Heroes - Pilot Review

Heroes - Pilot
*Spoilers Ahead - you've been warned!

Premieres: Monday, September 25, 2006
Time Slot: 9pm on NBC
Stars: Adrian Pasdar, Milo Ventimiglia, Hayden Panettiere, Ali Larter, Masi Oka, and Tawny Cypress, Greg Grunberg, and Sendhil Ramamurthy

Seriously weeks ago I tried to do a write up for this new Fall pilot. I found it hard to write about without spoiling many plot points or teasing too much that it just wouldn't be interesting (either that or I get lynched for spoiling too much). I've grappled with rewriting and decided I just need to do a posting where I say that I really loved Hereos.

Heroes is a very clever concept with an incredibly smart delivery which sets it apart from other "superhero" based programs. Heroes toys with average humans discovering they have superhuman abilities. Sure sounds old and done before but there's something fresh to this as a television program. It feels more like a feature film. The quality of the writing, the concept, and the acting are more on par with an excellent screenplay and world class acting than we're used to on television (with obvious exceptions in recent years). It's just a really high brow approach to television that mixes conventions and expectations from the genre.

Sure someone can fly, someone can teleport, someone seems indestructible, but there is an incredible sense of joy and sadness within each character that it's an incredibly humble and human work of fiction. It taps into those dreams we all had as kids (wanting to fly) and there is this great sense of freedom in realizing your dreams but there is a massive responsibility and consequence to these actions. This is what I cannot wait for the show to explore.

The pilot that is supposed to air tonight is the same version I saw months ago. It is an hour long episode that only introduces a handful of the cast. For instance, Greg Grunberg is not in the show at all yet he is one of the main stars. I cannot wait to see him next week. The pilot focuses on the characters played by Adrian Pasdar, Milo Ventimiglia, Hayden Panettiere, Ali Larter, Masi Oka, and Tawny Cypres, and Sendhil Ramamurthy.

There's a lot of humor, some darkness, some contemplative moments, and little conspiracy action thrown in to make this a very multi-dimensional pilot. It's character driven while still delivering on the action. It leaves a lot of room for growth and character development which to me is the sign of an incredible pilot. A must-see for the fall season!

Watch it tonight at 9pm on NBC.