Monday, May 21, 2007

Heroes


Well, its been ages since this blog has been updated, exams and stuff you know! heh

Over the past few months, 8 to be exact something which has been deemed " a worldwide phenomenon", " the most exciting and well written tv experiences this decade" TV epic known as Heroes has graced our TV of for me and countless other worldwide viewers, our computer monitors.

I guess i feel like writing about this show, trying to gain some insight into this series. Over the years, many broadcasters have tried to emulate the success, intrigue, and mystery of series such as Lost, a hit for ABC also deemed to be the one of the best shows on tv today. And i believe, as well as many others that NBC has found this in Heroes. Dont get me wrong, i know there are some skeptics that dont buy into these superhero crap like xmen and all this science fiction fantasy based stories, with the exception of the X-Files, which i still think is the landmark.

Why is Heroes so good and in my opinion far better then Lost and other shows. I think primarily because despite its fantastical story elements and such, it is highly grounded in realism, ironic isnt it, a show about highly evolved humans that is real? Well, when i say real i mean in relation to its characters, the decisions and the exploration of the notion of right and wrong and how mainly, there is no right answer to what we all do in life.

Juxtapose the normal superhero scenario as well as more the whole good vs evil. Here, u have the bad guys vs the bad guys, and its clearly stated in the beginning, but you will have one character for example like Wolverine, or Locke who are somewhat ambigous, meaning that they are sometimes inclined to do things because it benefits them but ultimately they succumb the will of the good for example. yeah, most action films, dramas have that scenario and we know what to expect, in terms of character and so on.

However, with Heroes, almost every single character is stuck within this gray area, the responsibilities of a normal individual who wakes up to find themselves bestowed with awesome gifts. the best character that i can use to illustrate this would be the character of Nathan Petrelli, to fans who would know him as a character who we never know what to expect from him, almost in every scene he shows us a side of him that makes us rethink and reevaluate him as a person. He really feels the need to do good, but at what cost? How does he balance his political ambitions with that of obligations to his family, and even so, whithin his won family, he has the crippled wife to whom he is responsible for in a way, the doting mother who only wants whats "best for him and his brother, who looks up to him and needs his support and strength to stop the impending doom. I wont go into spoilers here, no point, no one reads this anyways, ahaha so i will just say that as the season c0mes to its close, we never really know what Nathan is going to do. I for one, as a viewer and audience, understand and appreciate the complexities and conflicts that he feels. And i say this not only for Peter, but for every character. Jessica/Nikki is also a fine example, everything she has ever done, in her eys is for the benefit of her family, mainly her son, but it is pretty much clear that the stuff she has done is very very wrong and evil, but on one level we see that we cant really balme her on one level for the stuff that she has done but on another level it would be wrong to do anything but despise her.

And this realism relates to every aspect, friendships, relationships, self realisation, and many more. Another thing that makes this a good show is the writing in relation to the overall story arc, the writers and producers have taken extreme car in esnuring that questions posed early on in the season will be answered gradually, and for a show that deals with a large character base, it sets itself apart from Lost in my opinion by maintaining a very good balance, ther eis no clear HERO n Heroes, some may say it is Hiro, some may say it is Peter, some have even gone so far to say that Sylar himself, which by the way i think is one of the coolest Villains out there in TV land right now as the hero of the series, it never detracts from the main story of the show, where as if compared to Lost i believe that the writers tehre have written themselves into confusion, by coming with really novel and interesting ideas at the outset but without really following through and leading it back to the story arc.

Apart from that, u have your superpowers, moive like one hour shows, and brilliant production design, maintaining its very dark and gray overtones trhough the show such as CSI Las Vegas and its neon colored as well as dark grey shadings in relation to the theme and context of the series.

I guess u could say that i write this as a welcomed distraction form y exams this friday or just to keep myself occupied while i wait till the season finale of Heroes is on fanpop. Either way, i suggest that if any of you have the time, check it out, and if ur already part of the fanbase, enjoy the finale, and if by the looks of it, it is planting a very interesting story for the second.

now, i have got a world to save.... my own. heh