They can be heroes for just one day
As most people know, once networks stumble upon a winning formula for a television show, they pump out clones of said show until the market is saturated. In its infinite wisdom, NBC has decided to take THREE winning formulas and merge them into one, giving us Heroes.
The first one is obvious. People are suddenly developing strange powers – ones they think will make them freaks – hated and feared by others. It’s a concept pioneered years ago by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the X-Men.
The second is that of the serial drama, which achieved something of a renaissance with Lost. I understand that later in the series, the “heroes” will interact with one another, giving us another tie to ABC’s hit show.
The third is actually rather obvious when you look at it. I’m talking about The 4400, seen on NBC’s cable sibling USA Network. Both shows deal with people who have extraordinary powers that will somehow be used for the good of mankind. The difference here being that Heroes will be expected to make some immediate waves, unlike The 4400 which has been allowed to take some time in developing it’s continuing subplots (although ratings are pretty darn good regardless).
Of course, none of this “clonage” means anything if the story sucks. So does it? From what I’ve seen of the pilot, not really. You’re not going to see much “heroism” to begin with. Instead, you’ll be getting a glimpse into the lives of our main characters, an idea of who they are when they acquire these powers. Of course, since the characters in the story don’t initially cross paths, we get a wide range of stories – some of which pique my interest, some of which currently don’t.
I haven’t finished watching the pilot, but what I’ve seen is enough for me to look out for this drama next month.
IP Linkage:
Romo interviews Kerr Smith and Rebecca Mader of Justice.
Matt Basilo talks summer show finales.
Another reminder about the contest for a DVD set of Arrested Development Season Three.
The Week… In Hindsight:
‘Canadian Idol’ (CTV)
Chad gets the boot, and I’m disappointed because it’s not Tyler. What does this really say about Canadian fans? Are they accepting mediocrity and voting Tyler to win? Hey, we helped make Nickelback into megastars, why not Tyler? My money is still on Eva though, because she, at least, has got the goods to justify the victory.
‘Prison Break’ (FOX)
Second episode, and we get a Plot Progression show. The cons have split up (even though Scofield would appear to be the key to getting the money in Utah), the book on L.J. seems to indicate we’ll see him somewhere between Illinois and Arizona, and we catch up with everyone’s favourite pickpocket, Tweener. Who is apparently the Worst Fugitive Ever. OK, he shaved his head, that was a good start, but looking around every two seconds kinda gives away that you’re doing something suspicious. Fortunately, he seems to have found the Bizzaro version of the late Veronica Donovan – a girl who suspects something, but does nothing to act on it.
Meanwhile, T-Bag manages to tie up the good doctor and kill him via lethal injection, despite only having one hand to work with and being in some serious pain. He, too, is headed to Utah to find Westmoreland’s company, but not before using the OnStar hotline. Bet they’re not too pleased about that product placement – “Just killed a vet and using his car to find D.B. Cooper’s millions? Use the OnStar hotline!”
We’ve been promised that our merry band of eight escapees will be cut down to seven next week, and I’ve seen a few people point to Sucre as a likely victim, seeing as he’s not really important at this point. And certainly, the teasers are pointing to him as being that guy. Of course, teasers have a way of being misleading, and I do notice that Peter Stomare is listed only as a guest star, so I’m thinking that Abruzzi gets whacked. Now watch me be wrong.
‘Rock Star: Supernova’ (CBS)
Ryan is gone. THANK YOU.
‘The Amazing Race 10’ (CBS)
Four time, four time, four time, four time Emmy award winner! Overshadowed by SurvivorGate is the fact that this Race has probably the most diverse cast yet. I’ll get to that in one or two weeks, but we’ve got an amputee, a gay couple, Asian-Americans (of the East, Indian and Arab variety), THREE all-female teams, and for the ladies, Frat Boys v2. Good times, good times.
That’s it for this week.
