PeterDavid.net

I only saw bits and pieces of each show... But I still get to be FIRST TO POST!

Woo-HOO!

--Captain Naraht

***SPOILER WARNING***

If you're behind in your "Heroes" viewing, don't read this...

In the last ep of 2006, Sylar broke free as Eve was trying to order him to kill himself. But... why the hell didn't he break free earlier when Bennett was taunting him? Bennett told Sylar his power wouldn't work. Why did it work when Eve confronted him? And why did he wait for Eve to do so before trying to get free?

In the first ep of 2007, Sylar was back in restraints and his cell's large glass window was fully intact. What the hell happened? Did I miss something? Why didn't he get away after he busted through the glass and Eve killed herself? Did I miss something?

I'm coming to the conclusion that the show should have been, instead of an ensemble piece, a drama starring Ed Asner and Steven Weber as men who have basically good intentions but are constantly sidetracked by money and success. As it is, the boardroom scene and the scene of Weber practicing Chinese were about the only things that worked for me in the new Studio 60. Everything else seems like ten steps backwards from where the show seemed to be heading at the close of the Christmas Show.

> a condition I tend to think is more psychological than anything else

That's what I thought, given his powers seemed to return when he believed he had the sword ... only to wane again when he realized it was a fake. So what will it take for him to realize it?

One problem I have with Daddy-not-so-dearest trying to get the Haitian to wipe some of Cheerverine's ((c) 2006 Peter David) memories is ... won't her healing power restore them after the fact? It has restored seriously damaged brain tissues and the memories therein.

Finally the $64x10^big-number question: can the kid do the control eletronics-at-a-touch thing by remote control? ie, would he be able to control a computer by touching a modem cable which is eventually hooked up to it? Or does it have to be direct line of sight? I hope the writers are wisely keeping it to the latter. Otherwise, forget about Mr. Nuclear, this kid immediately steps up to being the most dangerous of the lot. He could easily bring the industrialized nations to their knees and there's no practical way to stop him, because firewalls wouldn't be any good, he'd control those, too.

Spoiler Alert

I loved Heroes but I have to say that I was a bit disappointed in Studio 60 this week. As my spouse and I sat in bed watching it we were disappointed at the predictable writing. We knew that there would be a snake issue, we knew that the door to the rooftop would close, we knew that Matt was NOT bidding against who he thought he was bidding and we knew the pretty English Bird would find out she was being lied to. the only fun surprise was the snake handler and his great handling of his character and Kim's performance.

In the first ep of 2007, Sylar was back in restraints and his cell's large glass window was fully intact. What the hell happened? Did I miss something? Why didn't he get away after he busted through the glass and Eve killed herself? Did I miss something?

Sounds like you've not been reading the online comics. Normally, they really only connect to an episode thematically. However, the one after that episode picked up where the episode left off:

http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/novels/novel_011.shtml

During the break between new episodes, they also had a multi-installment story introducing one of the upcoming new characters, Hana.

I assumed Sylar added "cockroach" to his DNA, and that somehow allowed him to play dead

Is anyone else in the same boat I am--missed too many episodes of HEROES so I'm now avoiding anything about it until I can hopefully rent the DVDs this summer and be up to snuff by next season.

Man, that flash interface on the comics sucks even worse than I remember. This is the sort of thing that keeps comics from moving from paper to online...crappy interfaces.

Bill Myers
Bennett told Sylar his power wouldn't work. Why did it work when Eve confronted him?
Eve didn't have the Haitian standing nearby to negate Sylar's ability would be my guess.

Bill Mulligan
Is anyone else in the same boat I am--missed too many episodes of HEROES so I'm now avoiding anything about it until I can hopefully rent the DVDs this summer and be up to snuff by next season.
Well, if you have cable SciFi channel is marathoning the episodes again soon so you could possibly check it out through them

Dave Van Domelen
Man, that flash interface on the comics sucks even worse than I remember.
Yeah, it's horrible, that's why I just read the printable version instead.

Nytwyng, you're correct, I wasn't checking out the online comics. Guess I should.

spyderqueen, I forgot that the Haitian had the ability to suppress people's powers. But the Haitian guy clearly isn't hanging around Sylar 24 x 7, so there would've been other opportunities for him to escape.

Smells like a plot hole to me.

"Sounds like you've not been reading the online comics. Normally, they really only connect to an episode thematically. However, the one after that episode picked up where the episode left off:

http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/novels/novel_011.shtml

During the break between new episodes, they also had a multi-installment story introducing one of the upcoming new characters, Hana."

If they're adding segments of the ongoing story on the online comic, well, that's pretty lousy story telling if you ask me. Yes I know, most have access to the 'net, and blah, blah, blah... but seriously, if it's a TV show then just tell the story on the TV show. Don't make the audience have to run around finding other bits needed to read on other formats to enjoy the story.

Love the "Doctor Where" name!

I've found myself calling the power dampening Haitian the "Haitian Divorce".

I still don't think the Haitian dampens powers. He can erase memories, but Claire's dad is the dampener, which is why Sylar's powers didn't work around him.

Although apparently it's an intentional thing, as the flying politician took off next to him (and the Haitian).

Starwolf,

On a practical note, Bennett was confident that Haitian Sensation would be able to zap Cheerverine's memories so it doesn't matter whether it actually would have worked as long as he believes that it would. On a technical note, I strongly doubt that her healing powers would restore her memories after the HS got through with her. I doubt that whatever he does to people causes brain damage, but is something more intangible which she'd have no defense against.

Well, if you have cable SciFi channel is marathoning the episodes again soon so you could possibly check it out through them

Thanks for the info!

Bill Mulligan, before you watch the re-runs, let me e-mail you some spoilers. I owe you for telegraphing the ending of X3 to me. :P

I am in _exactly_ the same boat as you, Bill. 'Heroes' just dropped out of a very crowded life about five episodes ago, and my roommates are all irritated with me to varying degrees that I haven't kept up. But to me, this is what DVDs are for.

Someday, I'm going to watch all of 'Smallville' and 'Coupling', too...

I totally missed that that was CE starring as the Invisible Man until someone mentioned it this morning.

Making me feel even more like a dolt: I KNEW he was supposed to be guest starring! What a dork.

But really, can you blame me? That beard and long hair? Oy.

OH! And His character name is Claude Rains??? Niiiiice.

Studio 60: They marathoned it on Bravo and I found I had as much fun re-watching the episodes as I did the first time seeing them. (I even got my boyfriend hooked now!)

I agree that the relationship parts seem a bit ... awkward, but I still enjoy them. (I am so crushing on Aaron Sorkin, if only because of the male characters he creates. They are so damn sexy, with their intelligence and wit, I can't resist them!)

And I totally saw old West Wing glory coming out with the Steven Weber/Ad Asner FCC bit. Ed had Bartlett all over him.

RJM - "If they're adding segments of the ongoing story on the online comic, well, that's pretty lousy story telling if you ask me. ... Don't make the audience have to run around finding other bits needed to read on other formats to enjoy the story."

Agreed. One of the only things I really disliked about the otherwise fine BABYLON 5 was the Telepath War which the series built up to as a side plot, getting us to loathe Bester all the while, and then had it all sorted out off screen in novels? I honestly felt badly cheated at that.

You can view all the episodes on line at nbc.com. That's how I keep up with most of it. Same thing with LOST.

Oh and, I hate to say it, does anyone else feel like Danny is just Josh playing at being a tv show producer?

It makes me miss Josh all the more ...

Minor nitpick, but the last name of the actor playing the invisible man is Eccleston, not "Eggleston." Well, I suppose it's not minor to Christopher Eccleston, but that's another matter.

And was it just a coincidence that one of the first lines out of his mouth in this episode was a very Doctor-like "Fantastic!"?

Re: Blocking Sylar's powers

Regardless of the mechanism (the Haitian, some unseen device in the walls), Eve might have disabled it so that she could use her own power (of persuasion) on Sylar to control him and probably to get him to shoot himself with her gun.

I like how HEROES is going. The storylines are coming together nicely, and I agree that Hiro's idea that he needs the sword is strictly psychological. As for the Takei "spoiler," even if no one heard about it beforehand George's name was listed in the opening credits and he didn't appear in the first 50+ minutes, so I doubt anyone who saw his name would be surprised that he was the mystery man. (What, you thought he would be the limo driver?)

As for STUDIO 60, ehh. The show feels like it's shifted into a whole "will they or won't they?" comedy before we got to know and care for the characters. And while there are lots of chuckles, there are few laugh-out-loud moments. I'll watch STUDIO 60 until the end of the season, but if I'm out or tired Monday night I don't mind missing it. (For a HYSTERICAL show about tv, check out 30 ROCK. It's got consistent acting, doesn't try to make its sketch comedy show meaningful to all of America, and has tremendous laughs!)

PAD,

Any chance you'll Round-Up SMALLVILLE anytime soon now that we've had episodes featuring a proto-Justice League and DC's favorite Martian?

Starwolf,
If you are complaining about missing the Telepath War, they you don't get it. It hasn't been done yet! Not in the novels, comics, stories or anywhere. Its one of the things we are still waiting for!

Charlie

I like Heroes very much, however, maybe I'm just impatient, but it seems to me really slow, like Wheel of Time slow.

**spoilers**

Secondly, I found it strange that Peter Patrelli met the invisible man and decided, seemingly unilateraly, that he should play the role of a mentor, and the invisible man accepted the role. Where has it been established that he was qualified to be a mentor? Has he exhibited any Yoda-esque qualities?

Apparently, the theme of this half-season is going to be: learning how to use your powers 101, with a minor in psychological inhibitions that block your powers. Issac already dealt with his in the first half-season. I suspect that Nikki is not a Hulk like character who becomes powerful when she becomes Jessica, but rather is simply so psychologically mild mannered in her Nikki persona that she never used her powers, but as Jessica is more psychologically inclined to use them.

About the Haitian, he not only erases memories. He was also able to knockout the mind reading police officer Matt. It could be said that the Haitian's powers compliment Matt's, he has offensive mental powers. The question of how he erases memories, and if it's brain damage, leads to a bigger question -- are the memories still in the brain but unaccessible, or were they actually erased, which would be more physical.

There's little excuse for not catching up on Heroes.
As mentioned, Sci-Fi is always showing it, nbc.com has the episodes available and you can also buy them from the iTunes music store. (and that's just the 100% legal ways of seeing em:)

Hi PAD, I asked this on another entry but never saw a reply (so if there was on I apologize). Are you still watching Friday Night Lights? I still believe that the writing on that show is as good as any drama on television, and as you said, we need to support our comic reading actors. I am also in full agreement that the voiceovers are more anoying than anything else.
James

BBOvenGuy, that was definitely a shout-out.

BTW, her name was Eden, not Eve, and I miss her more than I thought I would. Poor Mohinder.

Micha, I also wondered why Peter Petrelli immediately keyed in on the invisible dude as some sort of mentor. I love "Heroes," I really do, but on occasion the writing is sloppy.

lynn, Eve was in the garden of Eden, so, y'know, it was an easy mistake to make. :)

Zeek,

Actually, the Christopher Eccleston character was being sarcastic when he said his name was Claude Rains. He was referencing Rains' role as the lead character in _The Invisible Man_.

With regard to Hiro, we know he's a comicbook fan, but does anyone know if there was ever a specific reference to him as a _Star Trek_ fan? If so, would there be an in-story acknowledgment that his father looks like George Takei?

Yeah, I know. It'd be almost too "cute", almost too self-referential (too post modern?), if they did something like that, but if Hiro has been established as a _Star Trek_ fan, and then you cast George Takei as his father, you gotta expect somebody to comment on the resemblance.

And actually, if Hiro is a _Trek_ fan, I can see a potentially interesting relationship with his father. We don't yet know the nature of their relationship (other than the fact that his father used to tell him a story about a certain samurai); but whether they had a close relationship or a somewhat distant one, got into _Star Trek_ because Sulu resembled his father, and as a kid he'd pretend his father was involved in heroic exploits like Sulu.

Of course if there isn't a _Trek_ connection with Hiro, that idea wouldn't work; but if there is, I'd imagine any interest Hiro would've had in _Trek_ would've been inspired- or magnified, as the case may be- by his father's resemblance to one of the actors in the show.

Speaking of both _Star Trek_ and _Doctor Who_, I'm sure everyone who's familiar with the former and saw the "Fear Her" episode of the latter noticed that the Doctor greeted Chloe with the Vulcan "live long and prosper" greeting. Is the writer of that episode a _Trek_ fan? Is David Tennant, or producer Russel T. Davies? I don't know; the issue wasn't addressed in the episode commentary. Perhaps it is somewhere on the bonus disc.

Finally, with regard to the samurai, I think he'll turn out to be Hiro himself. I just get that feeling.

Rick

I was thinking the same thing about Hiro becoming a Samurai.

Studio 60 still feels like it's dragging its feet just a little. There was not enough suspence or drama for me to really go "NO WAY!" when I saw "To Be Continued", which is what my reaction should be. Instead, I said "Oh ... huh."

Loving Doctor Where (and not just becuase I'm a disgustingly geeky Whovian but really he is one of the more interesting characters now). And Harriet's dolphin laugh had me rolling. So funny and cute.

I think a mistake was made in Harriet. Instead of wasting so much time portraying her as a christian who needed to defend herself, they should have let her be silly, quirky, zany girl that everyone's in love with. She's ADORABLE when she's zany and silly.

Rick,

When Hiro and Ando meet Isaac as he gets off the bus in Texas, Hiro salutes him with the Vulcan salute instead of shaking his hand or bowing to him. Is that close enough for you.

C. A. Bridges: "I still don't think the Haitian dampens powers. He can erase memories, but Claire's dad is the dampener, which is why Sylar's powers didn't work around him."

No, Claire's Dad specifically said that it was the Haitian who can dampen powers. He said that to the cop when they had captured him in an early episode. Also, the Haitian has dampens several peoples powers when the Dad was nowhere around.

David Hunt,

I suppose. Given Hiro's interest in comics and science fiction, we'd probably be safe in concluding Hiro understands the meaning of the gesture. That's not always the case, of course. My 12-year-old cousin gave me the Vulcan salute at Thanksgiving, but had no idea what it meant. She was clueless about _Star Trek_, and the name "Spock", for that matter.

Which reminds me of a story DeForrest Kelley told at a convention at the Dearborn (Michigan) Civic Center in July 1987. He was at some event that also included both Julius Earving (Dr. J.) and Dr. Ruth Westheimer. As Kelley told it, he and Dr. J. greeted each other with a high-five in the Vulcan salute. Dr. Ruth, apparently being unfamiliar with _Star Trek_ asked, "what is that?", and one or both men responded that it was a "Vulcan high-five."

Rick

"Actually, the Christopher Eccleston character was being sarcastic when he said his name was Claude Rains. He was referencing Rains' role as the lead character in _The Invisible Man_."

Except the producers refer to him as "Claude" and that's the character name on imdb.com, so...

PAD

"Zeek,

Actually, the Christopher Eccleston character was being sarcastic when he said his name was Claude Rains. He was referencing Rains' role as the lead character in _The Invisible Man_."

Yeah, I got that. I wasn't being sarcastic. I thought it was cool.

Btw, Claude Rains is what his character is known as on the always accurate Wiki ... (THAT is me being sarcastic.)

Thanks Pad, you beat me to it ...

"Speaking of both _Star Trek_ and _Doctor Who_, I'm sure everyone who's familiar with the former and saw the "Fear Her" episode of the latter noticed that the Doctor greeted Chloe with the Vulcan "live long and prosper" greeting. Is the writer of that episode a _Trek_ fan? Is David Tennant, or producer Russel T. Davies? I don't know; the issue wasn't addressed in the episode commentary. Perhaps it is somewhere on the bonus disc."

Probably the staff on the show are fans to some degree in general. In the previous season's Eccleston episode "The Empty Child", there are a number of 'Mr. Spock' references in the dialogue -- including one where Rose introduces The Doctor as "Mr. Spock" to Captain Jack....

>if Hiro has been established as a _Star Trek_ fan

Wouldn't be at all surprising as the original series did run in Japan. It was fun hearing Spock sounding like a demented samurai.

if Hiro has been established as a _Star Trek_ fan

I seem to recall either Hiro or Ando making Trek references in an early episode.

And, in an interview when George Takei's casting was announced, Masi Oka said that he hopes he gets a line to the effect of, "You're not my hero, dad...SULU is!"

We'll see if he gets his wish.

If they keep adding a new super-powered individual every episode, plots are going to get out of hand soon.

I blinked during last week‘s episode and had to go back and watch it online to catch the introduction of Christopher Eccleston’s character but, he makes a great addition to the cast and the cryptic comment this week about ‘they all say that at first’ indicating he has been training people in the use of their powers was an interesting one.

The cast is starting to get to the point where it will become very unwieldy as they find more heroes. Just like the problems with writing a team book, the show runners have to get to a point where there is a sharper focus on fewer characters.

In my mind you have the four primary characters in Claire, Hiro, Peter and Mohinder. Everybody else is fluff, if they weren’t in the show you wouldn’t miss them.

You’ve got your heavies in HRG and Sylar (echoing back to CSM and Krychek from X-Files). If they keep the focus as wide as it has been, they run the risk of watering down the show and losing viewers because of an overly complicated story.

First off, the woman who tried to kill Sylar was not named Eve, but Eden. Start using the closed captioning on your TV set, people. The captioners are often wrong (they don't get the scripts, they work off the spken dialog) but they are often accurate on people's names. They were with Eden.

Second, the story line may call him "the Hatian," but until he spoke I considered him the Scary Black Man. He resembled the precise type of inner city kid, new to the suburbs, who abused and tortured me in high school. When he spoke, though, I couldn't call him Scary Black Man any more. True Scary Black Men can't speak that eloquently, or care about anybody else.

Third, I'm not worried about "too many heroes." Because they seem to be dying at close to their introduction rate. Eden bit it. Scary...uh, The Hatian is peripheral, almost a plot device until recently. Mr. Bennett may die soon, unless Sylar believes that killing Claire will torture him more. (What say we call him "Mr. Bennett" instead of Horn Rimmed Glasses? That's as stupid as my use of Scary Black Man.)

The FBI agent is out of it now, and is easy for Sylar to kill, too. And if Niki/Jessica try to break out of jail, the guards know how dangerous she is and will ice her immediately. (And Niki, in her dying moments, may bless them; she knows that psychotherepy doesn't work, which the soon-to-be-dead psychiatrist doesn't.)

Rather than talk more about how easy cast members are to kill, let me conclude by saying that I knew about Takei, but his appearance STILL floored me. Especially the "GULP!" There is power in acting.

There were indeed numerous references by both Hiro and Ando to Star Trek in the very first episode... and I beleive the continued throughout the first half of the series...

Me: "Actually, the Christopher Eccleston character was being sarcastic when he said his name was Claude Rains. He was referencing Rains' role as the lead character in _The Invisible Man_."

Peter David: "Except the producers refer to him as "Claude" and that's the character name on imdb.com, so..."

Even so, Eccleston's tone was definitely sarcastic. The way I see it, he's adopted that name as an (ironic) alias; he wasn't born with it. Unless, of course, his parents happened to be named Rains, and as they considered possible names, he faded away.

"Why not Claude?" they might've hypothetically decided, being (hypothetically) big movie fans. Or Claude Rains fans.

Seriously, based on what little we know of "Claude" so far- especially that he has a generally negative outlook, the fact that he's adopted an obvious alias suggests he doesn't like himself all that much. Or he doesn't like who he's become, perhaps. Kind of like Chanterelle/Lilly/Anne in _Buffy_ and _Angel_, who made it clear to Buffy that she didn't want to even mention her real name.

Plus, I think if the producers simply wanted to have an in-joke with their invisible man character's name, they'd probably be more subtle, and have named the character something like, say, Daniel Westin.

Time will tell if I'm right that "Claude" calls himself "Claude Rains" instead of proudly declaring, I'm Ralph Jones, the invsible man" (to what handful of people might actually see and hear him, as Peter does) because of self loathing or even self doubt. However, with regard to himself and Peter, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

On another note, I pass on a question a friend and co-worker asked me (which he, in turn was asked by his younger brother). Maybe we all missed this, but how do the characters know the Haitian is Haitian? Until the final episode before the break last fall he never spoke (and has only spoken to Claire so far), so it's not like anyone recognized his accent. And (so far as I could see), he never wore a name tag reading "Hello, my name is The Haitian." So, what identified his nationality? Eden doubtless knows because Mr. Bennett told her, but how would Matt Parkman know?

Until my friend brought it up yesterday, I'd never considered that.

Rick

That should be Eden _knew_. Alas, poor Eden.

Rick

Anyone thing Chrictopher Eccleston's character might be coning Peter Petrelli? After PP keeps expressing interest in other supers, CE just gives more and more cryptic hints. And in the PP premonition, CE seems to be laughing at the situation instead of instructing or helping.

And my guess as how it gets resolved (which is either wild speculation or a MAJOR spoiler)... I think when PP starts to explore, his brother (who tells him "Let me help you" in the premonition) flies him out of range of Mr. Bomb -- then gets him back after so the cheerleader's power can heal him.

NBC Strips 'Studio 60' From Its Schedule

NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, once regarded as the show that would become a hit on the magnitude of Friends, went out with a whimper Monday night, drawing a minuscule 4.8 rating and an 8 share, representing 6.4 million viewers. Studio 60 is due to be replaced by the mob drama The Black Donnellys next week, and while NBC says that the drama about a sketch comedy show is officially "on hiatus," some TV journalists are expressing skepticism and wondering if the remaining six episodes of the Aaron Sorkin series might be destined for final disposal on the NBC website. Monday night's episode was watched by fewer than a third of those who tuned in to CBS's CSI:Miami in the same hour. That show attracted a 13.1 rating and a 21 share -- or 19.08 million viewers.