Heroes – Season One (HD-DVD + DVD-Video Box Sets)
Picture:
B/B- Sound: B/B- Extras: A Episodes: A
Post-modern,
hyper-realistic interpretations of the super-hero genre often carry with them a
harder edge (Batman: Dark Knight Returns) or a close examination of what
makes the characters human (Astro City). Heroes
manages to mix both of these elements of post-modern super-heroes into a
cohesive blend that succeeds on many levels. Heroes
tells the tale of a group of individuals who suddenly realize they've developed
incredible powers. Most of the characters generally exhibit one or two
super-powers. Characters manifest powers
like cellular regeneration (rapid healing), invisibility, intangibility,
mind-reading, super-strength, and many more.
They also find themselves hunted by a shadowy, quasi-governmental
organization known only as "The Company". It's never quite clear what the company's
ultimate goals for the heroes are, but one can rest assured that they are not
pleasant. From the corners of the United
States (and abroad) these characters converge on New York City for a final
showdown with each other and the agents of the Company. It's classic stuff and expertly handled by the
show's excellent creative crew.
Creator
Tim Kring delivers a brand of television with these characters and stories that
dissuades the viewer from flipping channels during commercials for fear he
might miss a few precious seconds of the episode in the bargain. Heroes
represents quintessential "slow burn" television; it builds almost
agonizingly over the course of its first five episodes, and when episode six
rolls around the show possesses all the momentum of a speeding locomotive.
The
ensemble cast features a potpourri of talent from grizzled veterans like George
Takei (Kaito Nakamura) and Malcolm McDowell (Mr. Linderman) to fresh-faced
newcomers like Hayden Panettiere (Claire Bennet) and Masi Oka (Hiro Nakamura).
The entire cast provides energy and spirit, enlivening the solid scripts and
helping the viewers feel their way through a sometimes tangled plot. Christopher Eccleston (Dr. Who) plays Claude, a drifter who can turn invisible, in a small
but pivotal role in the mentoring of Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia), one of
the show's main characters. He
represents another example of the obvious value placed on good casting in this
show.
Picture
and sound on this gem are both solid and watchable in both format releases. The 1080p VC-1 digital 1.78 X 1 High
Definition image is good, but not great with more instances of haziness than
should be present. Smallville is the most immediate show to compare it top and besides
having a more limited color palette, the HD-DVD of the fifth and sixth seasons
have been clearer for whatever reasons. The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 aspect ratio on the DVD does not show as many
flaws, providing extremely crisp images for a television feature and the DVD
format, though the HD-DVD is still better.
The color and digital sound both perform to more than acceptable levels
just the same.
As one
might expect from a box of this size (more than 1000 minutes of material), Heroes – Season One is packed with
extras, the same massive amount in both format release versions. We get
over fifty deleted scenes pepper the discs, giving viewers access to bits of
the show chopped for reasons of time or continuity flow. Disc One features an uncut version of episode
one that features several sequences with D.L. Hawkins (Leonard Roberts). In the originally aired episodes, D.L. doesn't
appear until after episode one. Also
included are numerous featurettes on the making of the show, and a nice piece
on comic artist Tim Sale (Daredevil: Yellow, Batman:
The Long Halloween). It's Sale's
artwork that appears throughout the series as the prescient paintings of
tortured artist Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera).
After a
slow build-up, Heroes never fails to
impress. The creative team does an
incredible job managing a huge cast of characters, and the actors play those
characters almost flawlessly. A must for
fans of the show when it originally aired, this box will also delight new fans
late to the game, and prime everyone for Season
Two.
- Scott R. Pyle
