Heroes

Heroes was a superhero show before all the Marvel and DC shows took over. While it's not as good as the shows we get now (at least most of them that is), it was still a solid series...especially the first 2 seasons. After that the quality went down drastically but was still watchable. It was about ordinary people all over the world discovering they developed super powers. There are a bunch of separate stories that all come together to prevent a catastrophic future. The show was really popular when it first came out, so much so they tried to bring it back years after it went off the air with Heroes: Reborn. Do yourself a favor and avoid the reboot at all costs because it was awful. This original Heroes though is absolutely watchable.

I am writing after a mere 4 episodes in season one and I probably have nothing to say that has not been said by others in terms of praise and admiration. Still, writing this review 13 or so years after it ended, I am aware of the various doom and gloom disappointments in the show as it progressed. And I am here to either defend this or to heap additional blame. For years if not decades, the Hollywood habit has been to destroy beauty. I am not talking about sucking franchises dry with woke agendae, although that certainly is one of the symptoms. I am talking about the deliberate or accidental process of adding needless complexity, darkness, conflict, and unhappiness of all kinds. This even happens, remarkably, with sitcoms. It happens in every genre. But Heroes was destined for this destruction from its inception, because Hollywood hates virtue. What is most interesting about this process is that Hollywood will actually break its own craftsmanship rules, ie, continuity, in order to pursue the goal. Whether this is laziness, stupidity, or contempt for the consumer probably doesn't matter. From Young Sheldon to Game of Thrones, from New Girl to House to House of Cards to Cheers to Friends, this mechanism runs from fairly subtle to brutally obvious. I don't know when this started but I don't think, for instance, that Bonanza pulled this crap. In more recent times, Big Bang may have actually reversed the formula, moving from sad selfish characters to radically improved versions of themselves.

Anyway, most say that Heroes started well and couldn't maintain. Some say it pulled out of the nosedive in later seasons.

I shall see.

Well as we all know Season 1 is by far the best because of its simple yet effective premise and endearing characters. There is indeed a noticeable drop in quality in the following Seasons but that doesn't make them bad. I honestly don't understand why the show was cancelled, it still had potential.

I remember hating Season 4 when I first saw it but I watched it again and it's not that bad. It's a very mixed bag and kind of all over the place, it should have been shorter like Season 2 and more focused on Samuel (who is an interesting villain and very well played) so the writers did screw up by having too many things going on at the same time and therefore losing track of the main story. Still I feel the last episode was satisfying.

I'm writing this review now even though I haven't seen an episode since it got canceled almost 15 years ago. My brother and I were recently talking about this show and it drudged up some old memories I've had for this show, both good and bad. The good: the first season was brilliant. I remember early reviews and word of mouth talking how about how this show was going to be a classic. And it might have if the quality box the first season carried over to the rest. I didn't hate the other seasons, it just wasn't as good as the first. It has an original feel for a superhero show. It didn't have any costumes or anything like that, it was ordinary people reacting like real people who were getting super powers. Some good and some bad. If you're a fan of this genre then give this a try because it's worth a watch.

This show started with an incredible premise. Everyday people starts to have superpowers. Each one discover their power and try to deal with it. There is also serial killer Sylar who discovers a way to kill these special people and take their powers.

Like the brightest of stars, they burn hottest but don't last. This show fizzled as the story got more and more complicated. The vast number of characters with unique superpowers gets out of hand. There are too many to maintain. Like a truck overloaded, it just couldn't continue and rolled over. By the 2nd or 3rd season, this show gets increasingly convoluted and becoming almost unwatchable. They try to reboot the 4th season by adding a whole new set of people and a circus. Of course, it didn't work and the show was canceled. The first season is a 9 or even 10 but it's a long slide into 4 territory at the end.