Why You Should Watch NBC’S Heroes
These characters and more have all learned something incredible: they are ordinary people with the ability to do extraordinary things.
Welcome to NBC’s latest captivating drama, “Heroes.” The creative mind of Tim Kring, the writer and creator of NBC’s “Crossing Jordan,” aims at captivating viewing audiences with this new epic drama. Featuring regulars from hit shows such as “Gilmore Girls,” “Judging Amy,” “Third Watch,” and “Alias,” this ground breaking drama chronicles the lives of these seemingly ordinary people who, through the discovery of their amazing capabilities, find themselves facing an unavoidable destiny: saving the world. Yet this is no happy-go-lucky account of genius crime fighters and loveable wall-crawlers, as the incredible pilot episode is quick to point out. In “Heroes,” the fate of the world is not entrusted to scientists, billionaires, and other such admirable figures typical to the superhero genre; here, the world must trust in the powers of a heroin addicted artist, a high school cheerleader, a single mother stripper, a down-on-his luck Los Angeles beat cop, a self-acclaimed shark of a politician and his overshadowed brother, and a goofy comic book loving cubicle worker from Japan, among others. According to creator Tim Kring, in an interview with Damon Lindolof (writer/producer “Lost”, “Crossing Jordan”), “I feel that HEROES is, at it’s core, a character based saga. I’m much more fascinated by the personal struggles that these abilities present to the characters . . . These characters and stories are so diverse; my hope is that everyone can find something that they like.” Jeph Loeb (writer, “Smallville”) states, “[On] Heroes it’s not about the powers or the villain of the week. These are people whose lives have been turned inside-out.”
So, what is the appeal of the show? According to show director and co-producer Greg Beeman (“Smallville”, “Aquaman”), the show has, “[a] deep concept with spiritual themes that spoke to me personally.”
“I think Tim designed a pilot that speaks very personally to a vast number of people,” he states in an interview with Craig Byrne. “I expect my experience will be similar to many in the audience. I am just lucky enough to get to work on it.”
With writers and producers who have worked on some of the nation’s most popular shows-including “Lost,” “Smallville,” and “Alias”-this new television drama is sure to appeal to a wide variety of viewers. At heart, it is the story not of superheroes and extraordinary people, but rather quite ordinary people trying to deal with their typical lives, their senses of identity, and problems regular people face on a day-to-day basis. They have problems with their marriages; they feel overshadowed by their siblings; they fear being unpopular; they struggle to raise their children; they fall in love with the wrong people. According to Tim Kring, “I want to know more about who these people are. Much more than I know right now. What are their fears and ambitions . . . I really want HEROES to feel real – like this could happen to any one of us.”
“And mainly,” he adds, “I’m just keeping my fingers crossed.”
“Heroes” aired Monday, September 25th at 9 p.m. /8p.m. Central. You can watch the pilot episode for free online on NBC’s website. Information on the show, its air time, and other fun facts regarding the cast, characters, et cetera is available on the show’s official website, http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/.
