Heroes: Volume One

[ancientwisdom]

I just finished Heroes, Volume One on DVD. Interesting stuff. I don’t have TV, so I wasn’t watching during the broadcast season - I devoured the whole thing in one prolonged gulp over the past two weeks. Some thoughts (with spoilers):

Comments

[d_c_m]

Amen. Your comments are excellent. Hubby and I have been TiVoing and watching the show as it airs. It is good, but yes, I could be great.

And Hoo-Rah on your observation of the female characters. :)

[ninja_turbo]

I have some of the same problems with the show, especially the question of strong independant female leads. Another possible character to bring in and place in that position would be Hana "Wireless" Gitelman, who showed up only briefly in the show, but had substantial presence in the transmedia material on NBC's site, with one of their online graphic novels devoted to her backstory. We'll need to see her come more front-and-center, but still. Kristen Bell of Veronica Mars fame will also be coming in for a recurring guest star role of some sort

[ancientwisdom]

I hope that volume one is like B5 season one -- a solid start for much better things to come!

[dillochan]

you can watch the show for free on NBC.com the Wednesday following the original broadcast. If you really wanted to...

[ancientwisdom]

No way. There's a reason I don't watch shows until they come out on DVD -- I don't like having a good story broken up into tiny chunks! I need bigger pieces to sink my teeth into. =)

[prosewitch]

I just finished watching it on DVD as well, and I agree with a lot of your comments. Simone in particular bugged the shit out of me--watch weak woman get wrenched around by the men in her life, and finally killed by them!

Maybe the show was talked up too much to me, or maybe I'm not enough of a superheroes genre fan to begin with, but I also think the show was good but not great. The narrative style was interesting but seemed kinda artificial (what style isn't, though, huh?). I'm undecided on how soon to start season 2, if at all...

[princess706]

I just finished the season finale. I've literally been waiting to do so until I read your post. Didn't want any of those spoilers! (Thanks for the warning!)

Both of the major female characters (Claire and Niki) are strongly determined by their roles as a daughter and as a mother...

The show is all about the stereotypes. Noah Bennett is "strongly determined" by his role as a father. Isaac was "stongly determined" by his addiction. Nathan is "stongly determined" by his 'role as big brother and protector.

I'll agree that the show needs more female leads. I find it interesting that you're bored by the women, but not the men. It seems similar to me.

I was mostly disappointed that the image-shifter really wasn't the overweight middle aged black woman from the voting polls.

I literally just shut down my DVD player, so I'm going to go assemble more thoughts on Heros right now. Have a great night!

[ancientwisdom]

I agree that the stereotypes are there for both men and for women in the show. For me, it's a taste thing -- I like kick-ass female action heroes (Laura Croft, etc.) I think there's room for both "domestic" stereotypes and "adventure" stereotypes in a show like this, and I'm disappointed that only "domestic" roles are available for the main women right now.

Deeper down, Claire and Niki just bug me. Claire's power essentially makes her the eternal victim -- she can die over and over, and she'll still need someone to rescue her! (She has the potential to grow out of that role, though, and she could shape up to be a character I like). I kind-of like Niki's "Incredible Hulk" thing (don't make her angry!), but she oscillates between victimhood and overcompensation a bit too much for me. I'd have liked to have seen more of Eden -- she was sharp, competent, and interesting.

I SO agree about the shapeshifter! =)