About 2 weeks ago, I bought the first few episodes of Heroes on itunes. I had heard good things about the show from a few sources, and after watching the first episode, I was hooked. I decided to watch the whole series so far. There was lots to catch up on since Heroes began last fall, but I watched all 15 shows. Now I'm fully informed and ready to see #16 when it airs tomorrow night! If you aren't familiar with the show, the main characters are people in the process of discovering that they have some kind of special power: the ability to fly, to hear people's thoughts, to heal from any kind of injury, to paint the future or to manipulate time. Each hero wrestles with the discovery, pondering what responsibility comes with his or her ability. Though this inner dialogue is common with super-hero stories, there are some reasons Heroes is different.
One thing I like about the show is that not all of the main characters are chiseled and fantastic-looking. For me, it's more realistic that some of the heroes could be regular people we know, who may not even be as good looking as us! Another thing I like is that the heroes go through the normal parts of their lives and the heroic parts at the same time. They go to school, spend time with family, eat at a diner and run for Congress. There are no alter egos (except for the Niki/Jessica thing which I won't get into here). It's not like Clark Kent having to ditch his glasses and wear a uniform.
I also think the premise of why the heroes have different abilities is clever. A genetics professor theorized that through evolution certain people in world would start to exhibit exceptional traits. To make it more interesting, the professor was murdered and his son is continuing the search for the people with super-charged DNA. It's scientific enough to suspend belief, but not too complicated.
Watching a dramatic, hour-long series that involves science fiction is highly unusual for me. It's made me ponder what kind of super power I would like to have. Whatever my power, I would want to use it anonymously. I could be like Audrey Tautao in Amelie (a French movie you should see if you haven't, and don't give me the "I can't read subtitles" excuse). I guess it would be easier to be anonymous if I were invisible. So, I have just one question: How come whenever a superhero has the power to be invisible, his or her clothes become invisible, too?
