Heroes is an American Emmy Award-nominated science fiction drama television series, created by Tim Kring, which premiered on NBC on September 24, 2006. The show tells the story of several people who "thought they were like everyone else... until they realized they have incredible abilities" such as telepathy, time travel and flight. These people soon realize they have a role in preventing a catastrophe and saving mankind. The series emulates the writing style of American comic books with short, multi-episode story arcs that build upon a larger, more encompassing arc. Kring said "we have talked about where the show goes up to five seasons."
When the series premiered in the United States, it was the night's most-watched program among adults aged 18–49, attracting 14.3 million viewers overall and receiving the highest rating for any NBC drama premiere in five years. On October 6, 2006, NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly announced Heroes had been picked up for a full season, and on January 17, 2007, Reilly announced Heroes had been picked up for a second season. The second season of Heroes will consist of 24 episodes] and the first season of a new spinoff, Heroes: Origins, will include six episodes.[8] The second season will premiere on September 24, 2007.
Season 1: Genesis
The show features an ensemble cast of twelve main characters. Although NBC's cast page[10] lists only ten characters, Leonard Roberts (D.L. Hawkins), who first appeared in the series' fifth episode, was an additional member of the original full-time cast. Later Jack Coleman (Noah Bennet) was upgraded from a recurring role to become the twelfth full-time cast member as of "Fallout".
The main cast, not all of whom have been shown to possess powers, consists of:
* Noah Bennet (Jack Coleman), more commonly referred to as "Mr. Bennet" or "the Man in Horn-Rimmed Glasses", a father who works for the Primatech Paper Company, which is actually a cover operation for an organization that investigates people with superhuman abilities.
* Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere), Mr. Bennet's adopted daughter, a high school cheerleader who lives in Odessa, Texas, and has a spontaneous regenerative ability.
* Simone Deveaux (Tawny Cypress), an art dealer and gallery owner whose skepticism and complicated romantic life are tested.
* D.L. Hawkins (Leonard Roberts), the husband of Niki and father of Micah, has the power to alter his physical tangibility and phase through solid objects, both organic and inorganic.
* Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera), an artist living in New York who can paint future events during precognitive trances. He also writes and draws a comic book called 9th Wonders! which has also been shown to depict the future. He has problems with drugs.
* Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka), a programmer from Tokyo with the ability to manipulate the space-time continuum. He is convinced that he is a hero, and with other "special persons", he can change the future.
* Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg), a Los Angeles police officer with the ability to hear other people's thoughts.
* Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar), a New York Congressional candidate with the ability of self-propelled flight.
* Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia), a former hospice nurse and Nathan's younger brother. He is an empath with the ability to absorb the powers of others he has been near and recall them.
* Micah Sanders (Noah Gray-Cabey), D.L. and Niki's son and a child prodigy, Micah is a technopath, allowing him to "talk" to electrical devices, which gives him control of machines and electronic devices.
* Niki Sanders (Ali Larter), the wife of D.L. and mother of Micah. A former internet stripper from Las Vegas who exhibits superhuman strength and an alternate personality who goes by the name of Jessica.
* Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy), a professor of genetics from India who travels to New York to investigate the death of his father, Chandra. Through his investigations, he comes into contact with people his father listed as possessing superhuman abilities.
The main antagonist in season one is Sylar (Zachary Quinto), a serial killer who hunts super-powered individuals in order to take their abilities. Additionally, the first season slowly reveals who and what is responsible for a plot to destroy New York City. The series also features many guest and recurring characters, including friends and family of the main cast, criminals and villains, and other individuals with remarkable powers.
Season 2: Generations
Zachary Quinto and James Kyson Lee, who were recurring characters in the first season, join the main cast for the second season. They are joined by new cast members David Anders, Dana Davis and Dania Ramírez.[18] Santiago Cabrera, Tawny Cypress, and Leonard Roberts are not listed as part of the main cast.[citation needed]
* Takezo Kensei (David Anders), a legendary 1,000 year old warrior with the power of immortality.
* Ando Masahashi (James Kyson Lee), Hiro Nakamura's friend, coworker, and travelling companion. He does not have any superhuman abilities.
* Maya Herrera (Dania Ramírez), a Dominican who is on the run from the police. She has superhuman abilities, although they have not yet been revealed.
* Monica (Dana Davis), described as a "young hero" who is willing to "give up everything to help the people around her."
* Sylar (Zachary Quinto), a former watchmaker with an intuitive understanding of how things work. He is a serial killer who seeks out superhuman individuals, killing them in order to take their powers. Sylar has multiple acquired abilities
Plot
The plot of Heroes is designed to be similar to the stories of comic books. Like comic books, Heroes has large overall arcs and small arcs within the main arc. No matter what characters exist and what events make up a season, all seasons of Heroes will involve ordinary people who discover their abilities and their reactions to their self-discovery.
First season
Each episode reveals new answers and questions and progresses the story and/or the characters. There is an overall arc of the first season that revolves around stopping an explosion of immense proportions that happens in the future. That arc is initially carried by two characters, Hiro Nakamura and Isaac Mendez, the former having seen the event in the future and the latter having painted it from his visions.
The first four episodes of the first season revolved primarily around characters discovering their powers, dealing with the issues of normal life and coping with the consequences of their discovery.
At the end of the fourth episode, a smaller arc began with the message "Save the cheerleader, save the world", which is tied to the explosion already foreseen. By the end of that arc, the characters slowly discovered their abilities and the existence of others like them, and some of them even began to realize the need to come together to prevent a catastrophe.
As characters progress through the first season learning of others similar to them, the plot turns to the question of how the explosion seen in Hiro's trip to the future and Isaac's paintings will occur and what role the various characters will play to stop it or cause it.
Heroes: Origins
On May 14, 2007 NBC announced that during the 2007-2008 season, the network will air a six-episode Heroes spinoff called Heroes: Origins. The show will introduce a new character each week, and viewers will select which one stays for the following season.[20][21]
Recurring elements
Three elements appear repeatedly throughout the series: the helix, the scar and the eclipse. The scar appears to be man-made, but the circumstances surrounding the helix – its meaning and its manifestations – are a slowly-unraveling mystery.
Helix
The helix is a symbol that appears quite frequently throughout the series. The helix symbol consists of an "S" shape from which three lines extend, with two on the left and one on the right. The "S" shape resembles a strand of RNA during transcription, which would make the lines extending outward the nucleotides during the transcription phase.
In episode 12 ("Godsend") the symbol appears on the sword hilt and Ando Masahashi remarks that it appears to be a combination of two Kanji characters: 才 (Sai) meaning "Great Talent" and 与 (Yo) meaning "Godsend". During an interview at the Wizard World in Los Angeles, writer and Co-Producer Aron Coleite stated that it literally means “God sending great ability.” Writer and co-executive producer Michael Green stated that the writers know it as "the helix." This symbol frequently appears as a pattern formed by mundane objects, but it also recurs on certain plot-significant items and on several characters:
* On various paintings by Isaac Mendez.
* On Jessica's back whenever she surfaces as Niki's alternate personality. When Jessica is repressed, the symbol does not appear on Niki's back. This also appeared on a painting of "Jessica" by Isaac. The symbol was hidden under an extra layer of paint. Later on, Jessica hides the symbol (an apparent tattoo) under a layer of foundation makeup.
* As recurring pattern in Dr. Chandra Suresh's genetic profiling program. It also appears on the front of his book, Activating Evolution.
* On the hilt of a katana once owned by 17th century samurai Takezo Kensei. This katana is held by Hiro Nakamura.
* As a logo for Primatech Paper, in "Company Man".
* On jewelry, most notably the Haitian's necklace and Hana Gitelman's earrings and ring.
* On the flag and katana of a samurai in 1671, witnessed by Hiro Nakamura in the episode "How to Stop an Exploding Man" during the preview for Volume Two: Generations.
Scar
A mark consisting of two black parallel lines has been shown close to the neck of multiple super-powered characters. According to "Wireless, Part 4" and "How Do You Stop an Exploding Man, Part 1", the mark is the scar left by the two-pronged needle of a pneumatic injection device, which, as revealed in a biography of Hana Gitelman in the Heroes 360 experience, injects a radioisotope to allow tracking.[23] All of the marked characters have had encounters with Mr. Bennet and/or the Haitian. The following have displayed it:
* Matt Parkman
* Ted Sprague
* Hana Gitelman
* Claude
* Isaac Mendez
Eclipse
In addition to being the series logo, a solar eclipse has been a recurring image in the series itself, though a terrestrial eclipse (an eclipse in which the Earth covers the Sun, as viewed from some observation point away from the Earth) is used in the series' title sequence. So far, the solar eclipse has appeared as:
* The background of the title card of the series.
* A painting by Isaac Mendez.
* A "global event" in "Genesis".
* A future event referenced in a newspaper.
* A picture in Mohinder Suresh's apartment.
* The reflection of a light in a hospital waiting room in "Six Months Ago".
* An event during Hiro Nakamura's visit back to 17th century, Japan in "How to Stop an Exploding Man"
Reception
Critical acclaim
After completing half its first season, Heroes had already collected an assortment of honors and accolades. On December 10, 2006 the American Film Institute named Heroes one of the ten "best television programs of the year". Three days later on December 13, the Writers Guild of America nominated the program for "best new series" of 2007. The next day (December 14), the Hollywood Foreign Press Association nominated the program for a Golden Globe Award for "best television drama", and nominated Masi Oka (Hiro Nakamura) for Best Supporting Actor on a TV Series. Neither the series nor the actor won; the show lost out to ABC's popular medical drama Grey's Anatomy and Oka lost to Jeremy Irons, who played Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester in Channel 4's Elizabeth I. Heroes won the award for Favorite New TV Drama at the 2007 People's Choice Awards. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People nominated Heroes on January 9, 2007 for an Image Award in the "Outstanding Drama Series" category,[28] but the show again lost to Grey's Anatomy. On February 21, 2007, it was announced that Heroes was nominated for five Saturn Awards. The nominations included "Best Network Television Series", "Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series" for both Greg Grunberg and Masi Oka, and "Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series" for Hayden Panettiere and Ali Larter. The series won the award for "Best Network Television Series"; as well, Masi Oka and Hayden Panettiere won the awards they were nominated for.
On July 19, 2007, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced their nominations for the 2007 Primetime Emmy awards. Heroes was nominated in eight categories, including Outstanding Drama Series. The pilot episode, "Genesis", earned six nominations: Outstanding Directing (David Semel), Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series, Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series, and Outstanding Stunt Coordination. The episode "Five Years Gone" also received a nomination for Outstanding Visual Effects for a Series. Finally, Masi Oka was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
On July 21, 2007, the Television Critics Association awarded Heroes with the prestigious Outstanding Program of the Year title during their 23rd Annual TCA Awards ceremony.
The cast of Heroes was named in the 2006 Time Magazine's Person of the Year issue under "People Who Mattered". In Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald lift-out section, "The Guide", listed Heroes as one of the best shows to come in 2007. It was described as a "Modern twist of The Tomorrow People".
Ratings
USA TV Ratings
Heroes was NBC's top-rated scripted show for the 2006-2007 television season, and the most successful of the shows which debuted in that period. It ranked twenty-first in the ratings, with an average of 14.3 million viewers in the United States.
UK TV Ratings
The series aired first on Sci Fi UK. The premiere attracted 579,000 viewers on its first showing; with three repeat showings averaging 150,000. The series averaged 450,000 viewers, almost four times more than any other viewership for a program on this channel. Terrestrial airing began on BBC2 on Wednesday, July 25, 2007 at 9:00 p.m., and for the first time in HD in the UK on BBC HD. It attracted an audience of 4.3 million viewers.
Australian TV Ratings
The first season on the Seven Network, beginning Wednesday nights at 8:30 p.m. The series debuted strongly, attracting more than 2 million viewers in the five capital cities; however it quickly changed to a number closer to 1 million due to competition against higher rating shows on other channels that were placed in the same timeslot. Towards the end of the first season, the show was moved to the 8:30 p.m. Thursday timeslot in the cities of Sydney and Brisbane, which saw a significant increase in its numbers in those markets, especially in Brisbane.
French TV Ratings
The series currently airs on TF1, beginning Saturday nights at 8:50 p.m. The series debuted strongly, with the premiere attracting just over 6 million viewers in France.
Dutch TV Ratings
The series currently airs on RTL5 on Thursday nights at 9:30 pm. The series premiere was not watched well (405,000 viewers) but a replay drew 572,000 viewers . Currently the series draws some 350,000 viewers each episode (± 8%).
Production notes
When the writing team works on an episode, each writer takes a character and writes the individual scenes surrounding that character. These stories are then combined and given to the episode writer, allowing every writer to contribute to every episode. This allows the writing team to finish scripts faster so the filming crew can shoot more scenes at a location.
A special 73-minute version of the pilot was first screened to a large audience at the 2006 Comic Con in San Diego.[38] Initially it was reported that this unaired pilot would not be released, however Tim Kring confirmed in a subsequent interview that it will be included on the first season DVD set.
In keeping with the comic book thematic elements used in the show, professional comic book artist Tim Sale was brought in to provide the artwork used as the work of Isaac Mendez. Mendez's work in the 9th Wonders! comicbook on the show is also the work of Sale. Additionally, the font used throughout the show in the various captions and credits is reminiscent of traditional hand-rendered comic book lettering. The font was created by Sale and is based on his handwriting style.
The series is filmed in Los Angeles, California and Santa Clarita, California.
Each week NBC releases a Heroes Webcomic. The comics give additional character background and plot information not shown in the television episodes. These graphic novels will continue on what is believed to be a weekly basis during the show's summer hiatus.
Music
In France, the theme music of Heroes is composed by Victoria Petrosillo. Her song Le Héros d'un autre is used by television network TF1 to replace the show's original incidental music. Moreover, the network had to create an opening credit sequence in order to play Petrosillo's theme song.
Heroes 360 experience
Heroes 360 experience is a digital extension of the series released on January 19, 2007 and which explores the Heroes universe. Viewers can investigate clues from the show on the official website.
Emerson lawsuit
On October 2, 2006, Emerson Electric Company, an appliance market competitor of NBC's owner General Electric, filed suit in federal court against NBC. The suit was in regards to a scene that appeared in "Genesis", the pilot episode, where Claire Bennet reached into an active garbage disposal unit — labeled "In-Sink-Erator" — to retrieve a ring and severely mangled her hand. Emerson claimed the scene "casts the disposer in an unsavory light, irreparably tarnishing the product" by suggesting serious injuries would result "in the event consumers were to accidentally insert their hand into one."
Emerson had asked for a ruling barring future broadcasts of the pilot, which was previously available on NBC's Web site and had already aired on NBC Universal-owned cable networks USA Network and The Sci Fi Channel. It also sought to block NBC from using any Emerson trademarks in the future.
On February 23, 2007, the case against NBC was dropped. NBC Universal and Emerson Electric reached an agreement to settle the lawsuit outside of court.
The episode in question was briefly unavailable in the iTunes Store, but an edited version was soon made available for download. A non-edited version of the episode was shown in the BBC Two premiere on July 25, 2007.
