So who else caught tonight’s premiere screening of what is being depicted by NBC (the ‘N’ is for narcissistic) as the most compelling show in its history? Don’t know what show I’m talking about? All you need to do is watch the network at every 15-minute interval for a quick ad to Heroes— chocked full of defiant scenes that make you go ‘huh-wuh-wow!’, accompanied by that deep and resonant announcer voice that could make carpet fibre look gripping.
Over-the-top ad campaign aside, NBC seems like they may have a hit on their hands. But I say that with great trepidation.
The premise of Heroes–the oddly intersecting lives of seemingly normal human beings with extraordinary abilities is all but done. Like, in 1999. But the chaotic nature of the world we live in–wars, school shootings, suicide bombings, Tom Cruise–renew the need to transcend our normal existences, and perhaps assert some control on our fast-paced, dizzying lives. That’s why Heroes could potentially work–the world doesnt seem to be getting any better, so we’ll always need them.
Problem is these conspiratorial-type shows, with plot lines that come together in the grand scheme of things that we never quite get to see–that’s what worries me. Critics are deeming this show the next Lost, but if Heroes gets nearly as misplaced as the show its being compared to, they might as well end it here. Even cult X-Files fans–who by the way have the TV attention span of like God, were tired of the show’s convolution near the end. Now imagine packaging X-Files’ unending apocalyptic doom into a mainstream, 9 p.m. timeslot watched by millions and you’ll have a the grandest epidemic of attention defecit known to man.
In the beginning the jumpers, healers, voice-listeners and teleporters are always intriguing. Now, all they need is a guy with the power to guarantee success–and yeah, trepidation aside, they’ll have a hit.
