It’s no mystery to PopWatch readers that Ugly Betty is my favorite new female character of the fall 2006 TV season, but after last night’s episode of Heroes, I’ve got a guy to serve as her male counterpart. Indeed, unlike scores of historical superheroes who seem all too blasé about their skills, Hiro (Masi Oka, pictured), the zany (and rather dapper — loved the green jacket!) Japanese office worker of Heroes, treats the recent discovery that he’s got the gift of teleportation with a giddiness that I find relatably dorky. Watching Hiro pose the question, ”Perhaps a costume?” was the funniest moment of Episode 3, but even better, his primary set piece — in which he stops time to rescue a schoolgirl from getting crushed by a delivery truck — was its most visually thrilling. Add him to a band of misfits including indestructible cheerleader Claire, mind-reading teddy bear Matt, and mysteriously two-sided Niki, and you’ve got a show that’s filled my Monday-night dance-card from now till Christmas.
Since there’s only so much time in the day, however, and since I need to purge last night’s Bachelor episode sooner than later, I’ll leave it to you guys to dissect some of the show’s burning questions, after the jump:
- Why did the ”previously on Heroes” voiceover paint the show as a tale of ”five strangers across the globe” and then go on to describe seven folks and their superpowers?
- How come Niki’s shovel was so glisteningly silver, even after she’d buried the baddies’ bodies in the desert?
- Anyone else wondering about the similarities in the names of Heroes‘ murderous morpher Sylar and Battlestar Galactica’s villainous Cylons?
- Does drug-addicted artist Isaac also have the power to regenerate? When I watched an advanced screener of the pilot episode, it appeared he’d cut off his own hand with a saw, but since then, he’s been a two-fisted predictor of the future. Did NBC change that part of the pilot when it aired, or is there some other explanation for his miraculous recovery that I didn’t pick up on?
- After seeing Hiro’s pal, Ando (James Kyson Lee), checking out the pervy action at LasVegasNiki.com, did anyone else go to the site? (Hint: It’s not what you’d expect!)
- And finally, when Claire woke up to find that someone was midway through an autopsy on her own freakin’ body (GAH!), do you think it was the local medical examiner’s table, or perhaps the laboratory of her eeeeevil daddy (Horned Rim Glasses)?
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Claire’s adopted daddy totally disected her! I bet he manipulated that kid into taking her out into the woods to set it all up too. This show is awesome. Too bad it will have to make way in January for ‘24′…
Also, I thought Sylar was Evil Daddy (by the first episode’s taxi escapade with Mohinder) but now I’m not so sure. Maybe crazy dude in the bar that Psy-Cop couldn’t read? And is Sylar working with Mohinder’s Audrey Tatou copycat hairdo girlfriend?
P.S. What happened to the generic rip off of Katherine Willows from CSI? She was in the last episode, with Clea Duvall, and then disappeared? I thought she was going to be around again… and when is Clea Duvall’s power going to show up?
I love Hiro, too! I think his character is refreshing – in a way he embraces his nerdy qualities in the same way Marshall from Alias did, another lovable geek. He’s definitely my favorite character on the show, followed closely by Claire, who I think is going to interesting places in the next couple of weeks.
I think the reference to five was before we were introduced to Matt and before we knew the one brother could fly. Add those two, and it’s seven.
Haha, I was wondering about that shovel myself! Now, about Claire…that was freaky! It never crossed my mind that she might be in the clutches of her “evil” dad…and why are we all assuming he is evil, anyway? Have we really seem him do anything bad? NO! The person I am suspicious of is Mohinder’s neighbor/instant love interest with the pixie haircut. If he is so paranoid and afraid of the people who killed his fater, why is he letting her have access to so much information? Remember, he just happened to bump into her when he was running away from a bad guy…
“Why did the ‘previously on Heroes’ voiceover paint the show as a tale of ‘five strangers across the globe’ and then go on to describe seven folks and their superpowers?”
Ha! Why does EW #901-902 have a photo of nine characters from “Heroes,” but ignore three of them in the copy?
TV WATCH!!!!!!!!!
That beginning voiceover guy has got to go. It’s like someone doing a bad imitation of a voiceover guy.
I love this show more and more. It’s actually scary! That shot of autopsied Claire reminded me of an episode of the Twilight Zone. I also am suspicious of the pixie neighbor – there’s just something off about her. Is anyone else getting completely bored by whiny Peter?
Anyone else think that the scary unreadable dude in the bar is also Niki’s husband? And does ANYONE know the meaning of the symbol that’s everywhere (in Isaac’s art, on Claire’s geometry book, on scary bar dude’s necklace)?
I was wondering about the around the world thing too. It’s really just a bunch of americans and one Japanese dude. I agree that this show merits a tv watch.
Here’s another question. Why is it daylight in New York and Tokyo at the same time?
Also, the set designs of “Japan” have been horrible thus far. But since Ando and Hiro are now on a road trip across America, we no longer have to see half-hearted recreations of Tokyo streets. Though we are still subjected to Masa Oki’s and James Kyson Lee’s terrible Japanese.
Here’s another question. Why is it daylight in New York and Tokyo at the same time?
Also, the set designs of “Japan” have been horrible thus far. But since Ando and Hiro are now on a road trip across America, we no longer have to see half-hearted recreations of Tokyo streets. Though we are still subjected to Masa Oki’s and James Kyson Lee’s terrible Japanese.
I’d guess the shovel was silver because the desert dirt was all extremely dry and wouldn’t stick to it without any moisture.
The heroin addict didn’t have any hand-chopping in the pilot I saw. Hmm..must have been something they changed before it got to the general public. Maybe that part didn’t test well?
I definitely don’t think Claire was in a regular morgue. And I think the football player maybe wasn’t really himself? “Horn-Rimmed Glasses” was asking some questions about him earlier in the episode. Maybe he got to him?
One thing I did notice…Someone pulled the branch out of Claire’s head, then she woke up seconds later, but no one was in the room. Continuity error or did someone want to freak her out?
Though I will admit, the Japanese in “Heroes” is much better than the horrid Cantonese in “The Departed!”
Seriously, Scorcese’s casting director should have assumed a remake of a classic HK film like Infernal Affairs would attract a large Chinese audience and cast Cantonese-speaking actors accordingly.
TV Watch!! TV Watch!!! TV Watch!!!! Come on, Ew. Gives us a TV Watch. I’ll clean your staff members houses, cars, clothes. I will even shampoo Scott Brown’s hair (trust me, that’s a challenge). Pleeeaaase, I’ll do anything for a Heroes’ TV watch! Why won’t you give it us?
Oh, and we definitely need a TV WATCH!!!
Kat-
I think Niki’s husband is another guy they haven’t introduced yet. There are promo pics from Heroes on IMDB of this guy. His name is Leonard Roberts and it says his character’s name is D. L. Hawkins. I’ve seen Leonard on Buffy playing one of the commandos in the 4th season.
Kat, I agree on Peter, though the way the ep ended with him angry at his brother shows much potential. I don’t know if Clea will have any powers, but Niki’s son will, and I do think the guy in the bar is her husband / his father. Seems like many of us are suspicious of the pixie-haired neighbor. Could she be Sylar?
And what about the Uluru image if you go to gallery? Who / what is that?
I LOVE this show. I adore Greg Grunberg (the cop who can hear people’s thoughts). Can’t remember where I read it, but apparently the pilot episode shown to critics was slightly different than the one that actually aired. Go figure. And has anyone mentioned that EW absolutely has to give this show a TV Watch?!
I’m pretty sure that the algorithm in Papa Suresh’s computer will be solved by Niki’s kid… And that Pixie-cut girl is evil.
you know what would be irresistible. a heroes TV WATCH.
Vicky is right, the guy last night in the bar isn’t Niki’s husband. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroes_(TV_series)
Well I am confused, then, because the guy in the bar is D.L. Hawkins, and I swear when Niki was talking to the grandma about her husband, she called him D.L. Can anyone help me out?
I actually found Hiro’s Japanese fine. I could close my eyes and understand what he’s saying. His friend’s Japanese, however, is just awful. Don’t understand why they didn’t cast someone who could speak Japanese fluently. I do agree that the set design of Japan has been awful.
Hiro is adorable. Sure, he’s the token nerd/comic relief character, but they really went took the extra step to make him lovable, too.
He should teleport to the Lost island and hang out with Hurley. And then when both series end, they could have a spin-off where they live together in a NYC apartment and have whacky misadventures. Between Hurley’s money and Hiro’s super powers, those could be some super-crazy misadventures.
… I’m totally kidding, by the way.
I love this show. I have not been so excited about something on tv since battlestar galactica, and I promise I am not a geek. I think the pixie haired girl is of no consequence, other than as a romantic foil in a later episode which is really lame. I didn’t care about the shovel, I wanted to know why Niki and her son weren’t wearing seatbelts. I thought it was illegal to do that on tv, and also why she would take him to his grandmother’s if she hates her so much. Ummmm, she didn’t leave her son with her, so why was she there at all? I thought they could have introduced the info about her husband in a better way. Also, if Claire’s daddy is evil, and knows she can regenrate (he does have her video) then he would know that removing the foriegn object would bring her back to life. Why cut her open, then remove the branch? I think she’s in a real morgue, and I think she’s gonna have to sew herself up and run for it. Peter’s bro is a jerk, and now his life is in danger. Mohinder saw his photo on Sylar’s wall. Now Peter is gonna have to save him. Why does Sylar want that particular little girl? does she have powers too? Don’t you think the way he kills people is ridicuously disturbing? I love it. Now all we need is a tv watch for this little gem, and I can vent every week.
I’ve been really surprised at how good this show has become so quickly. I thought the pilot was okay, nothing special, but decided to give it another watch. The second episode was better, and last night’s blew me away. Unlike “Studio 60″, which I thought had a great pilot but the episodes since have disappointed, this show is just getting better.
Also, I’d like to join the call for a “Heroes” TV Watch.
Isaac overdosed on heroin in the prime time version. I’m glad they chose that version– that hand scene made me almost toss my cookies! So, nah, you didn’t miss anything.
Wow, I never considered that Evil Daddy had Claire in his laboratory. I suppose we will find out next week!
Also, here’s another question for you: WHY does Mohinder trust Eden so instantly? Yeah, she’s beautiful, smart, and kind. But it could all just be an act! She could be one of the bad guys too.
I was really trying to like this show, but it seems like in three weeks they really haven’t given us all that much to care about. The show is all about exposition, but none of the characters seem to have done that much yet. I would love to read a TV watch though, so once something starts happening, I can come back and watch the show again.
Hiro rules. A great character. Loved his scene in the airplane, especially when his pal asked if the comic said they had to fly coach. Classic.
P.S. TV WATCH!!!!!!!!!!
The girl helping Mohinder is sooo evil because she was
***spoiler for those who haven’t seen the movie, BRICK***
she was cast as the evil femme fatale in that movie and for those who recognize faces from celebrities, you’ll notice those actors usually play the same type of people. Including Lost’s Juliette. She was the pedophiliac mother. EVIL!
Seriously why is there a TV Watch for Studio 60 but not for Heroes? I want an in depth analysis of this multilayered show, not for the entertaining but not exactly thought provoking Studio 60. Please bring us a TV Watch for Heroes!