Even without catching up with Nikki, D.L, Micah, Candice, or why-did-we-bother-creating-this-character-at-all-I-Can-Hear-The-Internet-Girl, there were too many balls in the air in the season premiere of Heroes. And most of them were worn and pock-marked from overuse. Accidentally meddling with history and being forced to make things right is the oldest time travel trope there is-- combining it with the "your hero isn't the hero you thought he was" chestnut doesn't make it any fresher. And... amensia? Really, that's the best you can do? <shakes head ruefully>.
So let's review the big picture plot threads: We've got a Very Bad Man Molly's having nightmares about. The Linderman conspiracy members are being stalked and killed by one of their own. A virus exists that depowers and kills Heroes. Meanwhile, Peter's got to regain his identity, Mohinder's infiltrating The Company, and Hiro's playing Sancho Panza.
The most intriguing moment was when Nathan saw a scarred reflection of himself. My first thought was that Peter had picked up Candice's ability, Nathan died in the explosion, and that was really Peter. Future Hiro, after all, said that Peter looked much different without his scar. Peter's appearance in the shipping container throws a wrench in that theory, but the flying kid hitting on Claire gives me a different take on that theory. Nathan? Still dead. But the explosion somehow split Peter into multiple people: the flying kid, amnesiac Peter, and guilt-ridden-Peter-as-Nathan. The kid was a little too interested in Claire right out of the gate (although, really, who can blame him-- Hayden Panettiere is a beauty), and his whole robot/alien thing sounded very Peteresque to me. While there's no reason two heroes can't have the same ability, we haven't seen any duplication yet-- so the fact that the kid can fly and has a special interest in Claire makes me wonder if he's a fragment of Peter.
Posted by Peter at September 24, 2007 9:26 PMFrom your lips to the writers' ears, man. If only I had the confidence in the writers that they would take a risk like that with Peter. Hell, that they would take a risk at all with the show. It would be awesome.
It does not help that it is NBC's only certifiable hit coming into the season.
Posted by: Danny on September 25, 2007 5:45 AMFor the first time in pretty much forever I actually watched this live rather than wait for the DVD. It will also be the last time, at least for Heroes.
My gripes:
The one thing I did get out of the experience was that I stuck around for the next show. Did you see Journeyman, Peter? It stars one of the best actors from Rome, and -- as far as I can tell -- looks to be an excellent remake of Quantum Leap. I know you liked that show, and I'd be interested to hear what you think of this one.
Posted by: Dug on September 25, 2007 8:11 AMI still say the best thing for this series would be to wipe the slate completely freakin' clean and give us a whole new batch of heroes (a few guest stars would be OK)... But a cash cow is a cash cow...
Posted by: damon on September 25, 2007 8:16 AMIn an article in Entertainment Weekly - someone associated with the show said that duplicate abilities would start showing up - sorry to ruin your theory about Peter!
Posted by: Sarah on September 27, 2007 11:25 AMIn an article in Entertainment Weekly - someone associated with the show said that duplicate abilities would start showing up - sorry to ruin your theory about Peter!
Posted by: Sarah on September 27, 2007 11:25 AMI second the nomination of Kevin McKidd from Journeyman as a good actor. He's in a few favorite movies of mine from over the pond - Trainspotting and Dog Soldiers. I haven't seen Journeyman, yet, so I'm waiting to see how he pulls off an American accent.
Posted by: Nathan on October 2, 2007 2:46 PMWatched the Journeyman pilot last night, and I'm intrigued. Very Quantum Leapy. They'll probably never explain how/why he's "journeying" because they a) don't know, and b) don't really care. It's not important to the story. But given that his lost love Olivia didn't die in that plane crash but instead started hopping around in time just like he is, it's obviously not an isolated incident-- and whatever the cause, it seems highly improbable for two intimately-connected people to both get "chosen" (or whatever) by chance.
As for the actor, for the start of the episode I was really bugged by his familiarity. His look and his voice reminded me of someone, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then I realized it was an actor who had a recurring role on Judging Amy (among other shows). And then, THAT SAME ACTOR turns up playing his brother! Abso-freakin-genius casting!
Posted by: Peter on October 2, 2007 3:06 PM>> why-did-we-bother-creating-this-character-at-all-I-Can-Hear-The-Internet-Girl
Which character was this referring to?
Posted by: Matthew on October 10, 2007 8:31 PMSo Sad,
this show had such potential- till last seasons "climax" where nothing much happened, (almost) nobody died, and still nobody really cares. I can't seem to get concerned about the characters now, it's just another show where the ratings decide who lives and dies and you know that next season they will all be back because it was just a dream... So sad...
Oh please start a thread on Survivor: China, last night's episode has me in fits! There had better be another twist next week or I'm gonna really be mad.
Posted by: Danielle on October 19, 2007 2:51 PM