Heroes dvd set - EU Jacksonville 10/4/07

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the big picture

by erin thursby    scopes1925@msn.com

      Sometimes it’s putting stuff together that helps you see the big picture. That’s the way it was with the box set of the first season of Heroes. You start noticing things you might not have noticed with commercial interruptions and a week between episodes.
      I noticed the symbolic presence of roaches after I had watched it through, and that was before I went back and watched the pilot, which featured the original Heroes logo, complete with a roach. Take special note of when a roach appears and what is done with it. In the opening episode, the Dr. Suresh’s lecture about these meta-humans, he talks about how the cockroach is the most advanced being on the earth because it can survive things we can’t. The villain of the series, Sylar, is often associated with the roach.
      The show tells the story of ordinary people who discover that they have extraordinary abilities such as time travel, telepathy, flight and spontaneous regeneration. These people soon realize they have a role in preventing a catastrophe and saving the world, as in the seemingly idiotic yet intriguing catch phrase: “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World.” It emulates American comic book story arcs, with “short, multi-episode story arcs that build upon a larger, more encompassing arc.” In other words, it features lots of little stories that ultimately matter when it comes to the big picture.
      Here’s a tip for Heroes fans who are jonesing for their next Heroes fix. Go to their website. In the past they’ve put up comic books pertaining to the back stories of even minor characters and there are even dummy websites for Dr. Suresh’s research and a convincing company website for Primatech Paper, among others. Right now there’s a “documentary” on the website, featuring a PBS-esque series on the legendary Japanese hero—Takezo Kensei, who looks remarkably like the time-traveling Hiro.
      We’ve been waiting since last season for the hapless Hiro to meet Takezo Kensei, only for us to find in the first episode of season two that his hero isn’t so heroic. My theory—the original Takezo Kensei dies and Hiro feels that he has to take his place in history because he somehow will feel responsible for his death.
      The season one set is chock full of DVD extras. Each disk on the seven disk set has something to offer in that department, be it deleted scenes or audio commentaries. The last disk has the most, with a “making of,” something on special effects, the stunts and a profile of the artist who did all the paintings featured in the season.
      Judging from all the extras that have been on the website, there really could have been even more on the Heroes season DVD. I’m wondering if they will eventually release a super deluxe DVD set with all of the web exclusive extras.
      I loved watching the series in DVD form because I could pick up on all those little things in the background that I may have missed while watching it. I can also rewind just to make sure I’m not seeing things.
      One warning though: Heroes is addictive. That’s why it was so successful as a series and why you will spend too many hours in front of the TV set, mumbling “Just one more episode.”

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