Heroes – NBC Fall Preview

Imagine a world that’s just like ours.

Now imagine that world where ordinary people suddenly discover they can do something extraordinary. Like fly. Paint the future, or miraculously regenerate.

That is the premise for NBC’s new fall show, “Heroes”. Clearly an ensemble show, “Heroes” centers on people from all over the world. In Japan, a young office worker discovers he can transport himself to anywhere in the world; a cheerleader discovers she is indestructible; a Los Angeles cop begins reading minds; a drug-addicted painter realizes that painting from when he is high show visions of the future (and realizes that something terrible is going to happen); the younger brother of a politician awakens one night to find he is levitating; and a Vegas stripper discover her mirror alter-ego leads an interesting life.

With the recent success of Superman Returns, Batman Begins and the X-men trilogy, “Heroes” seems perfectly timed. And, while a show about superheroes discovering their powers could be trite and self-deprecating, “Heroes” takes itself seriously. While each character comes to possess a superhuman power, it isn’t so much about those powers as what an ordinary man-off-the-street does with them. How does it change themâÂ?¦and will they use those powers for the betterment of man? Will they save the world?

It will undoubtedly leave viewers wondering, what would I do? Would you have the strength to test your abilities? Could you jump off a building to see if you could fly? Would you stick your hand in a garbage disposal to see if maybe that’s the one time your body won’t regenerate itself? That really seems to be the appeal of “Heroes”. It’s a world that’s just like oursâÂ?¦except.

“Heroes” will inevitably draw parallels from the movie Unbreakable and the USA series “The 4400”, but I think viewers will find that “Heroes” is in a class of its own. It has a great cast of familiar faces, many who are top-notch veteran actors. Production values are high and the writing seems great.

“Heroes” airs this fall on NBC, beginning on September 25th at 9 p.m. It stars Greg Grunberg (“Alias”), Ali Larter (A Lot Like Love), Milo Ventimiglia (“Gilmore Girls”) and Adrian Pasdar (“Mysterious Ways)”. See a 4-minute preview at NBC.com and follow NBC’s weekly exclusives that feature an animated graphic novel.