You know how every teenage girl in a Lifetime Original Movie eventually has a breakdown and screams, "Why can't I be like everyone else?" Yeah, that's how I feel about "Heroes." I just can't seem to get excited about it despite the non-stop internet chatter and the perpetual advertising loop coming from NBC. And this is where I need to make a terrible admission: I never even finished watching season one. There are ten episodes sitting on my DVR right now, glaring at me every time I skip over them to watch that new Feasting on Asphalt I missed. I'm starting to feel guilty about the whole thing. It just seems frankly un-American at this point not to like Heroes.
I started off enthusiastically enough with the show. It has a great premise. The acting was good. I loved Masi Oka and even liked Milo Ventimiglia despite all the objects I threw at the TV when he played Jess on Gilmore Girls. And there was Greg Grunberg, too -- hello Alias guy! So good cast, good story, good writing but...it just didn't do it for me.
In a way, I compare Heroes to Lost with its off-the-wall premise and serial storytelling style, but somehow, I've always managed to stick with Lost, even in its darkest days. (Insert Brokeback Mountain "I can't quit you" joke here, just for pop culture old time's sake.) Everyone seemed to love the fact that Heroes continually fed answers and moved the plot along, but to me, it just felt too me, it just wasn't satisfying, leading me to the disturbing conclusion that I must be some sort of narrative masochist who keeps vowing to split up with the likes of Lindelof and Cuse every time they screw me over with a nonsensical plot twist...but I always go back and forgive them. Do you think they have special therapists for this?
I'm still going to give Heroes another try. I'm going to finish watching all of last year and see if it gets my nerd interest rolling. If I could only put down those damn Harry Potter books....
5 comments:
Oh, I feel your pain. I was pretty much the last of my friends to get into Heroes, but actually really like it now.
I loved Lost when it started airing, but fell out of it after the first two series or so; I think, for me, the difference between Lost and Heroes is less to do with the plot revelations and more to do with possibilities. Lost's island-premise was eyecatching but, ultimately, it just felt so restrictive, you know? I was going to say formulaic, but I love House, so I guess I don't really get to comment on that.
Anyway, I reckon you should stick with it. :)
You're absolutely right about the island premise on Lost. It's definitely restrictive which is why I'm looking forward to this coming season to see how they handle what I'm guessing are going to be some off-island plot points. The first half of last season was just miserable, but then I really think the show hit its stride in the last six or seven episodes.
It's good to know it took you a while to get into Heroes. I'm going to give it another try.
And House is formulaic in a good way! :-)
Heroes, like Lost, suffers a mid-season slump. Unfortunately, unlike Lost, heroes got it worse in it's first year.
I, too, thought, "guh, this is sucking" in the middle of season 1 Heroes, but then I got back with it and finished watching them. And I'm glad I did. You won't regret finishing out Heroes.
Although I must also note that I'm a fan of watching at least one episode of a show a day, not having to wait a damn week or two. I didn't start Heroes OR Lost 3 until there were only one or two episodes unreleased in the respective seasons.
As far as Milo Ventimiglia, I really dug his "Jess" character on Gilmore Girls. Sure, he screwed up a good thing, but I kinda liked his rebellous nature and he added alot to Rory's seemingly endless love triangle with himself and Dean. Actually, he was pretty much a dick, but GG was a great show!
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