bending and teleporting abilities, he could've stopped New York from going boom.
As we saw in the last episode, Hiro and Ando find some sort of mish-mash network of strings, photos, and more in Isaac's old loft, where Future Hiro has clearly set up shop and appears to be working out some problems with the timestream in a sort of
A Beautiful Mind fashion. It looks like he's been charting connections between people and events, and I'm sure we'll see more of that. During our visit, we caught up with Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka), Ando (James Kyson Lee), and Kaito Nakamura (Hiro's father, and Trek legend George Takei) while they were filming Episode 21 'The Hard Part', and we got to watch them at work and talk with them about their characters, the show, and what lies ahead.
Continue reading TV Squad on the set of Heroes, plus Masi Oka interview
Posted Mar 18th 2007 10:46AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: TV on DVD, Animation
No, not the wacky talk show version on The Cartoon Network. I'm talking about the original cartoon that aired in the mid-60s.
Space Ghost and Dino Boy will be released on July 17. And since this is one of those "it's not official yet but it's definitely happening" deals, no details about extras or features have been announced yet, but expect something in the next week or so.
I remember watching Space Ghost when I was a kid, the repeats not the original (I'm not that old), but I remember the show as being teamed up with another superhero named Frankenstein, Jr. Anyone else remember that? I distinctly remember the deep-voiced announcer saying, "Space Ghost!...And Frankenstein, Jr...Jr...Jr," the word echoing for a few seconds. Was this maybe two Hanna-Barbera shows being repackaged for the 70s?
[via TVShowsOnDVD]
Posted Feb 13th 2007 7:27AM by Michael Canfield
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, NBC, OpEd, Heroes
(S01E15) A rough week for some of the heroes makes for another pretty good episode, especially the Parkman and Jessica stuff.
For once, things
appear to be going Matt Parkman's way. He's beaming as he heads off for his first day on a new job as private security. His client turns out to be an a-hole. Matt has
not gotten used to overhearing the negative thoughts everyone he meets seems to have of him.
Just in from Vegas, recently-liberated Jessica has a new job herself; it's the first of what may be many contracts from Mr. Linderman. The cat-and-mouse chase up and down the stairwells was intense. So was Matt's near fatal fall. Jessica chucks him out a high window before finishing what she came to Los Angeles to do. Say what you will about Jessica, but she certainly enjoys herself more than Niki ever has. It was cool that Matt read both Niki's and Jessica's thoughts as they argued in the stairwell.
[Note: that's how I interpreted Jessica & Niki's exchange in the stairwell anyway. See comments by Michelle @ 13 and Bill @16, etc. below.] Wherever they go, the mirror-twins seem to encounter an ample supply of reflective surfaces.
Continue reading Heroes: Run!
Posted Feb 2nd 2007 8:05PM by Meredith O'Brien
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, NBC, FOX, 24, Heroes
Heroes and
24 have more in common than a 9 p.m. time slot on Monday nights.
One actress -- Rena Sofer -- appears as a minor character on both programs.
On 24, she's Jack Bauer's sister-in-law Marilyn Bauer, who was once (or still is?) in love with the American hero, and, if you go by the internet rumor mill, may have had a love child with the CTU agent.
Continue reading Double-take: Actress on both Heroes and 24
Posted Jan 23rd 2007 7:35AM by Michael Canfield
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, NBC, OpEd, Heroes
(S01E12) The month off was enough for me to start missing the show. Chapter Twelve opens two weeks after we last saw our heroes. Jessica has spent the intervening time pummeling prison guards from the looks of the fearful battered bunch that enter Niki/Jessica's cell in the opening scene. Not to worry, Jessica is concocting an insanity defense. Maybe "concocting" is too strong a word. Niki does have a really strong insanity defense. She and her husband D.L. have essentially exchanged places. Now she's the perceived dangerous criminal and D.L. is the sole protector of their son Micha.
Hardly anything has gone the heroes' way during the hiatus. Sure, the Artist came out of his time in Odessa cured of heroin addiction, and is now able to paint without it, but most of the others are still suffering in the wake of previous events.
Continue reading Heroes: Godsend
Posted Dec 5th 2006 7:52AM by Michael Canfield
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, NBC, OpEd, Heroes
(S01E11) Promos for this "fall finale" promised a stunning climax and that "a hero will die." Show creators can't be held accountable for, shall we say, the exuberance of the network publicity machine, but we do get a great episode this time that lives up to the hype. Bear with me, I kind of went overboard this week, with what I'll have to call an overly-extended review, but hey, it's the last episode until January 22nd anyway. Feel free to skim, my feeling won't be hurt.
Claire's Dad initially matches her honesty by revealing that he's known about her ability all along. Before tonight ends the new bond between them is turned on its head. That impressed me. HRG has become one of the most complex and interesting characters on the show. By the way, it's cool when characters actually communicate with each other; that then adds more conflict. It's great to see that happen again and again in this episode, as characters come together and talk about what they know, and to try and figure out just when the frak is going on.
Continue reading Heroes: Fallout
Posted Nov 28th 2006 7:22AM by Michael Canfield
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, NBC, OpEd, Heroes
(S01E10) Like Hiro, we're headed six months into the past. We see some characters showing up in unexpected locations. We get answers. We get lots of answers, in fact, proving once again a show doesn't need to keeps its audience wholly in the dark to sustain interest. Hurray for Tim Kring.
Even though Eden making portly Officer Parkman eat donuts wasn't very nice, it's interesting to see how she was brought into HRG's sphere, and to have it explained how it is that she's not running the entire world. The silent guy can prevent powers from working, and then HRG was able to offer Eden a opportunity: someplace to belong and a purpose. He's good at that, but I wonder what really would have happened to Eden if she'd turned down the offer. Would he have let her walk away like he said?
Continue reading Heroes: Six Months Ago
Posted Nov 21st 2006 7:22AM by Michael Canfield
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, NBC, OpEd, Heroes
(S01E09) I'm going to stick to the episode itself and
mostly leave aside NBC's questionable promotional spots which ran all week. You know the ones I mean. Anna's
preparing [written] a
post on that issue, and it deserves its own post.
Let me get this out of the way too ... I thought the episode rocked. After last week, which was underwhelming, I'm relieved. I didn't even mind the Mohinder scenes this time, which were kept to a minimum, and at least gave us our first really substantial glimpses of the elder Prof. Suresh.
The first touch I liked: Claire passes the quarterback bandaged and slumped in his wheelchair, on her way to finding out she's been voted Homecoming Queen by a coalition of the unpopular. Later, she clocks her bitchy, homophobic, credit-stealing rival. With the help of her best friend, and later Peter, she's learned to embrace her "inner freak."
Continue reading Heroes: Homecoming
Posted Nov 18th 2006 1:29PM by Julia Ward
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, NBC, Industry, Celebrities, Heroes
In an utterly brilliant bit of casting news, George Takei,
Star Trek's Captain Sulu,
will be playing Hiro Nakamura's father on NBC's
Heroes. You can expect Hiro's father to be showing up stateside to bring his super son back to Japan. If you've been watching the series, you know that won't go over too well considering that Hiro is on a mission to save New York City from imploding in five weeks, which - counting reruns - should be just in time for sweeps.
Masi Oka, who plays space-and-time-continuum-bending Hiro, told
TV Guide, "I just hope I get to say, 'Dad! Sulu is my hero, not you!' The sci-fi fans would love it." I'm not even a huge sci-fi fan, and I love it. What else can you say? George Takei's awesomeness cannot be contained.
Related:George Takei on Howard Stern, new Trek and working with ShatnerGeorge Takei: The TV Squad interviewPosted Nov 17th 2006 9:20AM by Michael Canfield
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, OpEd, Smallville, The CW
(S06E08) Lex is phase-shifted or something into another dimension, where he can look and listen, but not touch. You'd think that Lex would like this situation, at least temporarily, as gathering secret intelligence on loved ones is one of favorite pastimes. Chloe tells Lana that seeing Lex turn into static is no stranger than a lot of things that have happened in Smallville. Not to mention on multiple episodes of various
Star Trek series. Because of this dilemma, the episode is packed to the gills with Lex/Lana longing for each other across a void.
Hey, from a distance, the evil nerd who imprisons Lex looks a bit like a young version of
Heroes' Horn-Rim Glasses Guy. In the end, Black-Rimmed Glasses Kid will prove to be no match for Jimmy Olsen's ham radio skills.
Continue reading Smallville: Static
Posted Nov 14th 2006 7:18AM by Michael Canfield
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, NBC, OpEd, Heroes
(S01E08) Mohinder may have "turned his back on his father's work" at least for now, but what I really wish is that he would turn his back on those opening and closing voice-overs. Far too much Mohinder for my taste anyway this episode, even with the vision-quest power he seems to have picked up. Now he's back in India having accomplished nothing in New York, and all of the sudden picked up an ability of his own. Don't we have enough psychic-power types yet? I can't make myself care about one more. Or maybe Mohinder's dead sister is living inside his mind.
A so-so episode overall, with a few cool moments. I did think it was kind of fun that the Texas waitress didn't even know she had a power yet: just thinking it kind of curious that her memory lately had been very, very good. "It's kind of a skill, I guess," she says.
Continue reading Heroes: Seven Minutes to Midnight
Posted Nov 12th 2006 11:55PM by Jen Creer
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, ABC, OpEd, Desperate Housewives
(
S03E08) You know, right up to the end of this episode I thought there were some funny moments, and it was entertaining. However, it seemed clearly to be just a hamster-on-a-treadmill kind of episode, just providing a denouement after the high drama of last week. But, oh, how I was wrong.
First things first. Clearly, the witty bits about Mrs. McCluskey at the beginning of the episode were foreshadowing. Talk about a meddling neighbor; it's one thing to take down somebody's Christmas lights, but if I got somebody's cat neutered, it would start being my cat from the first ship. But clearly, Mrs. McCluskey has access to Mike's garage, so that is our first clue that when the police search Mike's house for the pipe wrench that killed Monique, they aren't going to find anything. And Mrs. McCluskey does love to blackmail people.
Continue reading Desperate Housewives: Children and Art
Posted Nov 10th 2006 9:12AM by Michael Canfield
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, OpEd, Smallville, The CW
(S06E07) Green Arrow is injured when he intervenes in the world's slowest carjacking, which happens on the street below his penthouse.
Such is the danger of super-heroics without Kal-El's invulnerability, although a bullet-proof costumer would have been a good idea. I guess Ollie hasn't seen the
Batman films. However, Ollie compensates for the injury with experimental drugs. Add in the prospect of the Kent's first Thanksgiving without Jonathan and there's your plot. Now that Jonathan's dead, Annette O'Toole's role as Martha has been steadily shrinking into non-existent. That might start to change now, but is Lionel working her, or is he sincere?
Continue reading Smallville: Rage
Posted Nov 7th 2006 7:31AM by Michael Canfield
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, NBC, OpEd, Heroes
(S01E07) Good. It's time we got past the
"What am I?" stuff, and on to
"What do I need to do?" stuff.
Some viewers complain about Peter, but at least he has been trying to figure out what's going on. Only Hiro has been more up-front about his powers, even showing the comic book to fellow
9th Wonders reader Micah this time out. Peter is acting smart. He could have exposed Nathan (in more ways than one) but he decides to help him, and then
to actually talk to him. He's not the only one. Fortunately,
Heroes has decided
not to got the
Lost route, and have nobody attempt, at least, to try reasoning with anyone else, or share information, ever.
Continue reading Heroes: Nothing to Hide
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