Heroes (American TV series)

Heroes
File:Heroes logo.png Heroes logo
Genre	Drama Science fiction Serial
Created by	Tim Kring
Starring	David Anders Kristen Bell Santiago Cabrera Jack Coleman Tawny Cypress Dana Davis Noah Gray-Cabey Greg Grunberg Ali Larter James Kyson Lee Masi Oka Hayden Panettiere Adrian Pasdar Zachary Quinto Sendhil Ramamurthy Dania Ramírez Leonard Roberts Milo Ventimiglia
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	34 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Tim Kring Dennis Hammer Allan Arkush Greg Beeman
Production location	Los Angeles
Running time	Approx. 42 minutes
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	September 25 2006 – present

Heroes is an American science fiction serial drama television series created by Tim Kring, which premiered on NBC on September 25, 2006. The series tells the stories of ordinary individuals who discover that they have superhuman abilities. It also explores how they adapt to the changes these abilities bring, and their roles in preventing catastrophes and saving humanity. The series emulates the aesthetic style and storytelling of American comic books, using short, multi-episode story arcs that build upon a larger, more encompassing arc. Kring and the writers have an idea of where the series is heading for the first five seasons. The series is produced by Universal Media Studios in association with Tailwind Productions, and it is filmed primarily in Los Angeles, California. The executive producers are Allan Arkush, Dennis Hammer, Greg Beeman and Tim Kring. Its incidental music is composed by Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman.

The first season attracted an average of 14.3 million viewers in the United States and received the highest rating for any NBC drama premiere in five years. The first season's run consisted of 23 episodes. The second season of Heroes premiered on September 24 2007, and attracted an average of 13.1 million viewers in the United States. The second season was NBC's top series in adults 18-49, the top Monday series on any network in adults 18-49 and the top scripted series on any network in adults 18-34. 24 episodes ordered for the second season, but only eleven episodes were broadcast, due to the 100 day strike by the Writers Guild of America. The dispute has also led to the postponement of a six episode spin-off, Heroes: Origins, which was originally expected to air in April and May 2008. On February 13, 2008 NBC announced that Heroes would return for its third season in the Fall of 2008.

A digital-internet extension of the series was introduced on January 19, 2007 as Heroes 360 Experience, which explores the Heroes universe and provides clues to the show's mythology. It was rebranded as Heroes Evolutions at the beginning of the second season. Heroes Evolutions also includes graphic novels, which have been released every Tuesday of the month since September 25, 2006, and were published by Wildstorm on November 7, 2007. Other official Heroes media include magazines, action figures, tie-in and interactive websites, a mobile game, a novel, clothing and other merchandise.

Heroes has garnered a number of awards and nominations. On July 19, 2007 Heroes was nominated in eight categories at the 2007 Primetime Emmy awards, including Outstanding Drama Series and was also nominated for Best Television Series-Drama at the 2007 Golden Globes. The series won a People's Choice Award in 2007 in the category of Best New Drama and was named Progam of the Year in 2007 by the Television Critics Association. The series has also been nominated for a NAACP Image Award, WGA Award, and Satellite Award. The first season of Heroes was also a critical success.

Synopsis

See also: List of Heroes episodes and List of Heroes graphic novels

The plot of Heroes is designed to be similar to the stories of comic books with small story arcs built into the series' overall large story arc plot. Each season of Heroes is designed to involve ordinary people who discover extraordinary powers, and how these abilities take effect in the characters lives. Season 2 was originally going to comprise of three volumes, however due to the writer's strike, the season was redesigned to only encompass one volume called "Generations". Originally Volume 3 was going to be called "Exodus", and Volume 4 was going to be called "Villains." Currently, Volume 3 has been changed to "Villains" and moved to season three. The "Exodus" story arc, which was to involve the effects of the release of strain 138 of the Shanti virus, was canceled. Scenes from the volume two finale "Powerless", were reshot to reflect the cancellation of the "Exodus" volume, and to tie-up all the loose plot storylines of "Generations."

Season One

File:Manhattan explosion.jpg

Isaac's painting of Manhattan's destruction in "Genesis" - the following episode, set five weeks in the future, depicts the same explosion, and the painting forms the basis of the primary story arc of the first season.

Season one began in the United States and Canada on September 23, 2006 and featured 23 episodes. Season one consisted of the first volume, known as as "Genesis." The series went on hiatus twice; first from December 4, 2006 to January 22, 2007, and again from March 5 to April 23, 2007, with the season finale airing on May 21, 2007.

The series begins as a seemingly ordinary group of people gradually become aware that they have special abilities. Events illustrate their reactions to these powers, and how the discovery affects their personal and professional lives. At the same time, several ordinary individuals are investigating the origins and extent of these abilities. Mohinder Suresh, a geneticist, continues his late father's research into the biological source of the change, while Noah Bennet represents a secret organization known only as the "Company".

While coping, each of the characters is drawn - willingly or not - into the Company's conspiracy to control superpowered people, and into a race to stop an explosion from destroying New York City, which would kill millions of its inhabitants. Throughout the season, the predatory stalkings of the serial killer Sylar and continued manipulations from casino-owner and mobster Mr. Linderman affect the characters directly and indirectly. Several characters' individual stories culminated in a climactic meeting of the characters at Kirby Plaza in New York. These stories included Peter Petrelli's abilities, Nathan's campaign for Congress, Claire Bennet's search for her biological parents, Hiro Nakamura's adventurous journeys, Niki Sanders' multiple personalities, and Isaac Mendez's precognitive visions.

Season Two

Season two began in the United States and Canada on September 24, 2007 and featured only 11 out of the planned 24 episodes, due to the WGA writers' strike. Season two aired on Mondays at 9:00pm. Season two consisted of the second volume, known as "Generations." Season two completed its finale on December 3, 2007.

The second season begins four months after the events of Kirby Plaza. Peter Petrelli, Matt Parkman, Nathan Petrelli, and Sylar have all survived the events of the season one finale, and are trying to return to ordinary lives despite their extraordinary abilities, with the exception of Sylar, who is on a quest to regain the use of his abilities. The main plot arc of "Generations" deals with the Company and its research on the Shanti virus. This research is explored through the Company's founders, whose identities are revealed, as well as through the effects of various strains of the virus on The Haitian, Niki Sanders, Sylar, and others. An amnesiac Peter Petrelli observes the potential devastation of the virus in a future New York City. The "heroes" ultimately come together in an attempt to stop the release of a deadly strain of the virus and avert a global pandemic.

Interwoven with the main plot are several secondary plots. These include Nathan Petrelli's recovery following the events at Kirby Plaza; the journey of new characters Maya and Alejandro from Honduras to the United States, and their interaction with a powerless Sylar; Claire and Noah Bennet and their family adapting to a new life in southern California; Claire's relationship with her boyfriend West; Monica Dawson discovering her powers in New Orleans, with the help of her cousin Micah; Matt Parkman's reunion with his estranged father, leading to discovery of new abilities; the Company's manipulation of Mohinder Suresh; Ando Masahashi trying to piece together what happened to Hiro Nakamura; and Hiro's journey to Feudal Japan, where he meets his childhood hero, Takezo Kensei.

Season Three

Season three will begin with the third volume, "Villains", during the 2008-2009 United States television season. "Villains" was originally supposed to be part of the second season, however the writer's strike caused the volume to be carried over to season three. The lead-in to the third volume, "Villains", features Sylar. Throughout Volume Two, his powers are suppressed by the Shanti virus. After using Mohinder's cure, he regains his abilities, delivering the first line of the volume: "I'm back." Tim Kring has claimed that the new volume will bring a cadre of villains to the show, hence the name. On December 5, 2007 at the Jules Verne Film Festival Adventure, Tim Kring showed a video-preview of Volume three.

Cast and characters

See also: List of characters in Heroes and List of Heroes characters with special abilities

Originally, Kring designed the series to have an ever-shifting cast. However, his motivation changed when he realized how big the original cast hit with audiences; therefore he brought back most of the first season cast for the second season, with a few additions who received a star billing. In its first season, the show features an ensemble cast of twelve main characters making it the third largest cast in American primetime television behind Desperate Housewives and Lost. Although NBC's first season cast page lists only ten characters, Leonard Roberts (D.L. Hawkins), who first appeared in the series' fifth episode, was an additional member of the original full-time cast. In episode eleven of the first season, Jack Coleman (Noah Bennet) was upgraded from a recurring role to become the twelfth full-time cast member.

Zachary Quinto and James Kyson Lee, who were recurring cast members in the first season, joined the main cast for the second season. They were joined by new cast members David Anders, Kristen Bell, Dana Davis and Dania Ramírez. Anders was originally cast for a recurring role, and was upgraded to a series regular before the season began. He was listed as a guest star until the fifth episode of season two, when he was then listed as a main cast member. At the start of season two Santiago Cabrera, Tawny Cypress, and Leonard Roberts were no longer listed as part of the main cast, although Leonard Roberts' character appeared in season two as a guest starring role. The series also features many guest and recurring characters, including friends and family of the main cast, criminals and villains, and other individuals with superhuman abilities.

Name	Portrayed by	Summary
Claire Bennet	Hayden Panettiere	A high school cheerleader who has a regenerative ability. She is Noah Bennet's adopted daughter, as well as Nathan Petrelli's biological daughter.
Noah Bennet	Jack Coleman	Bennet works with and then against the Primatech Paper Company, a cover operation for an organization that investigates people with superhuman abilities. He has no superpowers.
Elle Bishop	Kristen Bell	Elle has the power of electric manipulation. Her father, Robert Bishop, is head of the Company.
Monica Dawson	Dana Davis	Monica is D.L.'s niece and Micah's cousin. Monica can replicate any physical motion she witnesses.
Simone Deveaux	Tawny Cypress	Simone is an art dealer and gallery owner whose skepticism and complicated romantic life are tested.
D.L. Hawkins	Leonard Roberts	A construction worker and gang leader with the power to alter his physical tangibility and phase through solid objects, D.L. is Niki's husband and Micah's father.
Maya Herrera	Dania Ramirez	When stressed, Maya can create a deadly illness which is fatal to those around her, except her twin brother Alejandro, who can heal it. Wanted for murder in Central America, she is on the run to the United States.
Ando Masahashi	James Kyson Lee	Ando is Hiro's friend, co-worker, and traveling companion. He has no superpowers.
Isaac Mendez	Santiago Cabrera	An artist living in New York who can paint future events during precognitive trances, Isaac also writes and illustrates the comic book 9th Wonders! which has also been shown to depict the future.
Adam Monroe/Takezo Kensei	David Anders	An Englishman who originates the role of legendary warrior Kensei in feudal Japan, Monroe has a spontaneous regenerative ability which has made him effectively immortal.
Hiro Nakamura	Masi Oka	Hiro is a programmer from Osaka with the ability to manipulate the space-time continuum. He is convinced that he is a hero who can use his gift to help those in need around the world.
Matt Parkman	Greg Grunberg	Parkman possesses the ability to hear other people's thoughts and control others' actions. He is an NYPD detective and a guardian of Molly Walker.
Nathan Petrelli	Adrian Pasdar	Nathan, who is able to fly, is a New York Congressional candidate.
Peter Petrelli	Milo Ventimiglia	Peter is a hospice nurse with the ability to absorb the powers of others he has been near and recall them.
Micah Sanders	Noah Gray-Cabey	A child prodigy and technopath, Micah has the ability to "talk" to electrical devices, giving him control of machines and electronic devices. He is D.L. and Niki's son.
Niki Sanders	Ali Larter	An internet stripper from Las Vegas who exhibits superhuman strength and has multiple personalities. She is D.L.'s wife and Micah's mother.
Mohinder Suresh	Sendhil Ramamurthy	Suresh is a professor of genetics from India who travels to New York to investigate the death of his father, Chandra. Through his investigations, he comes into contact with people his father listed as possessing superhuman abilities.
Sylar/Gabriel Gray	Zachary Quinto	Sylar is a serial killer who seeks out superhuman individuals, killing them in order to take their powers. He has multiple acquired abilities.

Casting

File:Heroes.S1.full.cast.jpg

From left to right: Micah, Niki, Nathan, Peter, Mr Bennet, Claire, Hiro, Mohinder, Matt, Sylar

See also: List of Heroes cast members

Tim Kring describes the casting process as an "incredibly simple and easy process." Every actor and actress that production wanted to cast for the show came in and read for their respective parts. When Jason La Padura, the casting director for Heroes, is casting for a new character for the show -major or minor- his company puts out a script breakdown, which is an analysis of a screenplay or script, which includes several production elements for the potential actors. Padura's company then receives resumes and photos and looks for potential actors to cast. When it comes to guest stars, Padura states, "we need to really be able to see what the people have done, what they're about, we pay a lot of attention to people's training, their previous credits. La Padura says that casting co-stars is an easier process, and can be done through an online service used by casting directors. When it comes to well-known actors, Padura submits their names, and if production are interested, they may offer a role that was already planned or write-in a new role for that actor.

Sendhil Ramamurthy's character of Mohinder Suresh was one of only a few characters that was changed based on casting. Suresh was originally designed to be a 55-year old professor, however, due to Ramamurthy's audition, the part was rewritten and made younger to fit him. Hayden Panettiere was cast by Marc Hirschfeld, executive vice president of casting for NBC Universal Television. Hirschfeld explained that when they were trying to decide who the cheerleader should be, he literally picked up the phone and said to the producers, "You got to meet Hayden Panettiere." Dania Ramirez was cast on the series based on her work on The Sopranos. She was notified by Kring that he was creating a Latin character and wanted her to come and test. Ramirez was the only actress called in to test for the role. Kristen Bell was first approached about being cast in July 2007, during a train ride back from the San Diego Comic Con with Heroes actors Zachary Quinto and Masi Oka, and writers from the series. The writers had mentioned that if Bell "ever want[ed] to come on Heroes, give us [writers] a call", to which Bell said she would love to. Bell had several casting options, including ABC's Lost, however it was officially announced that she was cast in August 2007. David Anders auditioned for the role of Takezo Kensei. He read his scenes, impersonating Peter O'Toole, in which the producers responded by asking him to tone down the impression on his second audition. He was contacted two weeks later and given the part. Anders was aware at the time that his role was a recurring role that had the possibility of being promoted to a main cast role, however, he did not find out until the filming of episode five that he would be portraying Monroe, and that his character would be moving into the present.

Jack Coleman was originally cast to only be in the pilot, with an open-ended contract. The connection between the characters of Claire and Mr. Bennet, and Kring's approval of Coleman's performance led to him being upgraded to a recurring character, before being promoted to the main cast roster. Dana Davis received the Heroes script during the 2007 pilot season. She auditioned once for the role and was cast. La Padura stated that the character of Peter Petrelli was the hardest to cast due to conflicts regarding the Petrelli brother's ages. La Padura states the Petrelli brothers were originally written to be twins, and it became obvious in the production process that in order to have correct dynamic between the two characters, Peter had to be the younger brother. Adrian Pasdar was cast first. Milo Ventimiglia's role as Peter was the last to be cast and the most difficult. Greg Grunberg originally auditioned for the role of one of the Petrelli brothers. It was not a fit for him, but the production liked him so much, they rewrote the role of Matt Parkman to fit him. Originally Parkman's character was to be much younger. La Padura was originally casting a Ryan Phillippe-type actor for the role. La Padura also states the Masi Oka was the easiest actor to cast although casting the character was difficult due to a small pool of Japanese-speaking actors. Masi walked in the door and production knew he was "terrific" and "ideal" for the role.

Ali Larter was cast for the show after reading several pilots during the 2006 pilot season. She auditioned for the role and was brought in a second and third time to meet with the studio and network respectively before being officially cast. Tawny Cypress also auditioned for the role of Niki, but was not awarded the part. Instead, Kring rewrote the role of Stella for her and renamed the character Simone Deveaux. Zachary Quinto auditioned for the role of Sylar, during the time when the series was currently airing. Tim Kring was not present at his first audition, but after a five day process, Quinto was awarded the role. Santiago Cabrera was cast through an interview process. When he auditioned for the production team, he went all out, doing the scene from the pilot when Isaac was under the influence of heroin. After the scene, the producers asked, "Well thank you very much for that. Maybe you would try it now not so on the effects of drugs." He eventually landed the role. Leonard Roberts was awarded the role of D.L. Hawkins, after he beat out Jimmy Jean-Louis (The Haitian), who auditioned for the same part three times. The part of the Haitian was rewritten for Louis. The original concept for the Haitian was to be a character from New Zealand, who would have been called "The Kiwi."

Production

Conception

Heroes began development during pilot season in 2006, when Tim Kring, then creator of NBC's Crossing Jordan, came up with the show's concept. Kring wanted to create a "large ensemble saga" that would connect with the audience. He began thinking about how big, scary and complicated he felt the world is, and wanted to create a character driven series about people who could do something about it. Kring felt that a cop, medical, or Lost-type drama did not have characters that were big enough to save the world. He came up with the thought of superheroes; ordinary people who would discover extraordinary abilities, while still rooted in the real world and in reality. Milo Ventimiglia described the pilot as a "character drama about everyday people with a heightened reality." Kring wanted the series to have touchstones that involved the characters and the world they lived in.

Before he began putting his ideas together, he spoke with Lost executive producer Damon Lindelof, with whom he had worked with for three years on Crossing Jordan. Kring credits Lindelof for giving him ideas on how to pitch the series to the network and advice on the lessons he (Lindelof) learned about working on a serialized drama. The two still speak and support each other's projects. When Kring pitched the idea for Heroes to the NBC network, he described the network's reaction as "excited...very supportive." He comments that he has been partners with NBC for some time based on his six year run as showrunner for Crossing Jordan. When he pitched the pilot, he described every detail, including the cliffhanger ending. When NBC executives asked him what was going to happen next, Kring responded, "Well, you’ll just have to wait and find out." After the project was greenlit, a special 73-minute version of the pilot was first screened to a large audience at the 2006 Comic Con in San Diego. It was initially reported that this unaired pilot would not be released, however it was included on the first season DVD set.

Writing and episode format

When the writing team works on an episode, each writer takes a character and writes the individual scenes surrounding them. These stories are then combined and given to the episode writer. This system allows every writer to contribute to every episode. and enables the writing team to finish scripts sooner, so the filming crew can shoot more scenes at a location. Tim Kring describes the writing process as a collaborative one and states that the collaboration process is important because production needs to shoot several scenes at a single location. In order to do this, several scripts have to be ready. Jesse Alexander, co-producer and writer, explains that this process is important in a serialized drama because one has to know where each character's development is heading.

Episodes have a distinct structure: following a recap of relevant events, each show begins with a cold open, which is sometimes the beginning of a scene that was introduced in the previous week's episode. At a dramatic juncture, the screen cuts to the title graphic, which is an eclipse of the sun by the earth, with the Heroes logo and a musical interlude. The opening credits generally appear alphabetically by last name over the scenes that immediately follow. Several characters' stories are shown throughout the episode. Sometimes these stories are stand alone events, while at other times character stories intertwine and cross over. Most episodes end with a suspenseful twist or cliffhanger, revealed just seconds before a smash cut to a "to be continued" graphic.

Music and soundtrack

Music from the first season is composed by Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman, with music engineer Michael Perfitt and vocals provided by Shenkar. Each episode averages thirty to thirty-five minutes of music, played entirely by Melvoin and Coleman themselves and is produced on three Intel Macs and a hard raid system. The second season brought the addition of Manon Dave to the music team. Melvoin and Coleman became involved with Heroes from their previous work with executive producer Allan Arkush. Tim Kring, gave general instructions to the pair, including the emotion and direction for each character. Kring wanted incredibly unusual music and gave Wendy and Lisa a lot of freedom and permission to experiment. In the pilot episode, Kring suggested that a dreamy cue be used in the scene involving Claire Bennet running into a burning train. The dreamy cue has since become "a signature piece of the show." Additionally, the pair developed specific musical cues for each character:

• Claude's theme involved wind and voices to create the feeling of a ghost-like presence.
• Hiro Nakamura's involves marimbas and bassoons with staccato to re-create the sound of clocks ticking in reference to the character's power.
• Matt Parkman's theme involves voices being played backwards when he uses his power of telepathy.
• Peter Petrelli's theme involves marcato strings.
• Niki Sanders' theme was based on her character's alter-ego named Jessica and involved winds and Indian voices chanting in an underscore to give a feeling that she was possessed.
• Mohinder Suresh's theme is the piano composition that plays at the end of some episodes.

In 2007, the ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards gave Wendy and Lisa the "Top Television Series" award for their work on Heroes.

In France, the theme music of Heroes is composed by Victoria Petrosillo. Her song, "Le Héros d'un autre", is used by television network TF1 to replace the show's original incidental music. The network created a new opening credit sequence in order to play Petrosillo's theme song.

The Rogue Wave song "Eyes" from the Just Friends soundtrack is featured in the Season 1 episodes "Genesis" and "Collision". Additionally, singer-songwriter Imogen Heap recorded a song entitled "Not Now But Soon" for the show's soundtrack which is expected to be released in February 2008.

Filming and visual effects

File:9thWonderScreenCap.jpg

Hiro Nakamura reads the 9th Wonders! comic he picks up in the future.

Mark Kolpock of Stargate designs, is the visual effects supervisor and Mark Spatny is the visual effects producer for Heroes. They work with visual effects animators Anthony Ocampo and Ryan Wieber, who are also from Stargate. The series visual effects consist of blue screens and 2D and 3D animation. The visual effects for the series are created after the scene is shot in post-production, unlike special effects, which are incorporated into the scenes during filming. Notable visual effects that Kolpack has pointed out include radioactive Claire in "Company Man", Nathan flying from Mr. Bennet and The Haitian in "Hiros", and Hiro's time freezing encounter with the schoolgirl in the red bow in "One Giant Leap". The special effects are coordinated by Gary D'Amico. Stunts are coordinated by Ian Ouinn, who also uses blue screens to accomplish some of the stunts in the series, such as Nathan Petrelli flying away from Heidi during the car accident scene in "Six Months Ago". Principal filming for Heroes take place in Los Angeles and Santa Clarita, California. Kolpack and his team are also responsible for making Los Angeles looks like international locations, such as India and the Ukraine, using blue screens and set designs by Ruth Ammon, production designer for the series. The series is filmed using a single-camera setup.

In keeping with the comic book thematic elements used on Heroes, professional comic book artist Tim Sale was brought in to provide the artwork used within the series, including the artwork of Isaac Mendez, and Mendez metafictional comic book series, the 9th Wonders!. Additionally, the font used in captions and credits for the show is reminiscent of traditional hand-rendered comic book lettering. It was created by Sale and is based on his handwriting style.

DVD releases

The first DVD release of Heroes contained only the first episode, and was released in the UK and Ireland during August 2007. UK Region 2 split Heroes into two halves on its initial release; part one being released on October 1, 2007 and part two on December 10, 2007. When the second part was released, a complete first season boxset was also released. Heroes was also released as two parts in Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden, with the first part being released on November 28 2007, and the second part expected to be released on February 13 2008, which will also contain the full first season. The complete first season was released in USA and Canada on August 28, 2007. It was released in Brazil on September 3, 2007; Australia and New Zealand on September 19, 2007; Poland on September 27, 2007; France on October 2, 2007; Spain on October 17, 2007; Netherlands and Belgium on October 18, 2007; and Malaysia on December 2, 2007.

The DVD release includes an extended 73-minute version of the pilot episode, 50 deleted scenes, behind the scenes featurettes and an audio commentary by Kring.

Season 2 of Heroes is set to be realeased on DVD in 2008. It is set to have the 11 episodes from season 2.

Heroes: Origins

On May 14, 2007, NBC announced that during the 2007-2008 season, the network would air a six-episode Heroes spin-off called Heroes: Origins. The show was to introduce a new character each week, and viewers were to select which one would stay for the following season of the regular series. The show was supposed to air after the completion of the second season of Heroes in April 2008, as announced at the 2007 Comic-Con International. The second season of Heroes and the first season of Heroes: Origins would have included a total of 30 episodes. However, on October 31 2007, reports in Variety and The Hollywood Reporter indicated that Origins had been postponed due to a strike by the Writers Guild of America. The show may be revisited, according to TV Guide, if the dispute with the Writer's Guild is resolved quickly.

The reason given for the spin-off was to remove the mid-season hiatus, which caused the ratings to falter when Heroes returned in Season 1. NBC's chief, Kevin Reilly, told reporters on May 14, 2007, "We've got something I call the 'bulk-up challenge' for next year, which is trying to stay more consistent in our scheduling for the audience. We asked [Heroes creator] Tim Kring to come up with an idea, and what I love is not only did we bulk up with 30 hours next season, but also a whole new idea which I think is going to take the show to the next level."

Tim Kring stated in an interview with The Post Show on G4 that the first episode of Origins was to reveal the secrets and meanings behind the Helix symbol. However, due to the WGA Strike, Kring commented that the secret will have to be revealed down the line. Kring revealed in the Heroes Live Blog on September 24 that he was to write the first episode of Origins and John August had been hired for the spin-off, as well. He also said some well known directors could be expected. Director Kevin Smith, a fan of Heroes, was set to write and direct an episode for the spin-off, as were Eli Roth and Michael Dougherty.

Mythology

Main article: Mythology of Heroes

File:Activating Evolution.jpg

Activating Evolution

Heroes includes a number of mysterious fictional elements that have been ascribed to science fiction or supernatural phenomena. Tim Kring and the creators of the series refer to these fictional elements as part of the mythology of the series. Kring confirmed that although the show does have a unique mythology, he does not want to sink too deeply into it. Rather, Kring has used volumes to wrap-up ongoing plot lines, rather than carrying storylines over long periods of time, as in Lost. As far as the overall mythology of the series, Kring said, "we have talked about where the show goes up to five seasons." As far as the show's ending date, Kring has commented that, "This show doesn't posit an ending…" The show does not have a designated ending point and is "open-ended."

Among the show's mythological elements are the Company, the legend of Takezo Kensei, paintings of the future, superpowers and their origins, the Shanti virus, 9th Wonders! comic book and numerous other elements and mythological themes.

Recurring elements

The helix

There are several elements and symbols that appear repeatedly throughout the series: the helix, the scar, the eclipse, and the cockroach.

The "helix," as it is referred to by the writers, is a symbol that first appears in the episode "Don't Look Back". Writer and co-producer Aron Coleite has stated that it literally means "God sending great ability." The symbol frequently appears as a pattern formed by mundane objects, but it also recurs on certain plot-significant items and on several characters. In an interview on The Post Show on G4, Kring stated that the secret behind the meaning of the Helix was to be revealed in the first episode of Heroes: Origins, however, due to the Writer's Strike and Origins postponement, Kring stated that the secret may have to be revealed down the line.

A scar consisting of two black parallel lines has been shown close to the neck of multiple super-powered characters. The scar is the mark left by the two-pronged needle of a pneumatic injection device, which, as revealed in a biography of Hana Gitelman in the Heroes 360 experience, injects a radioisotope to allow tracking. A solar eclipse has been a recurring image in the series itself, and is also used as the series' logo. A terrestrial eclipse (an eclipse in which the Earth covers the Sun, as viewed from an observation point away from the Earth) is used in the series' title sequence. Cockroaches have also appeared and have been mentioned several times in the series, particularly in relation to the villain Sylar. Tim Kring has stated that the cockroach represents survival.

Impact

Critical reception

When Heroes completed the first half of the first season, the show had already collected an assortment of honors and accolades. On December 10 2006, the American Film Institute named Heroes one of the ten "best television programs of the year." On December 13 2006, the Writers Guild of America nominated the program for "best new series" of 2007. On December 14, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association nominated the program for a Golden Globe Award for "best television drama", and nominated Masi Oka (Hiro Nakamura) for Best Supporting Actor on a TV Series. On January 9 2007, Heroes won the award for Favorite New TV Drama at the 33rd People's Choice Awards. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People nominated Heroes on January 9, 2007 for an Image Award in the "Outstanding Drama Series" category. On February 21, 2007, it was announced that Heroes was nominated for five Saturn Awards. The nominations included "Best Network Television Series", "Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series" for both Greg Grunberg and Masi Oka, and "Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series" for Hayden Panettiere and Ali Larter.

On July 19, 2007, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced their nominations for the 2007 Primetime Emmy awards. Heroes was nominated in eight categories, including Outstanding Drama Series. The first episode, "Genesis", earned six nominations: Outstanding Directing (David Semel), Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series, Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series, and Outstanding Stunt Coordination. The episode "Five Years Gone" also received a nomination for Outstanding Visual Effects for a Series. Masi Oka was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. On September 16, 2007, the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards were held and Heroes failed to win a single Emmy award despite the eight nominations. On July 21 2007, the Television Critics Association awarded Heroes with the prestigious Outstanding Program of the Year title during their 23rd Annual TCA Awards ceremony. The cast of Heroes was named in the 2006 Time Magazine's Person of the Year issue under "People Who Mattered".

Doug Elfman of the Chicago Sun-Times stated, "The show's super strengths are its well-developed filmmaking, smooth pacing and a perfect cast. It views like the first hour of a fun, thoughtful movie." Barry Garron at the The Hollywood Reporter also stated, ""Heroes" is one of TV's most imaginative creations and might, with luck, become this year's Lost." Less favorable reviews included the Philadelphia Inquirer, who commented that although the show had lots of "cool effects," it "lands, splat, in a pile of nonsense and dim dialogue." In response to the first pod of season one episodes, The Chicago Tribune went as far as saying, "You could watch the first few episodes of “Heroes,” or you could repeatedly hit yourself on the head with a brick. The effect is surprisingly similar." At Metacritic, the Heroes pilot received a 67/100, with generally favorable reviews from critics.

Additionally, the second season of Heroes was criticized by commentators and fans for a much slower pace, less engaging storyline and lack of focus compared to the first season. Milo Ventimiglia stated that "when there's a little bit of a delay, there's not that instant, rewarding scene or moment or episode… people get impatient, so it has been extremely important for them to strike a balance between giving and getting."

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Heroes creator Tim Kring commented on criticisms of season two, and the series' 15% decline in ratings. Kring said that he felt he had made mistakes with the direction of season two. He had thought that the audience was looking for a "build-up of characters and the discovery of their powers", in contrast to season one, when viewers were instead looking for "adrenaline."

Kring also outlined what he felt were problems with plot development, stating that the second season "took too long to get to the big-picture story", explaining that Peter's vision of the viral armageddon should have occurred in the first episode instead of the seventh. He feels that it would have been better to introduce new characters within the context of the main storyline, as with Elle, rather than in unattached arcs such as that of Maya and Alejandro. Kring also admitted that he should have resolved the "Hiro in Japan" storyline much more quickly, and that the romantic stories are not working well. With regards to Claire and West, and Hiro and Yaeko, he said, "I've seen more convincing romances on TV. In retrospect, I don't think romance is a natural fit for us."

Ratings

Seasonal USA rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Heroes on NBC:

Season	Timeslot (EDT)	Premiere	Finale	TV Season	Rank	Viewers (in millions)	Adults 18-49
1	Monday 9:00PM	September 25, 2006	May 21, 2007	2006-2007	#21	14.3	8.0
2	Monday 9:00PM	September 24, 2007	December 3, 2007	2007-2008	#22	13.1	TBA

The pilot episode generated 14.3 million viewers, with the season high topping out at 16.03 million viewers for episode 9. When the series returned from hiatus on January 22, 2007, the ratings averaged about the same as the pilot with 14.9 million viewers. When the show went on a second hiatus during the first season, from March 4, 2007 to April 23, 2007 (7 weeks), ratings hit an all time low; the lowest being 11.14 million viewers during part one of the three part finale, "The Hard Part." In season two, the opener was consistent in the ratings, however, week-by-week, the ratings continued to dive, reaching an all time low for the series on episode seven, "Out of Time", with only 9.87 million viewers. Although the ratings were lower than average, this episode was considered to be a turning point for the declining season, as a major plot twist was introduced and the volumes "big picture styoryline" was presented. The season two/volume 2 finale generated 11.06 million viewers in the ratings, down more than 3 million viewers from the season opener and series pilot.

Heroes also airs in other countries; ratings and rankings for some of these markets include:

• Australia: The first season aired on the Seven Network Wednesday nights at 8:30 pm. The series debuted strongly, attracting more than 2 million viewers in the five capital cities. Viewership settled closer to 1 million nearing the end of the first season and the show was moved to Thursdays at 8:30 pm in New South Wales and Queensland but remained in the 8:30pm Wednesday timeslot in other states, the move of the timeslot in the northern states successfully attracted more viewers in those areas. In an effort to keep viewer numbers high the Seven Network began showing the second season on Thursday nights at 9:30pm across all areas, a week after the US screening. The network has aired only nine of the eleven episodes released from the second season, the ninth being incorrectly described as the season finale. It is unknown when the remaining episodes will be aired.
• Canada: The program aired on the Global Television Network, primarily in the same timeslot as the US broadcast, although some episodes aired a day earlier.
• France: The first season aired over the summer of 2007 on TF1, with three episodes each Saturday night beginning at 8:50 pm. The series debuted strongly, with the premiere attracting just over 6 million viewers in France. Over the summer viewership fell to under 4 million, disappointing TF1. Nonetheless, TF1 will be presenting season 2 as VOD only, one day after the US broadcast each week.
• Germany: The series currently airs on RTL 2. It premiered on October 10, 2007, attracting 2.90 million viewers (17.3% of share in the 18-49 years old target) on its first showing, making it a huge success. After 24, this is the most successful premiere on RTL 2 ever.
• Hong Kong: The series airs on TVB Pearl.The first three episodes of season 1 become three of the top 100 rating programs on English channels in Hong Kong in 2007, each attracting 309,000 to 346,000 viewers.The series was also voted as the second most popular drama series on TVB Pearl.
• Netherlands: The series currently airs on RTL5. The series premiere had low ratings (405,000 viewers), though a replay drew 572,000 viewers (8.6% market share). Currently the series draws some 350,000 viewers each episode.
• South Africa: The series first aired on May 23, 2007 on SABC3; with the premiere attracting 733,300 viewers and a 10% audience share. Ratings dropped as the season progressed as other shows in the same timeslot increased in popularity.
• United Kingdom: The series first aired on February 19, 2007 on Sci Fi UK. The premiere attracted 579,000 viewers on its first showing; with three repeat showings averaging 150,000. The series averaged 450,000 viewers, almost four times more than any other viewership for a program on this channel. Terrestrial airing began on BBC Two on July 25, 2007, and in HD in the UK on BBC HD. It attracted an audience of 4.3 million viewers.

Comparisons to other works

The show's creators have answered criticism over similarities between elements of the show and the X-Men in their live blog, saying "I think there is a shorthand to compare it to X-Men when you have not yet seen the show. However, my guess is that that comparison will go away once you have seen what we are doing."

On February 7, 2007, Jeph Loeb, co-executive producer of Heroes and the other creators compared Heroes to 24, stating, that like 24, each season would conclude and the next season would introduce a new plotline. In the same interview, Tim Kring compared Heroes to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Incredibles, stating the characters in Eternal Sunshine were "ordinary...and unexpected," but well responded to; and the characters in Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles were superpowered people who had to deal with the stresses and problems that arose when they attempted to live a normal life.

Bob Smithouser at pluggedinonline.com, reviewed the Heroes pilot and compared it as a combination of elements from The 4400, Lost, X-Men, and Stephen King's The Stand. Aron Coliete and Joe Pakaski have stated that "comics have a huge influence on us." Watchmen, Days of Future Past, Y: The Last Man, The Dark Knight Returns, and The Long Halloween are a few examples that they gave. Other non-comicbook examples included the 9/11 documentary Loose Change and the novel The Fourth K by Mario Puzo.

Legal and copyright issues

On October 2, 2006, Emerson Electric Company, an appliance market competitor of NBC's owner General Electric, filed suit in federal court against NBC. The suit was in regard to a scene that appeared in "Genesis", the first episode of season one, when Claire Bennet reached into an active garbage disposal unit—labeled "InSinkErator"—to retrieve a ring and severely disfigured her hand. Emerson claimed the scene "casts the disposer in an unsavory light, irreparably tarnishing the product" by suggesting serious injuries would result "in the event consumers were to accidentally insert their hand into one." Emerson had asked for a ruling barring future broadcasts of the pilot, which was previously available on NBC's website and had already aired on NBC Universal-owned cable networks USA Network and The Sci Fi Channel. It also sought to block NBC from using any Emerson trademarks in the future.

On February 23, 2007, the case against NBC was dropped. NBC Universal and Emerson Electric reached an agreement to settle the lawsuit outside of court. The episode in question was briefly unavailable in the iTunes Store, but an edited version was soon made available for download. A non-edited version of the episode was shown in the BBC Two premiere on July 25, 2007. The DVD and HD DVD releases contain an edited version where the "InSinkErator" label has been removed from the scene.

On March 19, 2007, Clifton Mallery and Amnau Karam Eele, artist and writers for the NBC series Crossing Jordan, filed suit against NBC and Tim Kring claiming that the idea for an artist who can paint the future was stolen from a short story, painting and short film that they had produced. The lawsuit is centered around the character of Isaac Mendez. NBC called the suit without merit and defended their case. On December 11, 2007, the New York Law Journal reported on Mallery v. NBC Universal, quoting from Southern District Judge Denise Cote's opinion that "the line between mere 'ideas' and protected 'expression' is 'famously difficult to fix precisely'", and stating that Heroes was not close to infringing.

Promotions, fandom, and pop culture

Following the debut of Heroes in 2006, the tagline Save the Cheerleader, Save the World was recognized within the television industry as an effective marketing device. The series has since been referenced and parodied in several other series and movies including Ugly Betty, Shaq's Big Challenge, Family Guy, The Simpsons, The Batman, One Tree Hill, Kyle XY, Meet the Spartans and on MadTV. Other mentions include a promotional campaign on Comedy Central for the film Joe Dirt, a promotional campaign on Epic Movie by Regency Enterprises, issue 39 of Marvel Comic's Cable and Deadpool series, along with references to Sylar and Matt Parkman in the webcomic series Ctrl+Alt+Del and 2PSTART respectively. In 2006, NBC also created a Heroes parody entitled Zeroes. Zeroes, which was released as a viral video on sites including YouTube, features parodies including four chapters and a open audition. Development and production of the project was kept secret from Heroes creator Tim Kring. NBC has also cross promoted the show on several of its series, including 30 Rock, Bionic Woman, Chuck, ER, My Name Is Earl, The Office, Scrubs, and Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip.

NBC hosted panels at the 2006 and 2007 Comic-Cons in San Diego to promote the series. Major announcements have been made during the panel, along with sneak peaks of forthcoming seasons. In 2006, the Heroes panel presented the entire season one 72-minute pilot. In 2007, major announcements were made about Heroes: Origins. Comic-Con also allows the cast and crew to answer questions from the press and from fans.

Billboard for Heroes World Tour, Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore.

On July 21, 2007, Tim Kring announced that cast and crew members of Heroes would travel the world for the Heroes World Tour to promote the season one DVD release and the forthcoming season two. The tour took place in North America (New York and Toronto), Asia (Singapore, Tokyo, and Hong Kong) and Europe (Munich, Paris and London). The tour began on August 26, and ended on September 1, 2007. Most principal cast members attended in three groups; one group for each country. Tim Sale, Jeph Loeb, and Dennis Hammer attended from the production crew. Principal cast members who did not attend were David Anders, Kristen Bell, Dana Davis, Leonard Roberts and Tawney Cypress.

On November 12, 2007, the "Create Your Own Hero" promotion was unveiled. Heroes fans can go online on their computer or mobile phone and select characteristics for a new "hero", who will be built based on the most-picked traits. Each week, the character will evolve based on the fans' input, and he or she will be shown on air every Monday during the series airing.

Multimedia

Television and radio

See also: Heroes Unmasked and The Post Show

Heroes Unmasked is a series on BBC that goes behind-the-scenes of the production of Heroes. Many details of Heroes are revealed, including set design, props, special effects and costuming, as well as blue and green screen animation. U.S. network G4 began airing Heroes episodes on November 3, 2007, along with an American version of Heroes Unmasked entitled The Post Show. The series, which will air following Heroes, includes interviews, live viewer commentary, interactive polls, behind-the-scenes footage and other Heroes content. U.S. Network MOJO HD also airs Heroes episodes in High Definition.

In November 2007, the BBC made four short '2 Dimensional' films where actors from the series look through a '2' shaped hole into a room which reflects the character they play in Heroes. BBC7 radio broadcast "Heroes - The Official Radio Show" with Jon Holmes, every Saturday at 7:30 on BBC7 DAB digital radio. The program is also available as a podcast.

Internet

See also: Heroes Evolutions

Heroes Evolutions is a digital extension of the series released on January 19, 2007 which explores the Heroes universe and provides clues to the show's mythology. It was entitled Heroes 360 Experience throughout the first season and rebranded for the second season. Heroes Interactive, is an interactive website which began operation on January 29, 2007, during the airing of "The Fix". Hosted at NBC.com, it offers behind the scenes information, polls, trivia, and quizzes, as well as recent posts by Hana Gitelman. The features air once a week, and are designed to be viewed concurrently with that week's episode. NBC's website also hosts a number of official online media including episode commentaries, features with producers, cast and crew members, behind-the-scene webisodes, and interactive media. Portals include Inside Heroes and Heroes episode commentary.

Complete episodes of Heroes are available online, to US residents only, along with downloads through the "NBC Direct" service. Episodes were also available on iTunes, although this arrangement ceased in December 2007 as NBC and Apple Inc. were unable to come to a renewal deal. Series 1 and 2 are currently available for streaming on Netflix, which requires a paid subscription.

The Heroes production team also has official series content on the internet. Writers Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite hold a weekly "Question and Answer" column hosted by Comicbookresources.com entitled "Behind the Eclipse". Every week, since October 23, 2006, Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite have answered questions regarding the previous weeks episodes, before the airing of the Monday night episode. Questions are submitted by fans and CBR editors. Currently, the column is on hold until the end of the writers' strike. Show producer and director Greg Beeman also posts weekly on his blog where he discusses how the episode is filmed and gives spoilers for the upcoming episode. This is usually posted on Mondays, prior to the airing of Heroes on NBC. The Beeman blog began on August 4, 2006.

Video and mobile games

Ubisoft has announced that they have licensed the rights to produce an as yet untitled Heroes video game. The game is expected to be offered for PCs and console gaming platforms. Gameloft released the first Heroes mobile game on October 5, 2007. It consists of 8 levels and playable characters includes Hiro Nakamura, Niki Sanders and Peter Petrelli. All three characters are played in their present and future forms as shown in "Five Years Gone". The mobile game has released the names of several members of the Company founders, including Arthur Petrelli and Maury Parkman.

Books and publications

Each week, NBC releases a Heroes webcomic. The comics give additional character background and plot information not shown in the television episodes. The graphic novels continued on a weekly basis during the show's 2007 summer hiatus. Wildstorm, a subsidiary of DC Comics, released them in published form on November 7, 2007. The collected volume included novels 1-34, and featured two different covers by Alex Ross and Jim Lee as well as an introduction by Masi Oka and artwork by Tim Sale.

On December 26, 2007, the first Heroes novel was published, entitled Saving Charlie. Written by Aury Wallington, who wrote the book with the full cooperation of the Heroes writing staff, the novel revolves around the relationship of Hiro Nakamura and Charlie Andrews, when Hiro went back in time six months to attempt to save her.

Titan Magazines released the first issue of Heroes Magazine on November 20, 2007. It is the first of a series of six, slated to be released bi-monthly. The first issue is a 100 page premiere issue. Feature articles include a cast group interview, a secret origins featurette, and a season one episode guide. Greg Beeman, executive producer of Heroes has confirmed that this is an official Heroes release, with the full support and cooperation of Tim Kring and the rest of the Heroes production team.

Action figures

Mezco announced at Toy Fair 2007 that they will be producing a line of action figures based on the television show Heroes. The figures will have at least 8 points of articulation, and feature central accessories. Along with action figures, Mezco announced a collection of screen grabs, non-articulated 3 3/4" figures on a display recreating a pivotal scene of the series. The action figures are featured on the cover of the March 2008 (issue #127) of ToyFare magazine.

External links

Official sites

• Heroes on NBC - Official NBC site for Heroes in the United States
• 9th Wonders! - Semi-official site from Heroes creator Tim Kring
• The Beeman Blog - Official weblog of Producer Greg Beeman
• Heroes Evolutions

Other sites

• Heroes at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show
• Heroes Wiki