HEROES - Not what it was!

Heroes came upon us in 2006 as one of the freshest and unique TV shows we had ever seen. The cliffhanger each week kept everyone who enjoyed it in anticipation of the next episode. Who couldn't live in fear of the evil Mr. Bennet? - true evil didn't need a superpower! Who couldn't laugh at Hiro and his bizarre antics? And what male could not have fantasized about Claire even though she's only seventeen or something?

While the show had plenty of action, some very cool special effects and extraordinary acting talent, these were all secondary in comparison to the exceptional storyline, that while exceedingly complex; never seemed to loose itself like say.. Lost, ironically!

I will say that I wasn't 100% impressed with the final episode but that couldn't have prevented it from taking it's place as my favourite show, knocking Battlestar Galactica off it's perch (although a light breeze would have done that to BSG after it's woeful 3rd season). I also regret to inform you that my disappointment has carried over into Season 2 of Heroes. It's like NBC realised they have a hit on their hands and now don't have a fucking clue what to do with it beyond it's one-year plan. Gone is the level of anticipation of the next episode that was there and the storyline is not up to the pace and level of it's previous year.

***SPOILER WARNING*** Don't read past here if you've not seen Heroes Season 2. Now I've stomached a lot of stereotypical depictions of Ireland over my years of watching US TV, but so far in Heroes Season 2 I've seen stuff I've not seen since the days of Murder She Wrote when Jessica Fletcher was supposed to be in Ireland and the Garda Inspector was played by Harvey from Cagney & Lacey!!! Now I have no problem with the awful generic Irish accents spoken in the Bars and Docklands of "Cork" during Peter's story arc (and you all know they sound nothing like our own true Cork accents), but what I don't get is what little research went into the Cork setting.
-"30 L 90000" was a number plate on a parked car, this would have been the 90000th car registered in Co.Limerick in the year 1930 - was there even 90000 cars in the whole USA back then? Let alone Co. Limerick!
-Nowhere I've been in Ireland does steam come out of manhole covers in the road. This would cause a panic and the Army would be called in to investigate. When on holiday in New York I even took some photos of this phenomenon to show people back home that this actually happens and it's not just a special effect in movies!!
-No pub anywhere in Cork City is ever that empty.
-No Private Security Guards are licensed to carry guns, even our own police force don't carry guns.
-At least they got the amount of rain almost right- it's been raining for the past three episodes stopping only on order not to get Kristen Bell's hair wet.

Despite this, Heroes Season 2 is still substandard and not what I was hoping for. There has been some minor rumblings towards a plot in 5th/6th episodes (and thankfully they've left "Cork" and gone to Montreal (if you live in Montreal please tell us how inaccurate it is) but only time will tell if this pans out. They have an awful lot of work to do if they want to see their series last.

I must also report that NBC has dropped the Heroes: Origins mini-series that actually seemed like a stupid idea to begin with. It's not been officially shit-canned but it most likely won't happen according to insiders. It's unclear if it was the drop in ratings for Season 2 or the impending writers strike is the cause.

-The Colonel

Comments

[Neilo]

I think we should refuse to post any more comments in protest until we get our fortnightly shows back!

[LtColonelCreedon]

Aha, is this civil unrest I see? You know my policy on that I'm sure.

While fortnightly shows will not, and cannot return due to "life" reasons, we will answer the call for something else instead.

[Darragh]

Murder She Wrote, eh?
You know, my granny still watches that religiously.
:-P

[Sam Moore]

Oh, you mean you lads actually have lives? ;-) Come on, Colonel, give us a forum!

[Darragh]

Oh and just a word of warning, if you are actually serious about the monthly episodes, they better be twice as long dammit!

[Neilo]

Good point Darragh!

Only a forum can help us in between monthly downloads.

2IGTV is our life!

[Mooking]

I am still not clear, I did not like Heroes season 2?

[Civilian Overseer]

Now, Now, folks settle down, the Lt.Col and Mark do indeed have private lifes, granted, not very interesting ones but lifes non the less.

They aren't making any profit from this so, they are motivated by the betterment of their fellow geeks.

There comes a time that every geek fears, when he/she falls under the influence of a significant other and suddenly comic books, giant killer robots and cool podcasts just don't seem as important anymore.

It looks like one of our heros, (most likely Mark) has developed a bad case of super mojo. There is an upside to all this, We can look forward to venomous, biting sarcasm when it ends horribly!

[Bruce Russell]

Mark has a sweetheart? This isn't like the time he was dating that supermodel from Canada, is it?

[Bruce Russell]

Or the time he had a 'girlfriend' who turned out to be a 'Lite-Brite' display?

[LtColonelCreedon]

Before the rumours grow ever-fantastical out of all proportion. I regret to inform you that Mark has been consumed by the demon known only as "Career". He cried openly in my arms recently knowing that he had fallen for it's charms for the promise of glory, promotion and a bigger paycheck and was powerless to stop it from consuming his life. He know blogs almost entirely about work every day. But he has to come up for air once in a while it's just it had to be monthly instead of fortnightly. He may respond if you post under his Strike! post below as he's not alerted to posts on this article.

Anyway I'm really here to say that Heroes episode 7 appears a return-to-form and I'm excited about it again. However due to the writers strike (see previous post) it may well have a Season finale next month :O

[Sam Moore]

You mean he's actually put something new on his blog?! The last time he posted was in June!

[Civilian Overseer]

Mark cried in your arms?, guess we now know who significant other is.

[jamesfrommelbourne]

you want stereotypes of the irish, check out wwe raw, i like the guy that belts everyone with the shilalee or what about hornswoggle (do leprechauns really exist???)

[bruce russell]

What is sad is that most Americans probably think 'the Quiet Man' is an accurate depiction of modern Ireland. All this talk of Heroes and the lousy Cork accents has got me thinking: what IS the worst fake Irish accent ever committed to screen, small or big? Tom Cruise in 'Far and Away.' His accent in that is/was almost as fake as his pretending to be sexually interested in Nicole Kidman. Almost.

[bruce russell]

Oh, no! Now by hitting the 'back' button on my browser, I've joined Civvy in the ranks of the multiple identical posting club! Ayieeee!

Edit By The Colonel:
It's really weird that it does that. I think I've deleted them all. Be careful of the evil backbutton people!!

[Civilian Overseer]

Part of the Ship, Part of the Crew!

[bruce russell]

When do I get the decoder ring and learn the secret handshake? This isn't one of those 'hundred-years at the mast' Davy Jones-type things, is it? I had a Scoutmaster try to pull that on me once upon a time, but the excitedely-nervous manner in which he handled the ball gag gave me just enough time to make my escape. In an ironic twist, I sought refuge in the local church with the parish priest, but that, as they say, is a tale for another time . . .

[Civilian Overseer]

Parish Priest?, light weight!, I got into a fist fight with a Christian Brother when I was twelve.

[Civilian Overseer]

Damn, that back arrow thing really does cause double posting, well spotted Bruce you've a fine career in Computer Systems Validation ahead of you.

[Constance]

The secret handshake to what, Bruce Russell? And which is worse - getting the accent wrong, or over the topping it?

That Jim character in the latest episode of "The Office" was invited to Pam's Finer Things Club. His uh, contribution to the book discussion: "Angela's Ashes. Top o' the morning to it. Frankie's prose is finer than pots o' gold, say I. "

I have a confession to make. Every time I look at my TiVo list and see "Burn Notice" on there, I hear Mark's voice saying it, imitate him out loud, then have a good laugh. I like the way he says "burn."

When I was out last Saturday I heard a woman with a funny Irish accent. It wasn't like y'all two, but it was definitely Irish. She seemed sorta mad, though, so I didn't ask her where she was from...

As far as I could tell, the actors in Heroes trying to do the accent seemed to give up partway through. One minute it was bad Irish, the other it was weak American, and stuff like that really kills the story for me.

[bruce russell]

Why, Constance, the multiple identical post club, of course.

Did you know Frank McCourt has written a Christmas book for kids called 'Angela and the Baby Jesus?' Wife and I saw it in the Atlanta airport on Tuesday. When you open it, you can almost hear the sound of a check being cashed.

Speaking of bad Irish accents, did you see 'The Ex' with Amanda Peet and Zach Braff? The scene where Braff as Tom Riley meets a client who happens to be Irish is great:

Client: So, Tom, you wouldn't happen to be Irish, would you?
Tom Riley: [In affected, broad, fake Irish brogue] Well, I do have a weeee bit of the leprechaun in me.
Client: [Stunned stare for a few seconds, then] Are you makin' fun of me?

Best moment in a generally bland movie.

[Constance]

heh. I'm sure that I'll be processing it and putting it on the shelves any day now.

I don't know if it is American tv or an actual experience that I've had and blocked out of my memory, but I associate "the Baby Jesus" and any "Baby Jesus" related swearing to the Irish... how does one reconcile that with the land of Catholics?

[Bruce Russell]

Curious. I think of Ricky Bobby . . .

Click Here for Ricky Bobby and the Baby Jesus

[Sam Moore]

Sadly, I must agree with Bruce on that one... The movie was stupid, but undeniably funny in parts...