HEROES (TV SERIES) - DVD review

"Heroes" made its debut at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2006 with a screening of an extended version of the pilot. A year later, the first season wrapped up and the cast & crew returned to Comic-Con to a tremendous welcome. It was like the Beatles had come to town. A "Heroes" panel was scheduled for Saturday, the busiest day of Con, in a ballroom with a seating capacity of over 4000. I arrived to the Convention Center that day, shortly after 6AM and there were already hundreds of "Heroes" fans waiting in line. And the panel wasn't scheduled to start until shortly before 1PM. Fans sat through several other programs to catch a glimpse of the main cast, the show creator's, and the big announcement of Kevin Smith directing the pilot for the spinoff series, "Heroes: Origins."

Based on an original concept by Tim Kring (creator of "Crossing Jordan"), "Heroes" would enrapture comic fans and non-fans alike. "Heroes" follows an ensemble of characters from all over the world and all walks of life that suddenly discover they have superpowers. Niki Sanders (Ali Larter) is a single mom with a dodgy past who possesses super-strength and a violent, split personality named Jessica. Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) is a nurse in New York City who dreams of being able to fly. He can't, however, Peter can copy the powers of other extraordinary individuals. His brother, Nathan (Adrian Pasdar), a politician through and through, can though. Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg) is an LA beat cop with the power to read minds. Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera) is an artist who can paint the future. Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere) is a high school cheerleader blessed (or cursed) with remarkable healing abilities. Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) is a professor in India whose father did extensive research in evolution and Suresh searches out these people. Genre fans will also be pleased to see the presence of Richard Roundtree and Malcolm McDowell, among others in supporting roles. And that's just a tip of the iceberg.

The show's breakout character is Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka), a Japanese programmer and diehard "otaku" (fanboy) who gains the power to freeze time and teleport to great distances. Unlike the other characters, Hiro joyfully embraces his new abilities and leaps at the chance to become a superhero. This is in no small part to the fact that he is an avid fan of comic books and "Star Trek." In an inspired bit of casting, Hiro's father is played by Sulu himself, George Takei. Hiro's excitement is absolutely infectious and it is always a pleasure whenever he gets screen time.

The show's mythology is weaved around an "X-Files"-style conspiracy with a shadow organization attempting to catalogue people with powers. Claire's adoptive father, Noah Bennett (Jack Coleman) passes himself off as a paper salesman, but is one of them, capturing the empowered with the help of a man known only as The Haitian who can erase people's memories. Bennett even earned himself an "X-Files"-like nickname in HRG, short for Horn-Rimmed Glasses, the type of spectacles he wears. HRG isn't the show's only antagonist as a man calling himself Sylar (Zachary Quinto) is murdering these special people and absorbing their powers. The first season builds to an ominous finale when it is predicted a nuclear explosion will decimate New York City.

"Heroes" is an elaborate and intricate drama in the vein of "Lost." It is a show with a rich mythology and multi-layered storylines. Characters are brought together and discover connections they never thought they had. The show's creators have made an entire world that can extend past just the main cast with an unlimited wealth of characters and unique powers. The writers also deftly juggle each storyline and you never feel as if you're being ripped away prematurely. Its real world interpretation of superheroes reminds me of a much less grittier version of Watchmen, one of the seminal works in comic books. There are many other aspects of the show that are inspired by comic books. Each episode acts like an issue that ends in a sharp cliffhanger, one that makes you pull your hair out in anticipation for the next chapter. Even the titles are done in a comic book-style font, which was designed by artist Tim Sale (who is also the man behind Isaac's paintings). One of the show's producers and writers is comic writer Jeph Loeb, who also serves as a producer on "Smallville."

The episodes included on this DVD set are as follows:

-Disc 1-
"Genesis" – All over the world, people from all walks of life discover they have superhuman powers. An artist who paints the future, a Japanese salaryman who can stop time, a single mom with a split personality, and a cheerleader who is indestructible are among them.

"Don't Look Back" – Mohinder delves deeper into the disappearance of his father, Hiro finds himself teleported into the middle of Times Square, the Petrelli Brothers explore their powers, and we meet Matt Parkman, a police officer with telepathic abilities.

-Disc 2-
"One Giant Leap" – Matt is questioned by the FBI, Ando is finally convinced of Hiro's powers and heads to New York, and Peter discovers just how opportunistic his brother is.

"Collision" – Claire wakes up on an autopsy table and decides to get back at her attacker. Niki's past comes back to haunt her.

"Hiros" – On a subway train, Peter is confronted by a future version of Hiro who warns him to, "Save the cheerleader, save the world."

"Better Halves" – Niki has a violent reunion with her husband, D.L., who has the ability to phase through solid object. Peter & Isaac try to unravel the mysteries of his paintings and Claire wants to learn more about her biological parents.

-Disc 3-
"Nothing to Hide" – Peter tries to enlist Nathan's help in finding Isaac's missing painting as Niki frantically searches for D.L. and her son, Micah. Matt joins up with an FBI agent to track down the serial killer murdering people with powers.

"Seven Minutes to Midnight" – Hiro travels back in time to save one of Sylar's victims, Isaac is captured by HRG, and Mohinder reconsiders taking up his father's research.

"Homecoming" – Peter races to Texas in order to save Claire and battles Sylar. Meanwhile, Jessica has taken over and decides to hunt down D.L.

"Six Months Ago" – Having traveled to the past, Hiro tries in vain to prevent Charlie's murder at the hands of Sylar.

-Disc 4-
"Fallout" – The aftermath of "Homecoming" comes together as Mr. Bennett reveals more to his daughter, Sylar remains his prisoner, and Peter learns a shocking secret about the explosion.

"Godsend" – Hiro and Ando finally arrive in New York, Claire tries to put the pieces of her life back together, and Mohinder meets again with HRG.

"The Fix" – Matt futilely tries to reveal the conspiracy to his superiors, Claire investigates the whereabouts of her real parents, and Nathan & Mohinder team up to search for Peter.

"Distractions" – Sylar escapes custody while Niki battles for control over Jessica as they remain trapped in a mental ward. Meanwhile, Peter finds a mentor in Claude, a man who can turn invisible.

-Disc 5-
"Run!" – Sylar remains one step ahead of Mohinder in their search for people with powers. Hiro and Ando return to Vegas and Matt begins a new job in private security.

"Unexpected" – Matt teams with two new heroes to confront HRG who continues his search to find Peter.

"Company Man" – More is revealed about the mysterious Mr. Bennett when Matt and his partners hold the Bennett family hostage.

"Parasite" – Mohinder and Peter face-off against Sylar, Niki poses as Jessica to fool D.L., and Mr. Bennett is under scrutiny from his associates.

-Disc 6-
".07%" – Claire finally meets her biological family as Linderman makes his move to capture Micah.

"Five Years Gone" – Hiro and Ando are trapped in a dark future where New York was destroyed and everyone with powers is hunted down by the government.

"The Hard Part" – Jessica and D.L. learn more about Linderman's schemes and more is revealed about Sylar's past.

"Landslide" – Hiro gets a lesson in swordsmanship from his father, D.L. & Jessica battle Linderman, and Nathan is on the verge of winning the election.

-Disc 7-
"How to Stop an Exploding Man" – The heroes band together to prevent Sylar from destroying New York City in the exciting season finale.

VIDEO:
The show is presented in an anamorphic widescreen with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The transfer is gorgeous and shows exactly how a television series is supposed to look like. The picture is pristine and the colors stand out strong.

AUDIO:
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The sound comes in sharp and crystal clear. Dialogue is easy to hear with a soaring score and FX.

EXTRAS:
Disc 1 contains the unaired, 73-minute pilot with optional commentary from creator Tim Kring. This alternate pilot features a few extended scenes along with a storyline involving terrorists that was cut out. The commentary has spots of silences here and there, but Kring shares a lot of useful information about the series and the differences in the pilots. He does come off as slightly dry.

Disc 4 contains three commentary tracks. One for "Godsend" with actors Jack Coleman, Leonard Roberts, and Sendhil Ramamurthy, it's a breezy track and the participants mostly joke around and are overall complimentary to their castmates. The second is for "The Fix" which features actors Greg Grunberg & Hayden Panettiere with writer/producer Natalie Chaidez and it's similar in content and tone. The third is for "Distractions" and features Milo Ventimiglia, Zachary Quinto, Greg Grunberg, Jack Coleman, director Jeanot Szwarc, and writer/producer Michael Green.

Disc 5 contains four commentary tracks. The first is on "Run!" with Greg Grunberg, Kevin Chamberlin and writer/producers Adam Armus and Kay Foster. The second is on "Unexpected" and features Zachary Quinto, Sendhil Ramamurthy, and producers Greg Beeman and Jeph Loeb. The last are Jack Coleman, Allan Arkush & Bryan Fuller on "Company Man" and Arkush, Jimmy Jean-Louis & Christopher Zatta on "Parasite." The first two tracks are a little jokey, but spill a few anecdotes, and the last two are much more informative. There's also Mind Reader, a game that tries to guess what's on your mind.

Disc 6 has commentary tracks on all 4 episodes. ".07%" features a track with writer Chuck Kim and assistants Andrew Chambliss & Timm Keppler. They give a different perspective as they discuss the processes of writing and post-production. "Five Years Gone" features a track with Greg Grunberg, Sendhil Ramamurthy, & Jack Coleman. The third track is on "The Hard Part" and features James Kyson Lee, Noah Gray-Casey & stunt coordinator Ian Quinn. The last track is on "Landslide" and features Masi Oka, Matthew Armstrong, and George Takei. There's a lot of info on the last track though the actors talk on top of each other several times.

Disc 7 houses the majority of the extras. Making Of is a brief behind-the-scenes featurette that runs just under ten minutes. It features interviews with the cast and crew as they discuss the genesis and themes of the show. Special Effects shows what goes into the FX that are both practical and computer generated. This runs just under nine minutes. The Stunts focuses on stunt coordinator Ian Quinn as he discusses the fight scenes, car chases, how they made Nathan fly, and setting Claire on fire. This runs approximately ten and a half minutes. Profile of Artist Tim Sale is an interview with comic artist Tim Sale as he discusses his role on the show. What's most interesting is Sale is actually color blind and the coloring in Isaac's paintings are done by someone else. The Score is about the show's composers and audio engineer as they discuss the inspirations that go into the show's music. Rounding out disc 7 is an audio commentary for the season finale with producers Tim Kring, Dennis Hammer, and Allan Arkush

Finally, throughout the set is a vast assortment of deleted scenes for nearly every episode.

FILM VALUE:
"Heroes" is one of the best dramas to hit the airwaves in years. Not only is the show spectacular, but the box set is exactly how a TV series should be brought to DVD. This DVD set is the perfect way to enjoy the series as you don't have to suffer through waiting a whole week for the next episode. You can sit back, set several hours, and just devour the show. Layered on top is a wealth of extras that add more icing to the cake.