Heroes: coming soon to a TV near me...

[fajrdrako]

I find myself increasingly (and surprisingly) pleased with the season premiere of Heroes coming up. I've been watching the promos on YouTube. There are lots of them -most gratifying! And then, with the URL kindly passed on to me by raissad (thank you!), a six-minute clip from Monday's new episode. There are many goodies in it.

And then: fan forums analysing the details of the promos, frame by frame and detail by detail. Interviews with the cast, who all seem articulate and personable. Though I'm still largely unimpressed with Ali Larter. And most impressed by Noah Gray-Cabey.

Looking at all this material turns out to be incompatible with avoiding spoilers. After seeing what Kensei looks like without the mask - well, maaboroshi and I, surprised and loving it, said to each other, "These surprises are too good - we have to wait for the actual show!" It's only till Monday.

Besides the plethora of Heroes comics on the website - I can't keep up! - there's the wonderful history of Kensei on the Yamagato Fellowship page.

I was enjoying browsing the website for the Primatech Paper Company site, where they're looking to hire people. No wonder; they lost Bennet recently. Their motto: Paper, People, Performance. Oooh. Sinister. "If you're interesting in joining the Primatech Paper family" takes on a whole different meaning if you think about Claire....

I'd feared that we were going to get a shift in focus - at the end of volume one/season one, I was afraid we'd neglect the characters we have and move on to new people and new stories. This would have been terrible: I'm invested in the stories of the characters we have already. The San Diego panel put my mind at rest, and really, I should have the right kind of confidence in Tim Kring. He knows the power of comics as 'character based entertainment'. He knows we don't just want to see a bunch of characters with powers fighting each other: we want to see the lives of Hiro and Claire and the Petrellis and even Matt.


Comments on stuff from the promos and all the rest:

(1) Peter Peterelli naked and chained. Are they catering to fans baser nature? Okay, okay, let them cater. All they want. The question is: who could keep Peter chained? And how? Is the Haitian his roommate? Since I really like the Haitian, I hope we see him again. Soon.

Another possibility: Peter has lost his powers.

So if Peter is a prisoner, it's a safe bet that Nathan is trying to find and save him. Go for it, Nathan!

(2) West may be the stereotyped apparently-innocent-teen-ager who turns out to have a special-interest agenda (like Adam Knight in Smallville or Cameron in The Sarah Connor Chronicles) but he seemed more interesting and personable than most. I liked his ambiguous dialogue. One could understand how Claire's defenses could be weakened.

In fact, the bit where the protective parent with an assumed name in a new town (Noah Bennet) tells his frustrated teen daughter (Claire Bennet) that in her new high school she has to appear completely ordinary looked just like the scene in The Sarah Connor Chronicles in which protective parent Sarah Connor (with an assumed name in a new town) tells her frustrated teen son John Connor that he must appear completely ordinary.

It doesn't take too much prescience to realize that in both cases they are doomed to imminent danger, impending chaos, and sudden attack by enemies.

(3) Kensei - oh, Kensei! We first saw him on one of the promos and I was muttering, "Who's that guy? the one in the hat? We've never seen him before." And then... it turned out to be Kensei without his mask. What a hoot. Reminded me of that silly Highlander episode where they were all playing golf. But it seems from the six-minute clip that Kensei is not a time traveller, which was what I first wondered. Just a variation of John Blackthorne. I love it. And I love the juxtaposition of wide-eyed idealistic Hiro and pragmatic Kensei: "But that's cheating!"

(4) Looks as if Mohinder will be taking a more aggressive stance. Good. I was getting frustrated by his mildness.

(5) Nathan with a beard. Hee! He looks like a middle-east terrorist.

(6) His Mama always looks like a terrorist. The kind that warps minds. Scary.

(7) Speaking of warped and warping minds... It appears Sylar is in a happy place of his own. Is there an illusion-caster who can keep him trapped in a cell he won't mind staying in? Of course there is. It didn't work with Micah, but Micah is smarter than Sylar.

(8) I am soooo curious as to Mama Petrelli's power.

(9) What's Molly's problem?

Comments

[ataniell93.livejournal.com]

Adrian Pasdar is half-Iranian, you know. :)

Nathan...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

[Oops: I posted without being logged in. Sorry!]

Hee: yes. I like your icon there. I wonder how I will feel about Nathan, now that he will no longer be a politician? At least - I assume he won't be. That may be a foolish assumption. We shall see.

Re: Nathan...

[ataniell93.livejournal.com]

Why would that make a difference?

I don't see how he can not be a politician. He got elected. He accepted the job. I'm not sure how he can get out of it now!

Re: Nathan...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Well, indeed, I was making a lot of assumptions there based on the flimsiest of evidence or none at all. Like promo pix of Nathan in a beard looking as if he's lurking around, not being slick and political. But that's a sheer guess - maybe a total misconception - and I won't know what he's doing in those pictures till I see the show.

Why would it make a difference? I was trying to figure out why I like Adrian Pasdar, but not Nathan Petrelli, and the only answer I could really come up with is that I like actors and don't like politicians. So I'd maybe like Nathan more if he were an artist like Isaac, or a - what, a paper salesman? - no, I'd better not pursue this line of thought....

Maybe he should hang out on roofs with pigeons.

I am so looking forward to the new show on Monday.

And isn't it great to have confirmation that both Nathan and Peter are still in the story and going strong?

Re: Nathan...

[ataniell93.livejournal.com]

It's true, he doesn't look particularly political in the S2 promo pics, particularly with the Iranian-terrorist beard (although they're still filming and that's gone thank G-d--I love his new curly hairstyle in his latest pics).

But a lot of actual career politicians don't look like he did in S1 either. There are a fair number of guys with beards and there was the one guy who always wore the bow ties. I worked a lot of campaigns in my 20s and went to Washington once so it never occurred to me.

Of course, if they think he's DEAD (as well they might) they may have put someone else in the job.

I'm glad they're both still alive and going strong. You know how I was when people were insisting he was dead.

Have you seen Adrian's home videos of himself and his friends?

http://www.youtube.com/buckshotwon

Re: Nathan...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I love his new curly hairstyle in his latest pics

I wondered if the parts with the beard might be flashbacks?

You're quite right, politicians come in all types. No sense in making unfounded assumptions.

As for fearing he was dead: yes, quite right, but I felt sure he was alive and would be back - and I'm quite thrilled to be proved right! Yay!

Thanks for the link to Adrian's video. That's wonderful!

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

Is he? That's awesome. I never would've figured.

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

Do you have any promo links to share? :)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

As a matter of fact, I do have links for you.

There's this one that atanielle93 passed on to me - what happens when you let an actor use a camera - Adrian Pasdar's vids on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/buckshotwon

And this isn't a promo or anything but it's pretty damn cute:
http://spell-desire.livejournal.com/18122.html

One of the new promos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxpndIjNE_M

The prettiest one: (but not new)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSqVRUlvOjA
another version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1rDmrtNHv4

And more:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk8q2OWLLz8

The six minute sneak peek:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkEkkou7BAw

Another thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TefE4OaKQ0

With Adrian Pasdar and Ali Larter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ek8--yUVIY

A short one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54fgoNnLexk

From Global TV:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktD1MNV49xg

This is season 1, but it's fun - from the BBC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoSZLqyVE48

Another BBC one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkMv3dzlJUY

A slow version - easier to figure out what we're seeing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evcr5o8_6dg

If you find any more, send 'em on!

[raissad.livejournal.com]

Kring has learned which side his bread is buttered on. His original plan was to shift out the characters and make room for newbies every season, but Hiro, the Bennets, the Petrellis, et al had minds of their own. This is all the more surprising in the case of Noah/HRG, who was a bit character until the Coleman/Panetierre chemestry blew everyone out of the water, and Hiro/Oka, whose entire character was a last minute addition. It's absolutely freaky when you consider it, because Heroes wouldn't be what it is without Hiro or the HRG/Chaire dynamic that JC and HP have created.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I think it says really, really good things about a show when the creative team is flexible and smart, and learns to go with what 'works' in a show rather than just what was originally intended. Kring seems to have a genius for seeing what's effective on screen, what catches the imagination and hearts of the audience, and then going with it. Many of the duller elements were gone by the end of season one, and the most compelling character-groupings, like HRG and Claire, or even HRG and Ted and Matt - who could have seen that one coming? But it was brilliant.

This kind of directed flexibility is rare in television and I love it.

Entertainment Weekly Article With S2 Spoilers

[raissad.livejournal.com]

It's 4 pages with Matt, Suresh, & Petrelli spoilers among others. Read it here (http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20036782_20037403_20057885,00.html).

Re: Entertainment Weekly Article With S2 Spoilers

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I read half, and bailed in terror. Maybe I'll go back and read more before Monday. Maybe not!

Latest Graphic Novel -- Read After Premiere

[raissad.livejournal.com]

Don't read this until after the premiere:
http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/novels/novels_display.shtml?novel=52

Re: Latest Graphic Novel -- Read After Premiere

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I like that - I really like West's ambiguities.

[raissad.livejournal.com]

So what did you think of the premiere? Btw, it turns out that Zach Quinto and Kristen Bell have been friends for a long time. Check out these two vids to see what I mean:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z5Y2wcamXU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUB4hj-C4ZA

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Great clips!

I loved the premiere. I should make comments on it before we get next week's episode.