Heroes Hits The Reset Button

I finally caught up on the two hour "Heroes" premiere. Pretty good stuff, although I'm concerned the show has veered from one of its strengths: Character.

In true 90's comic book fashion, this season has seen some major changes in the status quo. Rather than take us deeper into the personalities of these characters, the writers have decided to change their personalities.

Looks like we'll mostly be seeing "evil Peter" this season and Claire may not be far behind. Jessica has found yet another personality, this time with new powers. Nathan has gone kooky on us, borrowing from traditional Christian motifs, yet spouting pop-spirituality ideas about humanity all being "connected" and needing to "save ourselves". (Although the Bible promotes unity and connection to each other, Biblical Christianity, which Peter "seems" to be connected to, is not a "self-saving" philosophy. That's all Oprah.)

Dr. Saresh has gone pseudo-evil and been given powers, too. Thankfully, though, Parkman still seems to be the lovable everyman that I watch the show for. (Don't screw that up, guys.)

For a time, this "shake things up" philosophy worked in comics, too. The death of Superman, breaking Batman's back, Green Lantern goes nuts. But in the long run, we've discovered that respect for the characters and exploring who they ARE, not the crazy thing that happens to them, is what keeps readers coming back.

I don't mind a shake up, but so much changed all at once that the show feels disconnected from the previous two seasons. While it may help to bring on new viewers, and I'll still stick around for the ride, it felt like a slight betrayal of these characters.

Lastly, it was GREAT to see William Katt on the show, but I hope we find out he has superpowers and that we'll be seeing him again. It was a shame to see him leave the way he did.