If you are a fan of the show or if you never had a chance to check it out on television, the Heroes – Season One set is worth buying and watching. Without a doubt, “Heroes” is one of the best shows on television thanks to its use of great characters and interesting plotlines.
The seven-disc DVD set features all of season one’s episodes plus a ton of extras that will reward fans of the series and help shed some light on its deeper mysteries. The features also help explain more about the many unique characters.
“Heroes” was created by Tim Kring (who brought us “Providence,” “Crossing Jordan”). The show features a truly ensemble cast including Sendhil Ramamurthy (Blind Guy Driving), Milo Ventimiglia (“Gilmore Girls”), Adrian Pasdar (“Judging Amy” and Near Dark), Hayden Panettiere (Bring It On: All Or Nothing), Ali Larter (Final Destination), Noah Gray-Cabey, (“My Wife & Kids”), Leonard Roberts (“Smallville”), Santiago Cabrera (“Empire”), Tawny Cypress (NBC’s “Third Watch”), Greg Grunberg (“Alias”), Masi Oka, (NBC's “Scrubs”), Jack Colman (“Dynasty”), James Kyson Lee (NBC’s “Las Vegas”), Zachary Quinto (“24”), Ashley Crow (NBC’s “American Dreams”), Cristine Rose (NBC’s “Friends”), Jimmy Jean-Louis (Monster-in-Law). Towards the end of the season fans also get treated to appearances from Eric Roberts (“Less than Perfect”) and the great Malcolm McDowall (“Entourage”).
The show was hailed as one of the best new series on television, and those claims were right! The series has tons of surprise twists, and some great cliffhangers at the end of almost every episode. Unlike some other network shows (such as “Lost”), “Heroes” also makes sure to give plenty of answers to the questions as the season plays out. This helps the viewer from getting too frustrated with the cliffhangers. The show also manages not to have any annoying characters – or at least none of them annoyed me.
The show is a treat for comic fans thanks to the artwork of Tim Sale (Batman: The Long Halloween). Since it plays out like a comic, Sale’s artwork is perfect and helps shape the plot. At times, the art feels like a character on the show, and Sale is just as important to the series’ success as any of the very talented actors.
The show (which is a bit gruesome sometimes) is filled with great characters and has something to offer anyone willing to take the time to watch. My personal favorite was the time-traveling Hiro. To me, Hiro is the heart and soul of “Heroes” and his adventure with Ando provides some needed comedy elements to the sometimes dark story (especially towards the end of the season).
I never took the time to watch “Heroes” when it aired on NBC, and honestly was only halfway interested in watching it on DVD. I thought that I would put on the first disc and see if it caught my interest. About 20 minutes into the first episode, I was hooked.
Unlike some TV on DVD sets (where the series’ flaws and formulaic feel starts to show upon watching episode after episode), “Heroes” manages to keep each episode feeling fresh, and holds your interest all the way through the set. As I said before, the characters never get annoying, and I never found myself waiting for one episode to finish so I could simply get to the next one.
The DVD packaging is also extremely nice and features more of Sale’s artwork mixed with stills from the show. Universal Studios Home Entertainment did this set right. They packed it full of bonus features that reward diehard fans of the show and make the set worth its price. Features include five featurettes, over 50 deleted scenes, and the 73-minute Tim Kring cut of the original series premiere that has never aired on television.
Further breakdown of the features are as follows:
Unaired Pilot: The Tim Kring Cut with Audio Commentary – A full 73 uninterrupted minutes of the original, unaired, extended pilot episode, as Heroes’ creator Tim Kring first envisioned it, with a character never seen.
If you were already a fan of “Heroes” you will want to pick up this set and watch for all the little stuff you missed. If you never took the time to watch it on television, I would recommend picking up the set and watching it now. This show is entertaining from start to finish, and manages to keep you hooked disc after disc. I didn’t watch season one when it aired on television, but you can bet I will be watching when season two premieres on Sept. 24th.
Heroes – Season 1 is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a Dec. 10th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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