'Heroes' Episode 5

Chapter 5: “Angels and Monsters”

Spoilers Alert

Synopsis: Claire goes to take down her first villain, with her father and Syler closing in right behind her. Mohinder continues to try to undo his transformation — by dastardly means. Hiro tries to get Adam Monroe’s help getting ‘Formula H’ back. An unexpected person is discovered to lead the Company’s rival, Pinehearst — the same company that hired Daphne to recruit people with abilities.

• It turns out Nathan was a guinea pig. While his brothers were born with abilities, he had his given to him — thanks ‘Formula H’ (the unofficial nickname for the formula that gives normal people abilities). Of course, he’s not happy, and Mama Petrelli shows real regret for the first time ever. Of course, she could just be disappointed that Nathan isn’t helping her get back Formula H. Her dream at the ending was really interesting — very creepy.

• Mohinder seems to be going down the ‘Dexter’ road by experimenting on ‘bad people’ — in this episode, a drug dealer — and taping them on the wall, via ‘sticky-goo,’ to get rid of his powers. I really don’t like ‘psycho-Mohinder.’ When I read that he was getting powers, I thought, ‘That should be cool.’ Now, the first thing that comes to my mind every time I see him is ‘Ew.’ Nathan’s comment that “He’s harmless,” when he and Tracy go to see him is kind of ironic.

• After absorbing Future-Syler’s powers, Peter show’s just how out of control he is. He’s all hacked off at Mama Petrelli for keeping secrets away from him and tries to slice open her head. Syler shows more of his good side by saving her. I’m officially off the Peter-liking wagon right now.

• The first time that Claire tries to help and stop some of the villains, of course it goes … well, it wasn’t a success, but it wasn’t a complete disaster — at first. If nothing else, it makes you wonder how she went from the ‘Hesitant Claire of Today’ to the ‘Shoot First Ask Questions Later Claire of the Future.’ It was kind of sweet how she tried to help the ‘villain’ find his family, if a bite naïve. I don’t she’s likely to forgive her Dad for his ruthlessness any time soon.

• Stephan Canfield, a villain with a pretty cool power — he can make black holes — turns out not to be a villain. More like a pathetic guy who can’t control his power. He was probably one of the most honorable person in the episode, when he offed himself rather than have Noah — aka Claire’s dad, aka Horn-Rimmed Glasses (HRG) — force him into killing Syler. The audience knows what Syler’s done, but Stephan doesn’t, and makes him pretty honorable.

• Syler is like the ‘Mighty Mouse’ of the episode with all the victims he has to save. But his motivation is a little unclear. I mean, the last few episodes he’s tried to turn his back on his ‘bad guy’ reputation (last week’s episode proved he could), but I think just when seems like he’s turned completely ‘good’ — he’ll go right back to the Bad Boy fans all know and love. His evil smirk trademark towards the end kind of proves it.

• Anyway, last episode Hiro and Ando opened the coffin that he had locked Adam Monroe in last season, and convinces him to help them get the formula back. They walk into a bar, and almost immediately Adam escapes, only to be caught by Knox, one of the villains that escaped from Level 5. Hiro and Ando run into Knox and Daphne, and Hiro tries to convince the villains that they’re ‘badass.’ Well, Knox says to prove it, Hiro has to kill Ando. So Hiro stabs his best friend with the sword. Besides the ending, his was definitely the WTH moment of the episode. I have no doubt that Ando is not dead — because, really, it would be COMPLETELY out of character for Hiro to do something that cruel. Something’s going on, otherwise I’ve seen everything.

• We meet another level-5 escapee — Eric Doyle, a man who can control other people by having them mimic what he does. Based on the promo for next week, we should see more of him.

• Last thing, since episode two, Linderman, a character that was killed off in season one, has been following Nathan around as his ‘guide.’ Turns out he’s just an illusion cooked up by Matt Parkman’s dad, Maury, who has a more mature version of Matt’s mind-reading ability. And the orders he’s following is Arther Petrelli’s — the father of Nathan, Syler, and Peter, who seems to be on life support in a hospital somewhere. The master plan is to have Daphne to find people with abilities and recruit them for some kind of army. Whoa.

Praise: We definitely saw a lot of what this volume is all about: how the line between ‘good guys’ and ‘villains’ is very blurred, bringing the show to a whole new level.

Complaints: It was a lot like the sudden drop you get after a sugar rush. Last episode was off the charts great, and this one was … eh. Plus, it seems like everything’s out of control, with Syler becoming ‘Mighty Mouse’ and saving each distressed soul while Peter’s trying to kill everyone.

Best Part: Probably the part when Hiro was letting Adam out of the coffin. Hiro’s “Okay, in you go,” every time Adam misbehaved made me laugh.

Grade: B — only thing saving it from a B- was the cliffhanger.

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'Heroes' Episode 4

Chapter 4: “I Become Death”

Spoilers Alert

Synopsis: Future-Peter (F-Peter) takes Present Peter (P-Peter) to the future where everyone has abilities. Meanwhile, in the present, Hiro and Ando try to escape ‘Level Two’ of the Company’s prison, Nathan and Tracy get closer, and Mohinder tries to find a cure for his transformation.

· I almost feel sorry for Mohinder — the one time he let’s his weakness take over (remember that he gave himself powers with his newly discovered formula), and he has to go all crusty. On the other hand, he should have listened to Maya and gotten rid of it. I think the guy he just about kidnapped at the end will be Mohinder’s guinea pig — this new Mohinder would do it.

· If you remember, one of the WTH moment from last episode was learning Tracy was ‘created.’ It wasn’t clones, thank goodness, but still a little. Apparently, Tracy was one of three triplets whose birth parents had died and were treated as ‘test subjects’ for the ‘Hero Making formula (here on out called ‘Formula H’). The other two triplets were Niki and Barbra. The fact that there’s three of them makes me wonder if they’re going to eventually kill of Tracy and replace her with Barbra.

· Speaking of Tracy, it was kind of interesting seeing Nathan go ‘Superman’ and save her from killing herself. For me, it’s always kind of nice to see Nathan’s flying ability, because out of all the heroes he probably uses his the least. Their small make-out session was a little unexpected.

· Thank God that Hiro finally got his act together and apologized to Ando. It made me forgive him for all the stupid stuff he’s done so far (loosing both halves of Formula H, for one). It was kind of interesting seeing Mama Petrelli give Hiro the run down, but why is Adam — the immortal that Hiro locked in a coffin last season — ‘the key’ to solving everything?

· Switching to the future, turns out everyone is either born with or buys their powers. I completely despise Peter now. Why in the world would Future-Mohinder (who looks like he’s turned into a cockroach of some kind) tell him that Sylar’s power (which is to figure out how things work) is dangerous if it wasn’t? Even Future-Sylar told Peter it was a bad thing to have, because it gave the person ‘the hunger.’ And Peter shows he can’t control it when he slices Future-Nathan’s head, Sylar-style. This little change in personality was probably this week’s WTH moment.

· Future-Sylar was probably the most interesting character on this episode. I mean, simply because he’s been the Big Baddie of the show since the beginning, and in this future he has a son and is making waffles. It’s like Hannibal Lecter taking up knitting. With Mohinder becoming super-aggressive, is it possible that the roles could be switched — with Mohinder as the villain and Sylar the kind of anti-hero?

· I have a whole new respect for Hayden Panettiere, the actress who plays Claire. She played out Claire sadism and anger, especially when she sliced up P-Peter towards the end, in a very believable way. It good to see her as someone other than the victim — even if she did kill F-Peter.

· Last, I’m so proud of myself and my predicting ability. Remember that the African had painted a happy future for Matt, and then changed it to him holding a dead chick’s body? Matt wanted to see how he could the future and the African gave him some kind of fruit so he could see the future. I knew the chick in the painting was Daphne, and they make an interesting couple. Matt’s a mild-mannered kind of guy and Daphne’s a cheeky little thief. I think it’ll be interesting when she and Matt meet (because you know they’re going to eventually), and Matt tries to ‘save her.’

Praise: Probably this season’s best episode so far — showing complete turnaround for some of these characters made this chapter.

Complaints: None. For once, I was completely happy.

Best Part: There was so many, but my favorite has to be the scenes with Future Sylar. I’ve never been a Sylar fan, but this episode brought out a new depth and sympathy towards his character.

Grade: A+

Photo: Lionel Hahn/Abaca Press/MCT Continue Reading>>

'Heroes' Episode 3

Episode 3: “One of Us, One of Them”

Spoilers Alert

Official Synopsis from NBC: When four ruthless, powerful Villains — "Knox", Flint, The German and Jesse — bust into a bank and take hostages, Angela sends H.R.G. and his shocking, new empowered partner in after them. Determined to derail a cataclysmic future, Peter must first find what he lost along the way. Meanwhile, Hiro and Ando track Daphne and part of "the formula" to Germany, but run afoul of The Haitian. Horrified by her ability, Tracy Strauss leaves Washington, D.C. to search for answers about Niki. A distraught Claire asks Meredith to teach her how to fight. As his romance with Maya intensifies, Suresh finds himself unprepared when his experiment yields some unexpected results.


· The biggest, worst villains the Company has escapes for the first time, and the best they can come up with is to rob a bank? Kind of cliché, actually. That Knox fellow gives me the creeps.

· Poor Peter — always trying to do the right thing. Knox’s ‘no one’s that heroic’ line is kind of ironic. Though since Future Peter’s old life has been changed, who knows what kind of future they’ll see.

· I never like Mama Petrelli much, but literally handing Skyler a power a la Unexpected Victim was a bit below the belt. She’s more ruthless than I thought. “He’s just misunderstood.” Bull. I’m not sure who she’s kidding — Skyler’s too much of a psychopath for her to even think about controlling him. You don’t give a gun to a murderer. A good though not unexpected choice to make H.R.G. his partner.

· Speaking of moms, Meredith’s showed a side I hadn’t expected in this episode. She’s a little naïve if she thinks she can show her daughter some tough love and that’ll be it. Claire more stubborn than that. Though we might have seen her — and maybe Skyler’s — only weakness: They can suffocate.

· Hiro 0. Daphne 2. Oi — if Daphne has the other half of the formula, it doesn’t look good. He’s got to learn to stop arguing with Ando after they’re almost done with a mission. I can understand why they’re both being jerks. Ando’s slightly resentful, because up until recently, Hiro almost always listened to him, and now he’s stuck being the Robin-who-can’t-do-much. On the other hand, Hiro’s distancing himself because of what he saw in the future. It’s natural for both of them to act this way. But they’ll both need to get over it soon if they’ll have any chance of winning anything.

· Matt has his very own stalker! Just kidding, but it’s strange that Matt’s the painter’s — turns out his name is Usutu — only subject. It’s hard to tell, but at the beginning, the chick holding the baby with Painting-Matt looked a lot like Daphne. Up until the Tracy surprise, the w.t.h. moment was when Matt got the ‘Fish Eyes’. Dying to find out what he sees in the future.

· The Tracy-Micah moment was kind of sweet — though I kept thinking Micah would turn into a Popsicle at any moment. How was Tracy ‘created?’ I hope it isn’t clones — clones are overrated and tacky.

Praise: It was kind of cool seeing the characters pushed in places they hadn’t before. I’m looking forward to seeing where they go next.

Complaint: Moved slightly slower than the last two episodes. Maybe I’m loosing it, but I don’t remember the scenes with each character being so short.

Best Part: “You’re telling us your plan? What kind of over-confident nemesis are you?” – Hiro. Also thought Skyler’s fake accent was an unexpected surprise. Both made me laugh.

Grade: B+
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'Family Guy' losing its way

Sunday was the premiere of "Family Guy" season seven. It was funny and as always, enjoyable. However, it just doesn't feel like the same old "Family Guy" that I came to love all those years ago.

Most fans will agree that the show has never been the same after season three. For those not aware, the show was canceled. Then, it was later revived after huge sales of the show on DVD. It was considered too edgy for its time. Now, the first three seasons seem tame.

It seems that after the return, the writers felt that they could do whatever they want and it won't matter. There is no doubt that "Family Guy" delivers a funny product; but, what about the characters and plots?

For example:

When is the last time that the show had a real plot line?

The show has taken on ADD, and filled its story lines with short random subplots. Apparently it's too difficult to pay attention to one major plot line.

Didn't Stewie want to kill Lois?

Sure we got that two-parter, but what happened to his diabolical plans? It is as if Stewie went from being Brain to Pinky ("Pinky and the Brain" was also an amazing show). Stewie can't be Pinky, because Stewie was evil. What happened?

Also in season three, we saw Stewie's sexuality being explored. Again, I say explored. When did he become a complete homosexual? More so, why is she trying to hook up with Brian?

And what happened to Brian?

He was the dry, sophisticated, satirical comic relief. Now he is just a bitter and angry jerk. It seems that the writers have lost the ability to write smart, witty, jokes for Brian.

As for the rest of the cast, they just seem to be more exaggerated as the seasons go by. Peter becomes more of an idiot. Lois just doesn't seem to care what goes on. Meg isn't as much of a punching bag as she used to be.

Even shows can't help but change over time. As I recall, the last time I saw this happen was with "The Simpsons."

Photo credit: Handout/MCT
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'Heroes' returns: episode one recap

After nine months, the wait is over. “Heroes” is back, and has rolled onto the scene bigger and grittier than ever before.

I won’t bore you with a complete recap of the last two seasons, because I’m going to assume you’ve seen them. I’m not even going dish out the whole episodes, either, because even then it’s like 10 pages long. This is just where I can gush, complain, and/or predict about one of my favorite shows. Those who have not seen season three’s “The Second Coming” or “The Butterfly Effect” should leave now.

You can watch the full episode at www.nbc.com.

Huge spoiler alert past this point.

“The Second Coming:”

• First scene a great way to start off — it brings the mystery right in. I’m a little curious as to what Future Claire said about being “special.” As if never dying isn’t special enough?

• Future Peter shooting his brother never occurred to me. I always thought it was like Elle on her father’s orders or something.

• I’ll admit that Hiro is one of my two favorite characters, but seriously, for once, Ando had it right. “Don’t open the safe” is not code for, “Ignore this DVD message.” Why is it that no one ever listens?

• Speaking of which, Daphne . . . I’m waiting a few more episodes before I place my verdict of her, because right now she seems like another Elle to me, and she’s not one of my favorite character. Although it makes sense for the one who tries to embody the most of what a superhero should be like to have an “Arch-nemesis.”

• Syler finally got what he wanted in the beginning: Claire’s powers. It seemed a little anticlimactic. I mean, season one’s all about that not happening and a year and a half later, boom — Syler’s prodding Claire’s brain like a science student at dissection day. Glad to see Syler doesn’t eat brains. I mean, the whole thing is gross I don’t get as many images of those cheesy old alien movies. The real question is why didn’t he kill her—and I don’t think it’s because of some kind of warped kindness, either.

• Another season wouldn’t be complete without at least one miraculous resurrection. This time it’s Nathan, who, upon his awakening claims to have found God. Now all I need is the squirrels dancing the cha-cha and I’ve seen everything.

• Knew something was fishy as soon as soon as week lost sight of Present Peter, but anyone else thrown by where he was? Should be interesting as to how Present Peter gets out of that one.

Praise: What a way to begin the new season! Without missing a beat the show goes into its tug-a-war with answering questions and bringing up more. Just like being in a comic book, we’re thrown from one character to the next so fast it hard to keep track of everyone. But I think that’s a good thing, because if this keeps going, we could look forward to a much faster paced season than last one.

Complaints: After last season I’m slightly sick of time travel. It seems like whenever the writers want a plot, someone has to go forward or go back in time and screw things up. It’s a bit too recurring for me.

Favorite Line: Syler: “Eat your brain? Claire, that’s disgusting.” – (Come on, you’ve got to enjoy the irony.)

Final Grade: A-

Photo Credit: Chris Haston/NBC/MCT
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Continuing with 'Heroes' episode 2

For the record, all entries will either be made the night of or the morning after each episode. This tardiness will not be normal.

“The Butterfly Effect.”

Again, spoiler alert.

• Emo-Claire is already getting annoying. I mean, I know having your brain picked at is no fun and all, but really all she is feeling sorry for herself and lately that’s all she seems to do. I do agree that she does need to learn to fight. “Victim!Claire” is getting old.

• Personally, I like Mama Petrelli’s power, and her dream was definitely a chill-factor. Her observation of Future-Peter hit the spot: “You’re not as smart as you think you are.” A bit harsh but true.

• Three words about Mohinder’s power: Spider Man, anyone? But he finally seemed to grow some and not even halfway through he’s hitting the sack with Maya. You’d think after her last fiasco of a relationship she’d be a little careful. Whatever. Mohinder’s bad case of skin peeling at the end brings to mind the old saying “Be careful what you wish for — you just might get it.”

• I’m interested in what Matt Parkman, another favorite character of mine, is going to experience in the next few episodes. Could be the start of some more character development. I loved his exchange with the painter in the middle of the desert. “Do you know Britney Spears?”

• Hiro redeems himself slightly from last episode’s stupidity by realizing the importance of a high school metal. His reference to her being Cat Woman was interesting, because there was always a little bit of a love-hate relationship between her and Batman. Foreshadowing, maybe?

• One more note on Hiro: anyone else thought that the last two episodes tried a little too hard to make Future-Ando seem like the baddie? One thing I’ve learned about this show is that almost nothing is as it appears.

• Last episode we caught a glimpse of Tracy Strauss, who works for the governor, looks remarkably like Niki, and personality-wise seems like a less psycho-version of Jessica. How’s that happening? I rule out cloning, but I might somewhat accept if she were a twin. The “Mr. Freeze” thing is interesting. Does this mean that she can’t touch anything without turning it into an icicle, or was it entirely because of the adrenalin thing?

• Linderman showing up was one of the “what the hell?” moments, and my guess he’s got his fingers in a few more pies than what’s first shown. The way Linderman responds to Nathan’s insistence that “he’s in control” seems almost mocking. Hopefully, whatever Linderman the White has planned doesn’t include blowing up anything. Of course, since Nathan is the only one to see him, it could just be a figment of the imagination.

• Of course, the biggie of the episode was the villains escaping in level 5. We didn’t see much of them, but what we did makes me feel for the next poor soul to come across them. Looks like things just got a whole lot messier.
• Number 1 “What the hell?” moment? Mama Petrelli has another son. Hint: he’s had plenty of practice in dissection.…

Praise: Even better than “The Second Coming.” We saw a new side to many of the characters, and the familiar “wth?” moments. In a way, ending the way it did made me remember how I somewhat missed the chapter cliff hangers.

Complaint: I wish those who were dead would stay dead. It’s getting harder to believably explain why they’re alive (not that anything in the show is “believable,” but even then there comes a point).

Best Lines: Entire Matt/African painter exchange — corny or not I couldn’t help laughing.

Grade: A

Anyone has any thoughts, feel free to post — I’m interested in hearing from my fellows. Continue Reading>>