Heroes 1x01-1x02

[oyceter]

So far, the writing isn't so great, and I'm already having problems with facial recognition because of all the blonde women, but the scope is so big that I still get excited. Also, there are people of color! There were lots in the commercials as well, which was nice.

Characters I like:

Hiro, aka Japanese space/time bender - I am still annoyed by just how many stereotypes of Japan the writers attempted to fit into two episodes, along with the continuing portrayal of Asian men as harmless geeks, but Hiro is just so earnest and charming and happy that I can't help but want to hug him

Mohinder, aka Indian genetics professor - He is hot. Also, he has the most interesting story so far, given that he is doing things rather than things happening to him

Characters I am on the fence about:

The rest of them. Although Claire the invincible invulnerable cheerleader is sort of winning me over. I am very blah about the brothers.

I would also like to tell the writers that one of the first symptoms of major depressive disorder is in fact NOT delusions of grandeur culminating in suicide. In fact, delusions of grandeur is probably the exact opposite of one of the first symptoms of major depressive disorder. *rolls eyes*

And Hiro's salaryman friend doesn't sound like a native Japanese speaker, though the accent isn't that obvious. Hiro sounds very Japanese to me, but then, I probably can't tell. Also, that street shot of Tokyo didn't much look like Tokyo, imho.

Anyhow, I'll keep watching, just because there are things like the end of the world and people with superpowers, at least until I get too bored.

Spoilers for 1.01-1.02

Flying brothers, I still care nothing for you. You are boring and furthermore, you make depressed people look bad (because the writers your mother knows NOTHING about depression!). Also, the whole political campaign thing is stupid and heavy-handed. The whole both-of-you-can-fly thing doesn't make my heart soften and go awww, Politics Brother, truly you are nice deep down inside. In fact, it makes me roll my eyes, particularly because you do things like tamper with police records. Hello writers, plausibility?

Spooky blonde mom, you creep me out. But I am happy that you have a kid of color. Biracial? Adopted?

Claire, you unexpectedly charm me. I hope they do not go down the whole popularity-in-high-school thing with you. Also, your dad is really creepy.

Mohinder, you are hot like a hot thing. And you have a British accent! Guh. However, your next-door-neighbor is very annoying, and the fight with the exterminator was immensely stupid. And I guess your dad conveniently doesn't know how to turn off the answering machine after he picks up the phone.

Hiro, I am very sorry that the plot makes you do stupid things like pick up a gun at a crime scene after seeing a trail of blood. Also, I am annoyed that they have already killed off one minority character. Other than that, you are very cute and I like you a lot.

Eric Weiss LA cop guy, you are also sort of boring. However, I am very sorry that you have to be stupid so that the plot will work as well.

And finally, what is up with the braaaaaaiiiiins?

Comments

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Total agreement regarding both racial sterotypes and the utter adorableness (Hiro) and hotness (Mohinder) of the actors turning what could be quite awful characters into the best ones on the show. (OK, Mohinder isn't terribly stereotypical except for the Indian = science person thing, but Hiro is definitely Japanese stereotypes on parade.) Masi Oka was born in Japan, by the way, and spent at least some time there before coming to the US, so he may be a native speaker. I read in the interview that he's been working with the writers to make Hiro more realistically Japanese, so here's hoping.

I think Block O' Wood Mom was confusing depression with bipolar.

Braaaaaaaaaaaaains: I think that Sylar's power is to get other people's powers by eating their brains.

[(Anonymous)]

I like the Mohinder character, but the show's writers pissed me off by having him repeat the bit about people using only 10% of their brains. I'm pretty sure that scientists have long ago realized they were wrong, so a rising-star professor shouldn't be repeating such nonsense. Grr.

I don't know that Sylar gets people's powers (although I also hypothesized that) so much that he gets hungry for the brains of superpeople. Which is why he's sad that his daughter is now on the menu: He'll try to eat other people first, but if he can't find them, then she's probably toast. (What was with the frozen couple? Anyway, maybe not literally toast.)

Have either of you watched any 4400? I thought that started pretty well, and had an interesting overall plot-gimmick (people are kidnapped and returned -- it turns out the future needs them to save the world, and gave them special powers), and then foundered.

[thomasyan.livejournal.com]

Oops, forgot to log in.

[oyceter]

I'm still not sure that Sylar is Claire's dad, just because the show seems to like complicating things.

I haven't actually seen 4400; was it on Sci-Fi or something?

[fialka.livejournal.com]

The 4400 was on bt for me *G*. I have liked it all the way through, though it did sort of take a few left turns into huhland along the way. Probably helped that they brought in Karina Lombard just as my interest was starting to flag -- that Tahitian-French accent just makes my wees go kneak :)

Hiro made me roll my eyes in an 'OMG, I think the writers watched the same programme on otaku men I did a couple of months ago' kind of way, but the actor's done such a splendid job of making him utterly adorable that I don't really mind. Even the fact that he looks painfully constipated when bending space/time is kind of cute. At this point, he's the only reason I'll be tuning in to ep 3.

[thomasyan.livejournal.com]

If Claire's dad is not Sylar, I bet he at least knows about him. His just happening to get in the cab that Mohinder was driving and knowing who he was and scaring him seems pretty significant.

4400 was on USA, along with Dead Zone and Monk.

Oh yeah, as for the depression/grandeur thing, I also thought the mom/writers were maybe confusing bipolar or schizophrenia with depression, since otherwise what they said made no sense, and I know little enough about bipolar/schizophrenia that maybe that substitution would make sense.

[oyceter]

I know! I was very prepared to be irritated by the stereotypes of Japan and possibly be annoyed by the portrayal of Mohinder, depending on how it went, but the two actors really are the best in the show so far, and they totally sell their characters. Hiro in particular is absolutely adorable, and I love him to pieces.

I really hope Masi Oka will be able to influence the writing!

I think Block O' Wood Mom was confusing depression with bipolar.

No kidding!

Braaaaaaaaaaaaains: I think that Sylar's power is to get other people's powers by eating their brains.

I am not quite convinced that Sylar is Claire's dad, just because that feels like it's too easy. But both are creepy nonetheless.

I think the show needs zombies ;).

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I too kind of like Claire. But the cop is a moron, the brothers are boring, the show does not need two emo artists, and the stripper-mirror-mom bugs me. (Two women on the whole show, and one has to be a stripper!)

However, I don't think the artist is actually dead. (He's only mostly dead!) Since Hiro was in the future when he died, I bet part of the action will be averting his death as well as the big explodey catastrophe.

[oyceter]

Totally agree re: women on the show! I really wanted black-girlfriend-of-artist-dude to be a superhero as well (also, mixed race romance!), but so far, she hasn't had much to do except act worried and call for help.

I forgot about the whole future thing! I really hope artist guy shows up more, because he's interesting (though the power is totally from LJ Smith's Dark Visions). And his paintings are pretty.

[tyreseus.livejournal.com]

Well, I agree with many of your comments, or at least see where you're coming from.

The kid - according to IMDB, the actor playing "D.L." (who is mentioned a fe times but has not been seen yet) is African America, so it looks like he's definately a biracial kid.

Definately agree that the election plot seems heavy-handed, although I do like the brothers a bit more than most people seem to.

Also, have you noticed the symbol (http://sv1.letmehost.com/sv1/21/SpaceBetweenTheCTAGs.PNG) yet? I started noticing it in this week's episode and thought it was an interesting "Lost"-like element.

[oyceter]

Yay biracial kid!

I totally forgot about the symbol! The braaaaaains must have distraced me ;). So far, the show seems like it will go for massive conspiracies and many faceless enemies, which is perfectly fine with me.

[readsalot.livejournal.com]

I asked a Japanese co-worker about some of the stuff with Hiro. He felt that both Hiro and his friend sounded more Korean than Japanese, and said that none of the scenese in Japan looked right. However, he really like the show in general.

I find Hiro very cute, and I like Claire, though we need a better word for her power; to me, "invulnerable" means she can't be damaged (like Superman), but what she really has is the ability to sustain terrible damage, not die, and then heal instantly. Like Wolverine. Only "mutant healing factor" is just not a good phrase.

I like blond stripper Mom's mirror image, who seems very capable and much smarter than her original. My guess is that her kid's father is African-American.

[oyceter]

Ah well... still, I was very impressed that the show went with subtitles as opposed to just having them speak English, and that it sounded like they really trained the actors to speak Japanese with the correct phrasing and etc.

Blond Stripper Mom's mirror image is freaky! I am very interested to see what the mirror image is up to, since it is obviously much smarter than Blond Stripper Mom.

[umadoshi.livejournal.com]

This show is confusing the parts of my brain that decide if I want to watch something. The writing is just clunky and annoying, and most of the characters make me want to smack them upside the head, and yet--we're gonna give it a few more eps.

I keep feeling conflicted about liking Hiro so much, because all of the discussion about race issues over the last few months has me being sort of more aware but not really confident about how to view/filter things. (I keep putting books you suggest on order at the library, 'cause they sound really interesting. ^^) The stereotyping in his case is pretty glaring, and yet the performance is so exuberant and happy and enthusiastic that I adore him.

Everyone else . . . kinda meh. Or worse. :/ And yet I want to see where this is going.

[oyceter]

Gah, I know, the stereotyping is so bad! But Hiro is so cute! I really hope that the writers will realize that they got a great actor for the role and give him more to do (ditto with Mohinder). The nice thing about TV is that there's always hope ;).

I figure I'll give it a few more eps for the stupidity to clear up and really hope that the writers get much better at characterization really fast.

[umadoshi.livejournal.com]

The casting feels all over the place--those two actors seem really promising, but then some of the others just feel *so* clunky and awkward. Blah.

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

do you have any idea what stripper mom's superpower is? as far as i can tell she has massively dissociative multiple personality disorder plus hallucinations. i think if it's in the dsm, it's not a superpower.

also, hiro is at least smart enough to have jumped back ten minutes after he picked up the gun and got arrested. doh.

[thomasyan.livejournal.com]

I wonder if stripper mom's superpower involves an alternate reality. But that still doesn't explain how the garage was cleaned so quickly and thoroughly, and the other car obtained. Plus, what was with the skeletons that she dug up after following the map?