By Ryan Broderick
“Heroes” premiered this week and calling it an “event” is putting it mildly. The premiere filled the entirety of NBC’s primetime line up. It began with an hour-long red carpet preview special, interviewing cast members and catching viewers up with what led to last season’s finale. The actual premiere episode of the season, titled “The Second Coming,” picked up right where last season ended, wrapping up most of the cliffhangers fans have been speculating about since last winter. To draw fans in even more, the third hour of the premiere was the debut of a second new episode, “The Butterfly Effect,” and continued to keep the fever pitched pace up.
In watching both new episodes, it seems that the writers of the show are trying to prove to fans, disillusioned with last season’s serious dip in ratings, that there’s plenty to get hooked on this time around. What was interesting though, was how the two episodes were essentially one long show, with all of the cliffhangers and revelatory material not surfacing until the last 40 minutes of the night.
Not only did the writers of “Heroes” prove there’s something worth watching again, the directing and editing has been brought up a notch as well. By the end of the premiere the quick shot clipping and over the top CGI seemed to dominate every scene.
The flash though, wasn’t without meaning. The two-hour premiere of “Heroes” was one of the rare TV instances where substance and style met wonderfully. Watching the season three premiere was like watching the first episode of “Lost”, with the audience thinking, “What in God’s name is this, and where can I see more?”
Of course, with most season premieres, the real deciding factor is how they follow it up. Last season started with a bang, full of clues and plot lines running amuck and it took the entire fall before anything was resolved. So while diehards are rejoicing in the return of their favorite super powered soap opera, it’s a cautious optimism.
A lot of “Heroes'” second season slump had to do with the writer’s strike taking much needed steam out of their second volume. This season, the audience is already given the impression they’re playing with a full deck this time. This season feels like they’re finally able to do what they’ve always wanted to do. Hopefully, that’s something with watching.
Once the season starts to pick up steam one will be able make a call on whether or not “Heroes” is back to where it used to be. What is a certainty though, is that “Heroes” fans are holding their breath, hoping to God it doesn’t follow the path of “Lost”: convoluted and soulless.
Despite a decrease in ratings last season, the three hour premiere of NBC hit ‘Heroes’ was highly anticipated by fans. (yahooimages.com)