In Heroes, life suddenly changes for a far-flung group of seemingly ordinary people when they begin developing superpowers.
New York nurse Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) has been having strange dreams about flying, a quirk that his politically ambitious brother, Nathan (Adrian Pasdar), wants nothing to do with. Las Vegas Web-cam girl Niki Sanders (Ali Larter) has begun to see her dangerous alter ego's reflection in mirrors, while Japanese office worker Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) has literally started turning back the clock. Cop Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg) realizes that he can hear what other people are thinking, and jailbird D.L Hawkins (Leonard Roberts) finds out that he can walk through walls. Texas cheerleader Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere) has discovered that she's incapable of getting hurt, and artist Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera) is painting horrifying images that seem to show future events.
Meanwhile, Indian genetics professor Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) is picking up the pieces of his missing father's research surrounding a global event that could change the course of all mankind.
By merging the stories of these drastically different characters from all over the world into one gripping plotline, Heroes creates addictive television drama on a near-epic scale. One of the reasons it's so good is that the show's creators clearly understand the power of the cliffhanger, a device that's bound to propel it into "must see" territory for die-hard TV (and sci-fi/fantasy) junkies.
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But as a programming choice for young kids, Heroes falls short of "super," due mostly to the flat-out graphic violence. Much of it is connected to Claire -- she comes away unscathed from some nasty injuries, including a hand down the disposal and a neck-breaking blow from a football player -- but plenty of other scenes depict bloody murders, sawed-open heads, Armageddon-like explosions, and more. Some of it is so gory that most adults will have to turn their heads And kids? Well, they'll likely have nightmares.
Fans will probably also enjoy Lost and Smallville or, on the big screen, Spider-Man, Unbreakable, and the X-Men series.
Heroes is a serial saga about people all over the world discovering that they have superpowers and trying to deal with how this change affects their lives. Some of the superheroes who will be introduced to the viewing audience include Peter Petrelli, an almost 30-year-old male nurse who suspects he might be able to fly, Isaac Mendez, a 28-year-old junkie who has the ability to paint images of the future when he is high, Niki Sanders, a 33-year-old Las Vegas showgirl who does things that are mysteriously connected with mirrors, Hiro Nakamura, a 24-year-old Japanese comic-book geek who literally makes time stand still, D.L. Hawkins, a 31-year-old inmate who can walk through walls, Matt Parkman, a beat cop who can hear other people's thoughts, and Claire Bennet, a 17-year-old cheerleader who defies death at every turn. As the viewing audience is discovering the nature of each hero's powers, the heroes, themselves, are discovering what having superpowers means to them as well as the larger picture of where their superpowers come from. Tune in each week to see how these heroes are drawn together by their common interest of evading the series' antagonist who wants to harvest their super-DNA for himself. Their ultimate destiny is nothing less than saving the world! The series will star Greg Grunberg (Alias), Leonard Roberts (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Milo Ventimiglia (Gilmore Girls), and Hayden Panettiere (Ally McBeal, Guiding Light). Tim Kring (Crossing Jordan, Chicago Hope) is the series' creator. The pilot is set to be directed by Dave Semel (American Dreams, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Beverly Hills, 90210). Heroes will be produced by NBC/Universal/Tailwind.
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