Are you watching “Heroes” yet? If not, maybe it’s time you tuned in.
The drama, created by Tim Kring, airs on Tuesday nights at 8 on NBC (Channel 5). The show follows a group of individuals who discover they have superhuman abilities.
In New York, a politician (Adrian Pasdar) discovers he can fly while his brother (Milo Ventimiglia, “Gilmore Girls”) finds he can copy the powers of others.
An artist (Santiago Cabrera) in the city can, aided by heroin use, paint glimpses of the future.
In Tokyo, a computer programmer (Masi Oka) can tinker with the space-time continuum. He can both stop time and teleport himself to anywhere in the world- at any time.
A Los Angeles police officer (Greg Grunberg) can read minds.
An internet stripper (Ali Larter, “Final Destination”) in Las Vegas has another personality that possesses superhuman strength and is more than a little bit vengeful.
Her estranged fugitive husband (Leonard Roberts) can walk through anything solid, whether it be walls or people.
Their son (Noah Gray-Cabey) is a young genius who can control electronics and technology with his mind.
In Texas, a cheerleader (Hayden Panettiere, “Remember the Titans”) can heal from any injury, while her father (Jack Coleman), unbeknownst to any of the “heroes,” knows of all of these people possessing advanced abilities and is systematically kidnapping them for an unknown reason.
And, with the way the season is shaping up, they’ll all have to come together in order to save the world.
Obviously, a lot of parallels can be drawn from the series to the popular X-Men franchise. Claire (the cheerleader)’s powers mimic those of Wolverine’s, while Nikki (the stripper)’s resemble those of Jean Grey’s alternate personality, Phoenix.
Hiro, the computer programmer, has powers that are similar to Nightcrawler’s. Peter Petrelli’s ability to mimic other heroes’ powers is like that of Rogue’s. Perhaps this similarity to an already established popular franchise contributes to the success of “Heroes.”
Whether it does rival X-Men, no one can deny that “Heroes” is a breakaway hit.
The series’ premiere, entitled “Genesis,” brought in 14.1 million viewers, the highest rating in five years for any NBC drama premiere. It is consistently in the top 10 downloads list on iTunes, if it’s not number one.
The show’s success doesn’t look to be slowing down, either.
In early October, NBC announced that it would be picking “Heroes” up for at least a full season. Last week’s episode, “Nothing to Hide,” drew 14.89 million viewers.
Frankly, the show is the most entertaining series on television since ABC’s “Lost” debuted in 2004.
The writing is incredible, done by a staff of writers who are said to individually write that week’s story about a particular character and then combine the various stories to make the episode.
The result is a compelling script that contains both smaller story arcs advancing character development, as well as bigger events that advance the season’s larger, overarching story arc.
The acting is also fantastic, thanks to a cast of a number of lesser known or largely unknown actors.
Each brings something to the table and makes the comic book fantasy material, which could easily sound cheesy or ridiculous, sound not only interesting, but plausible.
In short, a quality show like “Heroes” doesn’t come around very often, especially not for NBC.
Add it to your TiVo queue or your iTunes downloads so you can catch up- and then start tuning in every Tuesday night… because “Heroes” is the best new show on television.
